The Merlion Land................Singapore

Singa - The Lion. The old saying about how the name "Singapore" was derived goes like this - The first word which came out from the founder of ancient Singapura - Sang Nila Utama's mouth was "Singa" and hence the name Singapore............... The land of lions!!!!!

The opportunity to visit this country knocked the door in April 2009. The occasion was ASPAC (Asia Pacific) conference of FOFSAGs' (Fellowship of Former Scouts and Guides) at Malaysia followed by an optional extended 3 days visit to Singapore. 

Visa stamping, ticket booking and further travel arrangements, etc. should be  always preplanned in order to get rid of last minute hassles. Singapore Embassies are located in metro cities of India (New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai). The current visa charges are  INR 1050. (Price of SG$1 - Singapore Dollar was INR33 in 2009  and now it is INR36). Processing period is generally 2-3 working days.

http://www.sticholidays.com/sticholidays/packages/visa-info.php?pkgID=884


http://www.mfa.gov.sg/newdelhi/

Ended up with our ASPAC gathering program at Malaysia - Bukit Tingi we deported from KL - Kualalampur by bus to Singapore. The transport facility was very good; for tourism being the backbone of South East Asian economies! "Konsortium Bas Ekspress" is one of the leading bus service providers in Malaysia as well as Singapore.

http://www.kbes.com.my/Main/Main.asp?pageID=002

One can opt for air travel also to save the time. Cheap flights are operated by Airasia from "Shah Alam Airport" of KL to Singapore - Chengi Airport.
Singapore Airlines offers SIA Hop on bus facility to tour in Singapore. 

http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/promo/ssh/hop-on_bus_index.jsp

Apex bookings allows you to grab better deals. Or even the flights can be booked directly from south Indian Airports (Thiruanatapuram, Cochin, Chennai) at cheapest prices. 

After the immigration check the bus heads towards"Johor -Bahru"  the roadway cum Bridgeport that connects Malaysia to Singapore. Watching the huge port activities, illuminated sky-scrappers, good infrastructure; we enter the Merlion Land - Singapore!!!!!!!!!! Busy roads with car parking lots availability  electronic display is a unique feature being observed!

The first encounter with "Jurong" Industrial Area recalled the Pimpri Chinchwad  suburban in Pune. Window ride of Singapore ended up at Hotel "Fortuna" at Rangoon Road, near Little India and exactly in front of the famous and most awaited Shopping Mall - "Mustafa"

Good Hotel located in the key area, Little India nearby, "Mustafa" mall for  "Shop till you drop", 24 hrs open "Ananda-Bhavan" vegetarian restaurant with well cooked Indian food................. it's like "दुग्ध शर्करा , मणिकांचन योग" all together!!!!!!! What else is required?

Now starts the Singapore Sight Seeing. Half day tour is available to cover the main tourist spots or in short one can say "Glimpses of Singapore".

Destinations generally covered are:-

1. The Chinese temple. Visit to Chinese  (Pagoda) temple  gives a great opportunity to observe Chinese rituals closely. Lighting up essence sticks is similar to what followed in Indian culture.

2. Singapore Gems and Arts Gallery. Yes the most awaited destination for ladies to shop for ornaments made up of precious gems and colorful stones!!!!

Apart from shopping the most beautiful thing that attracts is the creative art .The wall pieces/wall hangings, clocks, showpieces made up of gems and precious stones are  nothing but astonishing facts in front of our eyes! Breathtaking super fineness can be seen actually inside the gallery while the artisans are carving.

3. Botanical Garden bloomed with kaleidoscopic orchids is another must watch destination!!!! The place to try dexterity  in photography!!!!!!! Colorful extravaganza! Singapore comes under tropical region and hence whatever plantations done are artificial one. Tourism industry pays for maintenance!!!! Major economy is dependent on tourism industry and imported goods sale!!!! There are hardly any items which can be considered as a farm produce of Singapore!!!!!

https://picasaweb.google.com/pbhasale/OrchidsPark#

4. How can the main attraction be missed? "The Merlion Park" - Merlion of Singapore. Immortalising history of Singapore in an icon is the Merlion, the national symbol of Singapore. It pays homage to Singapore's past names, Temasek and Singapura. The statue is surrounded by the sky scrappers and the famous five stars like Raffel, Fullerton and the famous new boat shaped Marina Bay Sands Skypark. Marlion park by night is better option.  A small ride through MRT (Underground trains - Metros) can be enjoyed to arrive  at Merlion Park. Nearest MRT station is Clarke Quay.

Amongst the Shopping malls - Suntech City, Vivo City, Tangling Mall, Plaza center, Peninsula Shopping Center are few to be named. Other few places that can be listed are Chinatown, Little India, Marina Square, Peninsula Corner, Night Safari, Jurong Bird Park.

https://picasaweb.google.com/pbhasale/JurongBirdPark#

5. Sentosa theme cum enjoyment park is a full day engagement! 4D Magics Show, Under Sea World, Dolphin Show, Songs of the Sea, Tiger Sky Tower, Cable Car are the main attractions and must be experienced! Now there is an additional attraction  of Universal Studios.

https://picasaweb.google.com/pbhasale/Sentosa#

Tired - "Kaputt" even after 3 days of roam around; you feel like something is missing or watch something more................... but the time comes to say goodbye to the Merlion  land and arrive at the "Chengi International Airport" or bus station to depart back to the hometown.

Harper's Ferry - A Ferry to 18th Century................

Situated on the border of three states - West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland along with the two rivers Shenandoah and Potomac; is the one and only Historic Town of Harper's Ferry!

41.2 miles away from Herndon - Virginia; the Harper's Ferry takes you to the historic era of 18th century..................

This picnic cum historic spot has now become a historic national park. Entry fee of $6 per car is charged at the park entrance. Ample parking space is available. Visitor's center is ready to welcome tourists with a complete guidance to the place along with map of the area. Visitor's center offers free shuttle service to the lower town of Harper's Ferry every 10 minutes . Shuttles leave from the shuttle stop which is situated just on right hand side of the visitor's center. Still one can opt to enjoy scenic drive with his(er) own vehicle down to the lower town subject to the national park's rules.

The real journey to the history begins once you step out of shuttle. The first glimpse of this historic preserved town itself is enchanting one and the St. John's Episcopal Church situated up on the hill adds more architectural flavor to the beauty of the town. To glitter with scenic beauty the historic town is surrounded by the lush green banks of Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. One more remarkable thing that is observed is a steel rail bridge. As per the information displayed below the bridge; this is the first crossing of Potomac by rail road on the first ever structural steel bridge in the world. (Baltimore - Ohio Rail Road)

Reception at the lower town by the people dressed up in typical 18th century robes gives a celebrity feeling to the visitors.

The red brick style firm structure of the buildings attracts tourists & so is the anxiety to watch the culture, lifestyle closely and experience the old era. So most of the structures are now transformed into permanent museums. Those museums are a real mirror of slave tradition and the fight for freedom and independence from slave tradition. Actual newspaper cutouts can be seen such as demanding child, woman, man slaves. Majority of slave African Americans were residing in the lower town of Harper's Ferry or Virgin Island in 1865.

Besides this bad picture of slave era - other informative stuff is available such as the armory, bombshells, freedom fight history, warrior costumes, their hats, the regiment residence over land of war.

Ahead on the left to the lower town street; which goes steep ahead surrounded again by nice small houses, shops and colorful flora -fauna on both sides of the road, gives a feel as if you are in Pittsburgh, PA or SFO, CA.

A Stop without shop is an injustice to your visit!!!!!! Ladies~~~~~ enjoy the delicate stone or bids ornamental creations, pottery, crockery and many other stuffs by the local artisans. Gents and kids now it's your turn after such a tiresome and pocket emptying hefty ladies shopping to take a halt and enjoy the handmade famous ice cream flavors from Harper's Ferry................. Huuuuuummmmmmm yummmmmmmmmmmmyy creamy strawberry, vanilla, chocolate-vanilla swirl softies are must.

The next milestone is a small trail to the Jefferson Rock which in fact en-routes to the famous Maine-Atlanta (Georgia) Appalachian Trail. The name to the destination is given based on the exploration by Mr. Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson visited Harpers Ferry in 1783 and wrote "The passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature."
It is nothing but a small rocky structure.Just few steps ahead on the top is the cemetery.

Walking down the trail you arrive at the St. John's Episcopal Church. Beautiful scenic view of bridge over cascading Potomac and Shenandoah river between the mountains with a tip of St. John's Episcopal Church like a cherry on the top can be encountered.

Enjoying the trail you come again to the downtown to board the bus back to the Visitor's center. While leaving the destination - courteous folks in old robes, yummy creamy handmade softies, scenic snapshots and trails, in all the short span of life that you spent back in 18th century are somewhere cornered in your heart and which call you back to visit again during fall as the beauty in that season is beyond any explanatory description!!!!!!!!

More information can be obtained from the following links

http://historicharpersferry.com/

http://www.harpersferrywv.net/