Nothing at all!

It was the fourth day of our short break in Singapore and we had visited just one place in Singapore so far, having skipped most of the customary popular sightseeing attractions. Time just flies when you are doing nothing! Four days of doing nothing seemed like the perfect solution for tired body and mind and when you choose to spend those four days in Singapore, even doing nothing means having the time of your life!

Our Singapore journey started with every child's dream destination, Universal studios. Since the trip was planned for my ten year old daughter Sara, Universal resorts and Sentosa Island was a must-do that I could not escape.  Since I had not had the chance to visit universal studios as yet in my earlier trips, I agreed readily. On arrival we were greeted warmly by our partners from universal studios, Joy and Irene. Our discussions veered between the various attractions of universal resorts to its popularity with Indian tourists and I could sense Sara's discomfort. Giving me a disapproving look that said how you manage to work even on a holiday, she took matters in her own little hands and invited Joy to visit all the rides with us. We started with the marine life park which was a treasure trove of life under the ocean.  We went from display to display admiring the many different species and variety of fish. Hey look at that black fish, the spiky one I exclaimed like a child. That's a sea anemone and the one behind is a sea cucumber, mama! Sara said and I realised she watches more of the discovery channel than I do!

The next two hours were an amazing insight into the life down under. From the most colourful fish in varied hues of blue, orange, pink to the transparent jellyfish who seemed to be dancing to their own tune and the stingrays and other giant fish that appeared larger than life, marine life park was an amazing experience and the best start to our little break.

With a refreshed mind we set out to challenge ourselves on the various rides of universal studios. After the first two rides, I realised that checking emails between rides was not the best way to enjoy a theme park and I started my de-addiction from the cell phone and a real start to our holiday. The transformers side transported us to another world and after a while we became a part of the ride, based on the movie. Feeling victorious at having destroyed the enemies we lined up to take the ride all over again!

The best part of our day at universal was the ease with which we reached our hotel after an exciting day at the theme park, as we were staying in the resort itself at the very comfortable equarius hotel. With a first successful day we headed for dinner at a Chinese restaurant when Sara asked me, what was your holiday moment for the day, mom? For Sara, it was when I put away my phone for the day. After that it became a habit to discuss the holiday moment of the day every day for the rest of the trip.

Along with the theme park and marine life park at universal studios, we also discovered the sea adventure cove, with its water slides and wave pools over and over again.

With the sightseeing over and done with we moved to our hotel on orchard road, at the very heart of Singapore. The next few days had been reserved for simply shopping and eating and we set out to taste the food at the local street food markets. Jennifer our dear friend in Singapore joined us and took us on a journey of some of the most exotic food we had ever tasted. From a simple chicken satay to stingray in sambal sauce, we tasted everything on the menu.

If I am in Singapore, I must shop I thought and hit the malls! After walking around in the luxurious ion mall and without a shopping bag in my hand after two hours, we headed to vivocity for some real shopping.

So with the night safari, the zoo or Jurong Bird Park still pending on our to-do list we decided to leave it for our next trip. Four days in Singapore suddenly seemed too short, specially when you wake up at 9.00, have crocodile meat for lunch, stingrays for dinner and finish the day with a foot reflexology! Isn't the merlion an icon of Singapore, mom? Sara's question made sure we head to the marina to say hello to Singapore's most well-known icon. It was the least we could do. It was almost 11.00 pm and we got busy with the most touristy thing to do! Trick photography with the merlion was great fun. Suddenly the lights came on at the marina bay sands and we were enthralled by a beautiful light and sound show for the next few minutes. I really didn't want the day to end, but we had a flight to catch the next day and fly back to reality. With something new to discover in Singapore every six months, I vowed to be back to do nothing at all again!