I finally relented as the growing chorus of my friends’ appeals for a boys trip abroad reached a deafening crescendo. We finalized our plans almost 4 months before the actual trip. After much deliberation that included costs, attractions, weather and peak crowds; we decided on Singapore & Malaysia. We didn’t mind the occasional showers alternating with bright sunlight in the month of June.

We took off from 3 different cities & arrived at Changi Airport at different times. The cab was supposed to pick us up from a different terminal. I hurried along trying to figure out the best way to reach the other terminal. The helpful people at the airport information kiosk pointed us in the direction of the Skytrain. A novel concept & something new for me personally. Every other airport I have been to in India has either shuttle buses or paid cabs for this purpose. The Skytrain is really just a small automated railway system. Quite futuristic, since I could not see any driver upfront. The cab driver picked us up promptly & dropped us off at the Lavender Hotel. Strangely enough, the driver was Indian; Tamilian to be precise. Given that we hadn’t slept in the last 16 hours, all we did for the next 6 hours was sleep.

A disastrous lunch of cold noodles at a roadside eatery and we were off to the Singapore Zoo. Strangely enough, the driver this time was an Indian too. We had 3 things to do at the zoo - a walking trek, a tram ride and an animal show. The tram ride was quite enjoyable. The tram driver was an enthusiastic guide, announcing rare animals & imitating them at the same time. The walking trek was tedious & uninspiring. Not much was visible in the dark hours of the evening. The highlight of the zoo was the animal show. Although truth be told, it was geared towards children. It was quite a sight, to see trained animals and birds perform on stage. Part of me wonders if all this is ethical. This is something you would see in a circus, although it didn’t seem like the animals were forced or hurt. The zoo or rather the “Mandai Wildlife Reserve” also has souvenir shops with incredibly expensive items. Not worth it, in my opinion especially since every item was made in Malaysia.

We woke up the next day to a disappointing buffet breakfast at the hotel. The spread mostly consisted of junk food - various breads, muffins, waffle, sausages, eggs and other items that an obese person would love. We ate in a hurry amidst the incessant calls from our cab driver to be on time. The driver, this time was a rude indian-origin guy named Skanda, who did not waste any opportunity to berate us for not being on time (we were 3 minutes late). Putting aside this unpleasant incident, the rest of the day was quite delightful. Skanda took us first to the Singapore Flyer. A giant ferris wheel measuring 165 metres in height with a diameter of 150 meters. It was the tallest wheel I have ever been in. We were treated to picturesque views of the Merlion Drive, the Marina Bay Sands hotel, the upcoming F1 track and the gardens by the bay. Next up was the Merlion Drive. It is just a small crowded pier with a lot of restaurants and other eateries. The highlight is the iconic merlion statue with water spouting off the lion’s mouth. The large crowd and the afternoon sunlight did not make this place any more appealing. We were off to the Thian Hock Keng Chinese temple. Supposedly, the oldest temple in Singapore dating back to the 1800s. The temple facade is distinctly chinese with the tiled sloping roofs and dragon statues at the top. Once you enter, you see the characteristic red spherical lanterns and the smell of incense. There was also a wishing well where everyone tossed in a coin and rang the bell. The temple is covered with images of old chinese kings, emperors, Buddhist/Shinto gods among walls painted in red. It was quite a sight.

A quick lunch of delectable fish soup served with steamed rice at the nearby ‘Fish & Kopi’ place & we were off to Marina Bay Sands. It is essentially a resort overlooking the bay with the iconic elongated mock cruise ship resting on the three towers that make up the resort. This spectacle is a landmark that can be recognized from far off. The views from the top are scenic, if a little redundant after visiting the Flyer. The lower floors of the resort complex house a shopping mall selling ultra luxury goods. There is also a casino spread across 3 floors. Entry to the casino is free for non-residents and 150 SG$ for others. Of course, we took a tour of the casino, although no one really played. We spent our time enjoying the complementary drinks at every corner. Bored and full of drinks we walked to Gardens by the Bay. A park comprising waterfront gardens, a flower dome and a cloud dome. I found this place a little unremarkable. You can ascend the “Supertree” and glimpse the same old view of the city & sea. The highlight was the light & sound show at night accompanied by classical music. To cap off the day, we went exploring “Little India”, a locality full of indian eateries and shops. After many meals of insipid Singaporean food, the sambhar-dosa was a welcome sight.

The next day was one of the most enjoyable ones. We went to the Universal Studios theme park. This is located on Sentosa island with a bunch of other attractions. We were welcomed by the iconic Universal Studios globe that you see at the start of every Universal movie. The entrance is flanked by 60s-70s themed New York buildings & cars. Further ahead, you see eateries with incredibly expensive junk food - pizzas, greasy burgers, sugary drinks and other snacks to gorge on. The first major attraction is the Transformers ride. An immensely enjoyable AR experience especially at the end where you fall off a building. Realizing that this was just the first of many, we were all hyped to get on the other rides. In the distance, we could see the huge Battlestar Galactica roller coaster that most of us - including me, were raring to hop on. A little up ahead was the “Revenge of the Mummy” attraction. Since it was inside a building, we didn’t realize it was a roller coaster. In the dark, with nothing visible except for the faint ghostly lights. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. Truth be told, I was so terrified that I was negotiating with god once the coaster jerked in reverse. I even contemplated screaming out “Don’t let me die” to anyone who could maybe shut down the ride. In the seat next to me, I could see my friend had his eyes shut tightly (he could have been praying). My enthusiasm for riding the big coaster had all but vanished at this point. We rode some smaller coasters at the Princess Castle and the Shrek zone. The Jurassic Park water ride was enjoyable as well, if you don’t mind getting soaked. Walking around in soaking shoes, we staggered into the Waterworld stunt show. Hosted in an amphitheatre surrounding a small manmade waterbody, this is a 15 minute long enactment of the 1995 movie of the same name. It was quite entertaining, with all the guns, bullets, pyrotechnics and jet skis; complete with a crash landing seaplane. After a brief lunch of pizza & burger, we decided to just stroll around. No one wanted to risk a regurgitation incident after all that greasy food. One look at the long queue before the other rides and we decided to return for a dip in the pool at our hotel. Well relaxed, we went exploring the nightlife of Singapore. Kallang, Little India and the Mustafa centre were a bit of a letdown. Clarke’s Quay on the other hand was a delight. An old riverside quay housing a plethora of bars and nightclubs. It is quite a colorful sight at night.

Next on our list was Sentosa Island. This was the most enjoyable part of our trip, by a long shot. We started off by visiting Madame Tussaud’s wax museum. An unremarkable & forgettable attraction, unless you love gawking at wax likenesses of bollywood & hollywood icons. There was also a 5 minute 3D screening of a Marvel Comics feature geared towards kids. A couple shuttle stops away was the cable car station. We took the Faber line up to the Arbora restaurant & back. The restaurant is perched on the peak of Mount Faber and has stunning views of the island bay. Even the washroom has glass paneling, allowing you to soak in views of the sun dappled forest while you take a leak. A short brunch of pizza at the restaurant & we were off to the SEA Aquarium. Home to over 800 different marine animals like sharks, dolphin, jellyfish, manta-rays and other peculiar aquatic creatures. The dolphins were conspicuous by their absence, unfortunately the dolphin enclosure was closed for maintenance. The highlight was walking through the tunnel under the shark tank. There is also a place where you view the lab with all the scientists bustling around in white coats. It gave me creepy “Jurassic Park” vibes. We hurried on to the Adventure Cove waterpark which was the highlight of my trip. Riding the thrilling water slides and splashing around in the tidal-wave pool was the climax of this vacation. After a brief & late lunch at the food trucks, we were back at the hotel planning where to wander around in the evening. Walking around Geylang and Bugis, we were greeted by the strange sights of frog porridge, streetwalkers and charming little shops selling gelato & ice-cream sandwiches.

Up before the crack of dawn, we took a coach to Kuala Lumpur. We slept all the way for the next 5 hours, in surprisingly comfortable seats. A quick check-in at the hotel & we were off wandering the lanes in search of lunch. The LaLaPort mall across the street seemed promising. A brief lunch of fried rice & we were off wandering & shopping for chocolates & other interesting souvenirs. Beryl’s Tiramisu & almond chocolates were high on my buy list. I quickly found the other items on my list - Kaya toast, durian chocolate & fried fish skin.

We were greeted by our friendly driver (also of Indian-origin) who would be taking us on a tour of the city. We saw the Abdul Samad building, KL tower, Merdeka 118 tower(the second tallest building in the world). We also went on the cross bridge & the top floor of the Petronas twin towers. Soon after, we were taken to Chinatown, a haggler’s paradise. An unkempt street market full of hawkers and small shops selling souvenirs. It reminded me of Delhi’s Chandni Chowk. We were back at our hotel after a sumptuous dinner of south-indian food at Saravana.

Our last day in Kuala Lumpur was mostly spent at the Genting Highlands, a hill station with a large resort & various themed attractions. As usual we woke up early & spent an hour speeding through winding roads. We took a cable car from the base station weaving through a lush green forest right up to the resort. We wandered around the resort window-shopping and marveled at the multitude of children’s attractions. The highlight was the immense SkyCasino where a couple of us played automated roulette & the rest of us (me included) ambled around drinking the complimentary beverages. One quick lunch later, we were back speeding down the sinuous highway to the Batu Cave temples. The temple complex is hidden inside a large cavern. The complex houses a grand colorful temple at the entrance with a 43m tall golden statue of Lord Murugan. Behind the statue is a long stairway that leads to the cavern housing the main temple and other smaller temples. The staircase is home to hundreds of monkeys who lose no opportunity to pounce on anyone with food. I literally saw a monkey snatch ice-cream from a 40 year old man. A short ride away was the Belice Chocolate Kingdom, essentially a crowded chocolate shop with a snazzy name. With the sun beating down, we hurried back to our hotel to laze around in the pool. We dined at the Sangeetha restaurant & went bar hopping around Bukit Bintang & Changkat. Honestly, the nightlife here is unbelievable. There were large crowds gathered around musicians, old men grooving to pop music, bars/pubs blasting music and screening live sports. It was, in a word, fantastic. We finally settled into a small pub screening the cricket semi-finals.

The next day we took a cab to Port Dickson, a coastal town south of Kuala Lumpur. Our chatty cab driver kept us entertained over the long 4 hour drive. The driver was an example of the ubiquitous multi-ethnic population of Malaysia. His mother was of chinese descent, father of indian origin & his wife was Malay. He regaled us with tales from his past as a bodyguard for politicians. A proud man who had found spirituality after his girlfriend left him. We checked in to the Lexis Hibiscus hotel, delighted by our room, marveling at the views of the sea. We could see the over-water villas clustered in the shape of the titular hibiscus flower. The hotel offered a variety of water-sports & games right on the beach. The evening was spent playing soccer, beach volleyball , archery & swimming. We spent the twilight hours strolling around the over-water villas taking in the views of the twilight. None of us were too pleased considering we had to return to India the next day.

My first “real” vacation abroad was a lot of fun. I only wished we had spent more time in Malaysia than in Singapore. Singapore is an over-rated & expensive tourist destination. It is more of a business centric place, the only attractions being the shopping malls & Sentosa, which can be found in India as well. There is not much in the way of scenic natural beauty here. Malaysia on the other hand is an under-rated gem, we could have explored more if we had time. There were a lot of things that I could not do. I had wanted to taste real Singapore/Malay food; chilli crabs, laksa, kaya toast, frog porridge, chicken rice, unagi, stingray. We could not take a tour of the Maxwell Hawker centre to try the famed Michelin-starred street food. I would have loved to try the tropical fruits endemic to the region; durian, rambutan, mangosteen. The strong smell of the durian fruit pretty much put an end to that endeavor. All in all, I really enjoyed the trip & would recommend it to anyone with a taste for the tropics.