Aditi's Monologue

Singapore was my first international trip and hence is special to me, and it surprises me that I haven’t written too much about it as yet. I’ve written a lot about my recent Thailand trips. I have also shared a lot of travel tales from my Israel trip. There are plenty of articles on this travel blog about various destinations I’ve travelled to, Indian and international.

But – my Singapore travel blog posts are far and in between. I wonder why…

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I travelled to Singapore in 2008, which seems like ancient history already.  At the time, although I was blogging pretty regularly, I did not see Travel Blogging as a category and blogged about general things.

[You will love my post about Why I Loved My Trip To Israel – its a magical destination and I did write a lot about it]

Had I known about how magical (and big!) the travel and tourism industry was going to be, I would have definitely written a lot about Singapore, and shared my two cents worth of advice and tips for those who want to visit Singapore.

Maybe, another reason I didn’t blog about my Singapore trip too much, even though I stayed there for two weeks, was more emotional than anything else. Singapore was my first international trip! I was in my super-early twenties. I travelled to Singapore in an all-girls group which was not as common in my world at the time. And it was so exciting that it made me giddy walking the streets of this mega-metropolis. Or living like a local for those two weeks, in a Singaporean apartment.

It was almost dream-like, to my younger-self, and it still is close to my heart.

First international trip for me meant a little confusion like food & language, a lot of questions about things like Visa application & currency converter and the highest level of thrill to be exploring a new country.

My life seemed so different during those two weeks that I have always held it close to my heart and maybe, on a subconscious level I did not want to share slices of that heaven with people.

Sounds twisted, but it might be true.

Whatever the reason, I did not write too much about the trip and now that Singapore is a super glamorous travel destination for people around the world, I find myself wanting to plan another trip to Singapore real soon – this time with my 4 year old daughter.

Today when I read articles by my fellow travel writers and travel bloggers form India on Singapore, I realize – with almost a bolt of surprise running through me– that Singapore seems to have changed since my last trip. Things to do in Singapore remain more or less the same, but there are new attractions that weren’t there in 2008 (ancient history, like I said) and new places to go to.

And this time around, I have Gauri with me who, as you all know, is the perfect Travel Buddy a girl can ask for. And Singapore can be her first international trip as well!

[Here is one of my popular posts on 10 Best Tips For Traveling With Kids]

Yes, it thrills me to imagine that my daughter’s first international destination will be same as mine, haha.

In Singapore we can enjoy both urban and natural attractions. I loved Sentosa Island when I was there, and I am sure she will love it too. Especially the Universal Studio! I spent hours – yes, hours! – sitting by the Marina Bay, staring at the Merlion Park because it is just breathtaking.

My daughter is going to love Battlebox because – who wouldn’t? In my last trip to Singapore, I missed getting on the Singapore Flyer but with the kid, I am going to do it.

Singapore Zoo is on top my list, though, because she is definitely going to love the entire experience. It has 11 different zones and 12 exhibits, so there are numerous opportunities to get up close and personal with a diverse array of wildlife. This is a big attraction for kids.

The list of things to do in Singapore could go on for a mile and a half, but I’m going to focus on kid friendly activities to make sure that my daughter loves Singapore as much as I did, and finds it special.

Hope it happens soon, I’ve been planning for almost 5 months now but something or the other comes up – mostly my other travel writing assignments and trips – and Singapore trip keeps getting pushed off.

Whenever I go to Singapore again, though, I promise you this – I will write about it, I will share my daughter’s and my Singapore stories and will not keep them to myself. Because – I believe that all stories need to be told, especially the ones that open up your heart and mind.

And I will share all details about my daughter’s first international trip for sure!

Let me know if you want me to add any specific thing/attraction/thing to do to my Singapore list.

Also, I would really like to know which destination is special to you like Singapore is to me. My mail box/comment section/Twitter/Instagram is all ready to hear you answer it.

Happy Travelling!