Its a totally different world out there - Singapore Night Safari!

Singapore is a very beautiful city....ooops, a country! Though it is smaller than Delhi, it has a good blend of modern buildings and green area. It also has a natural reservoir of rain forests(which is totally untouched by humans) in the heart of the country (occupying around 30% of the area). Singapore and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil (remember, the city with the huge JesusChrist statue selected as one of the wonders of the world called BRASIL Corcovado) are the only 2 cities in the world that have a sizeable primary rainforest within the city boundaries. On the norther tip of the green area lies the Singapore Zoo. Adjoining the Singapore Zoo, is the Night-Safari which is mainly a house for nocturnal animals.


In December 2008, I had visited the Banerghatta National Park in Bangalore, and I was quite amazed by the good collection of animals that were present there (including the king of bad times - KING Cobra). The collection of animals here too is much similar except that the environment in which they were housed was totally in a different world. Each animal was located in a different location of the Safari-area. The environment provided to the animals was much similar to their natural habitats. The safari-area was divided into different locations like the African grasslands, Tropical rainforests, Indian subcontinent, etc. So the animals will definitely feel at home. It just shows how these people love and care the animals and not just make money out of them.

I was taken in a battery operated tram through the jungles, and all the animals looked as if they were standing right next to us. The tram was fully open, so it gave a scary feeling as to whether the animal will pounce on us or not. But in truth, there was a huge trench running between the animals and the tram route (which was not visible to the visitor). Hence it gave a very real feeling to the visitor as if they are on a real safari through the jungle. But the harmless animals like the deer roamed freely throughout. So you can feel the deer standing close to you, next to the tram. I couldn't capture good moments in the safari, as flash photography is strictly prohibited (being nocturnal animals).

Apart from the tram route, there is a trek-route which is accessible only by walk. The walk was quite scary because it was exactly like a jungle safari through darkness. I just enjoyed every bit of the trek. The showdown of the safari experience is an animal show, where they showcase different animals like the wolf, hyena, puma, mongoose, otter, civet, racoon and python. These animals are trained properly and it was like a fashion parade with these animals. The experience of sitting very closely to these animals was mind-blowing. For example, the python came out from a box underneath a spectator`s seat :) The show was hosted by an Indian, who seemed to speak almost every language (English, Hindi, Tamil, Malay, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, German, French, etc) and entertained the crowd with her tricks and applaudable jokes (unlike my dry PJs :D).

The sight of animals emerging from different bushes located in different parts of the theatre area (where the show happened) added to the suspense and kept our hearts beating very fast :) The most exciting part was that during the show, A.R.Rahman`s music from Roja was being played in the background. Made me really proud of India, esp Rahman :) Two months back, there was a news that in Greater Noida also they plan to setup a night-safari like this in the near future. I really wonder if this is possible there. Greater Noida is already a very unsafe place in broad-daylight. Imagine what can happen in darkness in the safari (the safety of the visitors will be at risk). Most importantly, the animals need to be well maintained. The climate will play a key factor, apart from the people's attitude!

To conclude, my Valentine's day (first one without raji) with the animals proved to be a good experience :D

In Singapore - The Amazing world of CARS

As I set my foot in Singapore, the first chord that strikes me is the amazing variety of cars that zoom past me. Being a car freak, I am very familiar with Indian cars. Infact, familiar should be an under-statement. If you show me any visual part of a car (example: a headlamp, tail lamp, bonnet, etc), I can indentify which car it belongs to...... Such was my expertise in that field, that when I landed in Singapore, I thought that I can do the same thing here. But I was wrong.

(Seen here in the pic is a Peugeot 307 at my office campus).

Being a Software Engineer by profession, if I allocate memory for all the car names to be remembered along with their appearance, my CPU will crash :D... So many varieties of cars, that i just wonder how a singapore kid (who is crazy after cars, just like me) remembers all these car names. Even after being here for a week, I am really finding it difficult to remember these names. Often, you will find me going around cars looking to indentify them and mark them (just like the way I used to do it with my brother, as a kid). On top of the numerous models, all these cars are maintained really very well (unlike India), thanks to the clean atmosphere and good traffic sense among people (unlike insane people in India).

And the aftermarket upgrades in cars here look awesome. The cars have been modified so beautifully that it just leaves you open-mouthed. And almost all the cars (except taxis) have gorgeous-looking alloys. India, being a cheap car market, the cars launched there do not have any good after market upgrade trims. Whereas, the same counterparts here looks awesome with such good quality accessories and ofcourse, good maintenance.

The very common brands in Singapore are Honda (Stream, Accord, Civic Fit, Jazz, City-least common), Toyota (Corolla, Camry, Axio, WISH, Estima), Mazda (Mazda3, Mazda6), Mitsubishi (Lancer, Lancer-Evo), Hyundai (Avante, Getz), Subaru (Impreza), Nissan (Latio, Sunny, Teana, Cesira), Kia (picanto, Rio), Proton(the malaysian carmaker trying to enter India). Apart from these Japanese brands we do find traces of other brands like Rolls Royce (Silver Spirit), Mercedes Benz (S-Class, CLS, EClass), BMW (7 series, 5 series), Audi (A3, A6, R8), Porsche(Cayman, Boxster, 911 Carrera), Jaguar (S-Type, X-Type, XF), Lexus (LS540), Peugeot (307, 308), Chevrolet (Optra, Aveo). Chrysler (300). But I am yet to find a ferrari (quite disappointing :( ). Even the luxurious cars like BMW-7series have been fitted with such gorgeous looking alloys, that they look like proper sports cars!

Terminology: In the world of cars, the term "generation" is used to refer to a particular model of a season. When the model gets some changes (launched with a new styling just like the new honda city), then it belongs to the next generation (just like humans).

My first day to office was an exciting one, sitting at the back of a 44 lakh car, the Mercedes Benz E220. The ride was comfortable enough, but i found the car too pricey :D Everyday morning I try to hop into a different taxi (I wait for a new model taxi to pass by me :D), so that i get a chance to be seated in different models :) The ubiquitous taxi here is the Toyota Crown (which is very ordinary looking). Apart from that we have the Hyundai Sonata (yes you heard it right, the 16lakh car in india is used as a taxi here), KIA - Premier (in the second pic above), Mercedes E220, Volkswagen Passat (which is called as Skoda-Superb in India), Toyota Wish and few more (which I may not have noticed so far).

And all the latest generation cars are present here (which are due to to be launched in India in the near future). For example, I see the new Hyundai-Sonata running as taxis in huge numbers (launched in India 3 weeks back). The next generation Toyota-Camry is already here (which looks like a worthy competitor to the latest Honda-Accord). I see all past generations of Toyota Corolla here (which is present in India only for the past two generations).

There seems to be lots of difference in the naming conventions of cars in India and Singapore, showing that India is a low-cost market (sensitive to price change, and hence late launches). The previous generation Corolla was already called the Corolla-Altis (including the current one) in Singapore. But in India, the previous generation was plainly called as Corolla, and the new one is called as Corolla-Altis. The new generation Nissan-Teana (to be launched in India) is called the Nissan-Cesira here, and I am sure it will be called as the Teana in India. I am yet to find the latest generation Honda City here though, and I find only traces of the previous generation City here. The Mazda3 sedan is very common here showing clearly why the Honda-City is not favourite here. This sedan is very gorgeous looking having a very sporty look and will give the Honda-City a run for its money, if launched in India. I just fell in love with it. The most commonly modified cars in Singapore are the Mitsubishi-Lancer, Subaru-Impreza and the Mazda3. The toyota has a total different list of cars (apart from the usual ones), which are badged as WISH (quite confusing)......

Lastly, a small mention about the buses here! Ridiculously smooth Mercedes-Benz (automatic version) buses on the smoother Singapore roads.

Still I am learning to swim in the huge sea of cars in Singapore...Ciao!

My first taste of Singapore

As the news of my Singapore trip reached my ears in the second week of January, I was quite excited. My childhood dreams of an overseas trip will finally come true.... :) But it was not such an easy and exciting one to be, as I assumed. As the days of my journey drew close, I really started giving a second thought about it. On one side I had to leave Raji alone at home and be away from her for around 5 weeks. On the other side, work was getting really hectic over the last one month that I was not able to give myself any time to raji, myself or anything related to my personal life. And the fact that I will miss all my familiar surroundings, my home, my pets, friends and the familiar atmosphere at office did not excite me much about the forthcoming trip. And before the feeling could sink in, I was there at the airport on the morning of 8th Feb 2009 waiting to catch my flight. As I sat thinking about the how the next 5 weeks would be for raji with out me & for myself without her and my friends around, some exciting news reached me. I had earlier assumed that my flight was a Jet-Airways (how boring!), but when i reached the airport I realised that it was a Singapore-Airlines :). From my childhood, with due inputs from my dad on his overseas trips, few airlines had been on my dreamlist which go on as follows: British Airways (more for the color combination), Cathay Pacific (lovely name & service too..), KLM (different color), Lufthansa (the Germans are known for quality), American Airlines (there has to be a US Airliner on my list :D) and finally Singapore Airlines. During her London trip, Raji flew by a British Airliner, so one in the list is down and 5 more to go :)

So finally I have some reason to smile, as I wait to get a first glimpse of my Airliner [one more in the airline list is down :), 3 more to go ]...... I was just hoping the Airliner to be a Boeing 747. Personally, I am a big fan of Boeing and hate the Airbus (more because Boeing is a US company, and Airbus is French). But the irony is that I work for a French-Italian company (ST), but yes I love Italy (the land of the awesomeeeeee Ferrari). But now my company is a French-Italian-German company (with the Ericsson merger) :D... What a delight to belong to multiple countries :)) Coming back to the Boeing, Airbus fan following, though there are other airline manufacturers apart from Airbus and Boeing (like DC), these two hold the major market share for passenger (public) airlines. And in Boeing, my favourite pick is the 747 more because of the hump that it has at the front portion (to accomodate the First Class, which is a floor above the economy & business class). This aeroplane is a treat to watch.

But unfortunately, my Airliner turned out to be a Boeing 777. Nevertheless, a Boeing is a Boeing anyday :) and the 777 has the longest range among any twin-engine flights (US to India non-stop). I very excited to see the plane'd interiors with 3 columns of seat in each row (9 seats in each row). The in-flight personal entertainment was amazing. Though I was very sleepy due to the fatigue from office work, I managed to watch a movie in the flight ( BODY OF LIES - very good movie starring Russell Crowe & Leonardo DiCaprio) and also catch a few minutes of sleep. 40 entertainment channels (english, hindi, tamil and chinese) for a flight journey was really amazing! Half an hour before landing in Singapore, we flew over Kuala Lumpur and I was able to catch a glimpse of the city from above. But unfortunately I wasn`t able to spot the twin towers :D

Finally we approached singapore and the view was spectacular. The man-made harbour was a treat to watch. The full of the sea with so many boats, streamliners and ships anchored, with others racing each other and jostling for space was spectacular! The full view of the sea during the landing phase was a little bit scary, and gave me a sense that it may fall into the sea anytime! The view of Singapore from the flight was astonishing. In short, the city looked neat and very modern. As we touched the ground, I spotted a Boeing 747- Singapore airlines at the parking bay :)

The Singapore Changi airport is a really wonderful airport. It is very very huge! As I sat in the taxi for my transfer to the hotel, it gave me a strange feeling as I passed through the city. Being the first overseas trip, I felt as if I had lost my way in a strange land! The place was totally new, roads unfamiliar...... but I felt safe in the city, which was a solace :) The road from the airport is very close to the coast and the view was spectacular. The first thing that struck me when I was travelling in the city was the CARs. The Cars here are wonderful (more on that in a separate blog that will follow).

My check-in at the hotel was smooth, my room was on the 12th floor. The hotel has 24 floors in total. Very good hotel and my room had an amazing view of Little India and the places nearby. My first day at Singapore went in slumber, because of the fatigue. The next day morning, I realised that I was all alone in a new place without Raji. It gave me a different feeling as I started for office. My first trip to office was in a Mercedes-Benz E220 (E-Class, costing upwards of 44 lakhs in India) taxi. I was thoroughly excited, but to be frank i did not find anything great to worth 44 lakhs (being a Ferrari fan, I am anti-Mercedes :D).

The office in Singapore is a very good one (though not as modern as the IT parks in Bangalore or Gurgaon). In short, it is a neat campus. The office basically is a Philips campus. Now there are many other companies in the same campus (which are spin-offs from philips). NXP is the semiconductor spin-off from Philips (which is now owned by ST). There are 4 towers in total (5 floors each), and each other its connected to the other by bridges :) The first two days at office seemed really slow when I was missing raji & other friends! Then things got settled a bit, and now a week is past :)

Singapore is a blend of various ethnics. People from all over the world blend here very well. However, after the Chinese, the Tamilians are more in number here (making up for the majority of Indians here). And the Tamil community is present in many areas of Malaysia as well. A majority of the working class here are Tamilians. My hotel (Park Royal), being next to Little-India gives me a chance to roam around little-India in the evenings. It gave me a feeling that I was in Chennai, rather than Singapore. To be frank, the courteous and hospitable nature of Singapore is in a way spoilt by the attitude of the Indians here! This includes the cleanliness as well, which is apparent in other areas of Singapore..........

Overall, my stay at Singapore has been a mixed blend of all feelings. I am quite happy that I am able to be in touch over phone very frequently with raji, parents and friend(s). Without which, life would have been much tougher for me here......

My first weekend at Singapore was good, with a visit to the Night Safari (at the Singapore Zoo), a blog on this follow....