Working in Bangalore and Singapore

I recently spent some time in Bangalore and Singapore on a work trip during the London winter. Its always good to travel to warmer countries during this time and Bangalore and Singapore were perfect for that.

Bangalore

I haven't been to Bangalore much even though I have heard a lot about the city for long, as a lot of my college friends went there on their first jobs. Since then, I've had a fascination for the city, always. Also, I hadn't visited India for some time, so on this trip both factors made me enjoy my time there a lot, even if it was short.

A view of Bangalore

The first thing I noticed about Bangalore was that it is so green. And when you drive around, you can imagine how beautiful it must have looked years ago. With the old stone buildings, small rock hills, all its green gardens and the lakes. But not much of it remains in the same form now. And what takes over is the negatives, the biggest of which is the traffic - with so many small roads and so many cars, its too much! There is dust everywhere and sound of horns in every direction. Going from anywhere to anywhere takes at least an hour, irrespective of the distance. Most of the buildings seem old and dusty. Also, from the top, it doesn't look that there are as many high rises in the city as you would think. There are small pockets which have high rises and the rest are quite normal.

The drive to the hotel made me very nostalgic. I passed by some iconic names and places which I remembered from my last trip to the city - especially DRDO offices. Also seeing all the billboards, names of schools, shops and so on, I just had that rushing feeling of being back in 'my' country. Its a feeling which never leaves you, irrespective of how long you have stayed outside your country.

View from the balcony

I was staying at the Ritz Carlton hotel and it was amazing. Being at a luxury place in your own country feels very different than being abroad. The service was top-notch, with the whole staff taking care of you as if you are royalty. And I must say, the suites in the hotel were outstanding (and quite reasonably priced too). The views from the hotel were beautiful, a panoramic view of the city till wherever the eyes could see. It looked so green from the top. Also, it had many different coloured flowering trees everywhere. Apparently, different coloured flowers bloom in the city at different times of the year - purple, yellow, orange and so on.

Art at the Ritz

The art in the hotel was also something worth talking about. Here are a few photos of some of the pieces. The hotel prides itself on the art collection and it was very clearly visible. And the Indian food, whether room service or on the terrace restaurant are worth dying for, especially the dal makhani, yum... A definite recommend from me.

Art at the Ritz

I spent a Saturday in the city and was amazed by the number of restaurants all around. And ta lot of them were open air terrace restaurants, so those were my preferred ones during my stay. On the weekend, I went to Brigade estate for dinner which seemed like a nice community, with malls, restaurants, offices, lakes and residential flats within the same complex. Living in India is so much more luxurious than London. On top of that, the weather was pleasant, the food was great and the service perfect. I really enjoyed the time I spent there on the weekend, especially the weather. And it was quite the opposite to my next weekend in Singapore.

I loved my short stay in Bangalore, especially the pleasant weather. It was so cool the entire time, its the perfect place to stay. Ola and Uber is everywhere, so its easy to get everywhere. And its quite a green city. People also seem chill, and there is an entrepreneurial feel all around. Most things about Bangalore are superlative, except of course the traffic which is the bane of the city. That's why most people prefer to stay near their place of work and places like Brigade estate are popular. But overall, loved my short time there and would like to go back there again soon.



Singapore

Ive been to Singapore a couple of times and this time I spent about three weeks there on work. To be honest, it feels almost the same as it was more than ten years ago that I had first visited the city. Its all about malls, shopping, restaurants, high rises and completely man-made living. There is very less vibrancy and liveliness underneath what you see and that hasn't changed yet.

View from the St Regis

I again stayed at the St Regis and the hotel surely is amazing. Great service and a magnificent view of a green Singapore which you never see from the street. It felt very refreshing every morning. Most of my time was spent between the hotel and office. And it was as usual efficient. I did spend one weekend there which was mostly about meeting friends and also exploring a little bit more than what I had done earlier.

Little India Diwali decorations

This time again, I went to Little India twice for meals at Kailash Parbat (which is awesome btw) and once for a movie. It had decorations for Diwali this time, as the last time - again nothing has changed since then. And then I went to Arab street which was a nice experience, sitting outside and eating spicy food. We also walked around there a bit and could sense the Arab influence everywhere. And of course I visited Dempsey Hill a couple of times for meals, always a good place to go.

Marina lighted at night

The Marina Sands hotel is a big part of the city. It has spas restaurants, hotels, shopping and just about anything else tourists would be looking for. In terms of restaurants, a good find this time was the Punjab Grill at the Sands which had very tasty food. And I saw a fountain show outside the Marina at night which was very impressive.

Bridge near Robertson Quay

The three new places I visited this time were the Pebbles Bay island where I visited a friend, Robertson Quay and the Botanical gardens. Pebbles Bay looks like a nice place to live, high rises with a view of the river and a long line of restaurants right across which are a nice place to sit and chill in the outside. And I liked Robertson Quay which was again located next to the river and had a few nice brunch places. I walked there during the day and enjoyed the calm and quiet there. The outside seating places in Singapore are definitely much better than the crowded mall type restaurants.

Botanical gardens

One of the evenings, I walked to the botanical gardens from the hotel as it was very close. Its a nice park in the middle of the city, with plants from all over the world and lot of landscaping done to make it look interesting. There is also an orchid garden which was closed that time but seemed promising for another time. I liked the gardens, its a nice place to walk and when you want to be away from the noise of the city. Have noted it down for the next time definitely.

The weather overall was too hot and humid, around 30 degrees max. It was always like that and there was no respite from the heat at all. We did have thunderstorms everyday though but don't think they did much to reduce the temperatures much. On the other hand it was extremely freezing inside, whether in the office or the malls. It was a bit of a downer as we would have liked to enjoy the warmer Singapore temperatures given we were trying to avoide the London winters.

Overall, the food was too expensive. The city has become a lot more expensive in the last few years. Its very very convenient though, especially the taxis and it is totally safe. There is also a lot of greenery in any of the free spaces. Even on bridges and under them, there is vegetation growing to increase the greenness around. But something is still lacking. And I noticed it even in the people - the locals don't smile much. I think the city really needs some life, something more real than what it has.

Singapore times

I have been to Singapore a couple of times, and everytime have found it to be one of the most boring cities I have ever been to. It feels too modern, too glass and steel, too perfect for my liking. Hence, I never wrote about any of my trips there. However, recently when I got a chance to stay there for a couple of months, I explored the city beyond what it has to offer to tourists; checked out some of the places which may or may not be on the tourist map and found them to be decent fun. So here is a list of some places to hangout in Singapore if you ever end up in the city.

View from Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands: If you are in Singapore, especially around the business district, you cannot miss this hotel (or Resort as it supposedly is). It stands by itself in the middle of the sea, with a huge boat-like-structure as the icing on the top. Sands is a huge touristy hotel, located just next to the Gardens by the Bay. It has shopping malls, casinos and restaurants; all within the hotel building itself and definitely a sight to behold.

Singapore lights

The best part of Sands though is the 'infinity pool' on its top floor which is 150m long and goes from one end to the other of the boat-top. I can just imagine how much fun it would be to swim there, and how scary too, with glass all around overlooking the whole of Singapore just below you. The Sky on 57 restaurant and Sky Bar on the top floor is good too. I don't remember much about the food we had there, but it was memorable just because of the panoramic view of the city and its lights at night.

Tanglin Village/Dempsey: This was my favorite eating place in Singapore. This part of the city felt from a different world altogether; taking you away from the maddening crowd of Singapore to another age. It was built in an old British cantonment, where the buildings had been renovated but still had the old world charm about them. Open green spaces, narrow winding roads, big wooden buildings, high ceilings.. Sigh! I think it was the most romantic place in Singapore and I just loved the ambience of Dempsey. I ate at Dome (a nice cafe), Jim Thompson (yum Thai food), Jones the Grocer (snacks and cafe) and Margaritas (Mexican), all of which offered great food and an even greater ambience. 

Clarke Quay, Boat Quay, Robertson Quay: All the three Quays seem very similar and are popular hangout places. They are just queues and queues of restaurants, cafes and pubs all next to the river. They are full of people and very lively all through the day and night. My favourite of the three though was Boat Quay, it seemed a bit more quaint than the others. 

East Coast Park: For people fond of the open air experience, the East Coast Park is the perfect place to spend a nice cool evening. It is a long stretch of green area located just next to the ocean. You can run, cycle or bike along this green route if you are looking for some fresh air next to the sound of the waves. They even have those rickshaw kind of cycles to rent there which are fun.

Little India before Diwali

Little India: Its a place which is popular among Indians in Singapore. All of us have gone there at some point when we long to get a feel of India in a foreign land. Little India refers to an area comprising of a couple of streets which look right out of the backyards of India. Busy crowded streets, litter thrown on the roads, awesome food options and Indian wares being sold in every shop.There are a couple of temples here too which makes it a popular spot to visit during festivals. And of course there is the famous Mustafa shop also located in Little India; the supermarket where anything you want, you will get and that too at the cheapest possible rates.

Shopping: I don't know what I can add to the shopping options in the city. Everywhere you go, there are malls. And then some more. Orchard Street is the perfect place to shop, you will never be out of options. I did not find shopping in Singapore cheap though or better either, especially when compared to US. Its just that there are lots of shops to buy from.

Eating out: I tried a lot of restaurants while in the city and would like to list down a couple of notable ones. Food on the whole was good, with a wide variety available including a lot of Indian eating options which is always welcome:). Of the restaurants I tried, Epircurean in Robertson Quay was good, offering fusion food while sitting outside next to the river. Cafe Iguana in Clarke Quay offers tasty Mexican in a lively and loud atmosphere around. Osteria at Boat Quay has a great view and a lively ambience.

Along the Tanglin road, La Brezza (Italian) at St. Regis was terrible, the chef really needs to improve his cooking skills. Basilico, again Italian in Regent Hotel offers a great buffet spread as well as tasty a la carte options and a definite recommend. Yantra (Indian) was up-market but only average in terms of the food.

We went to this one pub/bar called Hong Kong 28 in the CBD district and I just absolutely loved it. Its a small cosy place, changes its drinks menu regularly and has a very different feel compared to the rest of the Singaporean places. It has a very unassuming location and I am guessing is one of those jewels hidden away and known only to a few. Would definitely recommend a visit here if you are looking for a relaxing evening doing something different.

About the rest, Kailash Parbat in Little Indian has the best chats in Singapore. Sky bar on top of Marina Bay Sands offers the best views of Singapore. And of course, Dome (a nice cafe), Jim Thompson (yum Thai food), Jones the Grocer (snacks and cafe) and Margaritas (Mexican) in Dempsey village were great.

Other than the places listed here, there are a couple of more spots to visit. Sentosa Island offers a lot of activities: dolphin shows, Universal studios etc which are great for a day out of town. And another must-do which we missed was the night safari, which is apparently a different experience. One place which I did not go to, but heard was good was Mt. Faber. Apparently you get a great view of the city from the top of the mountain. And then there is the Arab street which provides a nice Arabic experience right in the middle of Asia, again supposedly very different. Anyways, all these sights and many more go in the to-do list for some other time.

On the whole living in Singapore is like living in the future. Tall glass buildings everywhere you go, half of them being malls. People are disciplined and don't show any tendency to do anything out of the ordinary. Everyone speaks English and is helpful. Its easy to get cabs or take the metro (MRT) to travel around. Point A to Point B never takes more than 30 minutes anywhere in Singapore. In an hour from when you land, you can be back at home watching TV. Weather is hot and sweaty throughout the year. Its always between 20-30 degrees. As I said, its convenient to live there, but I miss the human touch, the chaos that is so much a part of where I come from. 

Sentosa Islanding

One weekend while in Singapore, (and after 2 earlier visits here), I decided finally to go to the only touristy thing to do in Singapore (other than shopping that is!!) and went to Sentosa Island. Even though most of my friends advised me that its not really a place worth visiting,  I still thought of giving it a try. To be honest, I wasn't disappointed. I thought it was a fun place to go to, if you have spare time while in Singapore. Its easy to reach, you can take a cab or just take the MRT and then the monorail to the island.

There are multiple things to do there: sound and light shows, water activities, beach, resorts, theme parks etc. We just ended up going to the Universal Studios and what a fun day we had. For one, we were lucky that someone gave us the express pass which allowed us to go ahead of the line in each rides. Though surprisingly for a Sunday, there wasn't much crowd. Anyways we walked around, did most of the rides and it was fun. The Egypt based rides and the dinosaur rides were very enjoyable. The rollar coaster rides were also pretty scary! Plus there was the kids Disney section which was again the Disney castle along with some cartoon characters walking around, Here are some pictures of the park.

While coming back from the island, we took the cable car (themed on angry birds) which gave a lighted view of the city. Singapore does have a dazzling skyline at night, which I did not know earlier.  Anyways we had a great day, fun and enjoyable. I would definitely suggest going to Sentosa if you ever land up in Singapore. Its almost like a full day hi-fi mela, good for spending a long day outside.