WordCamp Singapore 2016

Travel, WordCamp / 1 Comment / By

Last month I visited Singapore with Rahul to attend the WordCamp Singapore and meet few of our clients there.

We had to take a flight from Mumbai at 1: 15 AM Saturday, so we started early on Friday evening from Pune. Traveling to Mumbai by road is always exciting as we get to eat vada-pav (Indian Burger) at a foot joint on the highway. Joel also accompanied us till Mumbai as he had a flight to catch on Saturday evening.

Day 1

We reached Singapore on Saturday morning. First thing Rahul suggested was to get SIM cards. We also bought the NETS card that we used in to use local transport.

We took a Uber to the hotel, freshened up and headed straight to Little India to have lunch and meet some friends. Being a vegetarian, I had to settle down for whatever options I had. Rahul did a quick search and suggested Murugan Idli  for trying South Indian food.  Excellent it was! Though I had to spend SG$ 11 for a dosa and a pair of Idlis, it was worth every penny. ?

In the evening we went to Marina Bay to see the Laser show and explore the areas around it.

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Day 2 – Free Day

I and Rahul went to Maxwell food centre. Rahul had this delicious chicken dish and I had a fruit platter.

Rahul's and my lunch
Rahul’s and my lunch

We then went to Sentosa Island as our Hotel receptionist told that it was a good place to explore.  A local lady was kind enough to suggest us to take the bus to Sentosa instead of the monorail. It saved us 4 SG$. This left a great impression of the local people in Singapore. I found them very warm and helping.

At Sentosa, we settled down at a restaurant right at the beach. While returning we went to a Casino. I earned SG$ 16 on a bet of SG$ 2 card game. I cashed out right after, hence proving house doesn’t win always ?

casino

DAY 3

We went to meet a client in the morning. After the meeting, we went to a temple nearby and then went to Orchard street for some shopping.

By evening we headed for Azucar bar for the Speaker dinner. It was a great feeling to finally meet people from the community.

Day 4 – WordCamp Singapore day

Excellent venue with superb connectivity. The Microsoft facility was great and I was really impressed with the WordCamp organisers to put up such a great venue.

WordCamp was a two-track event. I was able to attend a couple of sessions only as I spent time talking to other WordCampers there.

After the WordCamp, we all had to meet at Azucar for the Afterparty. Rahul headed to meet Mahaghu at Maxwell Food Center. I went for a stroll towards the Merlion Park. I spent almost an hour there. Since the afterparty venue was only a mile away so I decided to take a walk till there. The route was same where the F1 race was scheduled the very next week, so took the chance to see the track.

Day 5 – Client Visit & Shopping

We went to meet one of the oldest clients of rtCamp – Rotimatic. I finally got a chance to see the machine in action. They were gracious and made some great dishes out of the Rotis. ?

After the meeting, Rahul headed for the Airport for his further travel to attend a meetup in Bangkok. I had a half-day to myself that I decided to use to explore the local market. I inquired with the receptionist and some local people.

After some hard work, I found Bugis street. I shopped clothes and accessories for my wife and other family members. In the evening I met few friends that I made at the WordCamp.

Day 6 – Back Home

After a great breakfast at the Hotel, I headed for the airport. I reached very early so explored the Singapore airport and bought a bottle of wine. I spent almost 30 minutes at the auto foot massager.

The airport authority kept my perfume bottle as its quantity was more that 100 ml. A really bad feeling to lose your stuff like that.

I reached India and this signboard at the custom liquor shop cheered me up. It is from a famous Bollywood song that celebrates drinking. It reads “I have not committed a theft by drinking a little”. ?

We are now planning our trip for WordCamp USA. Looking forward to meeting many new people there.