Monday, June 30, 2008
February 8 to 11, 2008 I Love Singapore Lah! Part 2/3
I woke up early, but I didn’t get up right away. It was too early, not even 7 in the morning, and everybody was still fast asleep. I quietly lie in bed, staring at the ceiling planning our itinerary for the day. After a few minutes, I coudn’t stand the inactivity any longer so I walked over to Evita’s bed and woke her.
“Evita…evita…wake up…do you want to go downstairs…? Lets try the swimming pool. Wake up!!” .She immediately opened her eyes at the mention of the magic word… “swimming pool” she has this affinity with water.
We immediately changed clothes, then we went downstairs to check out the hotel facilities …first we looked at the gym, I didnt pack any gym clothes, so we have no choice but to skip the work out part…next we took a dip in the pool …bbrrrrrr the water in the pool was so cold…so we transferred to the jacuzzi instead….it was very very nice..warm and soothing..just what I needed for my tired and aching leg muscles….. hmmm...last stop …sauna for 15 mins… Afterwards we went back upstairs, to our room…to get ready for the busy day ahead.
We took the usual buffet breakfast at the hotel…the mix of food wasn’t so bad….(The Manila Peninsula buffet breakfast is still on the top of my favorite list....because of the danggit and tocino in the menu …plus the fact that its in the Philippines) …there’s a choice from the usual bacon, pancakes, eggs, hash brown, cereal, ham, sausage to congee, noodles, pasta, smoked fish, cheese, salad and fruits…so everyday there is something that can pick our fancy..
After breakfast, we toured the lobby and then the restaurant adjacent to the hotel
Next, armed with the free map from the airport, we walked from our hotel Rendezvous in Bras Basah Road to the Merlion Statue near Fullerton with many many stops and detours in between..
Bras Basah Road corner Bencoolen St.
Fort Canning Road in front of the National Museum
In front of Singapore Art museum
Chijmes
Stamford road
Capitol building
Since its Sunday, my Mom and Ditse have only one condition for today’s itinerary …we must go to a catholic church. So I’ve included St Andrews Cathedral in our itinerary…ive seen some pictures of the church somewhere and I’ve always wanted to visit the place.
Along the way, we saw a small church, My Mom who’s ever persistent, insisted we stop and hear mass right then and there. I told her not yet, because were going to St Andrew’s which is much better…so we continued walking but she was nagging me non stop along the way…”why do we need to go to st Andrews, when there’s a church we can go already…what if we cant find st Andrews…what if there’s no mass…what if its not a catholic chuch .. and she went on and on …what if…what if what if…. until we finally reached the church….. Then she stopped…maybe because she realized that what I said is true, st. Andrews is much beautiful and bigger…. I stoped myself from saying “I told you so” …simply because she is mom…har har
We went inside the church and attended the mass… afterwards we took a short break in front of the church….before we continued with our walking tour.
Foot ball field near City hall
Chinese, Korean Festival celebration of some sort at the park.
Evita trying to be jang geum…
Me beside my Chinese horoscope
My mom doing her favorite thing and having the time of her life shopping for some Chinese trinkets. She was smiling so happily… probably because she made some good bargain with the store owner.
Still at the festival while taking a short break from the hot Singapore sun
Me at the creek
At the tunnel
At the other side of the river opposite Fullerton Hotel
In front of Asian Civilization Museum…we went inside to pee…lol…
At the bridge ….crossing over to other side of the river (Fullerton Side)
At the other side of the river
At the fountain in front of Fullerton..
Finally at the Merlion
Resting at the gardens of Esplanade Theater
Walking towards the train station….
We took a train to Mustafa Mall…where we shopped shopped and shopped….we went back to the hotel around midnight…geez I was so tired …it feels as if im going to pass out …
Sunday, June 29, 2008
February 8 to 11, 2008 I Love Singapore Lah! - Part 1/3
We have planned and planned in the past, but up until this trip none of the plans have ever materialized. So this time, in the midst of all the preparations I’m doing for Dubai, I’ve decided to prioritize this trip because I wanted to give my mom and sister some happy and unforgettable memories since I won’t be around for a year.
Why Singapore …again? This is already my 3rd time to visit Sing, but still, I never get tired of going back. …Hmmm…for a bunch of reasons…
• Its safe and clean
• Everybody speaks English…and sometimes if im feeling a wee bit adventurous I can also put my mandarin to test…
• the transportation system is easy …trains, buses or taxis….so its easy to find your way around the city…I love the EZ card which never expires..…It always makes me giggle whenever i tap the card on the card reader while its inside my bag…
• the place is not so big…its small enough that you can see all the famous tourist spots in just a few days….which leaves more time for shopping…which is the next reason ..
• Shopping is always an experience… there are malls everywhere… gadgets (cellphones, mp3, pda ..etc etc) and perfumes are relatively cheap…there are expensive places too where you can buy original signature items.. but there are also some great bargains If you know where to go..like Mustafa mall, in little India.
• the food is great…my all time favorite is charsiew pork or roasted pork with noodles (dry and hot). Yummy! I never miss it whenever I visit and its available in every foodcourt.
• the whole place is hitech…credit cards are accepted everywhere…you can even pay your cab fare with it…
• the Airport, changi is one of the best I’ve been to ….
• Last but not the least Most Singaporeans are honest people, although there are some that can be a bit rude at times…honesty alone more than compensated for it.
We booked a packaged tour which includes airfare via PAL which leaves in the morning of the 8th, hotel accommodations at rendezvous hotel along orchard, daily breakfast at the hotels buffet table, and a half day guided tour.
Feb 8
About to fly out at the naia terminal 2
Its evita and my sister's first time to fly on a plane...and im pretty excited for them...
Just landed in changi
We checked in at the hotel, rested for an hour then went out again.
I played tour guide and took the train and then the bus to Singapore zoo
We didn’t go inside, it was late when we reached the place, so we just had some pizza and went next door to…
Night safari ..we took the tram inside…and saw some giant rats …as big as pigs…ngiiiii..
Feb 9
Today is our half day guided city tour which is part of the package.
First stop Buddhist temple in china town……
Boat Ride at the Quay
Read street
Mt faber – I saw this place a few years ago in a Bea, Johnloyd, Sam movie and have been looking for this place eversince. I was jumping for joy when I climbed up the stairs and saw this familiar place.
We took the cable car from Mt.Faber to Sentosa Island.
We landed in Imbiah lookout, sentosa.
Watched a 4d movies about a pirate..a kid and some animals.... Take my advice and don’t miss out on the 4d magix cinema at sentosa ..its an experience you wont forget.
Took a bus to fort siloso beach and rested on the beach for a few minutes
Walked across the street to underwaterworld to watch the fishes
Took another bus to watch the pink dolphins perform…I didn’t look because for some reason they make me cry…so I just sat on a chair because im too tired to take pictures…
we went back to the entrance bus station and took more pictures….
we queued on the long long long line for the bus that will take us back to Harbor Front. We’re so hungry so we had dinner at the only open food court in vivo city…half of the food is not available since its closing time. TG! I got some leftover charsiew pork and noodles ..yummy!
