Wanderlust: Singapore In a Rush

After 3 and a half hours of sleep, I woke up and went online to figure out what to do during the day. After some research and taking a shower, my roommate in the hostel who was also traveling by herself and I decided to do Singapore together. What ensued was a major back-to-back-to-back super bugbog tour of Singapore.

We left the hostel around 10am. We walked from our hostel to the post office to send some postcards then we proceeded to Orchard Road and looked around the shops and stuff. We stopped by Wisma Atria because I got hungry. I had the Hainanese Chicken Rice at Sergeant in Food Republic. It was delicious. =)

Next up was Clark Quay where I had dessert - Hokkaiden Ice Cream - Durian and Green Tea flavors. Again, it was scrumptious. =) We walked there for a bit then we got back on the MRT to go on to Chinatown.

Chinatown was interesting - as all Chinatowns are. We walked around the People's Complex and I bought a fridge magnet for dad - like I do for every city I visit. We were on our way to Pagoda Street when we passed by this Durian Pancake stall. Of course I had to try it! Good thing Bettina was game too. She didn't diss on Durian like a lot of people do. She actually liked it. Of course, I did too!

We went down Pagoda Street and passed by all the stalls. We then went to the Sri Mariamman Temple - the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore. It began to rain but so we took out our umbrellas and walked on to the Outram MRT Station which is a good walk from the temple.

We took the MRT to Harbourfront and went all the way up to buy our tickets to cross over to Sentosa. The rain kinda threw us off coz we really wanted to do the Luge and the Sky Ride. Oh well. So, we hopped on the Sentosa Express and made our way to Singapore's Amusement Park as I like to call it. =P

First up in Sentosa was the Underwater World. I touched a sting ray and saw a dugong. =P 40 minutes later we hopped on a bus to go to the Pink Penguin Show. The sun began to come out after the penguin show so we got excited that the Luge might be up and running again. We walked all the way back to the Luge and indeed it was back in operation! The Sky Ride on the way up can get a bit scary but I occuppied myselfwith taking pictures. And it worked. The rar moments that I wasn't clicking, it did get a bit scary! =P However, it's all worth it if it means going back down on the Luge. Super exhilirating! =)

8 hours into our tour - we showed no signs of stopping. Next up was the Songs of the Sea Laser show. I got this huge snowcone for the show. The show was really cool except for the kids-aimed cartoon characters in the story.

When the laser show was ended, we hurriedly went back to the mainland. We grabbed a quick dinner in Vivo City's Food Republic. This time I had prawn noodles - way more scrumptious than the chicken rice I had for lunch.

We got on the MRT and made our way all the way up to Ang Mo Kio station. From there we took a 15-minute cab ride to the Night Safari. We thought the last tram rides had already been over but - fortunately we were mistaken! We skipped the animal show and went straight ahead with the tram ride. It's not as amazing as it's cracked out to be but it certainly is not bad. It's interesting to see the animals at night - truly a first for me. There were other animals there which I would have easily scoffed of as mythical creatures if I saw them in a book or something. LOL It was pretty cool. On our way out, we passed by this Doctor Fish spot and I really really wanted to try it. So I did! Bettina didn't coz she said she's had it the "natural" way while she was on a lake in Australia last month. Anyway, at first it feels sooooooo ticklish but you get used to it after a few minutes. Then, it just feels like there are bubbles going up your toes. =)

We took an express bus back to the city. We got back to the hostel past midnight. After taking a quick shower, I was passed out!
And there goes my 14-hour super-sulit tour of Singapore. =)

Wanderlust: Singapore aka Asia Lite p.1

I boarded the plane to Singapore around 2:40pm and we landed on Changi airport around 6pm.

First thing I noticed about Singapore is how clean it was - how unAsia like =P
Second thing was how English was as widely used as in Pinas or the US for that matter

True to my "mini-backpacking" trip, I did not have wheels with me. I had my North Face backpack and my Nike day pack plus my purse. With those in tow, I took the MRT to my hostel located around the Somerset area. Supernice hostel. I have absolutely nothing to complain about except for the very basic breakfast. But then again, you don't pick to stay in a place for their breakfast, do you?

The hostel was a good 10-minute walk from the MRT station. Gijabar dyud kog maayo pag-abot nako. =P Anyway. Right when I get settled in, I met two Pinoys - si Juan and Jet -hanging out by the computer. Bading ang mga lola mo. In fainess gwapo din sila. LOL

Anyway, so sa pagchika-chika namin, they asked me if I wanted to tag along with them for dinner at Lua Pa Sat - a hawker stall center - for dinner. Of course, I was more than willing to go. We had satay, fried rice, and noodles with black spicy sauce and sugarcane for drinks.

Next up, we went to Clark Quay to stroll and witness the nightlife. Kaloka ang mga lola nyo. Andami dawng masasarap. In fairness, tama din naman sila. Hahaha. I got distracted when I received a call from my credit card company alerting me of suspicious activity on my account. Indeed, fraudulent unauthorized charges were made and I think (and I hope I'm right) that the situation is now under control. Clark Quay is really pretty at night. The linings of the river wall are lit with changing colors and there are plenty of bars and food establishments that line both sides of the river. There was this one bar that was called CLINIC and their chairs were made of hospital beds and lightings were like the ones used in surgery. It was quite interesting.

After strolling for a good while, we took a cab back to the hostel and I took a nice long shower. This hostel's shower is the best I've been on - it's very clean, very spacious, the water pressure is strong, and it's a one-person occupancy so it's not like a big bathroom split into cubicles or anything.

I got on the internet to "plan" the day ahead and went to bed at 2:45am!

Next to come, my crazy-ass 14-hour day tour of Singapore.

Blog Lag

I've been trying to blog since I was on the plane from New York to Hong Kong. Sadly, 8 days later, I still could not post anything. There was something wrong with whatever javascript chuva I had in Pinas. (Kat said it might be because I wasn't using Internet Explorer). Oh well. Too late now that I'm in Singapore now.

Anyway, I arrived in Manila last November 7. Maybe it was the 16-hour grueling flight that got to me but I wasn't all too excited in finally being home after dreaming about it for the past 5 years. The long ass flight killed the hype.

In summary, I was in Manila from November 7 till 13. C

Nov 7 -
Chowking for dinner =)
Bought a SIM card. Text nyo ko! LOL 09153440934

Nov 8 -
Used FX and the LRT and
Went to the Pambansang Museo (National Museum)
- it was pretty decent. you should go! it's only 50 pesos for students. haha magpromote
daw ba. the artworks were very interesting.
Went to Araneta to watch Sarah Geronimo's concert

Nov 9 -
Watched ASAP Live LOL it was very interesting. it felt like a community playhouse for me.
- where they all felt so at home and seemed like they were just playing. idk.
Dinner at Gerry's Grill with Davao peeps
Dessert at the Fort - Cupcakes by Sonja, TCB - si Marts lang =P

Nov 10 -
Went to Megamall to find (and found I did) a replacement for my lost laptop charger
Grilled squid lunch from Reyes BBQ, Halo-Halo from Razon's
Rockband/Poker at Mart's

Nov 11 -
Greenhills shopping - craziness!
Jollibee's Palabok for lunch
Ube Drumstick for dessert
Checked-in at Kat's condo (many thanks Kat! and Lenlen LOL)
Pinay Crepe (Mangoes with Nutella) at Cafe Breton in Greenbelt for 2nd dessert
- (Kat drove and we're both still alive =P )

Nov 12 -
Took the MRT from Makati Ave to Shaw for dinner with HS peeps
Shopped around Shang while waiting
Max's dinner with Ian, Geboy, Josh, Ayra & Eric, Ada, and Kat
Starbucks for "dessert" LOL KitKat lang diay nga baon ba HAHA

Nov 13 -
Left Kat's around 10:30am for the airport
Checked in for flight PR501 to Singapore
Changed my 2 tickets to see Kat in Davao and to see Mavic in Manila
Left for Singapore on my Mini-Backpacking trip at 2:45pm

Quick Blog Update

Hello there!

Yes, I finally made it home. I'm here in Manila right now. Just wanted to let you know that I will be updating soon! I ran into a slight problem (lost my laptop charger). So, I'm held down in terms of updating pics and typing up blog posts. Anyway, I will post soon. Don't worry. I AM VERY ALIVE! =P

sending love your way! :)