More of Singapore :)

My friend was very kind to show me more of Singapore on my third and last day there. We started the day by drinking coffee at one of the stores in the train station. This was while we were waiting for my other friend, Sheila, to join us.

First on our list was the Fountain of Wealth located at Suntec City. It was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1998 as the largest fountain of the world. We arrived at around 10am, just in time to see the fountain being turned off. We were allowed to walk to the center of the fountain's base and around a mini fountain. 

We saw some people going around the mini fountain a number of times and dropping a coin or two before making a wish. We didn't do such as we only were in the area for a couple of minutes. I noticed that on its base perimeter is the restaurant area of Suntec City. I'm sure it would be lovely to sit on one of the chairs, have coffee and be amazed everytime the fountain is turned on. 

We boarded a bus to help us get to Marina Bay Sands. I was so excited because I only heard and saw this on magazines and internet pages before. 

We arrived at Marina Bay Sands. It  has three 55-story hotel towers, connected by a 1 hectare roof terrace called Sands SkyPark. 

As we had limited time, we chose to come back later to explore more of Marina Bay Sands. We chose to walk towards Gardens by the Bay. I can see the Super Trees in the distance ahead.

These are called such because of their tree like structures that dominate the Garden's landscape. They have a height ranging 25- 50 meters and are homes to unique ferns, vines, orchids and bromeliads among other plants. We managed to have some awesome photos taken with these at the background. I'm sure it would be really nice to see them light up at night. 

The OCBC Skyway is pictured here at our back. It is a 128 meter long aerial walkway with a height of 22 meters wherein a panoramic view of the Gardens and the Marina Bay can seen. The entrance cost for adults is  5 SGD. 

As we were out of time, we just looked at the conservatory flower dome and conservatory cloud forest from afar. Each of them has an entrance fee however The Garden offers a number of packages for guests to enjoy them.

We went back towards Marina Bay Sands to chill and get shade from the sun. We wandered around the Shoppes at the Marina Bay Sands and found this rain oculus. It was a huge whirlpool in the middle of restaurants and their tables. 

There was also a canal running through the length of the Shoppes. This is the same as the ones I saw in Venetia, Macau and Hua Hin. Sampan rides are available for both guests and shoppers. 

Another busy and fun day spent at Singapore. I hope to come back for the third time soon and hopefully with my family. 

Thank you and 'til my next blog! 

My second time in Singapore

I didn't imagine I would set foot again in Singapore after my short trip last 2014. My nurse friends were now successfully employed in various Singapore hospitals and I promised to visit them one day. I was always on the look out for promo flights and always went in to Jetstar's website. The ticket I booked for Singapore flew out on a Saturday night. It was the last flight out from Phuket and arriving Singapore at almost 1 am. 

After a few hours rest and meeting my friend PJ, who worked in Singapore for the past 6 years, my adventure began. First off, we went to Bugis Street. It was around 10 in the morning and vendors were already able to set up their stores. I saw a lot of things being sold. From shoes and bags to dresses, blouses and shorts. There were temples in the area and people were coming in and out from them.

The main purpose on why we headed to this street on a Sunday morning was to hear mass at the nearby Church of Our Lady of Lourdes. I have always believed in Proverbs 3:6 -  In everything you do, put God first and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success. I wanted to thank God for the safe flight to Singapore and to ask of His guidance while I am in a foreign land.

After mass, as it was also lunch time, we headed towards Zam Zam Restaurant. This is an Indian- Muslim restaurant opposite Sultan Mosque. This place has been serving dishes since 1908! My friend suggested we eat Beef Murtabak and drink Teh Tarik. It was a fulfilling and delicious lunch.

We continued exploring Arab Quarter after lunch. Believed to be named after a noble Arab merchant, the street is a bustling trade center. I saw different kinds of restaurants offering Middle Eastern and Malay cuisine as well as stores selling fabrics, carpets and other products. The place was lively with a lot of people having a good time by either chilling in the restaurants or just walking.

Moving further, we reached the famed Haji Lane. More boutiques selling quirky stuffs are on this lane. It is said that this lane is fast becoming the fashionista's paradise. Another interesting thing about this place is the colorful murals it has. I had quite a lot of photos taken while I'm at this lane. They were all Instagram worthy but I chose to only post a few.

Next up, my friend brought me to a place which he is proud to say with a touch of a Filipina. He brought me to Alkaff Bridge. It is a 55 meter steel bridge spanning the Singapore River at Robertson Quay. It was painted in January 2004 in vibrant colors by Filipina artist Pacita Abad together with a rope specialist team. It has since been known as Singapore's first "bridge of art".

We then rode a bus towards Napier/Holland Road to reach Tanglin Gate. This is one of the entrance gates to see Singapore's first UNESCO world heritage site - The Singapore Botanic Gardens. This 156 year old attraction is the third botanic garden listed in the world's heritage site after Kew Gardens in England and Padua Gardens in Italy.

Before exploring the things inside, we stopped by one of the food joints to stuff ourselves.

The area is so huge and a lot of walking is required. Nevertheless, clear paths were present as well as signs on where to go. 

It has an area of 74 hectares and are divided into different gardens such as Bonsai Garden, Ginger Garden, Fragrant Garden and Healing Garden to name a few.

Entrance to the whole garden is free except when you would like to see the National Orchid Garden which houses 1,000 orchid species. I did not know orchid species to be this many. Paying 5 SGD as entrance was worth it as there were a lot of orchids of different colors and sizes inside. I know my mother would have really loved to visit this kind of place. There were beautiful colored orchids whatever direction I turn.

These are arches full of Yellow Dancing Ladies. Never have I seen a lot of Dancing Ladies in my life. We only had a stem or two in our little garden back at home. 

We also went inside the Cool House. It is an enclosed space which mimics a tropical highland forest. Besides orchid species housed in this area, we also saw carnivorous plants such as this.

The place was cool and it was such a relief from the heat outside.

Moving forward, we saw this lovely place. I want to have something like this in our own backyard!

I had a lot of fun walking and discovering what Singapore Botanic Gardens can offer. There were countless stunning sculptures around such as this little girl with a shell.

This clock tower was commissioned by Lady McNeice to commemorate the opening of the Gardens's visitor center. It has now been relocated and stands right outside the National Orchid Garden.

A lot of tall and majestic trees can also be seen throughout the place. These are Heritage Trees and because there is a danger of losing them with the country's continuing move for progress, a scheme was made to conserve and educate the community on the importance of protecting them.

I found the swan lake interesting. It is a major attraction in the Botanic Garden and is home to a number of aquatic plants and fishes. It has been named because of the presence of a pair of beautiful swans from Amsterdam. Unfortunately, I was not able to see them during my visit.

Beside this area is an open space used by families and friends to have a picnic. It was nice to watch them have a good time.

Singapore Botanic Garden is so huge that I cannot finish viewing each corner without hurting my legs from all the walking. On the way to the exit, we chose to sit and watch the beauty of the place near the bandstand.

This octagonal gazebo known as the Bandstand was erected in 1930. It is a favorite photo spot for weddings and sure enough while we were there, a couple was doing poses for their photographer. This spot is an iconic landmark of the Garden.

It surely was a long day full of walking for me and my friend. To conclude it, I asked my friend to take me to Jollibee. I know it is just a popular Filipino fast food restaurant but I missed Jollibee because there is none here in Thailand. This ends my first day of my second trip to Singapore.

 Thank you and 'til next blog! :)

My USS experience

It was my dream to set foot in any theme park before. I haven't been to any theme park in the Philippines - Star City nor Enchanted Kingdom. Thankfully I was able to save and come to Singapore last August 2014 to visit my friends and experience Universal Studios Singapore (USS).

From the usual price of 74 SGD,  I booked early from their website and paid around 68 SGD only. The ticket came with a meal voucher worth 5 SGD. There's also another ticket named Universal Express Ticket which was quite expensive than the usual one but would save time from the long lines towards any ride. My childhood friend and classmate, Stephen, who is also working in Singapore, came with me to enjoy the day. To get there, we rode the circle line towards Harbourfront station and proceeded to level 3 of Vivo City to board the Sentosa Express.

By luck, we found Stephen's college friends also visiting the park and so we all went together. I was happy to have found new friends: Marvie and Anna Katrina.

It took us a while to go in because we had to wait for Stephen to buy his entrance ticket and we had to have photos with the Universal Globe.

We just can't contain our excitement! Marvie, Stephen and Anna having their jump shot before going in.

We then grabbed a map to navigate ourselves through the park. 

USS has a lot of theme zones. The first one was named Hollywood which was modeled after the real Hollywood Boulevard of the 1970s.

When we passed by the area, we found that characters from Mel's place were having a show. We watched for a few minutes before going further.

The next zone we went to was named New York. This area featured sidewalks and classic landmarks to mimic the famed city. We found a replica of the famous New York Public Library and also met special Sesame Street characters. The line was long and when it was almost our turn to have pictures with them, the staff said the characters have to go elsewhere (bad luck!). So we ended up with only this photo.

Sci-Fi City was the third zone we went into and was themed as what cities would look like in the future.

At the time of our visit Battlestar Galactica, which consists of a pair of duelling roller coasters, was closed for renovation. Not to be disappointed, we lined up for an hour to try the Transformers ride. It was so cool and fun! Actually it was my first 3D ride ever.

The fourth zone we entered was Ancient Egypt. It is based on the historical adaptation of Ancient Egypt during the 1930s Exploration. We saw a lot of obelisks and pyramids. This is also where we rode the Revenge of the Mummy Ride. We have to leave our things in the lockers before we were allowed to get into the ride. It was as exciting and fun as the transformers ride.

It was a Sunday when we visited the park. Imagine all the people and the queue!

Next up was the Lost World zone which consisted of Jurassic World and Waterworld. Jurassic World is where Stephen, Marvie and Anna rode the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure. I did not want to get wet even though raincoats were required so I chose to just wait for them and look after our things.

While on our way to see the other sites in Jurassic World, we saw familiar faces. Our teacher, Madam Beth, and her whole family were enjoying USS too!

We then raced to catch the live action performance in Waterworld. We were so impressed with the stunts and pyrotechnics. The stage was in a very large pool and I could not count the times when actors fell in the water and climbed up again.

All I can say is that they were such great actors. The seats surrounding the pool were colored according to how wet the audience would be if they sat on it. We chose the farthest seats so we can remain dry. After the show, we were able to have photos with the cast.

The sixth zone we went to was named Far Far Away. It was inspired by the animated movie Shrek and showed how the fairy tale characters lived in daily life.

We saw Shrek but was not able to line up for photos. So, I took this paparazzi shot of him and Fiona.

The highlight of the zone was the 40-metre tall Far Far Away Castle where we saw Shrek 4-D adventure. It was a simple yet fun ride. I heard there is a new ride named Puss in Boots' Giant Journey. Hearing from my friends, it had a long queue and is an exciting roller coaster. I hope I can ride it too!

The last zone we went to was Madagascar. This was inspired by the animated film of the same name. We were able to ride the carousel named King Julien's Beach Party Go Round because it had a less queue!

and have the boat ride named Madagascar Crate Adventure.

Another memorable thing that happened on our USS adventure was when we saw our childhood and close friend Daryl :) We were able to have a few minutes of catching up.

It was a magical and enjoyable day. Although our legs were tired from all the walking and queuing, it did not hinder our memorable and busy day. Thank you for reading and til my next blog! :)