Friday, January 28, 2011

Singapore Retreat - Chinatown [Part 6]

13 December 2010 @ Chinatown, Singapore

It was our last day in Singapore and the day without our tourguide. It was kinda a last minute decision to pay a visit to the Chinatown in the morning before we check out of the hotel. Had breakfast at hotel first.

Choice of American Breakfast or Noodles.
Both comes with toast and drinks

We took the MRT to 牛车水 Chinatown Station and were quite happy to see stalls opened for business in the early morning.


Not many people were on the streets yet. So we get to take our time to leisurely walk around and hunt for souvenirs.


At the end of the streets, there are some information board which told the history of the Chinatown streets. Smith Street was used to be a Red Lanterns & Private Chambers area while Sago Lane was known as the Streets of the Dead (old and sick people go there to wait for their time to die)


We walked around some more and found that you can really get a whoop of cheap stuff without even bargaining. Of course if you'll get more discounts if you can negotiate well.

JooLi & I

Old buildings still exists

There is also a very famous Hindu temple that's just sitting beside the Chinatown. The name of the temple is Sri Mariammam Temple which is more than 100 years old now. I didn't go inside but I admire the architecture and all the carvings on that building. Brilliant.


Further up stood another temple, this time a Buddhist temple named Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. It's so big that we had to cross the road to take the photo of the whole building. I didn't go in there either, but again the structure is beautiful.


We headed back to Chinatown for a round of ice-cream potong. Can't resist the S$1 ice cream lah. As soon as we bought the ice-cream, cats and dogs started pouring from the sky. LUCKILY, I brought an umbrella in my bag. *phew*


We walked through the shades of the stalls and with the help of my umbrella, we didn't get very wet. We managed to cross over to the other side and bought another roti stuff to eat.


The rain stopped after a while. We quickly head back to our hotel to check out, took our luggages and went to catch our bus back to KL.

our lunch

There isn't much things to eat at the bus terminal. But at least we get to fill our tummy before the 5 hours bus ride back home.

our bus

watch Desparate Housewives together *yawns*

I slept through the whole journey back to KL. It's quite comfortable actually. My only advise is to bring your own earphones if you planned to watch movies on the bus.

Imported from Singapore!

Nothing much that we bought from Singapore. Brought back memories, experience and to me, meeting up with my buddies whom I'm not meeting up very often with. Well, that's the end of my Singapore Retreat. Can't wait to go on my next holiday already!! Billy, out.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Singapore Retreat - Marina Bay Walk [Part 5]

12 December 2010 @ Marina Bay

The sky was getting dark when we left Sentosa Island, and we're supposed to meet up with Kuan and MinBee at 9pm at City Hall. So we rushed back to the hotel to clean up and cooked instant noodles for dinner in the speed of light. Yum! Yum!


After our quick dinner, we head on to the MRT again to get to City Hall. There we met up again with Kuan and MinBee and walk all the way to the Esplanade aka The Durians by the locals.


Along Marina Bay we walked, we could see more beautiful architectures proudly standing in the southern part of central Singapore.

With the new Marina Bay Sands

Then we reached the Merlion Park where the only Merlion that shoots water was sitting at. Did you know that the little Merlion behind this big Merlion is also recognized by the Tourism board of Singapore?


We then decided to get to Marina Bay Sands Hotel by foot. A very very very long walk from the Merlion Park.

A big bouquet of stars

The night view of Singapore is really stunning, at least to me. The streets were calm and clean, skyscrapers were all lit up and the reflection on the water was perfect. Love it.


After tens of thousands of miles of walking, we finally reached the hotel that people whoa-ed about a lot lately. Our feet almost broke into pieces.


As soon as we reached, we have to part with Kuan and MinBee because the next day is a working day and it's going to be midnight soon. We bid farewell and continue on the exploration at the hotel.

Interior of Marina Bay Sands

Next to the hotel was a huge shopping mall - The Shoppes. Duh! Singapore is a shopping haven, sure got shopping mall lah! But some parts were still in construction and there's a mini "river" flowing around the mall.


We wanted to take a look inside the casino too. It was a long queue going in though it's already past midnight.

Well, there aren't any photos inside the casino as nobody is allowed to snap pictures. But I can tell you the place is gorgeous. You can look down from the upper level and see all the tables sitting side by side and people serving drinks all around. The place is really big.


I didn't have much money to spare so I didn't gamble any. Just walked around the place and head back to the hotel afterwards. Lining up for a taxi took us another 30 minutes... We were so exhausted that day that we just dropped dead on the bed as soon as we reach our hotel. Billy, out.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Singapore Retreat - Sentosa Island [Part 4]

12 December 2010 @ Sentosa Island, Singapore

It's the second day in Singapore and we decided to spend the whole day in Sentosa Island. Had quick breakfast at the hotel and head on to the MRT to Vivo City. It was only 9am on a Sunday morning and the train station is full of people.


We reached Vivo City and met up with Kuan and MinBee again. Went around taking some photos. The deco there are quite cool though.

JooLi and I @ Gingerbread House

MinBee, Kuan, Me & JooLi @ Rooftop of Vivo City

Then we bought train tickets to go to Sentosa Island. Again, the station is packed with homosapiens... 90% of the passengers were going to Universal Studio. That explains the signboard below.


We got down at the Waterfront station and the first thing we saw was the biggest Merlion in Singapore. That was the only thing I remembered as a kid the last time I went there.


We headed towards the beach and made a few stops along the way.

JooLi & Marley the Merlion

Buddies Pose

Meditating?

Ringing the Bells

Then I saw this fenced up area with lots of big pictures. One of 'em caught my attention - a flying dog!! Awww so cute!!


The only attraction that we paid for was the Luge. I've always wanted to try this Luge thing. It's like sledging down the snow but this is without the snow of course. Each of us paid S$17 for 2 rides.

Luge Stamped

Going up

Coming down!!

Kuan stopped in the middle of the track to take photo for us. It's illegal... so shhhhhhhhh....

Finish Line

We went on walking along the Siloso beach towards the Underwater World.

Wave House - as seen on The Amazing Race Asia Season 4
I want to play this!!

Ben & Jerry's - Another thing that I've been wanting to try
It's super duper meltilicious!!

Our Lunch - Hot Dog King

After lunch, we took the free bus around Sentosa to get to the Southern Most Point of Continental Asia. Quite a stunning view from the lookout tower there.


It was too hot to play on the beach so we had Starbucks to cool ourselves down. Kuan and MinBee went back after that as they're celebrating Kuan's sister's birthday that evening. JooLi and I head on to explore the unexplored.

Strong Kuli and Weak Kuli

We went up to Imbiah Lookout and then Silosa Beach. It was in a big mess as they had a big beach party [Zouk Out 2010] the whole night before we went there.


Finally I get to swim in the water and lie down on the sandy beach. I really like the sun and the sound of waves rolling in the sea.

Little turtles

We didn't spend much time in the water. Washed up and decided to drop by Universal Studio though we don't have the tickets to go in.

Universal Studio!! punya entrance

There's quite a large area that we can access without a ticket. There're a few interesting shops there, mostly candy/chocolates stores. So we managed to snapped a few photos before going back to town.

She found some new friends

I found some new friends too!

Remember I said 90% of the crowd were at Universal Studio? Yup, it's crazy leaving that place! We rushed back to the hotel for dinner and gotta head out again to the Marina Bay!! That'll be the next post. Billy, out.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Singapore Retreat - Light It Up Orchard [Part 3]

11 December 2010 @ Orchard Road

Only after the Singapore Zoo that we checked into the hotel. We stayed at the Fragrance Hotel Imperial, small but cozy. They even have a DVD player in the room!


We took a quick shower and head out again to Orchard Road. I've hearing from a lot of people that the lightings are magnifico. Thus, wanna see 'em with my own eyes.

JooLi & I @ Orchard

Christmas Carol

Ion Orchard

She's playing the harp

He blew the French Horn

Nah, you got your Tiffany & Co. present already~

Along the Orchard Road, all I can see are blue lights and blue Christmas trees. Perhaps we didn't go far to see the other roads as we were on foot. Perhaps we'll be able to see more if we take a bus around town.

Yummy Ice cream Potong

Gigantic bobbles and bell

We crossed over the road to Paragon and Lucky Plaza and I found a couple of these shops!

Strictly for Adults only

We went around the plaza to hunt for stuffs while waiting for Kuan and MinBee to reach. Later on, we had Korean food at Takashimaya.

So kiamsiap don't let us refill the vege wa.... hmph!

We walked some more hoping to see a different colour of deco on the street but it was a let down. The only other colour we saw was purple, which is very close to blue...


Purple Christmas Tree


The road is endless and the shopping malls lining up as if there is no end to it. Our feet were screaming and we decided to head back to hotel for a rest. An early morning out to Sentosa on the next day. Billy, out.
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