Good morning Singapore and the only respond I got is just the buzz of the news on TV and the pelts of heavy rain against the windows. By that, signaling the ‘no jalan-jalan’ sign. I hate the rainy season. I mean it is okay if the rainy season is experienced while I am at my ex highschool MJSC Kuantan because it gives me a reason to sleep everything off during heavy downpours ESPECIALLY the evenings despite the upcoming SPM exams, oh how nostalgic that feeling was.
But let us move on to the present shall we? So now our plans planned last night was ruined, RUINED! You see, in Singapore, everything is achieved with the public transports, so there needs to be a lot of walking and waiting.
So now given that I got nothing to do, let us recap on the events that occurred in the previous days.
Among the highlights of this holiday them is obviously the trip to Universal Studios Singapore. Well among the memories there apart the really good food (Chilli Fries and humongous Friar Special Kebabs) is of course the double Battlestar Galactica roller coasters, I still remember the saliva practically flying out of my mouth as the coaster went towards a barrel roll then a double loop to a sharp turn, all that whilst hanging meters from the ground.
The 4 hour excursion to the 6 malls around the hotels was very enlightening. Well it made me realize that the shopping experience in Malaysia is still at an infant stage in compared to the amenities and brands on display in the malls. I mean, even in the most basic malls(The Bugis Junction) have a Topman boutique, Gap and Bossini. Not to forget, the open shopping area had only top brands on sale. And although the clothings are obviously pricey, you get really good designs and quality clothing. You see, the Topmans in Malaysia only have killer price tags an them but the designs and colors are simply put, SHIT. But here, loads of attractive special edition clothings and beautiful products for the fashionistas and shopaholics. Even the Cotton On boutiques had a much more vast selection of clothings from various colors to choose from. And for the first time, I aid my eyes on the REAL special edition Converse shoes with all the leather skin and zips(hardcore much!), I mean, when do you see shoes with leather shoelaces!? Shoes with clear plastic soles? Or maybe skull studs? No? yeah the Cons(shortform for Converse) here have them. Also not to mention the wide selections available which you may say identical to Converse boutiques in Malaysia, but let me tell you, In Malaysia, you DO get wide selection but most of them are rubbish as the designs are too simple and clichéd. Unlike the Cons here that all are updated with the latest designs and colors worthy of their price(they are not cheap, but very quality footwear).
Maybe another highlight is the Zam Zam mamak eatery. The 100 year restaurant offers the best ‘murtabak’ in town. And just like t-shirts, they have sizes for the various body sizes of people(S,M and L). And the ‘S’ size as you know are like 2 Malaysian ‘muratabaks’(WTH!).
Well it is now 9.40a.m and I’m bored. So bye, I’m going to sleep. Adios
I’m back typing this post on Microsoft Word, the flight has been delayed to 7.00 p.m and now is 5.55 p.m on the dot which is bad because laptops have things called batteries and they don’t last long enough for you to babble everything in a blog post so yeah, I hate you Air Asia, period! (XD)
Well exactly after the ‘adios’ above, the rain suddenly subsided for a mere 15 minutes which we took the opportunity to walk to the nearby toy museum. About the trip there, I think no one likes museum so I’m just going to summarize on it, just to share fragments of it, enough to give a vivid visual of the place. The Mint Toy Museum is actually a 5 storey shop lot converted to a restaurant cum bar at the ground floor and lower ground and a museum in the 1-5th floors. Toys on display ae actually from the ‘Tuk Kaduk’ era where TV’s still don’t have color and High Definition Is merely just a dream. From miniature Mickey Mouse dolls to towering life size Darth Maul figure, they got a compendium of toys from all over the world. And trust me, each toy I believe that was on display there can cost as much as 25’000 Singapore Dollars. Time had made it from useless knick knacks and toys to coveted collectors items.
And again we had a stop at the Singapore Zam Zam Restaurant(check the post at Day 1 if u want to know more) for a lunch. We learned from our mistakes and this time ordered 2 large murtabaks(deer and chicken). Well the deer(actually deer meat is called venison) tasted like chunks of McD’s cheeseburger meat, only a much more fresher taste and if you already followed this post from day 1 or you had tried this Mamak Restaurant before, you would know how large and tasty it is.
Later we did our prayers at the nearby Sultan Mosque and took a detour to the Bugis Junction to kill time since we had checked out from the hotel. Mum said she was tired walking so we went for desert at Swensens at the ground floor. Hey at first I thought it would be very expensive and pricey but again, looks can be very deceiving. I had a sundae which comprised of 2 scoops of Oreo ice cream and a scoop of Butterscotch with toppings of Swensens Choco balls,wafer and Choc syrup. And it costed $8.90 which I believe is expensive if converted to Ringgits but from a perspective of a Singaporean, much more cheaper than the average Baskin Robin 3 scooper with no topping.
And then after the cab ride and checking out, here I am at the waiting hall finishing the last sentences of this post. So that’s the end of my holiday days from across the strait, may more sweet memories like this come by again in my life and lastly, so long. That’s all from me,adios.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Those Singapore Holiday Days : Day 3
tThe third day here was also exhausting yet exhilarating as the previous 2 days. With us again going to Sentosa Island in the morning and spent time there till the evening which activities would be elaborated below.
Underwater World Singapore was our first stop as we alighted from the cable car. At first sight I thought that it’s a turndown because of the lack of the size of the facility. But then looks could be deceiving as I later found out that it really was identical to Aquaria KLCC. But then it had better services and a friendlier environment than its Kuala Lumpur counterpart. At its lobby there are 3 open tanks for touching and feeding. One for small fishes, big stingrays and another for sharks (small ones obviously).
Again, Adik was a scaredy cat to touch even the gentle saltwater catfishes. Oh, I touched stingrays and found out they’re very slimy and cute in a way! Although the 1.3 metre long tail and spine kind of worries me, but aside that, it was enjoyable to give them a stroke and feed them. Oh and the they didn’t let people dip their hands in the shark tanks even when their tanks are OPENED! But then I knew, those were only for feeding purposes, and they fed the sharks using long clamps.
The dolphin show we attended briefly after we arrived was okay. I mean the dolphins are skilled and the sea lions are cute. Plus the show was conducted very smoothly. But the reason I rated it as ‘okay’ is just because of the fact that they are actually using tha animals to gain profit. I mean, I know they care and feed for the dolphins and sea lions but hey, They are is proof how manipulative the human race can be. I mean, rather than teaching dolphins to clap and jump, we should be working towards their well being. Only loud words and cheesy ads about saving wildlife but just procrastinating on working towards it is just, sorry to say, a fistful of assholes and bullshit.
Even the sheer numbers of visitors packing the place like a tin of sardines also concerns me. By that I mean don’t the fishes get stressed? They’re very delicate creatures. Well, but what can I do anyway?(sigh). I just pray they’re in good caring hands. So yeah, Underwater World was not really joyful for me because of the fact there are tanks and ponds holding them instead of the big blue ocean.
Enough of the emotional expression (LOL), we then walked to the beach just across the road. Very surprisingly, the beach is connected to the country’s main harbor, yet the water is far greener and clearer than waters at Kuantan and Langkawi! The emerald green water and presence of Sargasso seaweeds are proof that the pollution level is still low. Because the beaches I knew in Malaysia which had undergone a very much less process of modernization in compared to Singapore had very tainted beaches with the trash and murky ‘teh tarik’ or unhealthy olive green coloured water, for example, Pantai Morib ,Port Dickson, or Port Klang. So shortly said, WTH!
After that, Mum suggested we go for a try at the CineBlast. Got to shoot while rodeo-riding at the Desperados, rode a lame roller coaster 4D ride at Log Blast Expedition, and enjoyed an ‘okay’ Pirate 4D movie. Well what can I say? I’m really not into 4D and 3D(being short sighted makes it hard to wear the 3D glasses with your eyeglasses on.
But the lunch we had at the Banquet food court in Vivo City was really sweet! The food was fantsticaliciously marvelous. Me and Adik bought the Cockle Fried Koay Teow which I can tell you is a must try dish here, and Mum bought mixed Tom Yam Bihun. Well the Bihun Tom Yam Bihun sounds ordinary but trust me, it’s among the most quality Tom Yam we’ve ever tasted, yes, everyone in our family tried the Tom Yam and everyone complimented the same thing. So this proves a hipothesis, the food in Singapore is quite pricey and that’s a fact, but they come in LARGE portions and HIGH quality. So why grumble? It’s worth the money because it’s good food!
Well tonight, I’m not doing anything. Actually I planned to go for a trip to Orchard Road for a visit at the malls there. But then a downpour started and until now, no signs of it going away. So yeah, I’m just going to spend my night in front of this laptop while chatting with friends and her. And that’s just it for tonight. Adios
Underwater World Singapore was our first stop as we alighted from the cable car. At first sight I thought that it’s a turndown because of the lack of the size of the facility. But then looks could be deceiving as I later found out that it really was identical to Aquaria KLCC. But then it had better services and a friendlier environment than its Kuala Lumpur counterpart. At its lobby there are 3 open tanks for touching and feeding. One for small fishes, big stingrays and another for sharks (small ones obviously).
Again, Adik was a scaredy cat to touch even the gentle saltwater catfishes. Oh, I touched stingrays and found out they’re very slimy and cute in a way! Although the 1.3 metre long tail and spine kind of worries me, but aside that, it was enjoyable to give them a stroke and feed them. Oh and the they didn’t let people dip their hands in the shark tanks even when their tanks are OPENED! But then I knew, those were only for feeding purposes, and they fed the sharks using long clamps.
The dolphin show we attended briefly after we arrived was okay. I mean the dolphins are skilled and the sea lions are cute. Plus the show was conducted very smoothly. But the reason I rated it as ‘okay’ is just because of the fact that they are actually using tha animals to gain profit. I mean, I know they care and feed for the dolphins and sea lions but hey, They are is proof how manipulative the human race can be. I mean, rather than teaching dolphins to clap and jump, we should be working towards their well being. Only loud words and cheesy ads about saving wildlife but just procrastinating on working towards it is just, sorry to say, a fistful of assholes and bullshit.
Even the sheer numbers of visitors packing the place like a tin of sardines also concerns me. By that I mean don’t the fishes get stressed? They’re very delicate creatures. Well, but what can I do anyway?(sigh). I just pray they’re in good caring hands. So yeah, Underwater World was not really joyful for me because of the fact there are tanks and ponds holding them instead of the big blue ocean.
Enough of the emotional expression (LOL), we then walked to the beach just across the road. Very surprisingly, the beach is connected to the country’s main harbor, yet the water is far greener and clearer than waters at Kuantan and Langkawi! The emerald green water and presence of Sargasso seaweeds are proof that the pollution level is still low. Because the beaches I knew in Malaysia which had undergone a very much less process of modernization in compared to Singapore had very tainted beaches with the trash and murky ‘teh tarik’ or unhealthy olive green coloured water, for example, Pantai Morib ,Port Dickson, or Port Klang. So shortly said, WTH!
After that, Mum suggested we go for a try at the CineBlast. Got to shoot while rodeo-riding at the Desperados, rode a lame roller coaster 4D ride at Log Blast Expedition, and enjoyed an ‘okay’ Pirate 4D movie. Well what can I say? I’m really not into 4D and 3D(being short sighted makes it hard to wear the 3D glasses with your eyeglasses on.
But the lunch we had at the Banquet food court in Vivo City was really sweet! The food was fantsticaliciously marvelous. Me and Adik bought the Cockle Fried Koay Teow which I can tell you is a must try dish here, and Mum bought mixed Tom Yam Bihun. Well the Bihun Tom Yam Bihun sounds ordinary but trust me, it’s among the most quality Tom Yam we’ve ever tasted, yes, everyone in our family tried the Tom Yam and everyone complimented the same thing. So this proves a hipothesis, the food in Singapore is quite pricey and that’s a fact, but they come in LARGE portions and HIGH quality. So why grumble? It’s worth the money because it’s good food!
Well tonight, I’m not doing anything. Actually I planned to go for a trip to Orchard Road for a visit at the malls there. But then a downpour started and until now, no signs of it going away. So yeah, I’m just going to spend my night in front of this laptop while chatting with friends and her. And that’s just it for tonight. Adios
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Those Singapore Holiday Days : Day 2
as i set aside my soaked clothes and stretch out my legs. And buried my body under the covers after prayers for a quick siesta.
If the tapes are rewinded and played again from the start of the day, minus the waking up and all the nonsense about the breakfast and bath time. My family took a bus to a mall nearby Sentosa Island which from there we took a monorail to the island. Oh yeah i tasted the Fanta Peach fizzy drink and damn it was good!(I prefer anything peach or guava flavoured).
And since noone ever talked to me about the rides there nor i had ever heard about experiences on the rides there, might as well talk about it here. So it started when Adik and i got to the Far Far Away part of the Universal Studios, the first coaster we got on was the small dragon coaster. And that is Rated 35 over 100 for my Adrenaline list.
Next is then indoor Mummy coaster in the Ancient Egypt part. well they used real flames, so i was quite impressed, and it was also the first time i experienced a backward moving coaster and that rotated!(IMPRESSED!). Well for that, it scored a meager 67 over 100.
In the Jurassic Park area, the Canopy Ride was kind of a bummer, expected curves, and low speed with a lack of track length. And it barely gave Adik a shake eventhough he’s such a scaredy cat(actually he’s got a phobia with height or plain ‘gayat’). Summary for it is a 16 over 100.
Okay now these coasters impress me, but they’re kind of contenders because they’re side by side(creative idea). Yes, the Battlestar Galactica themed coaster, High velocity, belly-churning, tummy-wobbling coaster. There are 2 sides, one are Human and the other Cylon. For Human, the tracks are red while Cylons are blue. And the coaster for Human is a carriage type coaster and the other is a hanging coaster. So obviously, the Cylon wins. And they also score a high point which is 79 for Human and 84 for Cylon. Why?well the fact that it’s hanging makes it more scarier. Plus, the loops are really scary and up to a point, i really felt like everything was about to spill out from me.
That night, Mum took us out for shopping(she wanted to exercise actually). And Adik said Levi’s had a sale(the pants had prices of 39.90$ OMG!!!). So we went, dressed in tracks, selipar jepun and cardie plus shirt, we walked, seriously there are half a dozen malls around 100 metres radius from our hotel and does not include Orchard Road. So we checked out and below are the details.
So get out your calculators and count with me. a S’pore dollar is 2.1 to 2.4 ish if converted to RM. And the brand Denizen by Levi’s had an offer for 2 pants for 99$ and a third one for 20$. so guess what, u end up spending 119$ for 3 pants, which is equals to RM240-RM270. So they are standard prices for less branded jeans in Malaysia(‘untung’ right?)and Adik bought 2 jeans for 99$ and i used the 20$ for a third pant, a Chinoz Cut Brown Khaki. And did a stopover at Levi’s to grab also a Denizen by Levi’s jeans for 29.90$. So whch means i spent 50$ for 2 jeans, which meant i spent RM120-RM140 for 2 jeans(MORE ‘UNTUNG’!). And by the way, sorry Shaf, couldn;tt get you a jeans, I got no allowance.
And now, goodnight world. I think i’ll update more and more elaborations in other posts. Okay? Adios!
If the tapes are rewinded and played again from the start of the day, minus the waking up and all the nonsense about the breakfast and bath time. My family took a bus to a mall nearby Sentosa Island which from there we took a monorail to the island. Oh yeah i tasted the Fanta Peach fizzy drink and damn it was good!(I prefer anything peach or guava flavoured).
And since noone ever talked to me about the rides there nor i had ever heard about experiences on the rides there, might as well talk about it here. So it started when Adik and i got to the Far Far Away part of the Universal Studios, the first coaster we got on was the small dragon coaster. And that is Rated 35 over 100 for my Adrenaline list.
Next is then indoor Mummy coaster in the Ancient Egypt part. well they used real flames, so i was quite impressed, and it was also the first time i experienced a backward moving coaster and that rotated!(IMPRESSED!). Well for that, it scored a meager 67 over 100.
In the Jurassic Park area, the Canopy Ride was kind of a bummer, expected curves, and low speed with a lack of track length. And it barely gave Adik a shake eventhough he’s such a scaredy cat(actually he’s got a phobia with height or plain ‘gayat’). Summary for it is a 16 over 100.
Okay now these coasters impress me, but they’re kind of contenders because they’re side by side(creative idea). Yes, the Battlestar Galactica themed coaster, High velocity, belly-churning, tummy-wobbling coaster. There are 2 sides, one are Human and the other Cylon. For Human, the tracks are red while Cylons are blue. And the coaster for Human is a carriage type coaster and the other is a hanging coaster. So obviously, the Cylon wins. And they also score a high point which is 79 for Human and 84 for Cylon. Why?well the fact that it’s hanging makes it more scarier. Plus, the loops are really scary and up to a point, i really felt like everything was about to spill out from me.
That night, Mum took us out for shopping(she wanted to exercise actually). And Adik said Levi’s had a sale(the pants had prices of 39.90$ OMG!!!). So we went, dressed in tracks, selipar jepun and cardie plus shirt, we walked, seriously there are half a dozen malls around 100 metres radius from our hotel and does not include Orchard Road. So we checked out and below are the details.
So get out your calculators and count with me. a S’pore dollar is 2.1 to 2.4 ish if converted to RM. And the brand Denizen by Levi’s had an offer for 2 pants for 99$ and a third one for 20$. so guess what, u end up spending 119$ for 3 pants, which is equals to RM240-RM270. So they are standard prices for less branded jeans in Malaysia(‘untung’ right?)and Adik bought 2 jeans for 99$ and i used the 20$ for a third pant, a Chinoz Cut Brown Khaki. And did a stopover at Levi’s to grab also a Denizen by Levi’s jeans for 29.90$. So whch means i spent 50$ for 2 jeans, which meant i spent RM120-RM140 for 2 jeans(MORE ‘UNTUNG’!). And by the way, sorry Shaf, couldn;tt get you a jeans, I got no allowance.
And now, goodnight world. I think i’ll update more and more elaborations in other posts. Okay? Adios!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Those Singapore Holiday Days : Day 1
I think the travel part oh this holiday is quite normal so guess ill keep it short to quickly get to the juicy parts. A flight at 8.30 a.m to Changi International Airport. Took a cab to Park View Hotel and checked in. blahblahblah and we rolled out 5 minutes right after we set our bags in the hotel room.
The visit to the Zam Zam Murtabak that morning right before Jumaat prayers there was sure sweet. Mutton ‘murtabak’ was my choice followed by chicken ones by Mum and Dad and a beef ‘murtabak’ by Adik. And since all of us already had our very early lunch at the airport earlier, we told the ‘mamak’ to just give us the small choice.
Well when the orders arrived, well we finally found what was the definition for ‘small’ was. The ‘murtabak ‘s’ ‘S’ size was an ‘XXL’ murtabak loaded with fatty goodness. But despite all my criticism on the size, I’d like to stress that it really was a near perfect murtabak(really not anything I’ve ever tasted). The mutton filling was stir fried first AND THEN enveloped in a crispy coating of ‘roti canai’ and eggs. And the huge portions they come in means that it really was worth the hefty price of $6.00. and even the chicken murtabak use REAL shredded chickens! Unlike the ground chicken filling and the overload of eggs they use in Malaysia. And later I learned they used olive oil in their murtabak. WOW, Healthy much?
On that evening, I slipped on my running shoes and decided to explore the chain of malls behind the hotel we were staying in. Yes, not ‘chains of shops’, it is ‘chains of malls’!
The Bugis Junction is a strip mall along Bugis Road and is connected with the Intercontinental Strip which is connected to the ILUMA(a newly built mall) and a much more humbler shopping strip surprisingly having a resemblance to Petaling Street(only cleaner).
So when the topic about malls are touched, there must be shopping involved right? Well, me being more keen on shopping on clothings have roamed the malls stated above! And to my surprise, the summary about the prices in 2 words is just this, ‘Mahal Gila!’.
But then of course, the brands that were displayed are just not any brands. Topshop and Topman with all its modern limited edition clothing, Converse boutiques with its new leather collector sneakers, and even brands from where the heck I didn’t even knew about. And a surprising fact, the rate of me stumbling upon a Giordano boutique here is equals to stumbling to a Bata shop in Malaysia. Summarized, shopping really is taken to whole new level here.
And a whole other myriads of clothing boutiques with such names that i didn’t have any time to memorize(just sooo much to see but so little time, plus it was raining).
So here i am, typing this thing on the bed before going to sleep, gnite Nono <3
Well that’s for today..promise ill update for day 2,3 and 4 sooner or later..g’bye y’all
The visit to the Zam Zam Murtabak that morning right before Jumaat prayers there was sure sweet. Mutton ‘murtabak’ was my choice followed by chicken ones by Mum and Dad and a beef ‘murtabak’ by Adik. And since all of us already had our very early lunch at the airport earlier, we told the ‘mamak’ to just give us the small choice.
Well when the orders arrived, well we finally found what was the definition for ‘small’ was. The ‘murtabak ‘s’ ‘S’ size was an ‘XXL’ murtabak loaded with fatty goodness. But despite all my criticism on the size, I’d like to stress that it really was a near perfect murtabak(really not anything I’ve ever tasted). The mutton filling was stir fried first AND THEN enveloped in a crispy coating of ‘roti canai’ and eggs. And the huge portions they come in means that it really was worth the hefty price of $6.00. and even the chicken murtabak use REAL shredded chickens! Unlike the ground chicken filling and the overload of eggs they use in Malaysia. And later I learned they used olive oil in their murtabak. WOW, Healthy much?
On that evening, I slipped on my running shoes and decided to explore the chain of malls behind the hotel we were staying in. Yes, not ‘chains of shops’, it is ‘chains of malls’!
The Bugis Junction is a strip mall along Bugis Road and is connected with the Intercontinental Strip which is connected to the ILUMA(a newly built mall) and a much more humbler shopping strip surprisingly having a resemblance to Petaling Street(only cleaner).
So when the topic about malls are touched, there must be shopping involved right? Well, me being more keen on shopping on clothings have roamed the malls stated above! And to my surprise, the summary about the prices in 2 words is just this, ‘Mahal Gila!’.
But then of course, the brands that were displayed are just not any brands. Topshop and Topman with all its modern limited edition clothing, Converse boutiques with its new leather collector sneakers, and even brands from where the heck I didn’t even knew about. And a surprising fact, the rate of me stumbling upon a Giordano boutique here is equals to stumbling to a Bata shop in Malaysia. Summarized, shopping really is taken to whole new level here.
And a whole other myriads of clothing boutiques with such names that i didn’t have any time to memorize(just sooo much to see but so little time, plus it was raining).
So here i am, typing this thing on the bed before going to sleep, gnite Nono <3
Well that’s for today..promise ill update for day 2,3 and 4 sooner or later..g’bye y’all
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