Yeah I just got back to Cupertino two days ago. So friggin jetlag, even till now. I only slept for 5 hours last night. Anyway, I'm here back to my slowly-awakening story telling mode, after a long time of being laconic. Well, let's just get started.
After spending nearly one and half month in Jakarta, I finally got to spend my last weekend in Asia not in Indonesia, but I picked a destination slightly further from the capital and out of the country border. Yup, Singapore is the one!! I haven't been there for years so it's really a thrill to finally pay our neighboring country a visit, especially I feel like Singapore is my third home (with Cupertino being the first and, Jakarta the second).
Spending one and a half month in Jakarta when you're on holiday - by any means, not doing anything in weekdays when your friends attend classes in their unis - can be hella boring. So going to Singapore is pretty much like giving me fresh air after being stuck in the messy capital city for a quite long time.
My parents and I booked the ticket exactly a week before departure. We first thought of going there on Lebaran week, but considering that there would be an explosion of people going out of town for vacation, chances to get tickets would lessen as well. So a week after Lebaran would be great cos tickets would be easier to find.
Anyway, my dad and I departed on Friday, September 16, 2011 on 9:30 am by Sriwijaya Air. Mom would catch up in the evening since she couldn't miss a day of work. There's actually a quite surprising moment on the plane. In an hour-long flight, I reckoned there wouldn't be any meals served, but apparently, there was. And even better, it's a HEAVY meal.
A slice of cake, some grapes, and the entree, traditional fried rice with sunnyside egg and spicy fried potatoes.
Sriwijaya Air I think I'm in love with you.
Nuff said.
Sriwijaya Air I think I'm in love with you.
Nuff said.
We arrived at Changi at around 12-ish and decided to take a ride to the hotel by MRT. Oh how I miss this transportation. But since all MRT stops were nowhere really close to the hotel, we needed to stop at the closest stop (that's even quite far from the hotel) and take a taxi to the hotel. We picked Bugis to be our stop and hailed a taxi from there to the hotel.
Our hotel was located at the riverside, near Clarke Quay to be exact. Clarke Quay is a tourist attraction with many unique-themed restaurants. But if you want to dine there, you need to consider your budget cos the place is constantly dominated by foreign tourists, which means....
Anyway, I checked in with my dad at around 1.30 pm. The room was nice and all, but I was panicking over my phone which apparently didn't work in Singapore. But that wasn't just the problem. I had an appointment with my friends in an hour and I needed to get in contact with them. My phone received no signal. So I decided to swap with my dad's temporarily.
At around 2.30 pm, I went straight to Orchard Road to meet up with Eileena and Bella at Lucky Plaza, while my dad was still figuring out how to get my phone works. I give him credit for that...
Gong Cha bubble tea somewhere in Orchard Road.
Soooo darn delicious!
Then we went to Cineleisure and found a purikura booth. We decided to give it a try.
The result wasn't so bad. I kinda like how it turns out cos it automatically gives the effect of brighter skin and bolder, larger eyes, like the ones you see on cute Japanese girls (after all Purikura comes from Japan). Well, in short, it's cute! And we even got the chance to decorate each pics. The two below are randomly chosen.
From Cineleisure, we strolled down to another mall connected to Cineleisure. I don't know the name. Seriously, after landing in Singapore and getting to look around, I think the label "the city with most malls" should go to Singapore instead of Jakarta. I mean, Orchard Road is literally a road with rows of malls lining on its sides!
Oh and yes we spotted Mr Jung Yong Hwa aka the famous singer of CN Blue.
Looking good as always. I forgot what ad this is.
It was approaching 5.00 pm and we thought of having afternoon snacks. So we stopped by at a nearly crowded food court, found ourselves some seats and tried on this carrot cake. Nom nom.
The meeting ended up short cos Bella had a dinner plan with her family, and I had an appointment with my cousin coming up on 7. So I needed to rush to Bugis Junction to meet up with her. Beforehand, Eileena and I took Bella to her hotel where her family had already waited for her at the lobby. Then I was off to see my dad in front of 313 mall who was ready to take me to Bugis Junction by MRT.
And...I finally got to meet Monika, my cousin, at Bugis Junction, while my dad was leaving to pick up my mom somewhere (since she would be arriving in Singapore around late afternoon) Monika and I haven't met for nearly 8 months and she's currently studying dance in a prestigious art academy in Singapore. Look she's getting taller!
It's really sweet to finally meet her after 8 months. We're really close so you can imagine what it's like to finally reunite after a long time. Such an overwhelming feeling. Talking about sisterhood. Yeah I love her SOOOO much.
And...I finally got to meet Monika, my cousin, at Bugis Junction, while my dad was leaving to pick up my mom somewhere (since she would be arriving in Singapore around late afternoon) Monika and I haven't met for nearly 8 months and she's currently studying dance in a prestigious art academy in Singapore. Look she's getting taller!
It's really sweet to finally meet her after 8 months. We're really close so you can imagine what it's like to finally reunite after a long time. Such an overwhelming feeling. Talking about sisterhood. Yeah I love her SOOOO much.
We basically just sat at the foodcourt while having dinner. I finally fulfilled one of my wishes that I hoped I could do in Singapore, which is to have a bite of its special fishball noodle soup!
Woops. Spotted: a receipt at the right hand corner of the pic :p
We spent the rest of the night just hanging out in Bugis Junction and Bugis Street, a row of shops located just Bugis Junction (The Junction's more like a mall, while the Street takes form of a marketplace selling items in lower price). I went crazy over the relatively cheap and clothes with good styles! It was unbelievable to see Monika - who lives nearby - did the same thing too. I ended up buying a nice $7 striped top and Monika got herself a different top with the same price and a wallet...WITH THE SAME PRICE!
I'm loving Singapore even more, especially I haven't explored Bugis Street before. So this place's kinda new to me.
The night was young but the half of the stores was already closed by the time we reached the Junction, leaving some restaurants opened till - maybe - midnight. I didn't know they close early at Singapore, unlike some places, which stay open till dawn especially on the weekend. I took a taxi back to the hotel, bidding Monika goodbye. We need to wait for another year to meet since we couldn't possibly meet the other day (she was so occupied with the whole Dance symposium she was participating that weekend, she even - I guess - sneaked out to see me. Love her even more).
Once I got back to the hotel, I was sooooo surprised to see my hotel room empty. My parents weren't there. Apparently my mom's flight happened to be delayed and I had to wait for them till around 11. When they reached my hotel room, my mom decided to get some rest while...my appetite suddenly kicked in. *horror music on*
My dad - who was also hungry all of a sudden - decided that we should look for something to eat that late evening. AMEN, it's not just me!!!!
We strolled around the famous riverside that we could access through the hotel's restaurant's door to see if there were some restaurants open. Across the river was a sophisticated looking German cafe - Bacchus - that provides beer and liquors with subtle, somehow exclusive vibe. I could see some young adults were sipping on their beer taken from a giant pitcher, and some couples had a warm talk with their wines before them on the table.
At first I was tempted to dine in since they had this bunch selection of fine, imported white wines, but since it lacks of family-friendly atmosphere, we decided to skip it.
Some part of the German cafe I talked about
Since no more restaurants were spotted around, we decided to go back to the hotel and had our midnight snack at the hotel's restaurant. I had cream soup for the appetizer then, my dad and I shared a super giant spaghetti! I mean, the size was totally ridiculous it even exceeded the space in the plate. I remembered mentioning the word "shared" to the maître d’ in hopes the spaghetti would come in a standard one portion. But apparently the maître d’ mistook the word "shared" and possibly interpreted it as in "two portions of spaghetti in a plate". Gee. No wonder.
I'm loving Singapore even more, especially I haven't explored Bugis Street before. So this place's kinda new to me.
The night was young but the half of the stores was already closed by the time we reached the Junction, leaving some restaurants opened till - maybe - midnight. I didn't know they close early at Singapore, unlike some places, which stay open till dawn especially on the weekend. I took a taxi back to the hotel, bidding Monika goodbye. We need to wait for another year to meet since we couldn't possibly meet the other day (she was so occupied with the whole Dance symposium she was participating that weekend, she even - I guess - sneaked out to see me. Love her even more).
Once I got back to the hotel, I was sooooo surprised to see my hotel room empty. My parents weren't there. Apparently my mom's flight happened to be delayed and I had to wait for them till around 11. When they reached my hotel room, my mom decided to get some rest while...my appetite suddenly kicked in. *horror music on*
My dad - who was also hungry all of a sudden - decided that we should look for something to eat that late evening. AMEN, it's not just me!!!!
We strolled around the famous riverside that we could access through the hotel's restaurant's door to see if there were some restaurants open. Across the river was a sophisticated looking German cafe - Bacchus - that provides beer and liquors with subtle, somehow exclusive vibe. I could see some young adults were sipping on their beer taken from a giant pitcher, and some couples had a warm talk with their wines before them on the table.
At first I was tempted to dine in since they had this bunch selection of fine, imported white wines, but since it lacks of family-friendly atmosphere, we decided to skip it.
Some part of the German cafe I talked about
Since no more restaurants were spotted around, we decided to go back to the hotel and had our midnight snack at the hotel's restaurant. I had cream soup for the appetizer then, my dad and I shared a super giant spaghetti! I mean, the size was totally ridiculous it even exceeded the space in the plate. I remembered mentioning the word "shared" to the maître d’ in hopes the spaghetti would come in a standard one portion. But apparently the maître d’ mistook the word "shared" and possibly interpreted it as in "two portions of spaghetti in a plate". Gee. No wonder.
Forgive my expressionless face.
I didn't know my dad was taking a picture of moi while waiting for our order.
I didn't know my dad was taking a picture of moi while waiting for our order.
Then I wrapped the night by watching The Haunting in my hotel's room. Can't wait for the other day to come! Another adventure in Singapore awaited!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Total Food consumed that day:
- Sriwijaya Air meal
- Macaroon
- Gong Cha Bubble Tea
- Carrot Cake
- Fishball noodle soup
- Cream soup
- Spaghetti
Wow, Singapore, seriously, do you put some sort of enchantment on your visitors to become big eaters?
-To be continued-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Total Food consumed that day:
- Sriwijaya Air meal
- Macaroon
- Gong Cha Bubble Tea
- Carrot Cake
- Fishball noodle soup
- Cream soup
- Spaghetti
Wow, Singapore, seriously, do you put some sort of enchantment on your visitors to become big eaters?
-To be continued-
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