April 7, 2009
I slept like a baby the night before. It was so good that I can’t believe that it was already 8.20 am. The breakfast buffet would be finished at 9.00 am, so we hurried to the lobby and see what they serve. The whole setting was clean, simple, and young. There was a small vase of white lily that prettifies each table, and the menu looked tempting. Cornflakes, Koko Krunch, and milk are put side by side with orange juice, coffee and tea; then there’s mee hoon with corn, smoked chicken slices, and toasts (yes, plural...since there’s whole-grain bread, plain white bread, and chocolate chip bread) with peanut butter and jelly. I was astonished, such service for such backpackers, I felt so blessed…thanking God for not having chosen the ones in Chinatown or Little India with equal price.
After enjoying the scrumptious breakfast and cleaned up, we went to Far East Plaza (a mall in Orchard Rd. similar like our ITC here in Jakarta). I went out empty handed, while Meme got a couple of cute dresses for a good bargain. When we went outside the building, we found a shocking incident. A man in blue uniform (we guessed he’s the car-parking officer) lying on the ground. He looked unconscious; perhaps he had a heart attack, or an epilepsy…it remained a mystery. I bet it’s not something people can watch everyday in the streets of Sing. That day, Singaporeans, who are normally individualistic characters, lent their hands to help that poor guy. Passing the crowds, we stopped by at an Old Chang Kee stall and bought some fried squid-heads, fish ‘n chips, and fried-crabs while thinking where our next destination should be.
Having all those seafood chomped down, we finally decided to go to Vivo City (the biggest mall in Sin) & take a cable car to Sentosa Island. This place is similar to Ancol with its rides and beaches. We didn’t hop on any rides, but we did take a lot of pictures here and there. We planned to head on Siloso beach, but we were too exhausted to travel on foot. So, we continued our MRT hopping to Chinatown. Once we’re there, we tried to ask some people on the street the location of the Chinatown hawker street, but apparently it was not easy to find an English-speaking person there. We ended up sitting down on a bench and tried our best to read the map of our destination in Lonely Planet…and ended up asking a shopkeeper for direction.
Finally, we arrived at Chinatown and purchased some souvenirs for our loved ones. Meme came across this Buddhist monk who was strolling around the area looking at some gemstones and had this wild idea of taking a pic with him. Unfortunately, he refused our request. Oh well, we didn’t think he’d go for it at the first place anyway…
We had an early dinner at a chicken rice place. The person who took our order was an old lady who seemed to have the energy of a person ten years younger. She’s really vibrant and sturdy in an age which I predicted to be 70-something. She wore a cap, white polo shirt, and a pair of sneakers, taking orders and counting changes to be given to customers. My..oh, my…what a person. Tai Chi-ing regularly, I suppose.
We wrapped the day with a lovely chicken rice dinner in
Chinatown and went to the MRT station. Destination? Dhoby Ghout station, the nearest MRT station that we can reach to our hotel by walking. It was 10.00 pm when we got ‘home’, and we passed a couple of ladies jogging, with their training pants and funky tank tops on. Gosh, I love this place!
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