The next day after the so-called ‘Outdoor Day’, we woke up at 10 am! It was our last day in Singapore, and also shopping day since we’re going to Orchard Road. We had breakfast in the kitchen with other backpackers: cereal, toast with peanut butter and jam, plus orange and apple juice. Slightly different to my previous experience at HangOut, at Wink we had to do things by ourselves, including washing the dishes after use. However, it was still great fun. Wouldn’t miss it for the world!
My first destination was Uniqlo, since Novi has been telling me to buy one of the jeggings. I got a navy blue one, while I got my sister a khaki one. It was nice, indeed. Then, Ayu went to Sephora, a make up store with loads of great variety of cosmetic kit and lotions. It was heaven for anyone who loves make-up. Urban Decay, benefit, Sephora, Uncle Bee’s, Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, whatever brands that are not available in Indonesia, you can find it here.
Since Ayu got a brunch-meeting with her Singaporean friends, I went around Orchard with Dora. We had lunch first at a food court in a mall, I had Chicken Rice. First, H&M, then Hang Ten at Lucky Plaza. Speaking of LuckyPlaza, the place was crowded by housekeepers from Indonesia and the Philipines. I went there to buy 5 polo shirts for my brothers in assorted colors. I like to buy stuff for other people, I guess that’s my soft spot :p
Anyway, afterwards, Dora and I reunited with Ayu. Dora had to leave early, so we bid ourselves a farewell. Next, we headed to Marina Bay Sands to watch Wicked. Beforehand, we had an early dinner at a food court. I had Chicken Guey Tiaw while Ayu had oyster omelette. De-li-ci-ous! I had no expectation whatsoever at first upon watching the Broadway show, but it turned out to be oh-so-spectacular! A marvelous ending for our Singapore trip.
We packed our luggages the night before we leave Singapore. Then, off we went to Changi at 5 am. The airport is magnificent. Lots of chocolate shops as well as duty free shops that sells perfumes which cost less than in Jakarta. No wonder everyone praises this particular airport. While waiting for Ayu returning from the washroom, I turned on the Osim reflexology massage machine and the aching feet started to feel better. Our Jet Star flight departed from Singapore at 8.20. So long Singapore…see you in another time!
Our second day was intended for outdoor activities. First, we went to SingaporeBotanic Garden and NationalOrchidGarden. We tried to take the bus, following instruction from www.gothere.sg, but apparently the driver did not stop in every single bus stop. The next thing we know, we got lost. Finally, we took a cab. It is unquestionably a beautiful place; looks a lot like Kebun Raya Bogor, but much cleaner and much better maintained. Many people brought along their dogs for a walk. It was a beauty, indeed. People sitting on the green grass while their dog fetch frisbees. It's a sight that as if appears from a movie fragment; nothing like I’ve seen in Jakarta. Colorful orchids, red, green, yellow, you name it. Pure gorgeousness.
Afterwards, we went to IKEA at Alexandra Road. We had lunch first. I ordered Swedish meatballs, while the girls had Salmon Gravad, and two plates of chicken wings to be shared. IKEA was nice, but to my least expectation, it doesn’t make much difference with Informa back home. Ayu bought a white wrinkled blanket, while I came out empty-handed; except for IKEA’s famous yummy vanilla ice-cream that costs only 50 cents.
The following destination was Universal Studios. VivoCity first, then the train to SentosaIsland. It was cramped with people of all sizes and colors. However, USS was such a humongous place that everyone still had more than enough space to walk around. First photo spot: what else, than the Universal Studios gigantic globe. Second was the Monster Rock theatrical performance. Frankenstein, Vampire, Mummy, and friends entertained the audience with their singing and dancing.
Then, we headed to the Madagascar site, where penguins, Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo and King Julien the ring-tailed lemur danced to “You’ve Got to Move it, Move it…” Afterwards, we lined up for picture taking with each of the characters.
Next, we had a go on the Far Far Away castle, where we caught a sneeze out of Donkey in his 4D movie with everyone’s favorite ogre friend, Shrek, on their mission to rescue Fiona—who’s captured by the ghost of Frederick. It was heaps of fun, sitting on that simulator seat, getting wet and chills down our spines with hi-tech special effects.
Transformers 4D ride, The Mummy, Water World and JurassicPark came following after, with loads of picture-taking along the way. I went on the The Mummy Ride by myself, ‘cause Ayu and Dora didn’t want to ride on rollercoasters. It was so much fun! It was dark and I was so mummyfied I wanted to do it all over again…too bad we didn't have much of time. When I walked out from the ride, it was raining cats and dogs…and my friends were nowhere to be found...plus, the rollercoaster ride didn’t allow us to bring a bag/purse to avoid any loss during the ride—so, of course, I asked Ayu & Dora to keep my bag secured with them. Imagine, no phone, penniless, passport-less. So, I told the USS person…described Ayu & Dora’s appearance, and he told me “The security camera caught them in the Mummy’s souvenir shop (the ride’s exit is through the souvenir shop). If you can’t find them, come here again.” And my oh my, was I relieved to see Dora! She was right across the souvenir shop, asking to the photo-ticket lady if I was ever seen there. We hugged each other like we haven’t seen each other for 5 years!
Since it was still drizzling, we bought ourselves a plastic raincoat that costs SGD 3. Based on the flyer we’ve got, the next show would be the Water World. We had to wait for 45 minutes, but it was worth it! The show was spectacular, with gunshots and explosion effects that seems so real, as if we’re watching a live action movie. The seating rows were divided in two sections for audiences’ convenience: green (where people can feel the water splashing) and orange (people who don’t want to get wet, well, stay dry). Preliminary to the show, the actors literally threw buckets of water to the audience in the green section and asked us to make some noise for warming up. They performed wholeheartedly and it’s hard to notice that it’s all an act. Two thumbs up!
We went to JurassicPark afterwards. It's like rafting, but situated as if we’re in the JurassicPark,where dinosaurs had the system broken and everything were in alarm-mode. The journey ended with the sight of an opened T-Rex mouth on top of our heads, ready to make us his feast. But finally, a gate opened in front and we’re finally released.
To wrap up our rides experience, we went to the Transformers ride for the second time. This time, there was no line and it was much more fun with water splash and warm temperature with red smoke when the screen showed a fragment where there was a fire explosion.
I did a little shopping for USS T-shirt for my nephews and was very intigued by the sight of so many cute stuffs. Apparently, they were having a promotion, 2 t-shirts for a free children’s skirt. Ah, a treat for Syifa, another niece of mine :)
We were starving...and out of the blue, Ayu decided to give us a treat at Hard Rock Café; great food and a live stage performance too! A 10 year old Singaporean Ryan performed on stage, killing us with “Sweet Child of Mine”. Thanks, Yu...a super rockin’ night indeed to end the fun day!
I just got back from a trip to Singapore with my bestie since junior high, Ayu. There, we were accompanied by Dora, Ayu’s friend who lives in Singapore. We didn’t get promo flight tickets ‘cause we just booked a week earlier. Long story short, we managed to get tickets in a quite affordable price (for a long weekend, so to speak), back and forth.
We departed from Soetta at 9.20 am, and arrived at 12.10 am (Singapore time). Next, we headed straight to Wink Hostel in Chinatown. It was a small-spaced hostel –HangOut was a lot better— but it was clean and quite nice. The shower room was similar to the ones we usually use in swimming pools and the toilets are always clean. After putting our luggages in our bunkbed-lockers, we went to Funan Digital Mall in seach of Ayu’s laptop. We got the chance to try on an egg tart in a small cake shop called Tong Heng, as recommended by a travel website in Chinatown. I also tried the curry chicken pie. Yummo!
This dude really shocked me! He was fooling around by taking part in our picture :p
Funan Digital Mall resembles a lot to our RatuPlaza. After checking out some stores, Ayu finally got herself two laptop series to opt from. Starving, we had a late lunch at KFC. Their fried chicken’s ok, but the cheese fries was awesome! It’s fries with loads of melted cheese on top and daun bawang on top. Love at first bite. It didn’t even bother me to complain, knowing their chili sauce tastes like sweet n sour-Bangkok-sauce.
After meeting Dora, Ayu settled the payment and we went back to the hostel to drop the laptop. We strolled along Chinatown and took loads of pictures around the peranakan-culturedbuildings with colorful windows. Amongst the crowded lane, we paid a visit to Tintin Shop. It was a-ma-zing! Reminded a lot of sweet savory childhood. Oh, and we also went to a fortune teller. He told me that I should stop eating, at least an hour before going to bed, to avoid any problem in my intenstine. “You have good luck and fortune. And smart…very smart,” he said. I asked about love life, then he said, “You’re blocking love from coming to your life. Give it a try, interview those men and find which one suits best. You should get marry to a man whose birth between 6-12 (June to December), otherwise if you marry one who was born between 1-5 (January to May), he’ll boss you around. I’ll give you beauty and no man can resist you.” Then, without me asking, he told me that I should stick to a career: “teaching”. “You complain sometimes about work…you should choose a teaching job that enables you to travel, because you’re a traveler. You will go to Sulawesi, and many places…then you will be happy. Or you can open your own business in printing, photocopy, invitation, name cards…you will be rich.” Whoa, didn’t see that coming. Hahahah…
After that, all three of us went to Bugis street. I just found out that the shopping place is a 3-storeyed building. 1st floor was packed like crazy. Dora had to go early, so we parted at Bugis after no luck in finding a spot for dinner. Ayu and I went to the 2nd and 3rd floor. I got a cute blue cropped top and a blue striped-ribbon ring for Ayu. I also bought Prisal (my niece) the cropped top she’s been wanting to have. Before we went back to Wink, we served ourselves a decent dinner a full set of Kaya Toast at Toast Box, Bugis Junction – yes, toast…for dinner – which included toast with sarikaya jam & butter (oh Lord, it tasted heavenly…), half-boiled egg, and a cup of hot Teh Tarik (milk-tea). The signature Singaporean dish wrapped up our first day in Singapore.
