Singapore Experience -- Day Two

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July 05, 2010 -- First activity for the day turned out to be a booboo. We were trying our best do what Singaporeans do, eat what Singaporeans eat. So for breakfast, we had noodles or pancit for that was what we noticed people were eating. We found this market/eatery area that was just walking distance from Balestier. Armed with anticipation of a new experience, we ordered noodles (pancit) for breakfast. My, the cook was so slow!! Plus the food was served after a long 35 minutes, for there were customers ahead of us that they had to cater first (we did not know that and they did not even inform us). When the food arrived, we were not excited to taste it anymore. "Nalipasan na ako ng gutom" were the exact words of hubby. To make it worse, the food turned out to be not that delicious as it looked. We forcely finished what we ordered for that was the only choice we had.

Second day was the Sentosa day. I have been hearing about Sentosa, all of them saying "kulang ang isang buong araw sa Sentosa pa lang". That was true, indeed. Despite the limited time, I believe we made the most out of it.

There is a train station in Vivo City that directs to Sentosa.

First activity we had inside Sentosa was the Skyride. Sentosa skyride is one of the many activities to enjoy in Sentosa's Imbiah Lookout. This ride is supposedly paired with Luge Ride, but we were just half-adventurous that time and just settled for the skyride. We availed of the two-way (back and forth) that costed us S$12.00 per person. Sentosa Skyride is an aerial ride that took us above the tree tops. View from above was spectacular! It was so relaxing for me, but upon checking out on hubby, I found him stiff and almost not enjoying himself. I bet he was scared of the terrible yet perfect heights the skyride took us.







Trip to Singapore is never complete without paying a visit to the Merlion--Singapore's famous icon that is half-lion half-fish. There is one Merlion in Imbiah Lookout and one can enjoy tons of activities and attractions from where it is situated. However, since we had limited time, we just satisfied ourselves by taking pictures of this 37-meter tall icon.






Next Sentosa stop: Universal Studios in Sentosa's Resort World. We missed the opportunity to go inside this new theme park for there were no tickets available anymore. Despite that, we enjoyed the view outside and took a lot of pictures of their ever famous revolving Universal globe. We also visited their souvenir shop located outside for some tokens. Items sold were limited for there is also one souvenir shope inside that carries the complete line of Universal Studios stuff.







Not to miss inside the Sentosa park is the famous Underwater World. It was a such a wonderful feeling seeing lots and lots of sea creatures in all shapes, colors and sizes. I enjoyed every corner of Underwater World, and I promised myself that when the little man is big enough to appreciate this, we will go back and bring him there for a wonderful experience.




We also watched the Dolphin show. It was again a new experience for me, despite the fact that there are also dolphin shows in the Philippines. The place was full and I could see from where I was seated that they closed the gates and just-five-minute-late-visitors were not allowed to enter anymore. The dolphins were great! It just disappointed me because the show lasted for more or less twenty minutes *Bitin!* I also regreted not bringing a fan for the place was so hot and I felt uncomfortable the whole time because of the heat.



After the show, we went again inside the Underwater World and there spent another half an hour of picture taking and interaction with sea creatures. We then went back to Vivo City and gave ourselves another round of mall stroll. We ended the day by having dinner at Boat Quay.
There are many alfresco restaurants and pubs along this stretch and this place is also quite popular among tourists and expats. It has a nice scenery day and night, but I stongly agree when they say that it's much better to dine there at night having the Singapore river and the lights of Singapore's skycrapers in the background. How romantic could that be?

Photos from Google Images

Two days down. I'm looking forward to the next day.


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Singapore Experience -- Day One

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It's July already, where did the first half of the year go?!

Well, at least going to Singapore neutralized my sentiment. Flashback: Honey so wanted to go out of the country to run away from the stress and pressure from work, yet the mother in me was so reluctant to go. Just how could I, when just going to work makes me miss the little man so much, what more be away with him for like, what, four days? But due to the enlightenment of my aunt, who said that my big man needs me too, I closed my eyes and made the decision. Yep, I agreed to go to Singapore at the last minute.

July 04, 2010-- We were scheduled to fly via JetStar at 4-ish in the morning, re-timed at 6-ish, and again re-timed at 12-ish noon. Twice rescheduled, that was a spoiler! Hubby already arranged the itinerary and the delayed flight meant bye-bye to the supposedly tour for that day.

Smog delayed the flight.

Changi Airport.
Me feeling excited already to head to the city of Singapore.

Since it was already around 5pm when we arrived, we were left with no choice but to tour the city at night. After checking in to our humble hotel (Value Hotel Balestier), we headed straight to Orchard via bus no. 124. It was just ten to fifteen minutes away from Balesteir Road. It was fun strolling along Orchard at night, seeing all flashy and colorful lights. Names of famous designer brands ganged-up this road--Gucci, Dior, Vuitton, Prada, and a lot more that made my eyes twinkle in delight. This is just one of the many faces of Orchard at night:






At around 8pm, we headed to Food Republic to have our first Singapore dinner.
Chicken rice, as we all know, is the popular one in Singapore. So on our first night, we ordered this dish. This particular white chicken (chicken rice/hainanese chicken rice) tasted so-so and comparable to the ones I tasted in Manila which made me kinda disappointed for I was expecting something like this-is-the-best-chicken-rice-ever reaction. Nevertheless, it still satisfied my hunger.

Sergeant's Hainanese Chicken Rice

Food Republic in Wasma Atria

After the dinner, we again strolled the main and corner roads of Orchard. Last stop for the first day was Hard Rock Cafe. Hubby's trips on foreign lands will never be complete without a visit to Hard Rock Cafe which he makes richer everytime he buys a cap to add to his growing Hard Rock cap collection.

We ended the day a bit late, I guess that was 1 am already the following day. Yet the primer of the Singapore experience was fun, fun, fun!! Cannot wait for the next day ;)



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Wives, read only the first part. Husbands, the rest.

A Woman was out golfing one day when she hit the ball into the woods. She went into the woods to look for it and found a frog in a trap. The frog said to her, “If you release me from this trap, I will grant you three wishes.”
The woman freed the frog, and the frog said, “Thank you, but I failed to mention that there was a condition to your wishes. Whatever you wish for, your husband will get times ten!”

The woman said, “That’s okay.” For her first wish, she wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the world. The frog warned her, “You do realize that this wish will also make your husband the most handsome man in the world, an Adonis to whom women will flock.” The woman replied, “That’s okay, because I will be the most beautiful Woman and he will have eyes only for me.”
So, KAZAM! she’s the most beautiful Woman in the world!

For her second wish, she wanted to be the richest woman in the world. The frog said, “That will make your husband the richest man in the world. And he will be ten times richer than you.” The woman said, “That’s okay, because what’s mine is his and what’s his is mine.”
So, KAZAM! she’s the richest woman in the world!

The frog then inquired about her third wish, and she answered, “I’d like a mild heart attack.”

Moral of the story: Women are clever. Don’t mess with them.

Attention female readers : This is the end of the joke for you. Stop here and continue feeling good.




Male readers, continue reading….

The man had a heart attack ten times milder than his wife.

Moral of the story: Women think they’re so smart. Let them continue to think that way and just enjoy the show.

PS: If you are a woman and are still reading this; it only goes to show that women never listen!




Note: I got this article from www.InspiredDreamer.com. My reaction when the woman wished for a mild heart attack: that was clever, you girl!! Heck, it did not occur to me what would happen to the husband. Now this article got me thinking. Do we really "just believe" that we are smarter than the men? Hmmm...

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Chinese....again!!

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Good friday afternoon!!

Honey's day off today and that means malling, malling, malling!! Hubby never gets tired of bringing us to the mall during his rest day. We frequent three to four malls in the metro and we visit them alternately. Stepping inside a totally different mood away from the office chaos and tiring household chores is always something to look forward to even if it happens on a regular basis. Going to the mall is one of our cheap thrills that we will never give up until we get our first strand of gray hair.

Aside from checking out what's new, we are always excited on where to eat. Us being clueless on what's for lunch makes the restaurant hunt more exciting. Well, it's really not a hunt afterall, for we have already tried almost every resto in the malls. But the can't-decide-on-where-to-eat factor boosts the anticipation and the hunger even more.

Today our feet led us to Flavors of China. We are not new diners here, in fact we also visit their other branches. What makes us make a U-turn everytime we pass there is their big serving. One rice topping meal is good for sharing, that is if after you discovered how delish is the meal, you still want to share it.



This was served while we were waiting for our meal to arrive. It was not that hot, though it's uber crunchiness told me that it was freshly out from a steaming pan. Better request for a vinegar, for this cracker will never be complete without the tangy taste of that dip.




Braised beef brisket, as usual, for hubby. Soft and tasty beef chunks and almost overflowing brisket sauce with tender carrots and a hint of star anise on top of generous serving of rice, wow, that really is for my honey.




I ordered fish fillet rice topping in tausi sauce. I ordered this meal because I had to share it with the little man. And since I know already how delicious and healthy this meal is, I was quite sure the little man will enjoy it. And I was right. The soft fish meat paired with tausi sauce made the mommy and the baby happy.


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Little Man's First Haircut

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My little man's another first.

HIS FIRST HAIRCUT!!

The truth is, we were supposed to have the haircut the week prior that. However when we went to the kiddie grooming place, it was full and we were 8th on the list. We had to hear mass later that afternoon and shall we wait for our turn, we won't be able to make it. So we just went home with his hair still intact.

June 12, 2010--since that was a Saturday-holiday, honey did not go to work. We pushed thru with the plan. We went to the mall a bit early knowing how the grooming place gets full really fast on a weekend. And so we were third on the list. That was good enough. Since we still had to wait, we prepped our little man with toys, playthings, and a bunch of colorful stuff.



While waiting, hubby let him try the bikes placed outside this huge toy station just near the grooming place. He enjoyed the ride so much!


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Cuts for Tots. The grooming place speaks for itself.


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The scene inside the grooming place. I love how the place looks like. It is indeed dedicated for tiny men and women for it is embellished with colorful stuff and attractive displays. Characters of all sorts are placed everywhere--Mickey Mouse, Spongebob, Dora and Hello Kitty among others. The chairs, oh how I adore the chairs!! They have kiddie carts and kiddie cars with a monitor infront so the attention of the kid will be glued on the screen. And I love how the tiny laughs and tiny screams of the kids inside blend so well together. And parents never fail to click on their cams, just like what I did the whole time.


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And after around fifteen minutes, tahda!!! Little man's hair now all gone!!




THE FIRST HAIRCUT'S EXPERIENCES AND BIT TIPS


-Let the little one wear a comfy top or shirt. Migo wore a simple, almost pambahay shirt for I know that at the end of the session, he's going to change anyways. He has to change for his first shirt might be full of hair and he might get itchy because of it.

-Bring an extra top or shirt. Just like what I already mentioned, he has to change to a new shirt after the session.

-Come early. The place gets unbelievably full in a short period of time specially on weekends. It's always better to be early.

-Bring the favorite toy. Though the grooming place has tons of toys for the little creature, it will be best to bring a special toy familiar to him. Shall he cry due to the unusual experience, just let the toy out so to divert his attention away from the sound of the scissors or razor.

-Help the stylist. Shall your kiddo throw tantrums, or gets hyper and excited, or turns a bit malikot during the ordeal, be responsible for making him "behaved". It's only you, the parent, who can do this and no one else.

-Bring your own shampoo and towel. Part of the pay is the shampoo session. Though they offer a mild-for-kids shampoo, and for sure their towels are often replaced with a new one, it's still best to bring your own for hygienic reasons.

-Get the discount or membership card. If you believe that your child will be having a regular schedule to this grooming place, it's practical to avail of their membership card that entitles the holder of discounts to his succeeding visits.

-Bring your camera. And please do not forget to charge the batteries, or bring extra batteries. This is your child's first haircut and you would not want it to end just like that. There has to be a memorabilia of everything that happened, and he has pictures to cherish when he gets old.

-Lasty, but most importantly, bring home his few strands of hair. If you are a mom like me who's into preserving all sorts of souvenirs of my baby, i bet you are not to miss this one. When my little man grows into someone who's already responsible to his grooming, when he won't need my hand anymore to assure him that haircuts are fine, when he's in the age where he has his own little version to take care of, these strands of hair will always bring back the memories of the young him.


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