27 November 2006
Singapore Diaries
Day One
Flying with Tiger Airways is really the cheap alternative to go to Singapore. We got our tickets at PHP5,700+, round trip. However, since it is a budget airline, they don’t serve food, they sell it at very expensive prices. Our flight was at 11.30am so imagine Tostillas without water for lunch. As the food cart approached, I looked longingly at the S$2.50 mineral water. Then the Flight Attendant approached me. I thought she would be kind enough to give me water to wash down my chips. But no. She goes “Outside food is not allowed inside the plane, ma’am.” Well, what do I do then? Throw it out? Duh!
Everything in Singapore is clean, aesthetically pleasing and efficient. My boss says it’s the Singaporean’s malady, efficiency. Nice malady. Everything is labeled and tourist-friendly. You don’t have to bother the locals with your lost tourist questions unless you don’t know how to read signs and maps. Just mind your step at the MRT escalators. Man, they’re extremely fast. Reminds me of the escalators in Hongkong. You feel like you’re being ejected when you step out of it.
The best purchase on this trip was the EZ Link card. It pays for the MRT, the bus, 7-11 purchases, McDonald’s purchases and all known government transactions. All with one powerful plastic card.
If you really want to go on a budget trip, call on friends who live in the country, especially those celebrating their birthdays. You’ll surely get a free dinner. We ate at Chong Pang at Marina Bay. It’s fun to eat something new, but when you’re hungry and you’re faced with raw food that you have to cook yourself, it’s pretty frustrating. But hey, it was free, no complaints.
For a different perspective of Singapore, visit Geylang. It’s Singapore’s very happening red light district. I’ve never seen so many women primped, lined up, waiting or harassing possible customers. There was a gay lane with very pretty and really tall transvestites, a lane of Malay girls, and a few streets lined up with petite Chinese women with minimum cup C breast sizes. Our very willing guide said that most of these girls get 10 customers a night. I’ve never seen so many women line up for sex!
In a backpacker’s hostel, you can never predict what you’ll see or not see when you open the door to your room. It was complete darkness during our first night. Extremely hard to move around with just a pen light. I didn’t know Europeans slept so early!
Day Two
Europeans sleep early and wake up late. We woke up at 7am and the lights were still out. It was morning but we still moved in darkness. We didn’t have the guts to open the lights. Darned Pinoy sensitivities!
The Butterfly Farm was disappointing. It came highly recommended by a friend so expectations were quite high. I expected hundreds of butterflies to surround us. Unfortunately, there were a few pesky ones flying here and there. I observed five kinds of butterflies, no more. And the area was quite small. I waste of S$10. Actually, I enjoyed the Orchidarium more than the Butterfly Farm. There was no admission fee and the orchids were just so pretty. My dad would enjoyed seeing all the orchids in full bloom if I took him with me.
The dolphin show was fun and amazing. Although the pink dolphins weren’t that pink, they were equally adorable. Doing tricks and jumping all over the pool, it was the stuff I only saw Flipper do on TV.
Lesson for the day, remember to scope the area for better lunch options. We made the mistake of thinking that the chicken and fish burger stand was the nearest option for cheap lunch food. Upon consuming our crappy lunch, we walked to the restrooms and discovered the Food Gallery just a few steps at the back of the burger stand. All we could do was eye the scrumptious roasted chicken and beef satay.
We took as many shots as we wanted of us and the different marine life in the Underwater World. A lot of our fellow tourists were highly amused at our camera whore-ness. Hey, we’re making the most of our S$19.50. I think this was the first time I saw a real dugong. I even managed to take a great shot of a nemo and dory fish. Sorry, I have no idea what they’re really called.
A warning to all the pretending-to-be-brave travellers, it’s not advisable to ride the Sentosa cable car on a rainy day. They shut down the Sky Tower so we thought we’d ride the cable car instead. The route had two stops before it turned back to Sentosa. It took us back to mainland Singapore then back to the island. It was a little bit unnerving watching us pass the harbor and seeing that we were higher than the Sky Tower. Not to mention that the rain was getting stronger and stronger. On it’s way back, the car suddenly jerked to a stop in mid air. We were above some highway near Vivo City. That was the longest 10 minutes of my life. Every time the car attempted to move it would stop and give a very disturbing jerk. To make us feel better, we said that it was better for the cable car to have stopped above the highway than above the harbor. That’s even scarier. When we finally reached the last stop, we gladly went down, thanked God for another chance at life and adios-ed Sentosa even if we originally planned to watch the fountain show at 8 in the evening.
My first impression of Orchard Road is that it’s the Makati of Singapore, even if the whole country looked like Makati. Everything is rushed and fast. Even malling is not leisurely. In a weird way, I found it exciting, not unnerving. Some get intimidated by it, I didn’t. Unfortunately, it’s taking a toll on my friends who recently moved there. They looked extremely tired and homesick. I just wanted to hug them both and take them home with me.
Little India is not as exciting at night. In fact, it was scary walking the streets at 11 in the evening. My friend and I held each others arm tightly and walked extremely fast to avoid drunk Indians attempting to follow us or stare at us like they were planning on doing something nasty.
Day Three
One of the best places to shop for pasalubong is Chinatown. The minute you get down from the MRT, there’s a bazaar ready and waiting. I bought most of my gifts, and then some, here. Particular finds were metal mobile accessories with the Merlion hanging on it and really nice metal book marks. We didn’t have the energy to look for and walk to Smith Road where all the hawkers’ fare was. It was such a hot day that we were drained of energy by 10am. So we went to a convenient food court at Chinatown Place right across People’s Park. The food wasn't good but when you're thirsty, hungry and tired, everything tastes great.
Jurong Bird park is a long trek from the main city if you’re taking the MRT and the bus. But every stop on this trip has been worth it so far. Parrots doing tricks, eagles flying close enough for their wings to slap you in the face, regular vultures, white vultures, orange flamingoes… It was great. And I was able to see real penguins for the very first time. Can’t wait to see Happy Feet!
The best zoo stop was the Night Safari. There’s a heightened feeling of thrill as the tram goes along the dark zoo route. Being close enough to touch the animals gave it a more safari-like feel to the whole experience. I turned off my camera completely since flash photography was out of the question. Flashes would disturb and startle the animals, which might cause them to run or jump towards the direction of the tram. Scary! I didn’t particularly warm to the animal show since they hid a huge snake under one of the seats as part of the act. I kept thinking the whole time, what if they placed it under my seat? I'd probably faint!
Wrong time to test my alcohol consumption limit, but when in Rome… Our friend cooked shrimps in butter and we had dinner at 12 midnight after our Night Safari gallivanting. And since we were the bearer of tequila, our two new friends wanted us to enjoy it ALL. Consuming a whole bottle of tequila is no joke. The only one “standing” was my friend who has acquired some magical alcohol immunity through years of drinking with her boyfriend. I crashed in the guest room’s bed, the whole ceiling going round and round.
Day Four
Ugh! I woke up feeling nauseous and just plain crappy. All I could think of was barfing. And thank goodness I did or I would’ve spent the rest of the day in bed. Much to our co-tequila drinkers’ surprise we were up and about, ready for our last Singapore day.
Singapore Zoo is a duplication of the Night Safari. I had a great time the previous night, and going to Singapore Zoo was a chore. We had to go because our ticket was payed. Then it started raining… hard. In Singapore, even the rain is efficient. It comes only once a day and usually lasts for a good 30 minutes. Then sunshine again. However, it lasted longer when we were at the Zoo and we didn’t want to wait for it to stop or we’d be stuck there forever. So even if I only had S$8 left in my pocket, my friend convinced me to buy S$1.90 bright yellow raincoats. We looked like big bird walking to the MRT station. But I didn't care. I wanted to make the most of my S$1.90.
Back at wet Orchard Road, we met one of the first few friends that we’d meet up with that night. She took us to this bargain perfume store in Lucky Plaza. I had no intention of buying anything. But I approached the wrong sales girl. She was too good, I ended up buying three perfumes. Parents’ Christmas gifts, check!
I couldn’t get myself to buy Starbucks. My friends did, I couldn’t swallow coffee that cost me S$6.50. It’s just too much. Good thing my other friends arrived, joined them for dinner and tasted authentic Asian cuisine at one of the kopitiam in Suntec City. I instantly fell in love with kaya toast.
Esplanade, Merlion Park, Boat Quay and Clarke Quay are best visited at night. The lights are up, plenty cute foreigners are out and about. It was the perfect ending to our gallivanting.
It's sad business to end a trip like this. You can't seem to stop and just want to move on to the next unexplored country. However, resources run low and reality sinks in. I left Singapore thinking that I'd willingly welcome the opportunity to live there. And I think on top of it all, I was proud of the fact that this trip was out of my own savings, the fruits of my labor... which I shall again face when I get home.
Orange Git at 10:28 AM
2 Comments
-
at 6:00 PM
The Traveling Epicure said... Love the photo!!! :)
Haven't read the whole post but will do as soon as I finish all my daughter-ly duties for my mom. :D-
at 10:57 AM
Orange Git said...
Hehe. Stitch assist dhalin ;) more photos on flickr
