People. Malls. Honestly what is it with people AND malls, and malls WITH people??? Though I get that malls wouldn't be able to sustain themselves without their consumers, but I think people would still be able to survive by living off of basic essentials. But I guess that is not the case here at Bugis Street.
Consumerism at its Finest
Snacking on some "Crispy Pancakes", flavor: Banana & Peanuts :P
Caught in the crossfire...
Might as well choose which side I'm on...
In the end, we managed to survive the mall-based "riot" and since we also didn't want a repeat of what happened yesterday night, we decided to head back to our hotel not later than 8 in the evening. Once we got our bags packed, most of us were willing to call it a day so we'd have our wits up for tomorrow's seminar which we had scheduled as part of the tour. We were still Business majors at the end of our 3-day trip after all.
Last selfie at the Hotel! #LoveTheTopBunk
Last lunch at Singapore...
Rice tasted oddly like Pandan...
After the seminar, we got dropped off at the airport at around 3 in the afternoon just in time for our 6PM flight.
Talk about fancy...
All these flora...
Can I just point out how fancy Singapore's airport was, with all those floral, nature-inspired decor? Also, gotta love the indoor airport vehicle my classmates and I took once we arrived back in the Philippines, can't really stop my legs from aching from all those walks back at Singapore...
This ends my 3-day Tour at Singapore blog series, I do hope I find it in me to blog more about my travel adventures, it's only a matter of time before they begin to pile up again. Until next time, bye! :D
I'm back! Now, if you think we got tired from our last trip to Universal Studios, then you're dead wrong. After dropping off our things back at the hotel, one of our classmates called his cousin and asked if he could give us a tour around town. Fortunately, said cousin just got off from work and was just around the area, so we waited for him at the hotel lobby.
It was then decided that we were going to go to Orchard Road, which I later found out was considered as an upper-end shopping district. In the end, the shopping experience was a bit dull for my tastes since I was more for the sights and scenery instead of skyscrapers and flashy buildings with their pricey malls, but I guess I'm happy that I got to experience the commuting system that Singapore has to offer. Also, what I didn't expect was that we'd get lost on our way back!
Since it was getting late and the train stations were about to close, my classmate convinced his cousin to just drop us off at the station nearest our hotel. Now this is where we were left to our own devices, since we noticed that most buses on our side of the street didn't drive along Balestier; we were also confused as to which side of the street we would cross to since we were at an intersection. But after asking around, finally we were able to board a bus back to Balestier!
I'd like to consider this as a "look of relief" but really, I was too tired to care... :P
We got back at our hotel around 11PM, and being dead tired at least helped with me getting a good night's sleep, since we would still have a busy day tomorrow.
Already up before 8 in the morning, we set off for breakfast since we're later headed off to New Water Factory! (Where Used Water can become New Water ;) Honestly, I just had to get that out of my head...)
Since we were all Business students, I guess it wasn't exactly surprising that we had to know the basic going-ons inside a factory.Though being a Finance major made me more curious on how to sustain the business rather than on how operations are done, still it's not bad to learn new things every once in a while.
Next stop was Singapore Management University, which looked more like a mall compared to your average school campus. Also, I can't help but gush about how sleek and comfortable their library looked! Not just their library, the whole establishment was so spacious and modern-looking! Even their so-called "Labs" looked more like a recreational area rather than how you'd usually picture labs should look like!
Looking back, I guess that was my school's way of encouraging us in case we'd like to pursue future studies abroad; or they're probably planning a student-exchange program with SMU later on in the future. But now that we'd finish our itinerary earlier than expected for that day, my schoolmates wanted to go shopping. Again. Ugh...
It was a pleasant surprise to find a Filipino-loved fastfood chain here at Singapore though, so I opted to order the chicken fillet since it was the only one in the menu we didn't have back in the Philippines.
Another sweet ride spotted... :D #BMWi8
We went to Vivo City after, which was supposed to be our last stop for the day before heading back to our hotel, though my classmates had another destination in mind before getting ready to pack for our departure tomorrow, and this is how we found ourselves at Bugis Street.
You could more or less..
...consider it a flee market...
Find out next week if we'll get ourselves lost again. Also, I think we're caught in the middle of a Batman vs Superman riot?! Am I ever going to get home in one piece???
Previously, we just got back from having breakfast, now we're off to Universal Studios Singapore! :D Here are some pics along the way:
Are we there yet?
Also, I can't help but wonder why the parking lot was kinda like underground, and we had to ride this escalator up to the entrance like "Is this for added amazement factor for the first timers?" Like when the sunlight touches your eyes and you stop and adjust, the next thing you know you're in this new world of some sort... No? Maybe it was just me...
Kinda reminds me of "The Light at the end of The Tunnel"... O_O"
Continuing on inside, we are welcomed by what seems to be a 50's themed Hollywood street, completed by this jukebox-trottin' diner! Talk about time-travelling...
Since one of my classmates had already gone here from previous occasions, he ended up being our self-imposed tour guide by picking out the best rides. First stop, Sci-Fi City:
Wish I had a sweet ride like this... #NotTooLateToDream
Turns out, the Transformers ride was the best! Although Battlestar Galactica was great in its own way, I think we all got somewhat light-headed that's why we decided not to ride the 2nd rollercoaster in that area. So now we're off to Ancient Egypt!
Really great setting in that area I gotta say, it even had this background music of some sort that made you want to walk like an Egyptian. I guess the place makes up for the "Mummy ride" which was kinda like a knock-off once you've already experienced the Transformers one though... Still, the adventure continues in The Lost World!
I don't know about that lady, but I'm not going to go anywhere near those teeth... >_<
It truly is a dream come true, especially if you hear that iconic background music from Jurassic Park and this sense of nostalgia comes over you... It was like being able to walk with the dinosaurs... Also Jurassic Rapids wasn't much on the wet factor, (unlike the one at Enchanted Kingdom here in the Philippines...) so don't worry on not having extra clothes. Though the ride did have this really cool part where you get to be spit out from some type of water geyser!
Lunch by WaterWorld...
Maybe another time...
Before going to our next destination, we stopped by some food stalls and had a quick lunch. Finding out WaterWorld was under renovation, we went straight to Far, Far Away: (it's a name of a place, not an adjective...)
It's a good thing we were on our way to an indoor type of ride since it started drizzling. Turns out we were in for what seemed to be like a Broadway/ Cinema kind of action, albeit a 4D one. I'm not really a fan of the series but I think Shrek 4D will appeal most to the younger viewers; hoping the rides at Madagascar wouldn't be too mild for my tastes though....
I spoke too soon! It seems the nearer we were to the end, the milder the rides became... This seemingly "log + waterslide" contraption didn't seem to be much exciting unlike the one at Enchanted Kingdom (again...) I guess Universal Studios was appealing to tourist-safe rides. (can't have heads flying off from rollercoasters now can they...)
Here's a tip if you don't mind having an anti-climactic ending to your trip: Upon entering Universal Studios, you'd probably want to turn right from Hollywood and go counter-clockwise. That way you'll still have the adrenaline to go for the more exciting rides first, while you still get to enjoy the end of the day without feeling woozy. Which is exactly what we did by buying souvenirs, grabbing some quick snacks, and since we found ourselves at a standstill for the next 2 hours before our designated call-time; we went to Sentosa.
In the end, Sentosa wasn't really too far away that we had to ride a tram or anything, we did have to climb a few steps though. Coming back down, we made some last-minute shopping near a sweet shop where I made the discovery of how delicious Garrett Popcorns are! I guess this somehow made my departure from Universal Studios a bit more difficult.
But if you think that's how my 1st day at Singapore ended, think again. Going back to the hotel to drop off some of our stuff, we then decided to go on yet another adventure! Next post: The Singapore commuting system, Orchard Road, and getting lost! (How will we ever get back to our hotel???) TT____TT
There's a saying that goes like "It's better late than never", since I should have made this series of blogpost a year ago. But due to life and its many splendid things happening, I just recently found the time to edit these videos and blog at the same time.
Paralysis over Analysis
The blogpost I'm talking about is my school's trip to Singapore last year which I'll be labeling under "recent happenings". I plan to make it a 3-part series (...or 4), depending on the videos I took during that time (which I'll also upload here). Every "episode" will be posted on a Sunday, and once my Singapore series is over maybe I'll continue blogging about my other trips to other places.
We're going on a trip...
This is a new thing for me to blog about, outside of the usual book reviews or movie reviews, so I'm still feeling my way around how to really describe certain events. But I hope to still be able to share the simple joy of travelling!
*Insert flashback sfx*
On the 2nd of March 2016, 10 o'clock in the morning, my mom dropped me off at the airport. Since it'll be at least a 3-hour flight, my classmates and I decided to have lunch before boarding the plane.
Mom with her "SepAnx" feels... Does that even look like a face suffering from Separation Anxiety???
All Aboard!
Up in the Air!
We arrived at Singapore at around 6:30 in the early evening, though I still remember that the sun had yet to set so there was still a little sunlight outside the airport.
On board our tour bus, aside from learning some new trivia from our tour guide, we also found out that our first stop was Chinatown!
With our money changed, some souvenirs bought, and dinner eaten at a local foodcourt, we were off to yet another destination before checking in at our hotel; Merlion Park!
Some pictures here and there, and we were ready to call it a night. Fragrance Hotel Balestiere was a quaint but comfy place to stay especially if you only need to rest and freshen up for the next day.
Having our bags settled in, we got ready for bed since we had a whole new adventure for tomorrow! Here's a vid of our short stroll when we went out to have breakfast the next morning before boarding our bus.
On my next post: Singapore Day 1, 3rd of March 2016, 10 o'clock in the morning, Universal Studios!!!
