Singapura
I love Malaysia and its numerous public holidays. This month we had 2 public holidays within the same week, and my quarter wanted to go away somewhere out of the country during that period.
His friend asked if we wanted to go to Rome together, like a couples holiday, but that involves taking the entire week off and Europe is not cheap, and we were extremely busy at that time. Me with my prep and shoots and him with his work.
We initially planned to go either to Vietnam, China or Kazakhstan. So I did my research, but because we were busy and didn't book early, the flight tickets were expensive and the flight timings were not to our liking. In a spur of the moment decision, we decided to go to Singapore. Cheaper flights, less traveling time and it will be our first city holiday.
So we flew off on Awal Muharram eve via Firefly (glad to report I no longer feel terrified of their aircraft!) and landed around 10pm in the Lion City. We checked in at Marina Mandarin Hotel which is nearby the Marina Bay Sands (which was fully booked!!!). The hotel was alright, though thanks to the exchange rate, it appears to be pretty pricey.
Imagine, a hotel at that price in Malaysia would've gotten you five star boutique style luxury. Anyway, on our first night there we went out for supper at a mamak at an area recommended by the cabbie. It was close to Clark Quay so people go there after drinking for some supper so a whole stretch is open.
I'm sure everyone is familiar with Singapore and its unfriendliness to smokers. We only ended up at the mamak because the other restaurant we wanted to go to did not allow smoking at all. And at the mamak itself, there were only 2 tables that allow smoking. They have stickers to indicate which. It was hilarious because what is the difference if you smoke at one table and not the one next to it? They were both outdoors.
Another amusing thing was the fact that taxis were rushing and fighting with each other to pick us up at that hour (around 2am). Fantastic public transportation. In KL you could wait and look at twenty empty taxis at a mall during the day and none wants to send you to where you want to go. They would rather hang around and smoke cigarettes than make money.
We went out to Orchard Road the next morning. A trip to Singapore is not a trip to Singapore without a visit to this stretch of shopping haven. To quote the quarter: "In KL, Pavilion is like such a big deal.Over here they have 30 Pavilions in the same area!". We went absolutely bonkers that day on Orchard. Everything seems nicer and there were definitely more choices (for the mainstream brands). And the price is a wee bit cheaper too.
I wanted to look for the kitty flats by Charlotte Olympia. This has been my dream shoe since last year. I know I wouldn't be able to afford it, but I wanted to at least try them on. But I went to a couple of shops there that carry the brand, and they were nowhere to be seen. I suppose they don't carry many designs in Singapore.
We checked out H&M (they recently opened in KL, but I have not had the time to go yet), as I wanted to look at the collection by Maison Martin Margiela. Brilliant designs but expensive for H&M methinks. In a way it's good that they have that in H&M because the usual H&M stuff are fugly. You'd be better off buying non-branded flea market stuff or look at blogshops, seriously.
The quarter got himself a few things and a gold watch. He was itching to get a gold watch and now that he has bought one, hopefully he will forget about the ridiculous pricey version that he was originally planning to get. He wore it, and because we were dressed casually, he mentioned that he looked like a sleazy old man with no taste. I couldn't agree more. Gold watches and orange polo tees do not work well together people!
We got a bit bored of Orchard Road and wanted to find a place to shop with a bit more local flavour, local designers and funky street style clothing. He called a colleague who is based in Singapore and she directed us to Haji Lane (near Arab Street).
That area is amazing. We had fun snapping photos and visiting the shops. As we walked the streets nearby, we found this quaint little shop with a sprayed on signage on Bussorah Street. It turned out to be a vintage clothing and accessories shop. It was quite possibly the most interesting shop in Singapore we have been to so far. The sales person, Bridget, was quite a personality herself. Shaved off head (she looked like a punk rocker) and she was bubbly, talkative and incredibly helpful. She reminds me of my friend Grace. She did say flea markets in Singapore is crap and for quirky stuff, Malaysia has many more things.
Nonetheless, we ended up buying a couple of amazing things from her shop. And if we come back again, we will definitely give it another peek.
That night we wanted to check out the scene at Clark Quay (yes, we're tourists we don't know anywhere else). Had a long Japanese dinner at the riverside, and then realised we were old and tired and went back to the hotel instead of the initial plan to check out the smaller clubs and bars.
The next morning was our theme park day. I was so excited because I love theme parks. We had a fantastic murtabak Singapura breakfast at Singapore Zam Zam Restaurant although we came out smelling like the kitchen. Nevermind the bad ventilation, hands down those were the best murtabaks I've ever had in my life.
We went off to Universal Studios Singapore in Sentosa. At first we thought the crowd would be ok, and then we found out it was the school holidays in both Singapore and Malaysia and true enough, the crowd was huge! It was a long queue, and on a hot day, it was terrible. Took some pictures on the streets inside and went to check out the rides.
First we went to the Jurassic Park area. The rides were not very appealing because we didn't want to get wet so we took another ride which I think was meant for kids. The queue was long, but the next one we went to was worse! It was the rollercoaster under the Battlestar Galactica banner. I am a big fan of the show, I have long held the view that it is one of the best TV series ever produced.
As the queue for cylons were long, we went on the humans ride. Took us an hour and a half to get on, but the one minute ride was absolutely thrilling it just wiped away the frustration. The next ride we went on was The Mummy ride. And the queue also took another hour and a half. The ride was alright.
When we came out, it was lunchtime. We weren't hungry so we wandered around and took more pictures. We thought of getting a drink and a small bite but even the queues in the restaurants there were insane.We ended up at what I think is the coolest street inside the theme park. It was themed New York. It looked like old New York from what you see in movies, and quiet. The only sounds were the voice tracks that played from inside the empty buildings. Amazing place.
We decided to catch another ride after that, but because we were tired because of all the queuing and heat, we only went for one more. Thankfully it was the cylon rollercoaster ride on Battlestar Galactica. I loved it! My quarter closed his eyes for some of the crazier spins. I know because I turned to look at him. I kept my eyes open the whole time. So much fun, and we went out and I immediately got myself a 'I love Cylons' t-shirt. Hahaha!
After raiding the Transformers gift shop (frustrated because the queue for it was too long - 3 hour wait!!), we went back to the hotel. He fell asleep almost immediately and I closed my eyes in the tub. From my school days of training for athletics and sports, I have learned that water heals. All the pain in my legs and the tiredness disappeared.
That night we went out to Marina Bay Sands to check the place out. It's a massive self-sustaining complex with hotels, a mall and a casino. Basically, you can afford to not even go out from the complex for your entire stay in Singapore. We wanted to eat at the Ku De Ta restaurant, but found out it was full and we have to actually book early in order to get a place. So, we had dinner at a Brazilian grilled meat restaurant instead.
I have never had so much meat in my life! I even had lamb and did not get a headache. We were stuffed silly by the time we decided, no more, no more meat! We walked around the complex and took pictures of the city skyline from outside. It's a fantastic place with a fantastic view of the CBD from across the waters.
We wanted to go to the rooftop and look at the view, so we went up to Ku De Ta bar lounge. The view was sublime, and it was chilly and slightly windy. It was quite early in the night, around 10pm, but the balcony facing the view was already packed with people. They were mostly expats and tourists I think. They didn't have an ashtray in the smoking section and there were no empty tables so we hung out inside to dance. Let me just say, the music was horrendous. It's like going to Sultan Lounge with the top 40 remixes and slow pace. We got bored after a while.
The next day we were back at Orchard Road, mainly to check out the clearance sale for luxury bags. It was held at one of the hotels in the area and the queue was long as well. I was beginning to think that I spent most of my time queuing in that country.
He got me a cute Kate Spade handbag (at half the price it was selling in KL), and a Longchamp coin purse (he said I was ruining the wallet he bought me by putting coins inside). I found the bags I wanted so much, the PS1s and the pouchettes, but they were incredibly pricey and the colour options boring. It was like they were not on discount at all. So disappointing. It's funny though. The women there barely even looked at it. They were mainly going for the Prada and Miu Miu and Coach bags. And they chose the most boring and horrible designs, the ones with the logos stamped all over it (I will never be caught dead in anything with monograms / logos stamped all over. If you ever catch me doing that, please shoot me dead because it's so embarassing!).
We went to another mall there, as I had to use the bathroom and guess what? He went and got me another handbag. I dunno how let's have a look see turned into let's just buy! I think the Singaporean government is pumping some happy gas into the air in the malls there. It just makes you want to buy stuff. Anyway. This time it was a Candy bag from Furla. See, I never liked jelly shoes. No matter what people say about them, I think they look cheap. But candy bags on the other hand, although made from similar material, actually looks awesome.
We got the neon yellow with magenta handle version. It was so awesome I'm still getting compliments for it, even from men because they find it unique. My boyfriend has fantastic taste! Finally I can trust a man's taste in handbags (sometimes their choices can be questionable). I felt twenty times better because I found out even the coolest fashion bloggers use / have posted about that type of bag (from Chiara to Susie Bubble to Denni). Yes I know I'm shallow, I only trust fashion bloggers.
We went back tired, and sick of the sight of shopping malls...NOT. That night we went to mall that is connected to the hotel we stayed at for dinner, and he almost got himself a pair of shoes really awesome Onitsukas that are not sold here in KL. But he decided not to. Instead we shopped around for things for his sister and brothers.
At the airport the next day, he decided to get something for his mother. We went to Miu Miu and he got her a pretty wallet. At first he wanted to get a studded version, but I really think that would be more suitable for his sister and not his mother. I guess it's a good thing I put my foot down and made him get the purplish-pink classic version, because she loved it.
Overall, this trip was mainly about shopping and hanging out, and not much about sightseeing. I think it's hard going for a city holiday with a guy who gets tired of the heat easily! I think he would enjoy a relaxing beach holiday more. Nonetheless, I do feel blessed that he wants to share his time and everything with me, and that he is actually buying all sorts of things for me, that I did not even ask for. And I did not have to shower him with gifts and pay for the holidays in order to get him to go. He does everything himself.
I have never been with anyone like this. It's new, and it can be terrifying because he is so generous. But when there are good things, I am trying to stop worrying and just enjoy and appreciate it. One thing that I'm worried about is if my mother asks me. I don't want to be seen as that sort of person.
But I suppose we are past that. My mother is much cooler with such things now. If I was younger she will kill me for accepting gifts from my boyfriend like that.
P.S. I'm sorry about the brand names scattered all over, I just want to remember things better and it's not about gloating. Don't believe me? Well it's not like I give a fuck! Hahah!
His friend asked if we wanted to go to Rome together, like a couples holiday, but that involves taking the entire week off and Europe is not cheap, and we were extremely busy at that time. Me with my prep and shoots and him with his work.
We initially planned to go either to Vietnam, China or Kazakhstan. So I did my research, but because we were busy and didn't book early, the flight tickets were expensive and the flight timings were not to our liking. In a spur of the moment decision, we decided to go to Singapore. Cheaper flights, less traveling time and it will be our first city holiday.
So we flew off on Awal Muharram eve via Firefly (glad to report I no longer feel terrified of their aircraft!) and landed around 10pm in the Lion City. We checked in at Marina Mandarin Hotel which is nearby the Marina Bay Sands (which was fully booked!!!). The hotel was alright, though thanks to the exchange rate, it appears to be pretty pricey.
Imagine, a hotel at that price in Malaysia would've gotten you five star boutique style luxury. Anyway, on our first night there we went out for supper at a mamak at an area recommended by the cabbie. It was close to Clark Quay so people go there after drinking for some supper so a whole stretch is open.
I'm sure everyone is familiar with Singapore and its unfriendliness to smokers. We only ended up at the mamak because the other restaurant we wanted to go to did not allow smoking at all. And at the mamak itself, there were only 2 tables that allow smoking. They have stickers to indicate which. It was hilarious because what is the difference if you smoke at one table and not the one next to it? They were both outdoors.
Another amusing thing was the fact that taxis were rushing and fighting with each other to pick us up at that hour (around 2am). Fantastic public transportation. In KL you could wait and look at twenty empty taxis at a mall during the day and none wants to send you to where you want to go. They would rather hang around and smoke cigarettes than make money.
We went out to Orchard Road the next morning. A trip to Singapore is not a trip to Singapore without a visit to this stretch of shopping haven. To quote the quarter: "In KL, Pavilion is like such a big deal.Over here they have 30 Pavilions in the same area!". We went absolutely bonkers that day on Orchard. Everything seems nicer and there were definitely more choices (for the mainstream brands). And the price is a wee bit cheaper too.
I wanted to look for the kitty flats by Charlotte Olympia. This has been my dream shoe since last year. I know I wouldn't be able to afford it, but I wanted to at least try them on. But I went to a couple of shops there that carry the brand, and they were nowhere to be seen. I suppose they don't carry many designs in Singapore.
We checked out H&M (they recently opened in KL, but I have not had the time to go yet), as I wanted to look at the collection by Maison Martin Margiela. Brilliant designs but expensive for H&M methinks. In a way it's good that they have that in H&M because the usual H&M stuff are fugly. You'd be better off buying non-branded flea market stuff or look at blogshops, seriously.
The quarter got himself a few things and a gold watch. He was itching to get a gold watch and now that he has bought one, hopefully he will forget about the ridiculous pricey version that he was originally planning to get. He wore it, and because we were dressed casually, he mentioned that he looked like a sleazy old man with no taste. I couldn't agree more. Gold watches and orange polo tees do not work well together people!
We got a bit bored of Orchard Road and wanted to find a place to shop with a bit more local flavour, local designers and funky street style clothing. He called a colleague who is based in Singapore and she directed us to Haji Lane (near Arab Street).
That area is amazing. We had fun snapping photos and visiting the shops. As we walked the streets nearby, we found this quaint little shop with a sprayed on signage on Bussorah Street. It turned out to be a vintage clothing and accessories shop. It was quite possibly the most interesting shop in Singapore we have been to so far. The sales person, Bridget, was quite a personality herself. Shaved off head (she looked like a punk rocker) and she was bubbly, talkative and incredibly helpful. She reminds me of my friend Grace. She did say flea markets in Singapore is crap and for quirky stuff, Malaysia has many more things.
Nonetheless, we ended up buying a couple of amazing things from her shop. And if we come back again, we will definitely give it another peek.
That night we wanted to check out the scene at Clark Quay (yes, we're tourists we don't know anywhere else). Had a long Japanese dinner at the riverside, and then realised we were old and tired and went back to the hotel instead of the initial plan to check out the smaller clubs and bars.
The next morning was our theme park day. I was so excited because I love theme parks. We had a fantastic murtabak Singapura breakfast at Singapore Zam Zam Restaurant although we came out smelling like the kitchen. Nevermind the bad ventilation, hands down those were the best murtabaks I've ever had in my life.
We went off to Universal Studios Singapore in Sentosa. At first we thought the crowd would be ok, and then we found out it was the school holidays in both Singapore and Malaysia and true enough, the crowd was huge! It was a long queue, and on a hot day, it was terrible. Took some pictures on the streets inside and went to check out the rides.
First we went to the Jurassic Park area. The rides were not very appealing because we didn't want to get wet so we took another ride which I think was meant for kids. The queue was long, but the next one we went to was worse! It was the rollercoaster under the Battlestar Galactica banner. I am a big fan of the show, I have long held the view that it is one of the best TV series ever produced.
As the queue for cylons were long, we went on the humans ride. Took us an hour and a half to get on, but the one minute ride was absolutely thrilling it just wiped away the frustration. The next ride we went on was The Mummy ride. And the queue also took another hour and a half. The ride was alright.
When we came out, it was lunchtime. We weren't hungry so we wandered around and took more pictures. We thought of getting a drink and a small bite but even the queues in the restaurants there were insane.We ended up at what I think is the coolest street inside the theme park. It was themed New York. It looked like old New York from what you see in movies, and quiet. The only sounds were the voice tracks that played from inside the empty buildings. Amazing place.
We decided to catch another ride after that, but because we were tired because of all the queuing and heat, we only went for one more. Thankfully it was the cylon rollercoaster ride on Battlestar Galactica. I loved it! My quarter closed his eyes for some of the crazier spins. I know because I turned to look at him. I kept my eyes open the whole time. So much fun, and we went out and I immediately got myself a 'I love Cylons' t-shirt. Hahaha!
After raiding the Transformers gift shop (frustrated because the queue for it was too long - 3 hour wait!!), we went back to the hotel. He fell asleep almost immediately and I closed my eyes in the tub. From my school days of training for athletics and sports, I have learned that water heals. All the pain in my legs and the tiredness disappeared.
That night we went out to Marina Bay Sands to check the place out. It's a massive self-sustaining complex with hotels, a mall and a casino. Basically, you can afford to not even go out from the complex for your entire stay in Singapore. We wanted to eat at the Ku De Ta restaurant, but found out it was full and we have to actually book early in order to get a place. So, we had dinner at a Brazilian grilled meat restaurant instead.
I have never had so much meat in my life! I even had lamb and did not get a headache. We were stuffed silly by the time we decided, no more, no more meat! We walked around the complex and took pictures of the city skyline from outside. It's a fantastic place with a fantastic view of the CBD from across the waters.
We wanted to go to the rooftop and look at the view, so we went up to Ku De Ta bar lounge. The view was sublime, and it was chilly and slightly windy. It was quite early in the night, around 10pm, but the balcony facing the view was already packed with people. They were mostly expats and tourists I think. They didn't have an ashtray in the smoking section and there were no empty tables so we hung out inside to dance. Let me just say, the music was horrendous. It's like going to Sultan Lounge with the top 40 remixes and slow pace. We got bored after a while.
The next day we were back at Orchard Road, mainly to check out the clearance sale for luxury bags. It was held at one of the hotels in the area and the queue was long as well. I was beginning to think that I spent most of my time queuing in that country.
He got me a cute Kate Spade handbag (at half the price it was selling in KL), and a Longchamp coin purse (he said I was ruining the wallet he bought me by putting coins inside). I found the bags I wanted so much, the PS1s and the pouchettes, but they were incredibly pricey and the colour options boring. It was like they were not on discount at all. So disappointing. It's funny though. The women there barely even looked at it. They were mainly going for the Prada and Miu Miu and Coach bags. And they chose the most boring and horrible designs, the ones with the logos stamped all over it (I will never be caught dead in anything with monograms / logos stamped all over. If you ever catch me doing that, please shoot me dead because it's so embarassing!).
We went to another mall there, as I had to use the bathroom and guess what? He went and got me another handbag. I dunno how let's have a look see turned into let's just buy! I think the Singaporean government is pumping some happy gas into the air in the malls there. It just makes you want to buy stuff. Anyway. This time it was a Candy bag from Furla. See, I never liked jelly shoes. No matter what people say about them, I think they look cheap. But candy bags on the other hand, although made from similar material, actually looks awesome.
We got the neon yellow with magenta handle version. It was so awesome I'm still getting compliments for it, even from men because they find it unique. My boyfriend has fantastic taste! Finally I can trust a man's taste in handbags (sometimes their choices can be questionable). I felt twenty times better because I found out even the coolest fashion bloggers use / have posted about that type of bag (from Chiara to Susie Bubble to Denni). Yes I know I'm shallow, I only trust fashion bloggers.
We went back tired, and sick of the sight of shopping malls...NOT. That night we went to mall that is connected to the hotel we stayed at for dinner, and he almost got himself a pair of shoes really awesome Onitsukas that are not sold here in KL. But he decided not to. Instead we shopped around for things for his sister and brothers.
At the airport the next day, he decided to get something for his mother. We went to Miu Miu and he got her a pretty wallet. At first he wanted to get a studded version, but I really think that would be more suitable for his sister and not his mother. I guess it's a good thing I put my foot down and made him get the purplish-pink classic version, because she loved it.
Overall, this trip was mainly about shopping and hanging out, and not much about sightseeing. I think it's hard going for a city holiday with a guy who gets tired of the heat easily! I think he would enjoy a relaxing beach holiday more. Nonetheless, I do feel blessed that he wants to share his time and everything with me, and that he is actually buying all sorts of things for me, that I did not even ask for. And I did not have to shower him with gifts and pay for the holidays in order to get him to go. He does everything himself.
I have never been with anyone like this. It's new, and it can be terrifying because he is so generous. But when there are good things, I am trying to stop worrying and just enjoy and appreciate it. One thing that I'm worried about is if my mother asks me. I don't want to be seen as that sort of person.
But I suppose we are past that. My mother is much cooler with such things now. If I was younger she will kill me for accepting gifts from my boyfriend like that.
P.S. I'm sorry about the brand names scattered all over, I just want to remember things better and it's not about gloating. Don't believe me? Well it's not like I give a fuck! Hahah!
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