Thursday, July 29, 2010

What I saw, what I did: Singapore Part 4

We had been staying in Singapore for three days and we still hadn't seen the important landmarks. On this day, we split into two groups. The others wanted to go to Funan IT Mall to buy some electronic stuff (they're mostly programmers). My group decided to take it slow and "smell the roses". It was outrageous that we kept on just passing by the shops, the views... in a hurry to get to places.

With our slow pace, I was finally able to take a picture of this interesting building in daylight. It's the School of the Arts of Singapore. It's reportedly the best art school in Asia, but it's only for high school students.
After sightseeing around Dobi Ghout (which wasn't much because the shops open late--one of the most annoying things for me), we took the train to go to Marina Bay where we would meet the other at 1pm. We passed by this park which is the War Memorial.
As we were taking photos, a barefooted monk came ambling by with some women whom we guessed were his assistants or perhaps family members. We seized the moment to have our picture taken with him. Thankfully his guide and companions obliged.
We learned that he is from Vietnam and is just visiting. We were touched that he put on his costume for us (it must be heavy walking around with all that drapey fabric and beads hanging on him). We communicated by gestures and hand signals as their English was very poor. That was what we meant by "smelling the roses"! :D

Our lunch was at the food court of Marina Bay Mall. It's yet another mall that looks and feels like SM Mall of Asia. It was there that I bought a K-Swiss shirt at an outlet store for my little bro and a pair of shoes for $15 from a store called The Little Things She Needs. :)
Ice Kachang with Sweet Potato, Yam, Jelly and milk
I had this for lunch. I was craving for banana fritters already by then, and was growing tired of the laksa, chinese noodles and curry selection. I didn't like it because it turned out to be some sweet potato and yam desert. I thought the orange pieces were papaya or peaches. The lady minding the store couldn't be bothered to explain her menu, and she spoke very little English.
Grace made a better choice with this Korean chicken hot pot dish. I tried it and it was very tasty. The others were still in search for the best hainanese chicken rice, which of course couldn't be found in that food court.
After lunch, it was time for souvenir pictures! We just struck our poses everywhere and clicked away! :)

Newly Wed Shot with the Merlion :)
At about this time I was beginning to think how... gray Singapore is. There were still a lot of buildings being constructed. Everything is organized everywhere. My friend and I agreed that we appreciate everything the little country has to offer, but we'd still take the colorful chaos of the Philippines any day.

While the other group went to ride the Singapore Flyer and then visit the Night Safari afterwards, my "slow" group decided to go home and chill. We ended up being surprisingly productive because our impulsive trip to the market got us buying pasalubong already.
Look at this giant Hello Panda pack! It contains assorted flavors (chocolate, strawberry and milk). Why don't we have this in the Philippines?

By the time we finished grocery shopping, my companion was not feeling well anymore. We grabbed some food from FairPrice and headed home. I tried the Japanese pancake with Kaya filling by Mr. Bean (it's also inside FairPrice) but it wasn't good. The cake tasted yeasty and the kaya wasn't as sweet as the one I have at Ya Kun Kaya Toast Ortigas. I bought a bag of Cheezels as well to make her feel better. :)

Late that night, the third person in our group who was supposed to meet up with a friend based in Singapore told us that his dinner got cancelled. He wanted to go out and try this fried chicken place in Orchard Road. Since we had already eaten, I convinced him to do something else. After some time of deliberation, we decided on checking out Clarke Quay for a night out. We didn't bring our friend who wasn't feeling well anymore.
Well, this was what we ended up doing after checking out the bars. Instead of chilling with a drink, we got our adrenalines pumped up with the G-Max Reverse Bungee and the GX-5 Xtreme Swing rides in Clarke Quay. Check out the site here. After browsing through that site, I probably don't need to expound more on what it was like riding not one but BOTH. I can only say that there was a point when I was up in the air and everything went slow motion, and my only thought was, "Wow, I'm still alive."

The ride was worth going to Singapore for. I'm not exaggerating. Mak and I had our turn with three Filipino girls, which made the ride more awesome because we could scream and curse in Tagalog. :)

Our big smiles after the rides
Aloe Vera Jelly with Soursop Ice Kachang
I really never learn. We went to our neighborhood Kopi Tiam for a night cap after Clarke Quay. Makaw had some dimsum while I made yet another experiment with the numerous variations of ice kachang. I was looking for the iced desert I used to have in Australia, but maybe that wasn't Singaporean because it had coconut milk. I didn't know what soursop was until I tasted it. It turned out to be plain guyabano, which we grow in our backyard back home. I asked the old woman in Mandarin whether there was supposed to milk in it. She looked at me funny and said, "You want milk? I put milk." I wish I had shut my mouth because it was a mistake. Guyabano with milk??

Note to self: if I were an old woman and had to work in a 24 hour Kopi Tiam, I'd be cranky too.

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