Singapore Travel Summary 2017-2018
Recently, I stumbled across my long lost blog (this) and realized that this blog has kept a lot of memories, some which I've already forgotten! It's definitely a blessing to be able to re-read all the previous posts and reminisce the memories behind it. So, I've decided to come back to the world of blogging! It's going to be a pain in the ass and a heck loads of commitment, but I figure that the only way to keep the memories alive is by writing!
Since my last post, I've continued to go on spontaneous short trips. I've successfully went on 5 trips to Singapore within a year, returned to Australia with the family, volunteered in Bali, and revisit places around Malaysia!
I shall summarize all my mini trips in this posts because I'm lazy and it'll take forever to dedicate a post for each. In April 2017, I went to Singapore to visit my good friend, Noelle, just like I do every year since meeting her from YLP. During this trip, Noelle took me to the scenic walk from VivoCity (MRT: Habourfront) to Pahlawan beach in Sentosa Island. It was a hella long walk under the hot sun but it's all worth it because the scenery was amazing!
Tip: You can save $4 from the monorail ride if you walk from VivoCity to Sentosa Island. The ticketing counter is only at the VivoCity entrance (Sentosa station), so, it's basically only a one time payment. If you think it's too far to walk from VivoCity to the beach, you can walk to the next station (Waterfront station) and take your FREE monorail ride towards the final stop (Beach station). Oh, it's also free when you ride the monorail back to VivoCity.
I mean, anything to save some cash right?! You get to burn calories with a beautiful view and save $4 from it! #brokestudent
April 2017
Noelle and I wanted a "fancy" night out. We found this cool bar through chope.co and made our reservations to Loof Bar. We ordered wine and some chips & dips. It was a perfect way to end the day as the sunset was breathtaking and we could see Marina Bay Sands from there!
How to get there: We took the MRT to Bugis and walked for about 10 minutes, passing the National Library. (Do check out the National Library while you're there! I was very impressed with the architecture!)
April 2017
April 2017
April 2017
April 2017
April 2017
April 2017
This picture is why I decided to return to Haji Lane again. I look so burnt and exhausted after the flight and walking around with all the heavy bags!
April 2017
And then, a few months later in September, I went back to Singapore again, this time with my mom and Pui Foong. We were quite surprise when we were looking for hotels because the price skyrocketed than usual but we're not sure why. Turns out, we were there the same day of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix!
Without doubt, I brought Pui Foong to walk the scenic walk to Sentosa Island. I definitely came prepared this time round with a cap!
September 2017
This picture was a lucky shot because literally after taking this, the rain started POURING! Poor me, I just arrived at the beach after a long walk, and it started raining in less than 5 minutes of me enjoying the beach.
September 2017
September 2017
I took this picture while walking around Singapore river. This was the very moment we found out about the Grand Prix since it was there. It was a hassle to get around that area because a lot of roads were closed and we had to walk even further to get to the Merlion Park! Worth it though, at least we got to "experience" a bit of a F1 event.
September 2017
Because I loved Haji Lane so much, I brought my mom to Haji Lane this time! We settled in Blu Jazz Cafe for lunch and it was delicious (and not too pricey too!)
September 2017
September 2017
It's January 2018 and after a gap year, I'm finally ready to start college. I have a fear with attending orientations and always go all out to avoid it. No surprise, I escaped to Singapore again, this time alone. (I had college orientation and an event to attend in Singapore at the same time, so obviously I chose the escape route!) It was literally a hectic trip because it was flight-relax-event-sleep-airport-flight-college, within 2 days.
During my free time before the event, I went back to Sentosa again to chill by the beach. I felt like this walk from VivoCity to the beach is my mandatory activity while I'm in Singapore. I decided to splurge a bit on drinks this time round and headed to a beach bar. I ordered vodka lime for $12. It was so refreshing in this hot weather that I drank it too quickly, forgetting there's alcohol inside. Next thing I know, I was slightly tipsy at 3pm in the afternoon. Lol.
January 2018
January 2018
January 2018
Before dropping me off to roam around myself, my mom's friend took me out for some dim sum in a cute little restaurant in Novena , where the food is served on a train. The food here is a bit pricey but worth the try! As I indulge myself into these cute dim sums, I question myself as to why don't Malaysia has "innovative" dim sums like these?! I've never tried all having yao char guai deep fried chee cheong fun. Yeah, I don't know how is that making sense, but it's soooooooo good, I actually ordered another.
January 2018
January 2018
January 2018
January 2018
A week later, I went back to Singapore again. Everyone around me was like: "Brenda, stop going to Singapore omg!" This time, it wasn't for travelling only. I was selected to represent UNHCR (where I volunteer) to attend a humanitarian workshop in Singapore, fully sponsored! I couldn't turn down the offer since it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to attend such workshop!
I was disappointed with myself during the workshop because I wasn't able to contribute enough due to my lack of experience in the humanitarian field, but thankful for this opportunity that was given to me because I get to hear from experienced volunteers who had hands on experience in refugee camps abroad! I was annoyed with myself because I was supposed to be contributing but instead I gained more than I contributed. This trip has definitely motivated me to be more aware of crisis happening around the world, not just refugees, but natural disasters and others too!
Of course, none of us participants stayed in the hotel during our free time! I went out with my fellow Malaysian participants and made a new Mexican friend while we're travelling on the MRT. We decided to explore together and walked around Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay. I've been to Singapore so many times and I have to say, this was my first time visiting these two places at night. IT WAS GLORIOUS, I almost shed a tear.
January 2018
January 2018
The following night, we met up with our new Mexican friend and headed out to Clarke Quay for a drink. Initially, we thought of going to a quiet bar to chill, but somehow, we got caught up with the scene of Clarke Quay and settled ourselves in a fun Spanish bar! It was definitely a trip to remember because I've experienced so many firsts!
January 2018
Okay so in April I went back to Singapore again to visit Noelle since she's back from UK for Easter break. I didn't tell my parents I'm going to Singapore again this time round because, how could I? Eventually, I told them that I'm leaving for Singapore again 10 days before my flight. Their reaction? "WHAT."
You probably think I'm crazy, but yes, I went back to Sentosa again, this time specifically for the sunset. I don't wanna elaborate more on my trips to Sentosa because I'm bored of writing it again haahah.
April 2018
April 2018
BUT, I did something special this trip with Noelle. We tried the Michelin star chicken rice! We actually went there twice, but the first time we were there it was sold out, so we settled with the restaurant version of this instead, just right opposite the hawker stall version. We made a point to come back to try this OG one, so we woke up hella early on my last day here and started queuing at 10am. I was definitely shock because the queue was 1 hour long on a Wednesday morning. Do people not have jobs? How do they have the time to queue like this omg. We spoke to an old lady in front of us and she told us it's really delicious and she travelled from Pasir Ris just to buy this for her family's dinner that night. I was so impressed.
Needless to say, the one hour queue was far more than worth it. We tapao (takeaway) our food back to Noelle's house so we could have it with her parents. It was a 20 minutes car ride back to Holland Village and I thought the food probably won't taste as good anymore. BUT BOY WAS I WRONG. I ordered the noodle with the chicken and it was so good even after that long car ride! I can't imagine how it would taste like if we ate it there! Everyone around me knows how much of a foodie I am, so for me to say that a food is good, it must be really good.
TIP: The shop opens at 10am, queue generally starts around 9.30am so be there early!
April 2018
Finally, I'm done with all the Singapore posts.
TL;DR: I go to Singapore too often because I love that country way too much.
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