in the beginning of december, i ditched all my classes and played in singapore for a week... all i have to say is.... the airport was ridiculous!
there were ginormous christmas ornaments all over the place..
.
there were three huge terminals... each terminal was at least twice the size of taoyuan
i already loved singapore...
this was the outside of a restaurant O__O
the queue for the cab :)
there were lots and lots of plants in the airport
what did i tell you about the christmas ornaments?
the crowne plaza hotel
hmm... right next to the kids play area
so i heard someone snoring before i passed by this area.... i thought it was like... sound effects that the airport was playing... but then i realized it was a hobo sleeping in the corner... you can see his feet in the pix :)
a chinese restaurant..
my first taste of singaporean food... and it was derish! it was pretty much pad thai.. which i haven't had in a while since taiwan's thai restaurants don't serve the dish..
i chilled here for a while... watched an episode of foster's home for imaginary friends ... best show ever!
colorful water.. magic!
we had to keep left? it took me a while to get used to.... taiwan did a really good job conditioning me to stay to my right :)
an observation about singapore's MRT ... it smelled like a kindergarden classroom.. kinda like crayons.. and that all the exits were covered with palm trees... like disneyland ... and people talk relatively loudly on public transportation systems here...
hmmm...
the woman sleeping was in the way of that funny looking guy -__-
banking made easy.... this citi was located inside the MRT...
so efficient!
muharharha... oh singapore humor...
DAY #1
doraemon's following me everywhere i go!
stop #1: chinatown
the streets of chinatown
it smelled like TS emporium walking past here....
so cute!
ahhh...
so my goal for the trip was to try everything on this spread in my travel guide.. minus the curry fish head ..
the first item checked off my list : nasi lemak
mildly spicy rice with an egg, anchovies and the spicy paste... derish! .. there was also crushed peanut powder that i didn't use...
buddha's tooth temple
then off to lil india.. i totally didn't expect anything from the tekka center but...
it was heaven...it was like fashion district in downtown LA.. but specifically for food.. there was an area for chinese food, indian food, .. other food.. and like produce and stuff
and i thought chinese was hard...
the architecture was pretty cool
disney princess castles?
this reminded me of aladdin's hideout spot
whoa!
boys not allowed!
more food places! i love singapore...
the outside was made of a million tiny gods...
supposed to be char kway teow .. but i ordered the indian version... oops...
i met this cute lil indian man named michael... we talked for a good hour ..
this was the hotel i stayed at... basically the lure that got me to come to singapore... and also to hang out with my aunt... but all i have to say is... 5 stars baby
everything's so proper here... cricket haha
the row of all the 5 star hotels and the promenade
merlion park
the colorful thing is the viewing seats for the race track... i think...
baby merlion
mama merlion... papa merlion was away on a business trip
a bunch of floating balls..
a poem about the merlion
archway bridge
waterfall inside the building.. fancy schmancy
in life there's no exits.. only way outs
another water fall
i thought i was in westwood
bugis: pretty much lil arabia
jasmine's mosque
behind the mosque... cute lil street
actually..... it was called sultan's mosque
this was a post office... the most high end post office i've ever seen...
so i got mosquito bites taking this pix... i thought it was a smart idea walking into wet grass to get a better pix of these temples -__-
jon's place
malay town... there wasn't much there.. just some run down malls
dim sum!
whoa there.. cool guy
this building looks like it's covered with cauliflower
the water was jumping all over the place
singapore was really decked out on orchard street... orchard street is every shopaholic's paradise... it has at least 20 - 30 shopping centers lined along the street.. mostly high end
the marriott hotel looked really cool
i took this topless bus and toured the city at night ... i was mesmerized by all the lights
there were a lot of sexy reindeers lining the street
incomplete mall but it looks like it'll be ballin when it's complete
there were a lot of reindeer chicks
hmm... this one reminded me of weed for some reason
<3> 
yes please do...
cotton candy colors!
haha that little girl was running between the reindeer's legs
7-11 express... convenience to the max
din tai fung! ahhh
the yellow zone
the lil kids were playing DDR
the ion orchard's very curvy
crazy tree :)
inside the crazy christmas tree... people were lying on the ground trying to get the best angles
inside the ion orchard... it had 4 basement floors and 4 normal floors
those flavors sounded really good
a row of snowmen musicians...
a tuba... or euphonium? wow i'm still such a band nerd :/
hmm... i don't think i was supposed to wander this far.. i do believe this was the red light district of singapore...
the snowman band jamming together
this is all we need in malls... all other stuff is unnecessary :)
so i realized during this trip that i took a set of pictures in the daytime and the same set at night... sbi about all the duplicates... this is one of these pixes...
this was right outside my hotel... we were situated in the blue zone
DAY #2
i stole a couple of these at the breakfast buffet...
suntec city center mall .. across the street from my hotel
a bonzai garden!
had to visit the fountain of wealth...
but got distracted by the koi garden along the way..
the biggest kois i've seen.. they looked good enough to eat
i didn't think walking on these floating squares was a good idea.. but did it anyway :)
the fountain of wealth was hard to find
what were they doing?
the only zodiac sign that matters
cool
the fountain of wealth was in the center of 5 super tall skyscrapers
these buildings had clever names
this mall was really dangerous..
i caused some damage in the suntec city mall... but i love her to death... best buy ever
i wanted to get in on this fountain of wealth business...
oh yah .. i touched the water... rich totes obvi fosh!
back at the hotel...
bird's eye view of the 4th floor... the most important floor because that's where the breakfast buffet's located..
view from right outside my room
hmm....
the pool
so i always heard chirping noises walking in the hallway of the hotel... i thought birds liked to fly in inside the open middle area.. but in actuality... there were two birds held captive by the hotel to add sound effects for the hotel guests
i never realized the elevators changed colors
went to check out the pool
this tree was made of beanie babies...
umm... this building's pretty historic but i forgot why
roti prata - pancake with egg .. you dip it into curry
laksa... noodles with stuff and coconut milk soup base... yes i got really fat after coming back from singapore...
rojak ... fruit and veggie salad with crushed peanut sauce
a mall
raffles hotel... it's a historic building
the marina mandarin by day
listen to the purple hippo
the weather was very sporadic the week i was there... it was super hot and humid when i got there... and then it would rain for half an hour... and then be all sunny again
the singapore flyer... people can have business dinners in there.. crazy
the convention center... it looks like a spiky ball from far away.. or up close
i jumped over these squares
haagen daaz's becoming pretty sensual
the promenade
i went on a river boat tour at this time...
when this project is done.. it's gonna be the las vegas of singapore... each building is 55 ft.. i guess they don't use the metric system? ... and i think you can access all three of these buildings via the roof.. O__O
some asian heritage museum
the supreme court
love the color scheme
bungee jumping or whatever... apparently it's a big deal to the singaporeans that beyonce was on this contraption last year
clarke quay's adorable
back to my room... the bathroom
we were on one of the premier floors .. score :)
on my way to sentosa to watch songs of the sea... one of the reasons why singapore's so rich.... there were so many of these cargo boxes lined along its harbor
90% of the housing in singapore is subsidized by the government... or else most people wouldn't be able to afford apartments there
revolving restaurant
one of the biggest malls in singapore
monorails
disneyland?
actually... universal studios in progress
found you papa merlion!
so once i got off the bus.. i guess i was the only person who thought that a peacock walking nonchalantly in a parking lot was strange...
i was so glad i came the day i did.. it rained the next night
so songs of the sea wanted to be like fantasmic... it had the announcer telling us the show would be starting in 10 minutes...
so the story was about some guy who had a really good singing voice
and he started singing... and this bubble shows up with a princess who's asleep.. the bubble goes away and he wants to know why the princess is asleep
so he starts singing again... but conjures up the fire god... who performs a fire show for us
and then the guy sings again.. and wakes up the light goddess.... and then there was a light/laser show
yup.. and then the queen of the sea shows up .. water show
he sings again and the princess wakes up... and then there's a light/water/fire display
can't end a musical spectacular without fireworks!
sky tower in the back
papa merlion looks mad
back to the city
oh yes... each of us had three pillows :)
view from outside our balcony
view from outside our room
so after the show... i spontaneously decided to check out the clubbing area of singapore... but i didn't plan on it before getting there... so i brought no make up or appropriate clothing... i was definitely living on the edge that night
why gastronomic? because i think it's singapore's favorite word.. it kept showing up in a bunch of the travel guides and advertisements like these
the singapore flyer at night
fullerton hotel
remember clarke quay? yup that was the party central of singapore
it was so cool... the layout was like a cross with this fountain thing in the middle... the legs of the cross were all lined with bars and clubs
everything was open really late.. like this bakery
crazy diversity here
this was an arabic bar
a hippie joint.. yello jello
asian
scottish!
so since i figured i was here... i'd try to get into a club... after all.. the worst they could do was turn me away.. i tried at this club i read about somewhere... it's a pretty acclaimed party spot
i learned that night how valuable my US passport is... despite my ugliness and non party attire i got into the club... either the singaporeans love americans or they just have low standards :)
oh yes... chillin at the bk whopper bar
gotta have a hooters here....
inside the arena... it was pretty poppin
singapore's signature drink... i didn't have any ... maybe next time... that night was a fun sober night
the second mercedez taxi i saw in singapore... apparently the buses in singapore are also benzes
inside the lobby
DAY #3
my last complimentary buffet breakfast :( .... only in asia can i have eggs with dim sum for breakfast :)
the restaurant was pleasant to be at
chilled with my aunt at her convention... just kidding
her convention was next door
one of the few booths i recognized...
omg.. buffet?
singapore sling display
in the daytime :) it's a different atmosphere
heaven?
the real char kway teow
fried carrot cake... mmm
i devoted my third day to sentosa.. which is an island 20 minutes away from my hotel.. it has three gorgeous beaches... and a bunch of tourist stuff to do... too bad it was raining the whole day :(
whoa :)
the view from the top of the sky tower.. many will look the same :)
to the beaches...
whoa.. is that physically possible? i guess so!
siloso beach
doesn't this look like a postcard?
the other beaches... it was getting dark so i couldn't see them
the fountain of wealth at night
this wasn't on my list of foods to try.. but it was yummy! chicken with rice
DAY #4
my aunt dragged me up at 6:30 in the morning to go to the botanical garden... i was amazed at how many people were up so early... but yah there were christmas trees lined up along all the paths of the garden... i'd say most of the groups who decorated the trees were mediocre decoraters at best...
and then this taxi brought us to the airport after breakfast... i've had really pleasant experiences with all of the taxi drivers i've had here... they're really outgoing and helpful.. like they told historical facts about certain places and fun stuff like that
back to the awesome airport... i had a few hours to explore there....
each cave had tv shows on ...
the airport even accommodated the gaming addicts
i didn't expect this from the powder room....
adore.. she doesn't look like she has her soul sucked out in this campaign
oh clever clever
it had like a hundred plush seats
i love bridges
there were a couple of these foot massagers sprinkled around the airport.. i stuck my foot in this one.. and yes i felt pretty disgusted
too bad it was raining and the butterfly garden was outdoors... boo... it took me over an hour to find this place
bak kut teh -- pork ribs in an herbal soup base
so ends my trip to singapore
.... i thought i would be bored out of my mind there but i managed to keep my schedule pretty packed so i was running all over the place and exploring new places... there are still a lot of nature-y stuff i wish i did that i didn't get the chance to... i decided to save that for the next time..
after this trip ... i've reached a few conclusions...
1. taiwan is the only asian country who utilizes face masks and cares about the existence of H1N1
2. jetstar sucks... never take the airline if you can't help it.. flying from taiwan to singapore takes 4 hours and you have to pay a lot for airplane food.... and there weren't any TVs to entertain us .... and the beverages weren't complimentary... and we didn't get free peanuts or snacks or anything.... disgust x 100
3. i came to singapore expecting everyone to speak english... but most of the people here speak mandarinsh
4. considering how strict i heard about singapore's rules and regulations... i didn't see any popos on the streets...
5. singapore is a very safe place to roam around in the middle of the night
i can't believe how soon i'm leaving asia :( i wish time could move slower
