t-party, singapore style: part three

Day Four: Singapore Zoo

After last night's discussion over our itinerary for the last two days, I almost gave up on the zoo. I almost chose Chinatown's lantern parade over Singapore Zoo, which would have been a very bad decision. Listening to them on how to commute going to and from the zoo, para kasing masalimuot so I said that if it would be too much of a hassle, pwede namang hindi na mag-zoo. Buti na lang we still pushed through with it because the commute was a breeze and the zoo was AMAZING ♥

Warning: Pictures overload.

white tigers. cute.
until we were told they killed one of their caretakers.

mukhang dinosaur

right: wallaby; left: kangaroos
medyo corny kasi they were lounging just like that
i wanted to see them in action sana

cassowary
they let a few of these roam freely outside the zoo

I was a bit disappointed that there were no koala bears.

I R baboon
sabagay, ikaw nga ang umupo sa bato nang walang salawal, tingnan natin kung hindi
mamumula ang pwet mo nang ganito

saw this on top of the stony cave where the monkeys are.
the zoo was really a surreal experience for me ☺

do elephants, in general, look sad or this one looks sad cos he's in captivity?

according to a-ma, these two are mates. they were together the whole time.

it's a rhino! rhinos could be unicorns, too
two rhinos almost got into a brawl which could have been cool to witness

this picture is dedicated to juno, haha,

just breezed through the snakes's cages

if i remember it correctly, this one's a komodo dragon
pero bakit parang malinis siya?
yung komodo dragon sa natgeo sobrang pangit eh

hindi pa ready si ate for her close up 

i've seen turtles before but i've never seen one this big

a malaysian sun bear. ang tagal naming hinintay na makita siya sa ganitong angulo

meet pumba

and timon

And here are my favorites~

There were too many cats and I don't know how to differentiate them- which one's the leopard or the cheetah or the jaguar.

according to google, this one's a cheetah

the leopards are sleeping :(

i love love love this shot ♥
but i don't know if this is a leopard or a jaguar

And here's the king of the jungle~

now this is catatonic

We sat in front of his cage for a long time for hopes that maybe we'd see him roar or yawn. He didn't.

Another of my favorites were the zebras. They're so pretty :D

i wanna feel their skin (?)

We also witnessed a zebra in a tantrum, haha

But among all the animals, I was most awed with the giraffe

buntis ba si giraffe o pareho lang kaming naparami ang kain?

Beautiful and majestic, albeit they smell like my pet rabbit. 

We saw flamingos on our way out. Really pretty birds, too. 

I enjoyed the zoo tremendously and am very happy that we did go. Had we removed this from our itinerary, we wouldn't have seen all these beautiful animals. I'm sure my nephews would enjoy this, baka nga more pa than I did. They were surely enjoying while looking at these pictures, what more if they're seeing them right before their very eyes? It would sure be nice to see their delighted faces. Kailangan pag-ipunan na ang SG trip with the nephews ☺ 

I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see the baby pandas. I was looking forward to it pa naman. Maybe Jia Jia and Kai Kai were in the Night Safari. 

We were done by 2 o' clock. Lunch at KFC which isn't as sarap to the bones dahil walang gravy. Waited for the bus back to the city. We were contemplating whether or not to go to the merlion that night pero mukhang give up na ang mga paa namin. So we just opted to stay at Clementi Mall while Xmas got some rest. Jo's treat at Swensen's. Juno and I shared a banana split, which tasted just like your regular, non-Swensen's banana split here in the Philippines. Went home around 9pm. We brought food from Papa Hawker for dinner to eat at Xmas's flat. 

Prepared our things for the next day's transfer to V Hotel. 

Day Five: City Tour and Starbucks na Ginto

We brought our things to V Hotel where we will spend our last night in Singapore. Right after we brought our stuff to our room, we headed to the nearest train station going to Chinatown. Mas malinis siya compared to our Binondo at eto ang Chinatown na mas maraming bumbay. 

It would've been better to go to Chinatown at night with the lanterns all lit, but the zoo was our non-negotiable and I really would pick the zoo over Chinatown any frickin' day. May Binondo naman tayo dito no. 

megawalkathon. pagoda talaga. hyuk hyuk hyuk~

We bought our pasalubongs here. A dollar for a keychain. 

Back to the train station where he headed to Tanjung Pagar to find In Italy, which is supposedly one of the best restaurants in Singapore according to Jo's research, care of tripadvisor.com. 

After our walkathon from the train station, we finally find Craig Road where In Italy is. Walkathon some more until we saw this quaint building

Apparently, we need to have a reservation but even without one, they still accommodated us. 

I already forgot what it was that we ordered but we had two pizzas and a pasta. After which was like eons, they finally served our food. I was a little drowsy and sleepy that I tried to get some shut eye while waiting for our food. Ya, I know not exactly polite but I'm sooo sleepy already and with a lot of walking still to do after, I needed all the rest I can get. 

After a bazillion light years, our food finally arrived. I was a little disappointed with the pizza because it is not the pizza we were familiar with- unti lang ang cheese. We're a bunch who love love love cheese to death so a pizza with little cheese on it, meh. But in fernez, the pasta was really good. 

Jo asked for tabasco and it took three four persons to finally get her request and this one person is, surprise surprise, a Filipino. He apologized that our food took a long time to be served, he explained that there a lot of pizza orders and their oven couldn't do everything at once. Chika naman si kuya. Alam ko na na dati sa barko siya nagtratrabaho pero dahil may anak na siya ngayon, sa Singapore na lang daw siya kasi mas madaling uwi sa Pilipinas. Chika na kami ni kuya. At dahil diyan, we got a complimentary dessert, Torta (chocolate cake) slice. So I don't know if it was because we were chika to kuya or because they were very apologetic that our food took a bazillion years to get ready (because we were seated right next to the kitchen door, they could easily see that I was dozing off already. hehe). 

Next destination was the Esplanade, or in Juno's terms- ang durian. 

Photo-op outside where it's super duper init, but we just had to take pictures, y'know. I guess this is their version of our CCP. 

After Esplanade, to Suntec City we went. And we thought hindi makatarungan ang laki ng SM MOA, just wait 'til you go to Suntec City Mall. With five towers, yun ang mall na hindi makatarungan. After spending half day walking, we were practically dragging our feet. Found a Starbucks café where we plopped ourselves on available seats. If my father doesn't like Starbucks because he thinks it is overpriced coffee, just he wait til he goes to a Starbucks in Singapore- ginto ang kape. 

When we felt rested again, we hauled our butts off and walked going to the Singapore Flyer. We were already dead-tired but there's something about the streets of Singapore that makes you want to drag your throbbing feet all over the city. So we finally reached the Flyer and it's already 7pm. 

The Singapore Flyer is a big observation wheel for observing, umm, Singapore. I'm glad we did this at night because personally, I didn't think it was that fabulous, so what more if we did this in the morning? It was a 30-minute ride, just visually taking the sights and the lights in. When we got off the Flyer, Xmas was already there waiting for us.

And also around this time, my camera has conked out on me once again so no more pictures of our Helix Bridge, Marina Bay Sands, Makansutra and Merlion adventure, until my friends share their photos with me. 

From the Flyer, we walked (again) going to the Helix Bridge. More photo-ops for us. Walked some more going to Marina Bay Sands where more high-end shops are. On our walk going to the Merlion, we chanced upon a laser lights and water show. The lights were pretty but honestly, wala namang kwenta. Pictures of babies projected on water? Am I supposed to be jumping with joy over this?

Nagutom na kami with all the walking we did. We had dinner at the Makansutra. I didn't know what they ordered, all I know was it was yummeh! After dinner, we resumed our walk going to Mommy Merlion (na wala pa rin akong pictures :P) 

And that's it, pansit! Our last night in the city~ tiring but fun. Said our goodbyes with Xmas as we got into our cab bringing us to our hotel. 

Inasmuch as I had enjoyed my little Singapore getaway with my BFFs, uwing-uwi na rin ako. Maybe there's some truth to the saying, there's no place like home. 

Albeit lengthy and done in three installments, no less, this is not the last of my SG posts Toodles xoxo

t-party, singapore style: part deux

Day 2: Ikea & Food Tripping

Woke up late due to exhaustion from Universal trip. Xmas left us for a wee bit in her flat for she had an errand to run. She came back with breakfast~

milk tea ♥

Headed to Ikea Alexandra at around 1pm.

AC highly recommended that we eat at Ikea. I didn't even know they also serve food here.

can you spot red john?

Yummy in my tummy! We had chicken wings, Swedish meatballs, poached salmon with chives sauce and one more dish I can't recall. My favorite is the Swedish meatballs ♥ Food presentation wasn't that good, parang sinalpak lang kasi sa plato. Plus, everything's the same color so it's not that appetizing when you look at it. But of course that changes once you take a bite :D

Ikea attack after lunch! I never really understood the fuss over Ikea until I stepped foot in it. I swear I was even weirded out with AC when it's all she ever talks about. I get it now. HEAVEN! There was an abundance of organizing shizz and DIY cabinets and desks. First, I enjoy DIY stuff and second, I loooove butingtings.

I especially loved this chair

poang rocking chair 

it would be perfect for the spa, but it costs S$219. It's super comfortable but for that price, I could buy four of those foldable lounge chairs we originally used.

They have these set-ups in the store that give you ideas on how to design your space and everything they use in it, you can find in the store. I was salivating over the white desks and bookcases the entire time! How I wish Ikea would open a store in Manila soon... and hopefully, cheaper than Singapore.

We didn't leave the store empty-handed. We all had purchases from this genius of a store. I had the most purchases pero in fernez naman, lahat I'd use for business ☺

greenhouse effect

The greenhouse was an impulse buy. It would look good in my bazaar set-up, but then again due to space constraints, mukhang hindi ako sure kung magagamit ko siya. I now have three modules so it's highly likely I don't have space for this anymore.

This stool is my favorite purchase~

and to think I almost didn't buy it. I bought it because of the color. I should've bought two, but during that time I was more concerned or the weight, baka kasi mag-excess baggage ako.

Went home just to leave our purchaes then it's eating time once again. Dinner at Xmas' favorite hawker stall

hindi rin sila masyado mahilig sa chilli, no? ultimo kanin may chilli

 Delicioso!!! Sting ray and cereal prawn for dinner. I loved the cereal prawn. I wanted to bring home sana a cereal prawn mix/crumbs but I kept putting it off until I totally forgot about it. Super busog.

Kay Mr. Hawker din namin nakita ang destiny ni Jo. Haha! Minatch-make na ni Juno si Jo, kaso lang si A-ma, choosy! We even had a stolen video ni Daddy Hawker kaso nga lang andun din kami so wag na lang.

Before I forget, I also loved their lemonade.

and at S$1? Winner na ☺

Day 3: High Tea, Orchard Road and More Food Tripping

Outlet mall first for J & J's shopping. ICC Mall ata yun, though we weren't able to scour the entire mall since we had to hurry up and scurry along over to the Ritz-Carlton for High Tea. 

Are ya ready??? 

Even with small portions, busog na agad. Never akong sulit with eat-all-you-can's. Pacing is key when it comes to buffet smorgasbord. Since they were once a British colony, the Singaporeans were also tea drinkers. As in legit tea, hindi milk tea tulad natin, haha. High tea is their version of our merienda. 

my cup of tea ☺

Not really a tea drinker so I opted for strawberries with yoghurt for hopes that this one would taste like KFC's Krushers. Haha. It didn't. So I had to put around three cubes of sugar plus honey. I know, I know, I should be laying low on sugar but hey, I am on vacation! So after all those sweeteners, I have a yummy strawberry tea. 

masarap talaga ang bawal

my favorite: mozzarella with tomato and basil

happiness is two kinds of ice cream

Solb! We actually didn't have dinner cos the amount of food we ingested enough food to last us through the day, as evidenced by my hump. Yes, camel lang ang peg ko. Pag lumiit na ang hump, aka the bilbil, it just means it's time to eat. 

 In line at the taxi bay, small talk with the Pinoy bellboy. The next taxi in line was one of those limo services with a flag-down rate of S$5.90. Flag-down rate pa lang yun. I can't even remember which luxury brand of car that was but at least we can charge that one to experience. 

Ion Orchard Mall para lang mag-miron. It's a really huge high-end mall, different with our high-end malls here in Manila which are usually small. We went to Sephora which is make-up heaven but I had to restrain myself from buying another brow powder or pencil. I already have enough pangkilay to last me for two more years. 

Just walked around Orchard Road, then to H&M to see what's the hype over it. H&M has better selection daw compared to Forever21 so I knew I had to check it out. It is just like Forever 21. I bought a striped shirt for 500 which is, I think, already inexpensive. And on second though, expensive pa rin. I could a shirt for P180. Haha. 

Abercrombie & Fitch was our last stop. Unfortunately, wala na dun yung shirtless dude. Nilamig na siguro. Nakakaloka bakit ang mahal ng A&F? Siguro mahal ang bayad kay shirtless dude. Haha. 

I was amazed that I was hearing birds chirping at 9 in the evening, in the city! Naluma bigla yung mga chirping birds na naririnig ko from my bedroom window tuwing umaga. 

As always, low batt na pag-uwi. We didn't go to sleep right away to plan our zoo trip the following day. To those who asked us what the hell we'd do in Singapore for five frickin' days... with the right company, apparently, madami ☺

Yet to be continued... 

t-party, singapore style: part one

Post about my Singapore trip with my friends waaaay long overdue. I'm afraid I can't write this post with as much passion and excitement had I written it just a few days after arriving in Manila. But you see, real life problems needed to be addressed. Orders done and delivered. Phone wires replaced and busted bathroom light fixed. I will try to retell this wonderful experience in the most accurate and vivid way I can.

Airports make me sad

As no one was available to bring me to the airport, I had to take a cab. In fernez, hinatid naman ako hanggang Eastwood. Success sa first try. For 350 kiaw. I'm not really fond of taking cabs cos I think they're a waste of my hard-earned money (cos taking the FX and the light rail transit are much cheaper alternatives), so I don't know if 350 from Eastwood to the airport is too much or a steal. All I know is if I made someone bring me to the airport, I'd have to fill the car up with at least P500. In less than an hour, I was already at Terminal 3. It was only 4pm. Our flight was at 8:30 in the evening. Better safe than sorry, diba?

Juno arrived a little later. We waited to have our baggages checked in. I wonder why we had to pay a travel tax of 1,620. What is it for? Why don't they let us pay travel taxes abroad? Tapos may terminal fee pa na P550? Di ka pa nga nakakaalis, may gastos ka na. 

After checking in our bags, we had "dinner" at Kopi Roti. I ordered my usual which in your regular Kopi Roti cafes would only cost P115, but at the airport, they're P50 more expensive. Oh well. Still enjoyed my kopi bun with soft-boiled eggs and homemade iced tea :) at may star sighting pa!

The plane left right on schedule. We arrived Singapore just a few minutes shy of September 28. Xmas was already there waiting for us at the Arrivals gate. A nice lady handed me a free bottled water. It was a good thing I took it because 1) bottled water is expensive in Singapore (well, EVERYTHING IS MORE EXPENSIVE IN SINGAPORE) and 2) that would be the last thing I'd get for free in SG).

First impressions last

touchdown

I've heard many stories about the efficiency of SG's transport system and by the time I stepped foot outside the airport, I was already impressed. Inside their taxis were small screens where you can see information about the driver and how many kilometers you have already traveled. They issue receipts and you can pay using your credit card! Cool, huh? 

Xmas's place was around an hour away from the airport. Mega chika which went on until 3 am. We didn't want to stop just yet but we had to get a decent shut eye since it's Universal Day tomorrow!

Day 1: Universal Studios, here we come!

Coming up with captions is not my strong suit so forgive me and my sorry attempt at captioning.

Woke up a little later than we had planned. It was a good thing Ama Jo's flight was delayed which bought us more time. Xmas needed to make a stop. Juno and I waited for her outside, where I saw birds! And mind you, they weren't teeny tiny maya-sized birds ha. They were the size of pigeons~ all over the city! 

the grass is always greener on the other side

A quick bite before heading off to Universal. 

if i were to put up a laksa restaurant, i'd name it maricel's laksa. sige na, tawa naman jan

Choices were this and if I remember it correctly, Burger King ata yun... we chose this because it's nice to try new restaurants, most especially if one is outside the country. Right before I went on this SG trip, my cousin cooked laksa at home and albeit the spiciness, I found it very delicious. And so I had high expectations for this laksa because laksa is one of their signature dishes.  Pero laos ang laksa na nakain ko. Mas masarap ang laksa ni Dodoy. 

We took the LRT going to the connecting train at Vivo City, going to Sentosa. Love at first sakay ako sa LRT/MRT system nila <3 10am="10am" a="a" ahead="ahead" around="around" arrived="arrived" at="at" bit="bit" div="div" finally="finally" jo.="jo." just="just" little="little" nbsp="nbsp" of="of" studios="studios" the="the" universal="universal">

eh nasa MOA lang pala tayo!

Can't wait to ride all the rides! Whoopdeedoo :D For the price we paid, I vowed that I shall try all the rides at least once. Haha. 

There were a lot of people considering it is a Friday. I guess most were also tourists. But being that there was no point of comparison, I guess I can't really say if marami na talaga yun. In fair, waiting time per ride was pretty manageable. 

story of my life. 

The first one we tried was Lights Camera Action hosted by Steven Spielberg. It's not really a ride but it shows you what really happens behind the scenes, how they blow up buildings, concoct category 5 storms and obliterate New York City. It was really fun and entertaining.

Next was lunch at Loui's Pizza. Obviously, we had a pizza. A humongous one.

but i'd choose quality over quantity any frickin' time

Apparently, I don't have to go to New York anymore because I've been there already. At least, in the fake one. Haha.

rockefeller plaza oh! 'di ba bonggels??

We were also right on time for the Rockafellas show on 5th Avenue. Sabi nila the group is comprised mostly of members of a Filipino dance group popular in the 90s but I can't see any familiar faces, si Spencer Reyes lang ata kilala ko dun eh, haha.

in fair, magaling sila

We did the 3D Transformers, The Mummy and the Jurassic Park rides. I was in luck because the Transformers ride opened just December last year and my friends who've been there before have never tried it either. The Transformers ride was one of the best in the park that we actually came back for another go after finishing all the rides. The Mummy was the most scary, in my opinion. It was a roller coaster-ish ride, only it is in the dark. As in I was screaming my lungs out because I was so scared. I guess it was the uncertainty of it all, because you don't know if you're going up or plunging down. I was still shaken from the Mummy ride when we went on the Jurassic Park boat ride. Pare, paikot-ikot yung salbabida, mas lalo akong nahilo. It was nothing extraordinary. I guess little kids would enjoy this more.

magkano kaya charge nito sa pedi?

Next was the Shrek 4D Adventure in Far Far Away.

Really enjoyed this one, too! I was wearing shorts so mas feel ko yung creepy crawlies :P After the 4D theater, we watched Donkey Live! Donkey's really funny. Bentang-benta. Pwede na ipalit kay Jojo A: All the Way.

Waterworld was next. It was okay. Ang galing lang ni Ms. Bida sa kanyang fight scenes. Si Cynthia Luster lang ang peg. Maybe I could've enjoyed it more if we were seated nearer the stage but I don't think I'd want to go home dripping wet.

waiting for the show to start

bonggels lang talaga ang effects

And last but definitely, not the the least~ Battlestar Galactica! We really saved the best for last. Although only Xmas and I went on this one. After Mummy, I was really hesitant to try this cos I was thinking kung feeling ko titigil na puso ko sa Mummy pa lang, what more on this one? But after words of encouragement from Xmas and the thought that "I'm already here, might as well do it," I gave it a go.

paano na? bawal pala sa rides ang prone to giddiness?!?

I survived Battlestar Galactica!!! Yung Human nga lang :D I definitely am too chicken for Cylon. Maybe next time. Actually, mas natakot pa ako sa Mummy than on this one. Maybe because you could see what's ahead of you and you could actually prepare for it~ whether you'll hold your breath or bwelo na sa sigaw. I'm so proud of myself for not chickening out on this roller coaster ride as I've done with the other theme parks I've been to.

We finished Universal around 8 in the evening already. I forgot to mention that the sun sets much later in Singapore than in Manila kaya nakakaloko ang oras doon. We were tired and famished so we decided to eat first before heading back to the airport to get Jo's things.

1. Din Tai Fung; 2. Kim Tak Gu, isdatchu?; 3. xiao long bao

Dinner at Din Tai Fung. Yummy food but I'm loyal to hakao. I think we also ordered hakao but of course ang star of the night ay ang xiao long bao. Already tried xiao long bao here at Shi Lin and even then, di ako masyado fan. I get really frustrated when in the process of getting your xiao long bao, you rupture the wrap and the sabaw spills. 

Train back to the airport. Exhausted. As in we were sleeping in the train. Nakanganga pa! I guess wala na ako sa kamalayan ko na nakalimutan ko pa kung nasaan ko nailagay yung LRT pass ko. I was in mega panic mode already, buti na lang nasa plastic bag lang ni Jo. Giddiness galore nung makita ko na yung bahay ni Xmas. 

what we called home for five days, thanks to lola xmas ☺

And that's only Day 1. 

To be continued...

awkward s02 e12: the other shoe

SEASON FINALE!!! So sad that it's already season 2's last episode. I'd have to wait for 9 months for the third one (which is a 24-episode season, ya'll!). Thank goodness I have my other series premiering in the coming weeks to keep me distracted.

SUPER BITIN!

So anyway, Jenna picks Matty over Jake which is perfect because I think Jake has gotten a little boring. Maybe Jake's appeal in the past was he was with Lissa- you know what they say... we always want what we can't have. 

School year's almost over and the Sophomore class is going to a trip in Europe. Val bullies Jenna's parents into letting Jenna go on (and pay for) the trip which isn't exactly how Jenna planned to spend her summer vacation. She and Matty already planned on going to camp again where Matty will be head counselor. But Jenna feels that Europe will be an experience but at the same time, she wants to be with Matty over summer break. I really think Jenna's decision not to go to Europe stems from the fact that she is afraid that Matty might find another girl. That wasn't said but I guess why would she forego Europe? It's Europe, for crying out loud! Yes, I loooove Jenna + Matty and they really look cute together but come on, they shouldn't let their relationship hinder them from doing and experiencing new things even if it not together. 

They really look good together! I get butterflies in my stomach when it's their scene together, haha. But still {uh oh, here comes the prude in me} Jenna's parents walks in on them making out INSIDE JENNA'S BEDROOM and they're not even shocked about it. I'm just shocked that some parents are okay about things like this. 

We all know that Sadie and Ricky were sort of a couple but now, Ricky's moving on to his next conquest leaving Sadie distraught. Who knew Sadie would be so clingy to Ricky, no? But that is not the most surprising twist of our season finale. It is... drumroll please...

Tamara and Jake! Who knew??? And what's weird (okay, it's not that weird) is that Jenna seemed a little jealous. Maybe she still feels territorial over Jake and Tamara is one of her BFFs. Let's see where this angle is going next season.

So am I happy that Jenna chose Matty? YES. 

Yes, I was conflicted (naks, feeling Jenna) before on whose team I was, but after a few episodes I realized I really want Matty. As I've mentioned before, Jake was a little boring. Jenna's life right now seems to be mirroring her mother's and I really hope this will not end like another one of MTV's show- 16 and Pregnant. Ha. Anyway, it was always fun watching this series. I swear, why is an episode only 20-minutes long??? 

This is not yet the end of it. I predict more of the Matty-Jenna-Jake triangle. We'll know in nine months. Argh. Torture.

awkward s02 e11: once upon a blog

Last episode, Jenna makes the existence of her blog known to the whole school population. She did it to, hopefully, win Jake back but unfortunately it backfired. Matty and Jake wanted her to choose between them but she doesn't know to approach the topic and resolve her dilemma, so she results to what she thinks she does best in times like this- blogging.

But instead of blogging about her real-life drama, she tried fictionalizing their love triangle. 

Obviously, Twilight and peg. 

But her fictionalized take on her complicated relationship with Jake and Matty were boring her readers. They want the real dish on the situation. Next, she tries to envision a what-might-have-been scenario had she done things differently. In the do-over, Matty brings their relationship out in the open which eventually made her pals with Sadie which eventually turns her into a raging bitch. Think Cady Heron in Mean Girls

Another version of a do-over is she was with Jake. Jake realizes she not that into Jenna so he dumps her so Jenna pretends she's pregnant to get Jake back only she really was pregnant.

In the end, Jenna just decides to keep her blog private again.