:) & :( about Singapore!

As the old saying goes, time flies when you're having fun.

That had definitely been the case for us at Singapore.

My frens & I had been planning for this budget trip over half a year oredy. (What a shame it took so long)

So glad we finally fulfilled our travel dream again in this December without breaking our bank or our sanity. HuHu!

In this post, you'll come across these two emoticons :) & :( quite often, which i 'll use to work out my very own "emoticon rating".

(The # of emoticons will show the amount of my likes and dislikes about certain things I saw/encountered in Singapore.)

Merlion, mythical symbol of Singapore :):):)

Basically this is a 2 days trip.

With such a short trip we had to wander around Singapore rather quickly.

Just glad that everything turned out alright in the end.

The very first thing we did after getting off the bus is find our way to our one night's accomodation in Bugis.

Group Photo in front of The InnCrowd Backpacker Hostel where we spent a good stay.

Tables of Ang mohs having beer came into sight when we got in there.

It's quite awkward in the beginning cuz the place truly seemed like a hostel owned by a genuine backpacker for only genuine backpackers.

And we all looked like some kind of intruders when we walked in there.

Main reason booking this hostel in the first place was due to the damn cheap price - SGD 22 per night. (Trust me, this is already the cheapest rate out there during this festive month of Dec.)

Anyway we survived the intriguing stares from the Angmohs and the biatch receptionist (would mention this biatch again later).

Had a good nite though in the Dorm #4.

Everything there was kind of homey.

You can tell from the pics below: Dun we look like having breakfast at home?

All in all,

Emoticon Rating for the Inncrowd Backpackers Hostel:

:) :) :)

In Singapore we almost entirely travelled by public transprt.

People always tell me that Singapore has the most remarkable and efficient public transport system in the world.

Having ridden the MRT and the bus in Singapore, the claim has been justified.

The MRT and buses are super punctual, efficient, esp the buses :) :) :) :) :)

Four to six minutes for each train/bus to show up, definitely beat the shit out of our "oh-so-proud" rapid KL and LRT/Monorail.

The only thing I dislike about MRT is that I dun understand why the hell we have to have a SGD1 deposit on the card.

I know the ex-link card system is a very convenient and cheap way of travelling around Singapore, but as a tourist who just stay here for 2 days, I dun think ex-link is my decent choice.

That's why we chose to buy the temporary cards which we have to deposit to get the SGD1 back at the end of our journey.

Here it is, the MRT Ticketing Machine where u can get back ur deposit here,

Freaking MAFAN :( :( :( :(

After checking into our hostel we took the MRT to the Marina Bay.

To me, Marina Bay is like the landmark capital of Singapore.

You can find all those skyscrapers within vicinity at Marina Bay area.

To name a few:

1.The Esplande

The durian shaped building is mainly a performing art center plus a mix of offices, apartments, and shopping complex (if i'm not mistaken).

Inside there, we saw gospel choir performing christmas songs and teenagers practising dance.

A place full of vibe and energy :) :)

2. Merlion Park

Taking fancy photo with the lion-fish is a must do :)

A miniature of the Merlion :)

3. Fullerton Hotel

Can you tell this is a 5-star hotel?

Rather surprised when Amerie told me this former general post office is now an extravagant 5-star hotel.

Somehow the hotel looks kinda striking sitting understatedly amongst many other modern skyscrapers at the Marina Bay area.

This made me kinda curious what it might look like interiorly.

Perhaps it has ceiling encrusted with precious stones or even glimmering floors covered with gold, hope to get rich someday soon and spend a night at this hotel :)

4. Marina Bay Sand

The massive entertainment and casino complex - Marina Bay Sands Resort & Casino is AWESOME! :) :) :) :) :)

Both architecture and interior design of Marina Bay Sands is truly worth mentioning.

The spectacular, flamboyant and unique architecture/interior design really blew me away.

Let the pics do the talking:

The 3 level shoppes have many brands of fashion I havn't seen in M'sia b4 :) :)

Stairlike 3D architecture :) :)

This aluminium sculpture is like glittering water flowing when the wind blows. Breathtaking! :) :) :)

We didnt spend much time admiring all those spectacular art architecture.

straightly headed to the casino to have our dinner n try our luck, hehe :)

Group Photo in front of the Marina Bay Sands Casino

After the Marina Bay walking tour, we took the bus to Orchard Road.

Our main reason for visiting Singapore in the first place is seeing Christmas illumination in Orchard Road.

As it turns out, the illuminations aren't as inspiring/fascinating as I thought it would be.

Glad we made the decision to visit Singapore days b4 christmas, cuz the street was oredy freaking congested with people when we got there, let alone on Christmas Day.

Anyhow, we ignored the crowd and happily do our fancy photos with the christmas deco n lights.

Check ur surroundings b4 taking a pic.

Illuminated Christmas Tree :) :) :)

Group Photo again on the Orchard RD.

We LV to pose

undoubtedly.

Freaking tired after walking down the entire Orchard Road.

Took the MRT back to Bugis and spent a good nite at the hostel.

Next morning, the very first thing we did after having our free breakfast was google to find ways to travel to Sentosa.

Snapped the map on the computer screen and walked to the right bus stop according to it.

We just waited for the right buses and hopped onto one of them.

Everything is so easy to refer and even if you can't figure out the bus route map at the bus stop, u can ask any of the bus drivers that stop by. :) :)

It took us half an hour to get to Sentosa.

First thing first, we wandered around Vivo city, Singapore largest shopping mall.

I always had this fantasy that Singapore is a place full of hip pretties and handsomes.

Girls would deck out in the most hip outfit and always put on extreme makeup and striking hair style like the famous blogger Xia Xue.

Much to my disappointment, I had yet to come across any hip pretties, not even at the Singapore largest shopping mall :(

We headed to Sentosa by monorail after an hour walk around Vivo.

We hurried through the 4 stations in Sentosa and at last headed to our last destination - Resort World Casino.

U must think I am some kind of compulsive gambler, i bet u do.

But the truth is, I just went in there to taste the not-so-bad coffee and accompannied my frens who wanna try their luck in there.

Grab some photos of the Universal Globe b4 entering the casino.

The so-called 2 days trip officially ended when we finally got on the bus heading back to KL in the evening.

LOVE Singapore for its cleanliness and efficiency :) :) :)

Nonetheless, there is one thing i wanna complain abt Singapore,

the people there are kinda haughty :( :( :( :(

A great example is the biatch receptionist i met in the backpackers hostel.

The rude incident took place when I was asking the receptionist to pass me back my HP (which I left to charge at the counter since the hostel doesn't allow double plug).

The biatch got a little antsy when handing me my HP.

Then when I wanna pass my other fren's HP to charge, she gave me a rather FIERCE stare and said " Can u just give me your phones all in one go?"

Freaking RUDE :( :( :( :(

(Felt like slapping her in the face at that moment)

Anyway, exclude the biatch incident, our budget trip this time is truly a big success.

Definitely will plan another budget "backpacker" trip again next time.

Top 5 after Famine 30

If i'm not mistaken, it's been 7 months since I last updated this godforsaken blog.

Always wanted to post sth regarding my holiday anecdotes, for some reasons, I didnt.

This time, the very reason that drove me to write this blog entry was simply to share the good experience of participating in 30-Hour Famine Camp.

Frankly speaking, my initial purpose of joining this camp was merely to take up the challenge of fasting for 30 hours.

Nth more than that.

And people just kept giving me the same kinda reactions whenever I told them I was going to this camp.

Jaw-dropping, eyebrow-raising, and as always, the intriguing question:

OMG, you're already so freaking skinny, why would u do that to urself?

And as always, I would give the SUPER fake answer:

To help the children.

(Usually I would end up getting beat up by the inquirer. LOL.)

Anyway, this camp turned out to be quite an experience and also an enlightenment to me.

I hav to say fasting isnt as hard as it seems/sounds to be. It had been interesting (since it was my first time), sometimes annoying, sometimes downright tiring, but overall interesting.

The camp was so packed with games, performance and video sharing.

The time just flew like no one's business, even the feeling of hunger was no longer there.

(The oni group photo I grabbed from FB. Havnt taken others from frens.)

The slogan for the 30-Hour Famine is "Light up their Life". In chinese, it is "to create no poverty city for the kids".

Apparently, it wasnt sth I expected/intended to do when i first joined this camp.

But in the end, it did change my mindset a bit on this whole helping-kids-concept.

I was so moved by the video played during the video sharing session.

Its definitely gonna be on my list of top 5 touching tear-jerkers.

Now u get why the subject line? hahah, pretty lame.

And TADA,

here is my latest list of TOP 5 Touchin' Tear-Jerkers:

#5:

Liu Li Interview On Nu Yu's Talk Show!

Here she is, Liu Li, the lady who had changed my perception about sponsoring a child.

I was trying to hold back my tears when I was watching this interview.

She is just amazing.

(Google her if u wanna find out her story)

(Incidentally, RM50 to sponsor a child, considerably cheap rite?

Again, this is gonna sound cheesy, like I'm trying to be Mister Malayisa, but perhaps, perhaps I would sponsor one when I start working in the future.)

#4:

Aftershock (movie)

a bit boring in the beginning,

but man, it gets darned moving at the end.

The most touching scene is undoubtedly the one where the mother kneels down in front of the daughter and asking for apology.

Sounds absurd but u would know the reason why the mother did so if u watch the entire movie.

#3:

A thousand Splendid Suns(Book)

Khaled tells us a story of two Afghanistan women and their struggles for lives in a society that thinks they should not live.

I was entirely engulfed in the lives of the characters,

and literally shed tears, as Mariam's being executed.

The flash back memories are plain tragic and painful.

Highly recommended by Jacoby!

#2:

My Sister's Keeper (Movie)

Got this movie from a fren.

Good recommendation.

For me, the adaptation is better than the book.

The heartwrenching scene tt got me weeping:

Kate asks Anna to do one last favor for her,

(Sisi, can u do me a favor?)

and it is sue for emancipation,

bcuz she believes she will die anyway.

One word~~SAD!

#1:

Japanese Drama: One Litre of Tears

In cases like mine, its difficult for a drama to make me shed tears in multiple scenes.

And yet One Litre of Tears made me shed more tears than I had for any other movie/drama/book.

The drama targets at ur tear ducts heartlessly, it might as well sponsored by Kleenex.

That's why this drama has always topped my list.

Allah would punish you!!!

It's a shock to me when I read the newspaper today.

Churches being burnt because of a small issue - the "Allah" controversy.

Evidently, we all know who commited the act of barbarism.

Those morons (or perhaps we could call them Swaang-avatar language) have never thought about other people's feeling.

All they care about is upholding the usage of the name-Allah, but, as a matter of a fact, they dun even bother to follow what the Allah has asked them to do.

So easily to be influenced by what they listen without thinking.

Mayb that's the reason why we call them "Swaang".

One of my christian fren told me that every cloud has a silver lining, behind every misery, is a blessing.

The few million losses due to the incident is nothing if it contributes to a change of government come next election.

And it's true.

With all the incidents that we had witnesses (for eg-cow head protest), no serious attempts have been made by our government to ensure the matters are adequately handled.

Do we really need a plan called - One Malaysia, which in truth has made no difference to the country?

It's truly a good topic to debate over.

We chatted vigorously on this topic for what seem like hours.

Cursing those swaang and blaming the government...

Even its about time to get ready for ko-k, we're still msn-chatting.

Huh, what a day to skip KO-K.

Finally, to those "Swaang",

ALLAH WOULD DEFINITELY PUNISH YOU

for what u hav done.