Singapore 2018

Just got back from my Singapore trip and I can't believe I'm already done writing this post! This is probably the first (and only) time I posted on time. Lol. 

Short but sweet-- this is how I would describe my Singapore trip. We only had three days (airport days excluded) to explore the busy streets of Singapore. Considering this was my fifth time in Singapore, I was completely okay with it and just focused on maximizing my stay there. 

On our first day, after having a light breakfast at Plain Vanilla Bakery in Tiong Bahru, we headed straight to Sentosa for Universal Studios Singapore (my third time there! lol). I got to ride Revenge of the Mummy twice, the Battlestar Galactica Human twice, the Battlestar Galactica Cylon once, and a lot of other rides as well. Seriously, I'll never get tired of visiting theme parks! No matter how old I get. Lol. 

Day two was quite busy because this was the day we went around the city. We had a quick visit at Henderson Waves (a super artsy pedestrian walkway), took a few photos, then took a cab to National Museum to have lunch at this fine dine restaurant called Flutes. We spent around an hour exploring the museum, then headed to Gardens by the Bay. I've been to Marina Bay Sands a couple of times, but this was my first time to visit Gardens by the Bay. We entered the Cloud Forest and I was amazed by what I saw-- a 35-meter man-made mountain and some waterfalls inside a climate-controlled dome. Really, it was magical! From the gardens, we walked to The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, and looked around a little. We later learned that my cousin who's based in Singapore was in Ikea, so we met up with her there. It was my first time in Ikea-- and it was heaven!! Everything was so pretty and the stuff were cheap. If only I had unlimited baggage allowance, I would've bought loads of stuff! We had dinner there as well and I finally got to try the famous Ikea meatballs (which was just a meatier version of Jollibee's burger steak lol)! Across the street was this huge supermarket which closes past midnight, so we did some grocery shopping and bonded over Haagen Dazs ice cream lol (cause it's no longer available in the Philippines).

Adventure Cove Waterpark was the highlight of our third day. But before entering the waterpark, we enjoyed three rounds of Luge in Sentosa. It was definitely so much fun but I recommend doing it on a cloudy day. All of us didn't wear sunscreen and I probably got a few shades darker because of the sun lol. For our last meal in Singapore, we made sure it was somewhere memorable. And I couldn't think of anywhere else to have it except for my favorite-- Lau Pa Sat! We ordered 80 pcs. Satay at Best Satay (7&8) and they were delicious! Just thinking of the satay makes me hungry. Lol.

We planned to be back in our rooms by 8pm to have enough sleep because we had to leave for the airport at 3 am. We ended up getting back at midnight! After checking out and just before taking a cab, we found out our flight was delayed... by five hours! Anyway, we stayed at Plaza Premium Lounge to get some zzzzzs and to have a quick snack before boarding the plane. Upon arriving in Manila, I had to rush to Terminal 3 to catch my flight to Legazpi. I had less than an hour! Luckily traffic wasn't bad and I was at the boarding gate twenty minutes before boarding.

I had to stop myself here before I go on and on and on. Lol. I still have so many stories to tell but this post has already gone too long! Til next time!

A Week in Singapore

I've been to Singapore several times, but none of those previous trips ever lasted more than four days—so when I found out that I was going to be there for a week, I thought it would be boring. What I didn't realize back then was that, although Singapore could be considered quite small, you can never run out of places to visit and things to do.

We met up with a few friends who showed us around and brought us to places popular among locals (and of course, thanks for letting us stay in your apartment for an entire week!). During this trip, I could say that I got to experience Singapore in an entirely different way—taking trains to travel from one place to another (I now have the train stations almost-memorized!), and stopping by hole-in-the-wall kopi tiams for breakfast. Even though we've been to most of the touristy places before, we still didn't mind coming back to Orchard Road, Haji Lane, Universal Studios, Adventure Cove Waterpark, and Marina Bay Sands.

Pizzeria Mozza

Behold, one of the best (or maybe the best) Italian restaurant in the world - Mozza! It is the brainchild of chefs Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali, and restauranteur Joseph Bastianich. There are two restaurants under the Mozza group - Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza. Osteria Mozza is fine dining while Pizzeria Mozza offers casual dining.

The branch in Marina Bay Sands in Singapore had the Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza adjacent to each other. There was a common entrance for both establishments. You'll see Pizzeria Mozza if you turn right and Osteria Mozza if you turn left. That time, I didn't know there were two different restaurants so I randomly went to the right entrance and found myself in Pizzeria Mozza.

The place was buzzing with people when we arrived. There were no tables available so we were initially given seats at the bar. Luckily though, a group cancelled their reservation and we were given our own table!

The photo above is a pizza containing burrata, slow roasted tomato, and Sicilian oregano. The pizza was a bit sour because of the tomatoes but I think it was meant to be that way. I don't usually eat tomatoes--I even remove them from burgers and sandwiches--but their tomatoes tasted so differently that I ate them all! And let's not get started on the pizza crust! It starts off thick at the outer portion and becomes thinner as you go inwards.

Read about my complete dining experience after the break.

Birthday Girl

It came as a big surprise when my parents asked me if I wanted to spend my birthday in Singapore. Well, why not? We spent three days there, mostly just eating and shopping. Lol. If I remember correctly, this was my fourth visit to Singapore. I didn't actually expect that I'd still be amazed at how beautiful the place is. And everything's just so efficient and organized! I mean, in my entire stay, I didn't see any traffic in the streets. In fact, it's very fast and easy to travel from one place to another. And plants are everywhere, even in the busiest of streets!

I had a simple dinner with my parents on my birthday at Pizzeria Mozza in Marina Bay Sands (review coming soon!). Thinking that the weather in Singapore would be the same in Manila (back when it wasn't raining that much yet), I packed only thin and lightweight pieces. Wrong move! It was chillier there, and it rained everyday during our stay. It was lucky that the rain only lasted a few hours each time, so we were still able to go around the city.

Kid At Heart- Universal Studios Singapore

Since I was a kid, my favorite part of going abroad is visiting amusement parks. I just love experiencing the thrill of being in those extremely scary rides. Oh, which reminds me, I have to go back there to ride the Battlestar Galactica, I hadn't had the chance to ride it. I won't ever get tired of going to these places! The bucket list of the adventure-seeking me include: ride roller coasters which hold world records, bungee jumping (Okay, I totally chickened out when I was in Macau tower, but I promised myself it won't happen again), sky diving, skiing, surfing (and windsurfing does not count!) to name a few.

P.S. Sorry, I wasn't able to update this blog regularly. School work is INSANE right now. :)

P.P.S. I will be removing the link of this blog to my Facebook profile because I see my Facebook profile as really personal and I don't like bugging people to check my blog just because it always appears on their news feed. For those of you who are really interested in reading my blog, typing my URL in the address bar won't hurt, right? Til next time! :)

Touchdown Singapore!

Arrived in Singapore on the evening of 29th. We stayed in Marina Mandarin Hotel, which is great because it's near Marina Bay Sands and Singapore Flyer (too bad we weren't able to ride this one). This has been my second time here in Singapore and there are still so many places I want to visit. The place looked really nice with the Christmas decorations and the different lights found all over the city. I wish I could stay longer!

We went to the ArtScience Museum and were able to visit the Titanic Artifact Exhibition and the Cartier Time Art. As a history lover, I enjoyed the Titanic Exhibition which featured so many artifacts and told the story of Titanic in very much detail. There were even photos when the ship was being built and the different rooms and halls inside it. It was amazing!