At Eric's invite to spend the loong weekend (and his birthday - Happy 35 years,'ric!) in Singapore together with his RCBC friends via Tiger Airways, I, the kaladkarin that I am, said yes straight-away without asking for the trip's details. Horrors, as it turned out, we were set to leave Clarkfield at 4:15pm which unfortunately got delayed by an hour pa. As it was only a 3 day visit for me (counting my arrival and my departure), I only had one full day to enjoy the Lion City. We arrived in Singapore past 8pm where my friend from HVB-Sing, Cristina Seah, was impatiently waiting outside the customs area of the Budget Terminal (note to self: Call Globe and ask whatever happened to my Roaming application).
You ask, what Budget Terminal? We landed, not in Changi Airport, but in Singapore's Budget Terminal or Terminal 2, as they call it. Guys, the Budget Terminal puts our NAIA to shame. SHAME (!!!). I will not elaborate further. Suffice to say that if given the opportunity to work in Singapore with nothing to hold me back in the Philippines, I will not think twice about leaving. Who cares about the strict rules and the Tax when you see the benefits it has reaped the country? Anyway, no nit-pickings here.
As the group's last meal was the birthday lunch in Pampanga courtesy of the birthday boy, "medyo hungry" were understated words. We were starving!! After checking into our hotel, Cristina steered everyone in the direction of the MRT (faster, la?), as all the cabs were taken. Eric wanted to see the Esplanade straight-away, so after a hearty dinner of beef/chicken/pork satay, fresh spring rolls, all sorts-a noodles (spicy!), and dessert (all courtesy of Cristina) at the Lau Pa Sat Festival Market, we walked and walked, and walked and walked, and walked and walked, and walked some more, taking in the night sights of the City's Financial and Commercial districts and the young denizens strolling in couples and in groups.
We ambled along the promenade near the banks of the Singapore River which led us to the symbol of the country, the Merlion. Further on was the Esplanade, a place where the theater arts are performed, equivalent to Australia's Sydney Opera House. Its domed roof(s) resembles the shape and skin of the Durian fruit, which Singaporeans love to eat. Apart from the theaters, there were shops in the Esplanade grounds where you can hang around for coffee, check out souvenir items and various eating places. After we had our fill of picture-taking, it was time to call it a night at 1AM. Eric and the others have warmed up to Cristina by this time and we couldn't thank her enough for taking the time out to take us around.
I literally crashed onto the bed and woke up the next day to Eric's cellphone alarm, which of all sounds, was that of Tarzan emitting his timeless OooooOooooOoooo complete with orange blinking lights (!!!). Didn't expect that coming from Eric, hehe! Anyway, first item on the agenda was the Duck Tour where we were given a tour of the city and around the River passing the Merlion onboard the same quacky vehicle. Pretty interesting, that one. Hanged around Sun Tec Tower for some window shopping then lunch at one of the food courts (I had Thai Chicken in Green Curry - spicy sarap!) then headed off to SENTOSA. Needless to say, the pictures will take care of the rest.
I definitely will go back to Singapore and go around on my own pace. There were still a lot of things to do which we were unable to considering the time constraints, and I'm thinking of going back around Christmas time where the cabbie says is the most wonderful time for a visit. Because of this trip, I got around to thinking of doing short trips to other Southeast Asian countries na, as well. Will map that out in the months to come. Oh no, my Europe fund!
Thanks Eric, for inviting me.