SINGAPORE: 7TH DAY

I'm finally coming home. Thanks to my cousin's husband, I was rebooked on a Jetstar flight and I'm happy because it flies to Manila during daytime, unlike 5J which sneaks into Manila while everyone else is still asleep. At least, got to experience the much-ballyhooed Changi Airport.

With 160 retail outlets and 80 restaurants, it sure beats the hell out of NAIA. It handles 35 millions passengers in 2006 and accounts for 4,054 flights per week. Terminal 3 is slated to open in January 2008. Will our own Terminal 3 open before then? Abangan!

Anyway, one thing you'd immediately notice is how similar Terminal 1 almost looks to NAIA 1, but that's where the similiarity ends. Already, lush foliage break the monotonous concrete and marble. Fresh orchids are everywhere and so are art works.

We had breakfast here and it was surprising that the price is the same with that of eateries in the city unlike in Manila where airport food prices triple. Pathetic! We were here at 4AM, check in counters for Manila opened by 6, and the flight home was late by 10 minutes because of the long queue at the runway.

My Jetstar flight was handled by a kababayan, a Filipino pilot with a Brit for a Second Officer. The landing in Manila, however, was very bumpy. Tsk. Not impressive for a Filipino pilot, he he! Arrived in Manila by 11.50 AM, got fetched by my cousin and went home to a lunch of lechon paksiw. Ugh. I really am home na talaga.

SINGAPORE: 6TH DAY

Morning

Little India

Evening

Clark Quay

My stay here was extended because of stupidity on my part in misinterpreting the time 0040 on my flight ticket to Manila so here I am staying one extra day in Singapore. Ayaw siguro talaga ako pauwiin.

There's a small altar to Ganesh on almost every corner here in Little India.

Ganesh galore!!!!

Detail of the temple facade.

Here, many shops like these have undergone major renovations...

Beautiful, 'no? I would love to live in one.

Very Singapore... A most recognizable symbol after the Merlion.

It was sooo hot that the sight of this man selling Thai coconuts was a welcome treat indeed.

SINGAPORE: DAY 5

Morning

Chinatown

- The Majestic

- Good Morning Kaya Toast

- People's Park

Afternoon

Tang's, Orchard Road

Paragon

Canele Patisserie & Chocolaterie

Royal Plaza on the Scotts

Changi Budget Terminal

Today is my last day in this wonderful city. I wish to thank my Ate Jopie for making this trip possible, and for her tireless enthusiasm in bringing me around Singapore. I wish to thank her husband, Kuya Josef Leitgeb, for letting me stay at their wonderful home at Trevose Crescent.

I also wish to thank all the wonderful kababayans who warmly welcomed me here, specifically Ate Baby Gaynor Repayo, her daughter Bibi, Ate Miles Tupas, members of Southeast Asian Baptist Church, Ate Suzette Leupi and her son Dylan, and my very good friend Mariel Santos. I bring with me many memories of this city, the stories that our countrymen have to tell (including some amusing and sad ones by Singaporean taxi drivers), and the hope to return again some day. Maraming salamat po! Hope to see you all again soon!

Mabuhay!

The MRT station at Chinatown.

An overview of the area.

The Majestic! Actresses and performers from Beijing and Shanghai used to come here.

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Detail. Dragon mosaic on the sides of the theatre.

The Majestic is now a mall. Oh look, Philippine mangoes! Our mangoes are everywhere here. Those from Malaysia kasi are maasim and taste funny.

My 1st ever Kaya toast and eggs breakfast. Waiting for the kaya yet.

Two soft boiled eggs to start the day. Add soy sauce, stir, and slurp it all away!

Perfect breakfast. I wish I can have it every other day.

A mall in Chinatown. It's just like being in Divisoria, too. Well, almost.

SINGAPORE: DAY FOUR

Morning

Singapore Botanic Garden
Boat Quay
Lau Pa Sat

Afternoon

Sin Lim Electronics Mall
Asian Civilisation Museum
Indochine

After the Botanic Garden, we went to Boat Quay to meet up with my friend, Mariel, and had lunch at Lau Pa Sat. Built in 1894, Telok Ayer Market or Lau Pa Sat is the largest remaining Victorian filigree cast-iron structure in Southeast Asia. It is now a large food court of sorts for workers at the Central Business District. You might recall this place from the ad by the Singapore Tourism Board showing a man infron of a table laden with food. Well, the experience cannot be quite the same as this place is pure pandemonium during lunchtime. There are also Filipino food outlets here, but that's not what we are here for now, are we?

It's a cavernful of eaters and eateries!

The Singapore version of our fresh lumpia. The sauce is already inside.

Carrot cake! I love anything that has egg in it. This is already a meal in itself.

Ice kachang, the other kapatid of our halo halo. It's not very good because of the fruit syrup. Makes it taste so fake. We do have another thing like this in the Philippines - shaved ice with fruit syrup. Halo halo still reigns supreme!

Red bean with milk for dessert. Very tasty and good!

SINGAPORE: SENTOSA ISLAND RESORT

Story and photos pending.

SINGAPORE: VIVO CITY

Welcome to Vivo City, Singapore's newest - and largest - mall. It officialy opened last December 2006. Because of land restrictions, it still is no match for our very own Mall of Asia, which is the 3rd largest in the world.

Does this look similar to that in a certain mall in Manila? :-)

Vivo uses a lot of natural light to brighten the mall. The electricity saved is used for the airconditioning instead as Singapore is terribly, terribly humid.

On the 5th level, there's a park of the most unusual things you'd ever see. Also, you can see the newest way to go to Sentosa: The Sentosa Express. The latter us coming up next on this edition of Superpasyal Abroad. Anyway, the hot, hot weather got the better of me and luckily I chanced upon this Japanese-owned ice cream stand. You choose your flavors and they dump the entire pint inside that funky machine and churn it out on a cone like so. So cool! I got the blueberry. Sarap!


The machine reminds me of the Chocolate Factory.

Lunch was in a Sarawak restaurant at the basement of the mall. Very filling for only SGD 3,40!

There still was some leftover spirit from the just-concluded Great Singapore Sale and TANGS is just the perfect place to drop by while you're here. A truly fantastic store. You can stay here the whole day and not get bored.

Split bamboo for lamps over the escalator area. Very ingenious.

These things will really, really sell in Manila especially those posters up there!

Got myself some really cool shirts at half the price. Regular price is SGD 56. Haayy. The half price is still the regular price in Manila.