SINGAPORE: DAY ONE

Morning

Lucky Plaza
Paragon
Singapore Art Museum
Kopitiam

Afternoon

Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Good Sheperd
CHJIMES
Raffles Hotel
Raffles City
Boat Quay

Clarke Quay
Marina Bay

I had a very hectic first day. The weather hasn't been very cooperative and it has been raining all morning. I do love rainy mornings, but it was unusually humid out here. My first stop was Orchard Road where most of the shopping is done, but I am not here to shop. Just to take make memories.

Lucky Plaza can be almost called the Pinoys' Mall. Sa labas pa lang, ang mga sign boards are already in Tagalog. Why, even Mcdonald's is offering free cash remittance if you dine in their store. This is where many of our countrymen send money back home. On the second floor, there are many shops which offer this service. In fact, Metrobank has a small remittance shop here.

I was introduced by a cousin of mine to her friends here. One of them is working in a remittance shop. Of course there was small talk made on whether i'd be working here, too, but my line of interest does not fit much in this city except if I write for a newspaper. The Strait Times? You wish.

If you don't have a ride and want to save a lot, instead of relying too much on the taxis (they charge different rates at different times of the day), you may want to get yourself an ez.link card. This one is accepted in both the MRT and all buses. It can also be used in select Mcdonald's store, he he! On buses, you must tap it on the card reader once you get in and tap it again on your way out. If you don't do the latter, you will be charged the entire length of the bus's trip. Just like in Manila, the card's remaining balance appears on the machine's screen at every tap. When using the MRT, you just tap the card on your way in and do the same on the way out. If you run out of credits, you can upload more via the ATM (which also accepts credit cards) or fork over cash to the guy at the MRT customer service window and have them upload credits for you. Very easy and quick. This process is called here as "top-up".

Liquids like water or tea (this jasmine tea was good with very little sugar) are a must in this humid weather especially since many places require a lot of walking. Singapore is very pedestrian-friendly. Although pedestrian lanes are actually quite rare (there are numerous overpasses), vehicles normally give way to people crossing. In fact, jaywalking is pretty much a common sight on Orchard Road. Shocking but true. Anyway, bring an umbrella always. It can rain in the afternoons without much of a warning, and it can be very, very hot during the day.

Anyway, I had a full day on Day One. Join me as we take a closer look at my every pit stop.