::. SINGAPORE TRAVEL-LAH! .::

APRIL 30:

After our conference in Indonesia, we stayed overnight at the Carlton Hotel in Singapore. We checked in and then went to the nearby Raffles City mall. The peculiar thing I noticed in Singapore was that sunset came around 7:30PM. Anyway, around 8PM, Ed's former colleague in Kodak Singapore brought us at the East Coast Parkway for a sumptuous dinner feast of black pepper crab, chili crab, prawns and fish at the Red House seafood restaurant. After dinner, we had a joyride into the city and passed by Clarke Quay, the Merlion Park, CHIJMES, one of the routes for the upcoming F1 Grand Prix on Sept, etc.

MAY 1:

We went to Ikea and shopped for home stuff. I wish I could furnish my bedroom and office space with Ikea stuff... their items are nice :)


After Ikea, we went back to the hotel and checked out. The others prepared for their flight back home while Vic and I proceeded to Hotel Royal at Newton Street to check in for an overnight stay. Our former officemate Melis who had just relocated to Singapore with her family met us for lunch. We ate lunch at Doc Green's at VivoCity. Shopped around and bought a pair of white sandals at Charles and Keith and a black Bossini top for office wear. We then ate an early dinner at the Food Republic atop VivoCity, where the wading pools were and where one could see the entrance to Sentosa.

see the yellow sentosa express train behind me?

with vic and melis (see the cable cars to sentosa behind us)

wading pools full of children behind me...

Took some photos and then had my first MRT ride to Lavender station where we walked a bit to get to Melis' condo. Hung out there, had some beer/coffee and waited til her hubby and son arrived. Their smart and creative son Tod (aka Todzilla!) showed us his Paintbrush masterpieces of a variety of Godzilla stuff. Vic and I asked him to make us a Viczilla and Aileenzilla version (I told him to make mine colored violet and cute). We also took the opportunity to use the net for our KrisFlyer internet check-in (coz internet isn't free in the hotel!). Melis took us to the poolside and the rooftop... their place was sooo nice :)

MAY 2:

Vic had her scheduled flight back home in the afternoon so we split for the day... She went to Sentosa while I went to the Singapore Zoo. I took an adventure and rode the MRT to the Ang Mo Kio MRT station to catch the Bus #138 to the zoo. I had no problem finding the Novena MRT station near our hotel. I just counted how many stops until the Ang Mo Kio station just to be sure I didn't miss it. What I had some trouble finding was the damned bus stop for Bus#138! I went outside the MRT station/mall at Ang Mo Kio and checked out 3 different Bus stops nearby and I didn't see the number 138 on all those bus stops. After about 25 minutes of walking around the area, I decided to go back inside the MRT station. Somehow, I found my way into an indoor bus station which was inside the same building where I got off the MRT and magically found the stop for Bus#138. I was able to use the same card I used for the MRT... so efficient! It was a long bus ride -- about an hour. I arrived at 9am at the Singapore Zoo and availed of my unlimited tram ride -- one of the Singapore Airlines boarding pass privileges that saved me SGD5/ride. And believe me, with the area size of the Singapore Zoo, you would want to hop on the tram once in awhile or you'd be so tired from walking!

I super enjoyed the Singapore Zoo coz it had an "open zoo" concept. Such an awesome experience for animal lovers (or even just plain animal-curious!). I specifically wanted to see the Singapore-born polar bear Inuka coz where else can you find a polar bear in tropical Asia?!? The second animal in my must-see list were the white tigers. I wandered around and took photos in the zoo for about 3.5hours.








See more of my Singapore Zoo photos here...
View videos of Inuka the (son of Sheeba) polar bear eating his favorite watermelon treat and swimming around; Sheeba the momma polar bear waving to everyone...

After eating lunch in one of the zoo's restaurant, I took a cab (faster travel time, just 30minutes) back to Hotel Royal to check out and then proceeded to my next hotel (a cheaper one since I had no one to share rooms with anymore) -- South East Asia Hotel. It was just beside the famous Kwan Im Chinese Temple and very near to the Sri Krishnan Hindu Temple. After resting my feet for a few minutes, I proceeded for gadget accessories shopping at Sim Lim Square -- the famous electronics mecca of Singapore. Six storeys worth of gadgets and accessories! Shopped for my dad's bilins: digicam batteries for his Canon DSLR and mom's Kodak digicam. Checked out the price of a certain Canon lens that my dad wanted. Went to the upper floors and bought laptop sleeves (only SGD21!), laptop vacuum cleaner (only SGD9!), 2GB Kingston SD card (only SGD15!) and some iPod accessories.

After a tiring shopping spree at Sim Lim Square, I dropped off my best buys at the hotel, rested a bit and then proceeded to the Bugis MRT station. Alighted at the City Hall MRT station to get to the CityLink Mall where I ate dinner at O'Brien's cafe. Got mom a watch in one of the stores and then proceeded to Suntec City Mall. I intended to take a photo of the famous Fountain of Wealth at Suntec but I got umm, "sidetracked" and ended up buying 3 pairs of sandals at Charles & Keith as the store was about to close. By the time I was done shopping, the sales lady said the Fountain of Wealth was already turned off :(

Using the map, I successfully found my way to the durian-shaped Esplanade Theatres and the Merlion park. Had no problem having my picture taken in those famous landmarks since there were always Filipino tourists around ;-) After traversing the long bridge from the Esplanade to the Merlion Park, I proceeded to walk towards Victoria Theatre where a statue of Sir Stamford Raffles (Singapore's founder) stood. At almost midnight, I was too tired to walk further on but regretted that I missed a spectacular photogenic sight of St. Andrew's Cathedral which I saw as my cab drove off a few meters away from Victoria Theatre. Anyway, I got back at the hotel around 1am, so thirsty and hungry. I went to a nearby 7-11 and an Indian-owned convenience store to buy bottled water and some food. They say that Singapore's tap water is potable but I was too squeamish to drink straight from the faucet. Made sure I filled up the GST refund vouchers before I went to sleep! (Needed to claim the refund at the airport before I check in...)






MAY 3:

Woke up late coz I was so tired from the previous all-day all-night walkathon across the city. I wanted to catch a quick ride to the City Hall MRT station to take a photo of St. Andrew's Cathedral but I thought I would run out of time. Anyway, I just refunded the remaining value on my MRT/bus card. So I decided to explore Bugis Junction instead. Managed to buy another office top from there. On my way back to the hotel, I checked out the street vendors at Bugis Street. I spent my last few Singapore dollars on this cool vintage-look shirt with a camera print. At 11:30AM, I got back at the hotel, quickly took a bath and checked out. Sally, my colleague in Singapore, picked me up at the hotel and brought me to Changi Airport. She showed me around at the new Terminal 3. She treated me to lunch in one of the cafes at the 3-Top (I tasted the laksa she ordered... twas too spicy for me!). She then dropped me off at Terminal 2 so I could claim my GST refund, check-in and do some last-minute shopping.


at the 3-Top at Terminal 3...

I explored the Sunflower Garden and Koi Pond, rested at the entertainment deck for awhile and then went shopping for some chocolates for my nephew, Charles and Keith bag for my sis and sunglasses for me :)


at the sunflower garden atop Terminal 2
by the koi pond at Terminal 2... i love my cheap vintage style shirt!

More Uniquely Singapore sights here...

Yeah. Suffice it to say that I'll be out of moolah for the next coupla weeks after this Singapore vacation! :p

::. OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW .::

Finally! I got my new laptop! =) Got it last Sunday fresh from the States. I super super owe a lot to my sis who had such a hard time getting it for me in NY. And thanks too to my cousin Maricar for handcarrying it for me when she got back from her sembreak vacation in the States=)

After 2 different Toshiba models, I finally decided on getting this one. It's such a steal for its price! I couldn't believe the big disparity of laptop prices there in the US vs. here in the Philippines--the difference is so insane! I was lucky that the exchange rate had been in the Php44-ish range when my sister got it in Oct so I bought it at such a great price.

The last time I checked back in Sept., there were still no 2GB RAM-Core2Duo Toshibas around here. And the most insane thing is, the 1GB model here was already selling at around Php70K+! Indeed, if you really have the chance, it's better to buy a laptop in the States than locally.

I would have gotten the dream Macbook but (a) my budget's limited! and (b) it's hard to get umm "inexpensive" software for Mac OS! ;p Upon Mitzi's and our office IT guys' recommendation, I chose to get a Toshiba laptop. Mine is the Toshiba Satellite A205-S7464. It runs on Vista Home Premium, Core 2 Duo 2GB RAM, with 200GB hard disk, with built-in webcam, wi-fi capable, HD DVD-ROM/DVD SuperMulti. No built-in bluetooth though but that's alright coz I already have a bluetooth dongle.

It's such a pain in the ass though to migrate all my 15.1 GB worth of mp3s plus my 4GB photos and all other docs :( Since I could not find a portable hard disk to borrow (wala si Tin dito eh!) Abbie suggested that I use my humble iPod nano to migrate my files (still not done! a few more file transfers to go...). Did not have to pay our IT dude to migrate stuff for me! I already installed iTunes and the Kodak EasyShare software... next up would be to install my Adobe Photoshop CS2... So much stuff to do... Anyway, after I copy all my files from my PC, I'll hand it down to my nephew =) And I'll be freeing a big space in my room when my PC's gone=)

Meanwhile, the new Windows Vista would take a lot of getting used to! Argh, that paranoid pop-up thing just reminds me of that funny Mac ad on apple.com... so true! haha!

my Toshiba ROCKS!!! yey! =)

~* MY FIRST ONLINE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE *~

I have never bought anything online until I discovered various Multiply sites offering a plethora of unique pretty accessories. More often than not, the online stores are run by young entrepreneurial Pinays. I have started exploring the possibility of buying stuff online especially when my friend Abbie has successfully bought several shoes from Schu via Multiply. I am still too iffy about buying stuff that one has to actually fit, feel and see on oneself like clothes and shoes. However, accessories are easier to judge and deem as purchase-worthy. All you need is to ask the seller more questions regarding the material used, exact length/size of the piece, etc. and you can already decide whether to buy the accessory or not.

I have included the better ones in my Multiply friends list as business contact. My qualifications were as follows:

• based in the Philippines
• has unique accessories (meaning stuff that you don't usually see on tiangges & stores in the mall)
• with price and product description indicated in the photo (I am annoyed with those sites who don't indicate their prices. Price is the first thing a consumer considers so that should be readily available.)
• affordable, reasonable prices
• can be paid via bank deposit (eg. BPI)
• answers questions promptly
• can deliver products via courier
  

I am currently asking one of them to customize a charm necklace for me. We've been exchanging messages and now I just have to wait for her costing & mock-up. In the meantime, my very first online purchase was from Sepa. It is owned by a gal named Josefa Dianne Espera who is based in Cebu. She has a well-presented catalog of products in her Photos section. Her accessories are so chic and in fact, she has been featured in Us Girls and various magazines already (though I didn't hear about Sepa via the TV show nor magazines). I actually just stumbled upon her site while I was searching for charm and locket necklaces. The name rang a bell coz I saw her stuff previously featured in Schu's online store. I totally adore her accessories and if I had more money at my disposal, I would have bought more, hehe!

It was a fairly easy purchase. At first, I sent her a message asking more info about the products I liked. After narrowing my choices to a pair of earrings and two vintage necklaces -- same design but one in vintage gold and the other in vintage silver -- I read her terms and conditions and then filled out her order form. About two days after, I received a text message from her confirming the availability of the items and the total amount of my purchase including Air21 shipping fee. The next day, I went to the bank to deposit my payment in her account. I informed her of my bank deposit and after she checked her account, she shipped out the items. Air21 delivered my order the next day and viola! I have new accessories from Sepa :)

It was wonderful transacting with Dianne of Sepa. She promptly responded to my PMs and SMS and kept me well-informed regarding the shipment details of my order. I was so excited to go home when my mom confirmed that she has received my Air21 package from Cebu. Was quite baffled by the packaging as I tried to remove the blue plastic lock. I was beginning to think how stupid I must be not to figure out how to open it... But then, I just realized it was meant to be tamper-proof! *toink* Yeah, you really have to tear the clear plastic in order to get the parcel inside. Basically, the parcel was double-sealed (the outer clear plastic with the blue tamper-proof lock and then the usual opaque sealed plastic pouch) so that comforted the worrywart in me :) And then, everything was inside a box sealed with scotch tape which was signed over so you'll detect whether it was tampered with or not. I think I squealed with delight when I finally opened the box and saw the beautiful accessories in their pretty packaging. I was impressed with the effort spent in packaging the items with care and kikay presentation :) I definitely recommend Sepa to those who are looking for well-crafted, stylish and reasonably-priced accesories :)

the mystifying Air21 tamper-proof seal
the box of accessories
the pretty packaging
look dianne, i thought of a fourth way* to wear the necklace ;-)

* The vintage necklaces I bought had an adjustable chain which offers versatility. It can be worn three ways as shown in Sepa's photos but I managed to also wear it as a choker :-)

~* SHOPPING & GREY'S ANATOMY *~

My calves hurt. As in. When I woke up today, I felt the muscle ache on my calves. Reminds me of the saying "shop til you drop"...

My Saturday started early coz my college friends Rose, She and I had planned to go shopping at 168 Shopping Mall. I met up with She at Sucat at 6:45am, then we picked up Rose at Las Piñas and then we drove to Divisoria, arriving at exactly 8:01am at 168. We ate breakfast at the nearby Chowking and then started to comb through the 168 stalls around 9am. We went through each and every frigging pasilyo alphabet on all three floors! I spent a total of Php1,700 and took home all these: 1 black office bag, 2 puff-sleeved plain colored shirts, 3 lace-trimmed tank tops, 1 chocolate brown asymmetrical blouse, 1 puff-sleeved office blouse, 1 pink & brown plaid clamdiggers, 1 basketball shorts (for my nephew) and 1 plain cotton shirt (for our househelp).

It was my first time to go to 168 and I was thrilled with all that good bargain! You'll definitely get a lot more bang for your buck when you shop there. Anyway, here are some tips which I learned from my friend Rose who is a seasoned 168 shopper (plus some of my own input):

1. Bring cash. Everything is on cash basis transaction so leave your credit cards at home.
2. Spread your cash. Don't keep everything in one place. I had some money on my wallet which was in my bag, some on my left pants pocket, some on my pants' tiny right pocket.
3. Don't bring your ATM card. If you want to be on a strict budget, leave your ATM card at home so you won't be tempted to withdraw more money just to buy some more unplanned stuff.
4. Dress simply. No bling-blings, no expensive watch. Avoid looking hmm *rich* so you can be believable when you make barat/tawad to the tindera.
5. Wear comfy footwear. Your feet are your friend in this journey to retail therapy!
6. If you must bring a bag, go for a body bag or belt bag. Don't bring shoulder bags that tend to dangle on your shoulders and become very accessible to pickpockets. Hold your bag closely and keep it in front (not even on your side) where you can see it.
7. Avoid flashing around your gadgets. Expensive celfones, iPods, PDAs or whathaveyous may tempt the pickpockets. Better be safe than sorry!
8. Always try to make tawad. Don't just buy at quoted price. Haggle and negotiate first for a really big discount. The vendor will usually disagree with your quoted price and will make a higher-priced counter-offer. Haggle some more until you reach a middle ground. It helps if you chika the tindera and talk nicely. If they don't give you your tawad, sometimes it helps if you feign losing interest and start walking away from the stall. More often than not, they call you back in and concede to your bargain price ;-)
9. Bring one huge sturdy bag. Put every item you buy inside this huge bag so that you won't have to struggle in lugging around a lot of plastic bags from the different stalls you buy from.
10. If you're bringing a car, strive to be at 168 by 8am (or even way earlier during peak season like Christmas time) so you can still get a good parking space.

We finished shopping and left the mall around 4pm. Wow. Imagine that! Virtually 7 freaking hours of walking! No wonder my calves hurt now :-(

After bonding with my college friends through shopping, I spent some q-time with my dear high school friends Abbie, Tin and Charo who went over to our house around 9pm last night. We scheduled a Grey's Anatomy "DVDthon" and watched the first 5 eps of season 3 in my room. We ate some junk food (No crumbs on my bed! I give them 5 stars!) while watching McDreamy, McSteamy and annoyingly pa-cute Ellen Pompeo [Meredith].

Tin had a grand time copying some of my mp3s into her portable hard drive. I heard her exclaiming over finding Jeremy Jordan, Wilson Philips and Tiffany songs in my PC :D On the other hand, Abbie "checked out" (yeah, I have a log book for anything borrowed from me, hehe! I'm OC with my possessions!) some of my CDs so she can OC-ly rip them at hmm 320kbps? ;-)

We were supposed to finish all 7 eps of GA on the DVD but we were too sleepy na by 3am so they all headed home. We'll just have to schedule another DVDthon for the rest of the 3rd season eps! ;-)