Singapore, a shopaholic's cocaine.

Retail therapy is by far the most effective yet expensive treatment for stress.  I always have this miraculous happy disposition during a shopping break at the end of a bad day.  Some people seek comfort food but most people I know go after "comfort buys".  While others consider it a cure, my friends and I sometimes cross the borderline of addiction.  I am well aware that material things should be treated superficial,  but I also can't deny the feeling of absolute bliss that shopping offers.  

Singapore is an excellent place to shop.  Like Hong Kong, it is in close proximity to Manila so traveling wouldn't be a problem if you can't resist the urge.  There is a rarity of great brands in Manila and most of them  you can find in SG.  I can't say it's my favorite shopping district though, so far Dubai is still number one in my heart.  I have several reasons for saying that, let's just save another time for that argument.  Singapore boasts big brands, great bargains and accessibility.  Mustafa Center, a 24 hour shopping complex is just across our hotel so my JM and I had the chance to explore it on our first night looking for a plug converter.  The place looks plain outside but I was bewildered once I got inside.  It was close to completeness - I mean watches, perfumes, bags, clothes, name it, there has to be a place for it in there.  I was hoping to explore it more but my earthly body is close to expiring so I really have to prioritize sleep that night.

Our 3rd and last day in Singapore was solely dedicated to shopping.  Good thing my folks were equally hungry shoppers like me.  We allotted the entire morning to explore thrift shops and Bugis street is the perfect place to achieve that.  If you're going on a souvenir shopping spree, this chain is the place to be.  You'll find the lowest bargains and the place is extra clean.  

 Bugis Street

Sex toys!

Spic and span

Just across Bugis street is Bugis Junction.  The mall is glass covered and it gives you that old town feel.  We just did a quick look see and grabbed something to eat.  

 Crossing from Bugis Street (hand in hand with Pinky the dragon)

 She just loves this photo.

  We heart SG!

313 @Somerset - It was finally time to visit the iconic Orchard Road, and man, was I filled with excitement.  I can actually smell the merchandise from the cab on our way there, hahahaha.  Our first stop was the 313 mall.  In there you'll find mid level fashion brands and food landmarks.  It's a great place to stay and relax if you're tired from hours of bargain hunting.  

 This is an eye candy. Charlie Brown Cafe

 We love Snoopy!

  JM said he's in love with Snoopy too. Ahahaha!

After 313 department store, I don't really remember the names of the malls we went in to.  My mind was in a haze, it's as if I'm lost in a trance while my eyes are feasting around Orchard.  I'm telling you, it is PARADISE.

 Woohoo! Orchard Road!

 My favorite building facade: Paragon Center with Gucci as the flagship boutique.  Biggest Gucci shop I've ever been to.

 Pirelli photoshoot 

 Brand feast!

 Biggest H&M store in Orchard just opened, we didn't bother entering, the place was packed!

  Chat's favorite brand. Taray!

 Shopping for Sperry top-siders. My brother and dad went crazy.

 One of dad's favorite brands, he even gave me a run through of Fred Perry's biography. Kabog ako ni Fudra! Splurge ang 3 kong kapamilya sa store na 'to.

 Rockstar by Soon Lee - Great boutique name, excellent brands available (Toms, Converse, Pointer, Superga, PF Flyers, Keep, Timberland, Lacoste and then some)

 Whoah! So BIG!

 My heaven on earth!

 Dr. Martens - this shop is the BOMB!

 Choices, choices.

 I nearly left the shop carrying all three pairs with me. =)

 Almost done.

 Kaya insisted on carrying this paper bag. This girl has taste.

  KAYA!

 Done shopping. Waiting at a taxi queue.

 Kaya's new friend, Pinky spotted at the airport

 HUNGRY!

 A little Chinese would help

 Delish!

The end

Our trip was short but very gratifying.  We had places we wanted to get a glimpse of but we didn't have ample time.  After dinner, it was time to go home.  I will definitely go back to Singapore for I believe we still have unfinished business to deal with (more places to visit and definitely more shopping).  You can check more of our SG adventures on this link.  

"Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping."  ~Bo Derek

Sexy Singapore!

I really think Singapore is sizzling hot.  I mean from the pleasant view, captivating tourist spots, busy streets, convenient transportation system, tempting shopping haven down to the scrumptious food.  Kaya thinks otherwise though, when we reached Changi airport, she plainly said, "Mommy, Singapore looks like La Salle (her school)".  I asked, how come? She replied with, "Same buildings, same colors". I couldn't but laugh my way out of the passport control area.   We arrived there around 8 pm so we were forced to squeeze everything in our curtailed schedule.  

The itinerary was proudly created by yours truly - gained a lot of confidence from my Italy trip with Tine, hahahahaha.  Creating an itinerary for Milan, Rome and Venice was much easier since it was for 2 adult ladies who acts as if they were sixteen.  We can still get away with activities until the wee hours of the morning even though we've trekked about half of each city the whole day.  So I find this Singapore trip more challenging - 3 days 2 nights of activities for a preschooler, 2 senior citizens and a (ubod ng) vain brother.  I should of course consider tons of bathroom breaks, massive food stopovers and heaps of let's sit down and take a breather interruptions.  So expect this trip to be more adult and child friendly, in short very constricted and skimpy when it comes to exploration activities.  

Terminal 3

Up, up and away

Bored?

Changi airport

On our way out 

Teksi! Teksi!

Our hotel

Makansutra - After settling our stuff, we were geared up to have dinner.  We will go try the food in a hawker center.  Food hawkers are promoted in countries like Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore partly to regulate unhygienic food preparation by unlicensed street hawkers.  My pick for the night was Makansutra Gluttons Bay.  Based on reviews and recommendations online, Makansutra is a must try.  True enough, it has wide variety of food choices.  I was happy to see a Mang Kiko's lechon stall.  

Makansutra Gluttons Bay

Sinful dishes

The Merlion - 265 burps after we've finally forces ourselves to get up and start with the night tour.  It was time to go visit the Merlion Park in Marina Bay and get that famous "profile picture" shot (LOL!).  We walked for a good 15 minutes and I was so happy to see my mom and dad enjoying moment of the stroll.  It was that "Here's my much awaited family hour" moment and tears started form as I tried to end this sentence. Ahahahaha. I'm going mental, I did mention in my previous entry that I'm not myself lately.  I really miss my crazies (family) and I can't wait to plan our next vacation.  So going back to walk, we reached the park and I've finally met the famous half lion, half fish Merlion of Singapura.  Kaya had fun checking out the statue.  Just across the where we were was Marina Bay Sands and she asked me if that was an airplane sitting on top of the three buildings.    

   

The airplane on top of the 3 buildings

The stroll

We should have gone to the Lau Pa Sat Festival Market

Resting

Hello Merlion!

The profile picture shot as they call it

Who's not in the mood?

Sweet ni mother at father dito! Chos.

Vivo City -  Our second day is what I call the most exasperating.  I briefed all 4 of them as to how tiresome this whole day can get and I didn't notice any sign of intimidation, I guess they thought I was kidding.    We started our day early, had breakfast at the hotel and made our way to the SMRT station.  We arrived at the HarbourFront station and a few jumps after, we entered Vivo City.  It was actually part of the plan to hunt this mall down, but time wasn't really on our side.  It still melancholic to this day when I think about it because I would really love to have a look inside the Nation Geographic store.  I would just make a separate note about it for I know I can write about 2,000 words worth of ranting about what I missed.  

SMRT

Harbourfront Station

Vivo City

Sentosa - Traveling to the most popular island resort in Singapore is a walk in the park.  In Vivo City you'll find the Sentosa Express station that connects the island to HarbourFront.  The monorail stops at four stations - Sentosa, Waterfront, Imbiah and Beach stations. We were lucky because the ride was free for that day.

Universal Studios - This one of a kind theme park occupies about 20 hectares of land inside Sentosa.  There are seven themed zones and a total of 24 attractions inside the park.  I was really overjoyed by the experience, even my folks share the same emotion.

The entrance

=)

First ride (Madagascar) - now who's not in the mood? LOL!

Feeling royalty

Far Far Far Away Shrek Castle

Shopping for Shrek goodies

One of the thousand stopovers

POTIONS! Our favorite refreshment

Sweet!

Waterworld (Lost World)- Where wet is always fun =D

Jurassic Park (Lost World) - Kaya's favorite zone

Ancient Egypt - The Revenge of the Mummy attraction was INSANE!!! 

Battlestar Galactica (Sci-fi City) - Where I found screaming very helpful

The Big Apple

My kind of cab (YELLOW!)

Lights, Camera, Action (New York) - hosted by Steven Spielberg. This attraction made Kaya cry.  She's not a fan of explosions and loud noises.  

Oh, Marilyn!

Hats ON!

Would you just look at that pose! =)

=)

Sinong napagod?

Siloso Beach - We again took the Sentosa Express to get to Siloso Beach.  We watched Songs of the Sea.  It's a multimedia show (pyrotechnics, laser show, flame bursts with a live cast) in an open air viewing deck by the sea.  The show was about awakening a princess by the lead character, Li's singing voice.  It was simply enchanting. 

Sentosa Express

Songs of the Sea

Palawan Beach - My good friends who reside in Singapore - Asean, Yen and Hazel invited us for dinner at Palawan Beach.  As expected, everything was just so delicious.  The best part of course was catching up with them.  I missed these girls so much.  After dinner, the family went back to the hotel and I spent some more time with my friends.  We had a loud, catching up chat at their quiet and calm poolside.  Sure I was beat and tired but I would always have reserved energy for special friends.  Asean, Yen and Haze, Chat and I would like to thank you for your super warm reception in Singapore.  Thank you so also for the pabaon (beef jerky, chees tofu, seaweed chorva, etc.), everything was so yummy!  I hope to see you very soon. I love you girls! 

Savory dinner

Good friends, good times.

That covers our first two days in Singapore.  The last day was restricted for the best part of this trip, shopping!  I'd write it about it separately.  For now, I'd just let memories of Singapore flood back.  It was absolutely time well spent with family and good friends - tiresome but very rewarding.

"A vacation is like love - anticipated with pleasure, experienced with discomfort, and remembered with nostalgia."                                                                                   - Author Unknown