Universal Studios Singapore

There is something about amusement parks that just make me forget that I'm 20-year-old something registered nurse who is supposed to be concerned with serious career enhancing stuff and the impact of nurse migration to the state of our country's health care system. One look at the extravagant, set designs and that larger than life foggy globe thing and, once again, I was like a chocolate lover in Johnny Depp's midget-operated factory.

The trip to Universal Studios was supposed to be on the 2nd day of our vacation in Singapore but due to unplanned events, it was moved to the 2nd to the last day. Which, now, I think happened for a reason, especially if you believe in popular notion of saving the best for last.

We arrived at Resorts World Sentosa early in the morning, before the actual theme park has opened. We made use of the time by taking pictures in every map, pole, fountain, stuffed toys, ginormous candy bars and Hershey's syrups as fast as humanely possible.

We then fell in line at the entrance gates of the park, claimed our S$5 meal and souvenir vouchers and had great fun. Let me sum it up for you.

Top 5 Things I Loved in USS:

5. It was hot and sunny as hell. I got to use my sunglasses for probably the first time in my life without feeling overdressed or out of place. See, I refuse to wear it here in normal sun-filled occasions in fear of looking like, a) a fly b) a blind beggar and c) Randy Santiago.

4. Everywhere you look, there is an amazing photo backdrop. Just stop and smile (provided that someone is there to take photos of you).

3. Waterworld, Shrek 4D and Steven Spielberg's Lights, Camera, Action. Three fantastic 'shows' we've had the pleasure of watching. Wanted to ride roller coasters and thrilling rides more but being with people with generalized anxiety disorder and a 7-year-old kid made it impossible.

2. Souvenirs! With the S$5 gift certificate, we made sure we take the opportunity to 'claim' our 'free' stuff. Normally, I would've been aghast by the prices of simple things like key chains and paperweights but with the added discount, I felt compelled to buy something. And they all look so pretty it was so hard to choose. In the end, I bought a key chain and a white t-shirt as things to remember this amazing day by.

1. Having completed my childish dream of being in the two most well-known theme parks in the world, Disneyland and Universal Studios. Although I've only been to the Asian version of the famous franchises, being able to visit someplace outside my own country is unbelievable enough and it is an experience I would never take for granted.

Then, just like that, our vacation was already nearing its end. Armed with loaded USS Store plastic bags and a full camera memory card, I was ready to go back home.

Singapore '10: Sentosa Tour

Started the day eating as much as we could, as fast as we could on the buffet line.

Tour guide arrived right on time.

Boarded a tour bus reminiscent of the one in the Quirino Grandstand hostage taking. Almost expected SPO2 Rolando Mendoza to come strutting inside the vehicle armed with guns and deadly explosives.

Went to a few more hotels to pick up other tourists. Bus full of Gerias. I would've thought that there was a nursing home field trip if I didn't know better.

Passed by the Singapore Flyer and picked up more people.

Met irate and impatient tour guide for the first time.

Headed to the cable cars lift off station.

Rode a cable car to Sentosa with 7 other people. Mom and aunt almost fainted in terror. Was trying hard not to move while taking pictures of the scenery and oneself.

Landed in Sentosa in one piece.

Was given tickets to the Singapore Museum after being told repeatedly that the bus will leave if we did not come back on time.

Took lots of pictures. Didn't want to go in but we did anyway, was treated to a visually appetizing show about Singapore's history (together with students who, most likely, were on their field trip) and 10 minutes later, we were desperately looking for a way to get out of the building so as not to waste our precious time left.

30 minutes left, we decided to hunt for the elusive Merlion. Found it and took more pictures. Now we really have a proof that we went to Singapore.

Fell in line to board a free shuttle to Underwater World. I guess buses other than the Sentosa line is not allowed in the island. Shame. I thought being a part of a tour group means having a bus of our own to take us to places.

Arrived at Underwater World.  Was given tickets and was warned again of being left behind. Met fishes and other amazing creatures. But really, Manila Ocean Park did it better. (So I am told. Haven't been there yet.)

Fell in line again to board the Sentosa bus to the Beach Station where we will be watching Songs of the Sea. Pushed our way inside the crammed vehicle. (Standing room only.) Breathed as shallowly as possible.

Arrived at Beach Station. Was again given tickets for the show. In hindsight, it would've been nice to have more time to go around the place before or after the show rather than heading straight to the stands to get a seat then rushing back in order to not get left behind. 

Got seats on the far left side of the 'stage'. Chatted with other Filipinos on our group.

Show started. Some kids were singing a song I could not understand nor appreciate. Did we really pay S$10 for this?

Fountain visual effects started. Whoa, cool.

More effects with light and fire. Beautiful!

Honestly, the story was crap, the script was childish and the 'actors' were mediocre but what set the show apart was the dazzling array of lights and sounds that was right in front of our faces. Truly a memorable part of our vacation.

Rushed our way to the meeting point in fear of having to go back to our hotel by ourselves. Met with other tourists in our group and together we hiked about a football stadium's length to the parking lot. Was tired and hungry by the time we got to the bus.

Orchard Parade never looked as beautiful when we arrived. Decided to 'take-away' (also known as to go or take-out) food from the nearest fast food in the vicinity.

Watched CNN (the men inside the wrecked Chile's mine site were being rescued) while having dinner.

Slept. Universal Studios was waiting for us and our camera. Could not wait for the next day. :)

Singapore '10: Marina Bay Sands and Bugis Street

Our second day was supposed to be spent getting our inner kids on at Universal Studios Singapore. But due to passport mishaps, we were still waiting for the arrival of my aunt. Hence, our free day (which was supposed to be our last day so we can shop for souvenirs and other things to take back home) was moved on this day. So due to the pretty pictures in the brochure, we went to Marina Bay Sands Shoppes to see what the fuss was all about.

After looking like an idiot in front of the MRT machines and then listening to a very helpful guide who probably saw us looking abnormally confused, we took the train to Marina Bay station where we rode a bus to get to the next stop in front of this magnificent structure.

There I found out that the Shoppes were located in front of the hotel (those 3 enormous structures), and not exactly inside it. Also, we have to pay S$20 to be able to go up the famed Sky Park (the boat shaped thing on top of the 3 towers). We debated on whether to go up already, wait for my aunt who was going to arrive later that afternoon or just leave and look for another place to take pictures in. I didn't want to go up because it was still hot outside but I also didn't want to have to go back the second time just to go up the park because we were already there.

Marina Bay Sands Shoppes Venetian-looking river.

Needless to say, we ended our discussion with the famous 'bahala na' expression and found ourselves a bus that will take us to Bugis Street where we were planning to buy keychains and stuff to give to relatives and friends expectantly waiting back home.

It was everything I thought it would be. A shopping section where everything was cheap and without signature brand tags. Amazingly, even with the market-like surroundings, it was still surprisingly clean. Divisoria meets MMDA, my kind of place.

We bought key chains and hair trinkets for 3 for S$10. Still pricey for Php standards. I bought a bag for myself for S$10 (Php 330) then, after coming back here, thought I would not spend P250 on a same looking hand bag. It turned out, everything was more expensive in Singapore. Or maybe it's just everything is unknowingly cheap here. I'm not sure.

After roaming around for more than an hour, I got a text from my aunt saying she was already boarding the plane and will arrive after 3 hours. My mom decided to head back to our hotel so she can rest (again) before we head back out again, hopefully reunited with my aunt.

5 hours later after a slight confusion about flight numbers and airline schedules, we were back at Marina Bay Sands, this time with one added family member. The hotel interior was breathtaking by the way. We had to pass by the grand lobby to get to the ticketing office for the Sky Park. There we paid S$20 (roughly Php600) to ride an elevator to the topmost floor where we were greeted with the marvelous view of Singapore. 

Of us 4, I was the only one sane enough to approach the outer railings of the ship-like structure. Obviously, it was perfectly safe, but for some reason, the geriatric half of our group developed a case of wobbly knees. I had stomach aches laughing at them and they had fun laughing at themselves. Those tickets were definitely worth the money.

On top of Marina Bay Sands (SkyPark)

Infinity Pool for hotel guests only.

After countless picture takings, including in front of the infinity pool to die for, we went back down, had our dinner then head back to our hotel. Our 3rd day will include the Sentosa tour. Hmm, how to bring home a Merlion?

Singapore '10: Orchard Parade Hotel and Orchard Road

We arrived at Singapore after 3 hours of an are-we-gonna-die turbulent plane ride. Thank you Cebu Pacific for not providing any meals, nor anything else for that matter that we can have without paying for it. No middle-of-the-flight updates on where the heck are we nor free earphones or newspapers to blast away the boredom. What you get for taking a 50% off promo ticket fare.

We arrived at Orchard Parade Hotel at Tanglin Road at the end of Orchard Road. The building looks tired but our room was surprisingly spacious. Last year at Mexan Harbour Hotel in Hong Kong, there was barely any space left to roam around and an ancient television with *gasp* no cable, but now, we even have a huge flat screen TV with some cable channels and a balcony to look out on.

As I am traveling with my mother and little sister, everything was rated PG and toned down a bit. After having our lunch, the second thing we did in Singapore was sleep. Yes, sleep. How fun.

View from our hotel room's balcony

We did stroll the squeaky clean sidewalks of Orchard Road in the afternoon. We loved how our hotel was just a few minute's walk to the shopping malls in the vicinity and even the Orchard MRT station. From there, you can go to about anywhere else in the one-city country. It was hilarious how we were so afraid to cross roads and accidentally litter. We wouldn't want to be fined for anything in a foreign country, especially one which is known for fining residents and tourists alike for a myriad of petty crimes. Although, I don't blame them. Those laws probably helped made this country as beautiful and safe as it is right now.

One thing I've noticed is that everyone speaks English, which is absolutely fantastic since we were bound to ask for directions sooner or later. I thought we'll have problems conversing with people because of language barriers like we did in Hong Kong. Another is that there are more Indians living in Singapore than I expected. I was not aware that they have such close ties with the Indian community.

Outside Orchard Station, to ION Mall

All in all, our first half day there was pretty uneventful. Which was understandable since we're still getting the feel of the place. It was great that our itinerary for our vacation wasn't as hectic as our trip last year. After walking up to the ION Orchard Mall, we decided to go grocery shopping then head back to our hotel.

That night, we spread out the maps of the city we got from the airport and planned which places we should visit the next day because, due to passport mishaps and change of schedules, we have no idea where to go.

Vacation 2.0 - Singapore

 And we're off to the city of water-vomiting-dragons.

Funny how fast time flies. It feels like it was just yesterday that we read in a newspaper that Cebu Pacific was holding a 50% off discount on international flights for the months of October and November. Like always, we were the last to know and we found out on the last day of the promo. Hence, this weird middle-of-the-month vacation (because all the good dates were already fully booked). Still, I am not complaining. Any chance that I get to travel and go to places I've never been is considered as great news.

However, I have this funny feeling that whenever we try to enjoy ourselves, something bad in return happens. I pray to Obama it's all in my mind, but just two weeks after we went to Hong Kong and Macau last year, the Ondoy fiasco happened, which flooded our house and washed out some of our accounts.

Then, today, our driver decided it was a great night to ram our car into a wooden pedestal while parking, resulting in a massive dent in the passenger side of our 1-year-old vehicle. How unbelievably unfortunate (and infuriating).

Still, nothing can stop me having fun on this vacation. Like all tourists, we plan to visit Universal Studios Singapore and take pictures in Sentosa with that vomiting dragon fountain thing. I am excited, but not jumping-on-couch-like-Tom-Cruise-on-Oprah thrilled. Maybe if it was Universal Studios in Orlando, I'll be having seizures in anticipation because of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

I'll get there soon enough. ;)

So, join me in a silent vigil to keep the bad vibes away. I'll definitely come back with stories, and definitely more pictures you can care to look at.

Revisiting Macau

The traveling nurse is back. After months of floods, holidays, exams, work and trainings, we've come to the special part of the year where I'll be bombarding you reluctant readers with nauseating excitement for future trips complete with too detailed stories and amateur snapshots of random places from our last vacation. Here we go.

Spent a day in Macau last year and it's just now that I'm regretting that I did not get to do a lengthy post about our stay there. I'm not pointing fingers but it really was Ondoy's fault. Just two weeks after our arrival from Hong Kong, he decided to gleefully shower the metropolis with rain and destruction. I bet you know what happened next.

We took a ferry from Hong Kong to Macau and participated in a day tour of the city. Our first stop was the Macau Tower. Took pictures and watched bungee jumpers jump off the building. Took more pictures. Honestly, I would not dare travel without a camera.

Our next stop was far from the city and it involves a Buddhist Temple and a Portugese Church. Sorry for religion fanatics but those simply weren't the best part of the tour for us. They were simply not interesting enough. We also went to a riverside place with ethnic looking houses on the bay and a sort of commercial area with a number of restaurants and shops. Those stopovers made me realize that Macau's tourism strength is quite reliant on their casinos and extravagant hotels.

Thankfully, the day just got better with our stopover at Museu de Macau and  Ruins of St. Paul. We rushed through the first part because we were itching to get out of the museum and head on to the great architectural feat that is the church's facade. There is literally nothing inside it except open space, not even a roof, but for some reason, the front stood strong despite the decades of typhoons and there we marveled at an ancient masterpiece.

The thing I certainly did not appreciate about the day tour is the unbelievable time constraint that we were put under. Only 45 minutes to enjoy this, 20 minutes there. It's like touring ala The Amazing Race. Except  it wasn't a competition and there wasn't a million dollars at the end of the line.

Another was the Filipino-owned souvenir shop near the Ruins. At first we were ecstatic to see a face with the same features as ours. We even conversed in Tagalog. But when the time came that we were buying stuff from their store together with the other tourist from our group, they blatantly ignored our inquiries on prices and T-shirt sizes and focused their attention on the ones from Malaysia and Thailand. Not only were we majorly disappointed with their service but felt rather betrayed by our own race.

The last part of the tour was in the heart of the metropolis. We toured the inside of Casino Lisboa and even got a complementary membership card, sort of. Honestly, I don't know what it was for, just that it's shiny and it's pretty cool to find inside a wallet.

We were introduced to the lifestyle of the filthy rich which I must admit is pretty sparkly and full of 24-carat gold floors, but then I had realized that we we were pretty well-off enough to begin with, compared to the thousands of Filipinos making up the C and D class of the demographic. And that is definitely something to be thankful of.

So before this post start to become a weird lovechild of travel and societal injustices, let me wrap this up by reiterating my goal ,which is to step foot in all 7 continents of the world. (Okay, so maybe except Antartica). After all, the world is too small to let a few hundred miles get in the way of absolute world domination. In a Lonely Planet-ish kind of way, at least.

HKM Day 2.2: Disneyland

So after a long half-day of touring the city, we finally went to Disneyland. I could tell from the start that we only have limited time but I didn't expect that we would only have 5 1/2 hours to experience the whole of the amusement park. We arrived at the parking lot at about 2pm and proceeded to walk the almost 1 km distance from the parking lot to park's gates. It was hot and humid and I wish I had brought a scrunchie to tie up my hair. After about 15 minutes of walking under the furious sun, we finally reached the ticket booths and the entrance to the house of mouse.

Disneyland arc and mansion upon entrance of the park.

Since it was past 2 and we still haven't had our lunch, we proceeded first to a small food kiosk inside the park and ate hotdogs, some kind of seafood rolls and iced tea. In a true Snow White fashion, I was surprised to see flocks of birds circling our tables and pecking up scraps of food. I thought they were so cute and brave because I'm used to birds terrified of people here at home.

Birds the Snow White Way.

While eating, we found out through the pamphlets we took from the entrance that the parade is going to start any minute. So after eating, we waited for the parade to come to our place while trying in vain to stay cool under the scarce shade of some random tree. Waiting was a mistake I have only realized after leaving the park later that day. This was the time that we should have visited the shops near the area and bought something (anything!) because we weren't going to be able to go back to them later on because of lack of time. I did, however, got to visit a small store full of Disney crystals. It was the one store I got to visit amongst the probably almost a hundred inside the park.

Disney crystal maker.

After a, more or less, 15 minute wait and a big dose of preschool tantrum (in Disneyland, of all places!) the parade started. I was clicking and recording like mad. I was alternating between recording the whole thing and taking pictures of the floats and dodging heads and other cameras held high to capture a clean shot.

Start of the Disneyland Parade.

Alice in Wonderland and Disney Princesses (feat. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella) floats.

One thing I noticed was that there were tons of Filipino dancers on the parade. It almost felt like Enchanted Kingdom on parade. Ha.

The Little Mermaid Float and the finale of the parade, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Goofy.

After the parade, we walked around the place, past Sleeping Beauty's castle, took tons of pictures , rode the carousel and ended up in a garden where random Disney character mascots were available for picture taking. We got to pose with Minnie Mouse and Goofy. Unfortunately, while in line to pose with Mickey Mouse, Minnie decided to show up and take Mickey away. It was so cute seeing mascots visit each others gazebos, still in character. In reality, they probably need to change the person inside the costumes.

After the picture taking, we decided to watch PhilharMagic, a 3D feature in a nearby theater. I actually envisioned my experience in Disneyland to be full of rides and shopping rather than settling down and watching shows but since we were bordering on having heat strokes because of the sun, sitting in an air-conditioned room seemed like a pretty good idea.

And it was. The 10-minute show was well worth it and mom and my sister had a great time because it was their first time to watch a 3D show. After that, our tour friends insisted on watching a 30-minute Lion King show and since it was still so hot outside and the heat was starting to take effect on us, especially on my mom who was already having palpitations and headache from all the walking under the sun, I didn't contest the idea even though I wanted to ride as many rides as possible with the limited time we had.

Disneyland map and a snapshot of The Lion King Live.

And again, the show did not disappoint. If it was only me, I would have not spent 30 minutes out of the less than 2 hours that we have left before the fireworks watching some show instead of further exploring the park even under the extreme heat. But since I had no choice, at least I didn't waste my time watching some boring production. The play was really good and it featured a really cool fire dance, a gymnast hanging from the ceiling and really good actors and singers.

Upon exiting the Lion King theater, since we're already on the jungle part of the theme park, we decided to ride the Jungle Log-ish ride ride with a group of Caucasians who complained later on that the tour boat guy was too fast. Ha.

After walking back to the center of the park, we rode some kind of circling space thing for kids because my sister wanted to and I have to accompany her. This was the time when I knew I'm not going to be able to do the things I've always wanted to do in Disneyland. I wanted to ride the It's a Small World fun ride and that Astro ride for thrill seekers. Heck, we didn't even get to explore the Tomorrowland part of Disneyland. There was simply not enough time. And like clockwork, the park's speakers announced that the fireworks was going to start in 5 minutes so we scurried to find a good spot for the display.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle at night right before the fireworks display.

All the rides close right before the fireworks which starts at 7:30 and we were supposed to be on the bus at 8pm sharp. With the uber long walk to the bus parking lot, it's safe to say that we should leave the park right after the display.

The fireworks display was amazing. I have the whole thing on video and I'm glad my camera decided die on me after the show. Both my cellphone camera and my digital camera perished that night and it was a waste that I didn't get to snap shots of the park with all the pretty lights on. Everything's prettier in the evening, a general rule in picture taking that every tourist should know about.

We bought pastries for dinner as we proceeded back to the bus that would take us back to our hotels. It had been a very long day and we were all exhausted. Me and my sister were still on a high as we reached our hotel room, but we needed to sleep as early as possible, because tomorrow, we're going to Macau. :)

HKM Day 2.1: Hong Kong Day Tour

Day 2 started with an early morning rise. We were supposed to be ready for the tour at 7:45am so we went down for the complimentary breakfast at 7. Little did we know that the ham and egg sandwich breakfast with coffee or tea would be the the same breakfast we'll have for the next 3 days. At around 7:40, people were starting to crowd the hotel lobby, mostly Filipinos. My mom befriended 2 ladies who were, as it turned out, in the tour with us. The tour guide arrived on time and we boarded the bus to our first stop.

Our tour group were composed of a semi-deadma all Filipino crowd, including a newlywed couple who were probably in their honeymoon, another family of 3 and a large family with several members. I didn't do a quick count but I would guess that we were probably 15-20 tourists in the bus.

The tour guide gave us a detailed map of Hong Kong with a piece of paper referring to our hotel so we could start tracing from there. This proved to be very useful on our 3rd day as we have to reach the Hong Kong Ferry Terminal on the other side of the city, all on our own.

Our first stop was in a kind of overlooking bay with a brass Bruce Lee statue and stars embedded in the pavement ala Hollywood Walk of Fame but featuring Hong Kong stars. We got the chance to take many pictures of the great view and the garden. But it the sun was shining a little too brightly so after the pictorial, we headed to the washroom to freshen up and back to the bus.

View of the bay. My camera decided to have issues at this time hence the gloomy photo. In reality it was freakin hot.

One of the stars etched in the pavement.

While riding the tour bus to the next stop, my cellphone proved to be a reliable camera amidst the window glass and movement. With it, I was able to capture these photos of some of the numerous skyscrapers of Hong Kong. (Click for a way bigger picture.)

Hong Kong is like a never ending Makati / Ayala with tall infrastructures everywhere.

Next stop is a taste of Victoria Peak. Here we were offered another view of the city. From high up a mountain.

View of the city and a Polo Club. Hence, all the greens.

I was not expecting this, but our next destination involved a sort of lake and a boat ride which showcased the fisherpeople of Hong Kong. Our tour guide said that long ago, fishing is the primary means of living of residents there and there are still families who chose to live at sea. With the boat ride (that costs HK$50 adult, $25 child), we were able to circle the body of water and take pictures of the famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant. It is said that meals there costs an awful lot, but you get to be treated like Kings and Queens for the day.

I had a great time taking videos and pictures of everything. And if you're not interested in the view, the boat lady controlling where we go has buckets of souvenirs for sale, including T-shirts, magnetic Hong Kong thingies that you stick in the refrigerator, and other stuff for all ages. We ended up buying a couple of shirts and some of those magnetic things for giveaways.

Boat houses floating along the bank and the intricate design of the Jumbo Floating Restaurant.

Next stop was my least favorite. If it wasn't mandatory that we go there, I would've chosen another place to go to. We went to a jewelry shop where we got to see how various gems are polished to perfection then made to very very expensive accessories. We almost got harassed into buying an expensive ring but we made it out alive. The down side was that our group had to spend extra time in the store because our tourist bus broke down on us on our way there and they had to replace it with a different one. Hence, the lost time and the wait.

(1)Shot of the craftsman's working table and an (2)icon of everlasting luck.

Aboard the new bus, we were on our final stop of the half-day tour. It was a factory outlet of some sort with various items for sale. From chocolates to bags to Disney products, we were treated with free taste tests of the chocos and free delivery of what we have purchased to our hotel concierge. There we bought key chains and sweet stuffs and had it delivered to our hotel so we didn't have to carry it with us.

After shopping, we boarded again our bus. This was the time that we part ways. Some families were going to be dropped off to the shopping district for a shop-till-you-drop afternoon while others were going to... Disneyland! We, and the two ladies my mom befriended back in the hotel, were part of the Disneyland group. So, we sat back as half of our group left the bus, and together, we headed on to Lantau Island where the theme park is located.

I watched the window view as I imagine how many more shots the 3 cameras with me can stand. Ha.