SG in Banawe

Having traveled to Singapore gave me an opportunity to taste authentic SGean dishes. However, a downside to having experienced something good or great is that someday, you'll find yourself craving to re-experience such. Good thing is that we Filipinos are risk takers; willing to step out of comfort zones and try out new things. And our love for trying out new food or cuisine is actually one that we are known for. Fortunately, if you're up for such, Banawe is one of the best places to be. Bugis St. Food is now open within the vicinity of Banawe, near POC.

(Though, I'm not quite sure as to the exact date of their opening.)

The place is just a small restaurant with vibrantly colored chairs and tables. They offer affordable SGean dishes, such as the must-try spicy SG Seafood Laksa, for prices ranging from 130 to 150 pesos.

The staff were very accommodating and they had fast service. We tried out their tofu, SG Laksa, and buffalo wings. if you liked authentic laksa or Secret Recipe's seafood laksa, I really recommend you to try the SG Laksa. It is cheap and really tastes good. It was spicy but tolerable; though you can actually opt to make it spicier. One order can feed two hungry, but not ravenous, tummies.

The tofu and wings were okay but, if you're inlove with Sunrise Buckets' wings like I am, I don't recommend for you to order such.

Overall, the experience was fun, and we intend to go back and try out their other must-try dishes.

Til then,

- Keso

Do the Hustle in SG

In each of these out of the country kinds of trips, the day that we would most likely be excited about would be the day of arrival, while we dread the day that we leave and say good-bye to such a wonderful place. Our final day in SG was dedicated to last minute shopping, roaming around un-toured parts, and of course, taking endless photos from everyone's cameras. Our plan was to do the hustle and we started our day off in Marina Bay Sands. We took the MRT from Lavender, then switched lines from East West line to North South line at City Hall interchange. Then from there, to Marina Bay. We walked from the MRT station to Marina Bay Sands past SG's 1st dragon boat international competition, Marina Regatta, where we got to see Team Pilipinas compete for a round.

Team Philippines

Marina Regatta - SG

The Bay was teeming with tourists, both international and local. It was actually quite a sight, since from where we were standing, I could see a lot of tourist destinations such as the Merlion on my left, the Marina Bay Sands on my right, and the Helix Bridge and Singapore Flyer straight ahead just past the Marina Bay Sands. It's a jackpot if you think about it, you can actually take photos of all these from one vantage point such as ours, or any point within the Bay for that matter. So if you're up for fast-paced touring, doing the hustle around the Bay would be perfect.

Marina Bay Sands as my backdrop

After taking some photos, we then headed inside Marina Bay Sands malls. The plan was just to pass through the mall, but then, we spotted some pastry shops and delighted with the sight of macaroons! Some shops were on sale during that time, so I indulged on shopping, and bought one box of macaroons each from 2 shops: TWG Tea, and High Society; so that I can taste different flavors from different shops.

However, we ended up spending too much time buying macaroons, so we had to find a place to have lunch. We chose to eat in the food court where I decided to have my last chicken rice meal before I leave SG.

SG Chicken rice

After lunch, we hurried outside Marina Bay Sands to the Helix Bridge. The view was quite amazing; you can actually capture the Marina Bay Sands along with other infrastructures as shown in the picture below.

At the Helix Bridge

Team OT with at Marina Bay

Just beyond the Helix Bridge is a spot where you can take a photo of yourself with the Singapore Flyer far behind.

With the SG Flyer

Then walk a little towards Esplanade, where you can take a photo of yourself with the Merlion statue behind. We opted not to go nearer since we were running out of time, and we had to hurry back to V hotel for check-out. We also had a plane to catch.

With SG Merlion

From V hotel, we then went straight to the airport still via train. And from there, home.

NAIA Terminal 3

From the moment this trip was conceived to the moment that we landed back on Philippine soil, I can say that I learned a lot from this trip; about life, about friendship, about chances, and about Occupational Therapy. And among these learnings I've gained, one thing that I'm positive I'll never forget is related to the phrase:

Ships on harbor are safe, but that's not the reason why ships are made.

If you think about it, never in my wildest dreams have I ever imagined myself going on an out of the country trip during my internship year. From a fresh OT intern's point of view, it is only but a hassle to be pulled out of the centers just to spend money on a trip like this. Furthermore, being pulled out would mean less number of thesis half-days. Not to mention that it would be energy consuming as well. But after the trip, none of these ever mattered. All of the things that we worried about, before saying yes to this trip, did not matter for even a bit. I learned, that it is indeed not within the confines of our comfort zone are we able to learn about the world; we could read about it all we want from the books, magazine pages, or articles, but we can only be able to fully understand such once we're in it --- this means stepping out of our comfort zones, exploring and discovering the marvels of the world. Sure we're not always going to find pots'o gold at the end of the rainbow, but even in such travels, one is still able to learn.

In life, there are times when we are faced with difficult decisions; on whether or not we should grab a chance. In such instances, reasoning is our best friend; we weigh the pros and cons of each decision, and then we decide. Other times though, reasoning isn't the one that we should turn to, for there are decisions that aren't made with the mind, but with the heart. And these are the decisions that make each and everyone of us unique. For it is in difficult crossroads in life are we able to define who we are. When we decide to take on the safe road, sometimes, we do the right thing, and sometimes we don't, and we'll only be able to find these out at the end of the road. But another thing that I'm certain is that during these difficult times that we have to choose between roads and when we think that 'there's still next time', we should also keep in mind that 'next time' is always too long before it comes again.

So that's it for my SG adventure. Thank you for bearing with me as I recounted one unexpected journey. Join me again on my next adventure.

XO.

- Keso

Universal Delights

Being somewhere for the first time could lead to some unexpected disappointments or even pleasant surprises. Expectation, after all, is the root of all disappointments. But the beauty of going to a place for the first time is that you have no other experience to compare it with. Meaning to say, anything great that would happen there would be the greatest yet and anything unpleasant will be the worst.

Day 3 at Singapore was a day of firsts. It was my first time to go to Universal Studios, let alone, go to such places with my friends rather than with my family. It's really great to go places and discover the world. And day three was all about just that. It was dedicated to Universal Studios at Sentosa, SG. We originally planned to go to Little India and China Town and continue our touring and shopping along that MRT line. But our group has been persuaded by other people to at least visit Sentosa now that we are at SG. So off we went to Sentosa.

I never really understood that Sentosa was actually Resorts World, which we also have here in the Philippines, up until my friends explained it to me. So anyway, we rode 2 MRTs to get to the Harbour Front station where the cable car to Sentosa was situated. There are numerous ways to get to Sentosa. For more details of directions to Sentosa, check out Get to Sentosa. We bought two-way tickets and rode a cable car to Sentosa.

View from the Cable Car to Sentosa

Resorts World Sentosa

It was my first time riding a cable car so I was really giddy with excitement when we began our short sky-high journey to Sentosa. What's even more exciting about the cable car was that it has transparent flooring so that you can get to enjoy the spectacular view a full 360 degrees vertically and horizontally. You can get to appreciate the SG's early morning horizon and the view of the Bay. It was amazing.

Once the cable car approaches the island, numerous hotels and private resorts will come into view. And these sights are gonna make you want to don a pair of swimsuits and jump in on those perfectly created blue pools. A little before the end of the cable car's track, you'll get to see the Hard Rock Cafe when you look to your left. Upon arrival, you'll first get to enter Sentosa's souvenir shop with lots of cool but quite expensive stuff.

What me and my friends first did was to look for the small maps of the island and get copies of each attraction's pamphlets.

Pamphlet hoarders

Then off we went to Universal Studios! We first had to pass a number of escalators and take photos with the Merlion, SENTOSA letters, and the Lake of Dreams.

Just past the Lake of Dreams and a little to the right is already the ticket booths of US. When we arrived, it was already jam-packed with a lot of people even though the stalls open at 10am and at that time it was only around 9:30am. The admission fees differ for each age group, and for peak and non-peak seasons. We paid $68 each since we're already within 13-64 years old, and it was a 1-day non-peak pass. That was roughly Php 2300. Check out Universal Studios Admission Fee for complete information.

Although US Sentosa's size is nothing compared to others abroad, it was still relatively large and had too many attractions for one day. So, since some of my friends already went to other US branches abroad, we get to plan out which attractions we were going to visit and the order of such visit. For a more detailed information on how US Sentosa looks like, check out Resorts World's interactive map at US Sentosa Map. 

First off, we went to try out the newest attraction, Transformers - The Ride at Sci-Fi City. It was a 3D ride. First of all, I didn't know that there was going to be a really really long line before you can actually get to ride the ride. Once inside, the really long lines actually made me think that what we were seeing was already the 'ride' because while waiting in line, you can get to hear Transformers characters conversing with each other, the walls are filled with LCD screens featuring different techy stuff, and at some parts of the line, there were articles or gadgets that you can take a photo with. It was fun once you get to ride the ride, although the pair of 3D glasses that I took was actually a little bit too loose for me that I needed to constantly reposition it and would have to secure it during the ride. But still, since it was my first ever ride, I'm gonna have to say that it was amazing. I never really outgrew that part of me who loves these kinds of things... rides, amusement parks, etc, I think no one really ever does.

Battlestar Galactica: Human (red) vs Cylon (blue)

Because we were all already too pumped with adrenaline, we decided to take on the Battlestar Galactica: HUMAN vs CYLON. But we had to take a detour and deposit our things to the paid lockers  to the left of the attraction since you're not allowed to have your bags, loose footwear, or accessories with you during the ride for safety purposes. We all rode the HUMAN ride and it was so much fun. Zooming at speeds of 82.8 km/h, the HUMAN Viper Mark II is a seated roller coaster that propels you 14 storeys into the air. But we couldn't get enough of the adrenaline rush, so 4 of us decided to take on the CYLON ride, which was insane! It was so much better than the HUMAN ride, being a suspended roller coaster that will turn your world upside down as it runs through a vertical loop, corkscrew and cobra roll. It was like one of the best 2 minutes of my life.

At around lunch time, we went to have our tummies full at Loui's NY Pizza Parlor, which is actually a well-known pizza parlor in the US. The pizza was heavenly, I can attest to that.

Lunch at Loui's NY Pizza Parlor

Photo looks familiar? :) Check out High Spirits - Yum.

After a hearty lunch, we went to check the Madagascar ride. It was a ride suitable for those in their early to middle childhood, but definitely not for someone like me. It was, how do I say this, okay. Nothing adrenaline-pumping about it, though it's as one of my friends said, "Pam-balance lang (something to balance things)."

 

After the Madagascar ride, we continued on to Far Far Away where we rode a mini-roller coaster all for the sake of one of my friend's idea of 'adrenaline rush'. In all fairness, the roller coaster was not disappointing at all. It actually turned out to be fun. Then we went inside the magnificent castle for a 3D show of Shrek.

The 3D show was more fun than the Madagascar, but maybe because I love Shrek more than those zoo animals, no offense meant though.

After the Shrek show, we hurried our asses off to Waterworld, where we were supposed to watch a play. But, since we got too engrossed with taking photos earlier, we were late and we had to wait for the next show, which was around 5pm I think. So we decided to just roam around and so we proceeded to the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure in the Lost World. It was so much fun! We were really scared at first and we were actually betting who would be the luckiest of us who will get really wet by the water after the ride. Fortunately for me, I was at the opposite part of the circular raft when it hit the water so very minimal damage was done to my clothes.

What's really cool after the ride is that there were drying cubicles, which you can pay to dry yourself off. But since we were on a tight budget, we decided against it, and just rode the Canopy Flyer, which actually played the same role as our "tipid (thrift)" dryer.

We continued on to Ancient Egypt where we decided to ride the Revenge of the Mummy. I'd have to say, it was pretty impressive and fun as well, even though it's an indoor ride. It's a testimony of how the dark can actually make your adrenaline go wild and pumping.

After the Mummy ride, we were all so sweaty and hot because it was a hot summer afternoon. So we decided to head to the loo in front of the Mummy ride and cool our faces with water. While waiting for the others, we took photos in front of a really huge electric fan and ate some snacks.

Team Shorts at Universal Studios SG

Freshening Up

We also went to buy souvenirs. I got two Universal Studios magnets for my parents' fridge. Then we went in line to have our photos taken with Po. When it was already time for the show in Waterworld, we hurried back to the Lost World.

It was actually a live sheltered action stunt spectacular, which was based on the film Waterworld. You'll witness a tidal wave of death-defying stunts, along with thrills and spills from real explosions of fire and water. It was a sensational live water show in which the seats are so arranged that those in front volunteer to get themselves wet with water by the actors themselves as part of their opening act before the start of the show. The opening act was actually very funny. I didn't know that watching other people get soaked with water could be this entertaining. Anyway, the actors themselves were superb and were very comedic, so thumbs up.

Inside Waterworld

Since it was already getting dark out, we decided to head back to MRT and straight to Clarke Quay, where we plan to eat dinner and maybe experience the night life of SG or perhaps a glimpse of it.

Leaving US SG

So we took a few last photos of Universal Studios' sights at night and had to be disappointed that we wouldn't be able to see the fireworks that night. Before we left, two of my friends each bought a drumstick of turkey, which were really delicious.

We also passed by Candyland just in front of the entrance of US to buy some stuff. The branches of the trees in front of the shop were full of candies that were too realistic for decorations and would make your mouth water. I bought candies for my cousins and chocolates for my parents and siblings. We also stopped by the Reese's shop just to take a look. We regretted such a decision since seeing the shop makes you want to buy the whole lot. If only I was rich. Need I say more about that?

Candyland facade

Reese's

On board the cable car again for the second and last time, we marveled at the beautiful sights of Sentosa at night.

Resorts World Sentosa at Night

We boarded MRT and headed to Clarke Quay. When we arrived, I was fascinated as to the night life of SG. It was a whole block of just pure party and booze. But we first headed towards the G-Max since my friends wanted to experience it.

G-Max Reverse Bungy

Up into the skyyyyy!

The G-Max Reverse Bungy is actually a 15-second ride in which you get to sit in a 3-person seater capsule and attached to both of its sides are two very strong cables. These cables are then stretched high up until they reach the top of the towers while the capsule is secured in the ground. The stretching of the cables build up potential energy, which would then be converted into kinetic energy as the capsule is detached from the ground. Imagine a huge slingshot and you're going to be the stone. But instead of being thrown out into doom, you're strapped tight and safe to a steel-reinforced capsule and hurled up to 60 meters upwards between two 36-meter towers at speeds reaching up to 200 km/h. WHEW. I could only imagine how much concentration of adrenaline would have been produced in a person's system during this 15-second ride.

Anyway, they say it was well-worth it. Although it was really short an experience to be bought for a relatively expensive price of 1500 (if you convert it into Philippine currency).

When the rush has subsided to the G-max'ers, we looked for a place to eat. But during that time, there was an event in Clarke Quay, the German Spring Festival, so that all of the bars and restaurants were teeming with beautifully-clothed people. It was booze night. So we didn't exactly have a choice but to eat at Subway. It was actually quite depressing since we thought we're gonna have a taste of SG night life and all. But no, there we were, good girls eating good ol' Subway meals. Good thing the servers were Filipinos, so they were kind enough to give us generous amount of servings for our meals.

Anyway, although we still didn't want to go home, since we were all too tired because of a whole-day's worth of walking, riding, taking photos, and pumping adrenaline all under the scorching heat of the sun, we decided that we should start making our way back to our hotel to rest. It was a good idea since we all had to pack our things and wake up early the next day because it was our last day in SG. It was one of those depressing moments when you get to feel the flutter of those butterflies in your stomach. And yet you dread that feeling because you know in your heart that you're never quite sure when you'll be back again. I hated those moments. But still, those were the inevitable; there was really nothing that we could ever do but to keep moving forward. I'll just have to keep these memories in my parietal lobes and keep them close to my heart. Maybe even dream of coming back. But of course, still tend to my affairs as a human being living in a world of change with people bound by time.

After all, it's just as Dumbledore once said to Harry in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone:

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.

So, 'til my last post on Le Awesome Singapura - SG Day 4 Tell All. xo

- Keso