Singapura... bila la nak gi ni?

Reading the RBUs' past SCMS race reports, it got me thinking how nice it'd be to go to Singapore for jalan-jalan (a visit).  Running the marathon?  Oh, ok.  That too.  Hahaha.

The mention of the roads, shopping areas and the likes are so alien to me, that I couldn't quite grasp the geographical area, especially the running route.  ECP lah, Marina Float, Novena Velocity what?

To tell you the truth, I haven't been to any other Asian countries besides Singapore.  Airports (like Narita or Taiwan's) are not counted and should not be.  And the only time I've been to Singapore in my entire adulthood was back in 2007 when I attended a one-week training.  *cue the laugh track*  LOL!  Don't get me wrong.  I love to travel.  Somehow I don't have the chances to go to other Asian countries, even those in SEA.  Come to think about it, I don't think it's about having chances.  Perhaps I always think that they're close by so there are other opportunities to visit them some day?  Alang-alang bercuti-cuti, elok pergi jauh-jauh kan?  Tapi budget kena le besar *doh*

I must also find cliques who are into traveling I guess; better yet, other half (singular).  For those who don't know me, I'm the kind of person who's a bit anal into planning the itinerary (e.g. time and budget) from flights to accommodation and in between.  And that takes time.  The farther the destination, the longer time it'll take me because I'd like to cover as many places as possible at one go.

Are you guys done with the laughing yet? :)

Like Singapore... sure, I was born in the town across the straits.  And I was told by my family that we'd be making trips to Singapore on the weekends.  But try telling that to someone who was just a tiny tots of mere months old.  Okay, okay... I may not be tiny.  I have passport photo as proof; can't even see my neck.  Kah kah kah.

I didn't get to see much of Singapore when I went for training.  Heck, I couldn't see anything from my hotel room because my room didn't have a window.  Ha ha!  My colleague commented that even a prison cell has a window.  A tiny one, but it's still a window.  LOL!

Our hotel was in Upper Serangoon (near Kovan MRT station I think), and the training place was near Commonwealth on the Green line (if my 2nd guess is correct as well).  I did get to walkaround Raffles City, and the Esplanade & Orchard Road on 2 separate nights.  I also got to know Mustafa fom my colleague because he needed to find tennis shoes in his size.  He could never find shoes in KL, tho' he did find a pair this year (the one and only pair in that shop and they're white.  Does he have a choice? :D)  Even at Mustafa, there were only 2 pairs.  Let's just say the designs were not the best ones they had.  Kesian.

When I was enquiring about the MRT card - the cost and all, the guy inside the booth was telling me that the card was good for the next 7 years.  Then he asked me whether I'd be back in the city in the near future?  Upon hearing that I wasn't quite sure, then he said perhaps I wouldn't need one.  Ha ha ha.

And I must say, one thing about Singapore that stays in my mind is the lush, big trees that they have.  The ones in KL will be there one day, and cut down on the next.  If they're not cut down, they will be trimmed.  Even that is most likely to be a shoddy work.

Ok, back to the present.  Seeing the picture of Marina Bay Sands that Diket took during SCMS, it looks amazing.  Coupled with the existence of Universal Studios, I'd think that it's even worth the trip to go to Singapore again.  It'd be nice to fit in a race, but that would interpret into a longer stay.  Nak carbo-load lagi, lari, rest, jalan-jalan, shopping ;)

Tapau from Diket's

Hopefully my next year's cuti-cuti (holiday) plan is much, much better than that of this year.  I was dreaming of a Europe getaway (at least London-Paris-Amsterdam) this year to take advantage of a couple of friends who are there, but I didn't put much thought into it.  So it didn't materialize.  I'm all for a second attempt next year.  Insya-Allah.