Jalan-jalan Singapura

... well, just a bit.

Although it's unwritten, one of my new year resolutions is to pamper myself a bit.  I agree with my brother's sentiment that while saving is a good (if not a great) thing, we should also spend some and enjoy life... while staying within the boundaries of our religion of course. Insya-Allah.

And one way to do so is to travel.

It was actually a last minute plan.  I just realized that the Marriot Vacation Club package that I purchased in September was expiring in mid April.  I could not fit it in March or April because I already have plans within that time frame.

I've asked my JB friends to come with, but they already made prior engagements.  Honestly, I wanted to ask my siblings, but you can't just ask one and ditch the rest.  Besides, Sentosa wasn't in my itinerary this time around.


I could opt for either Ritz-Carlton or Marina Bay Sands (MBS).  But that was a no-brainer, despite reading several negative comments on Tripvisor.


Here are some of the highlights from my trip:

Checking in: 

When I arrived at the hotel at 2pm, I was told that my room was ready. After opening the door to my room, I found that my room was still in a mess.  Then I could hear voices on the beds blocked from view by the wall.  After saying hello a few times, a couple of girls in their kaftans arose from the beds and couldn't tell me why they were in the room that the hotel concierge informed me that was available.  My room.  Apparently they couldn't understand English.  On my way to the front desk, I bumped into a hotel staff and explained him my situation. After talking to his supervisor on the walkie-talkie, he asked me to go downstairs after telling me "This is the first time I'm hearing this, Sir".  Me too, buddy.  Along the way, I was asking myself, is it are they part of the so-called package?  Haha. 

The front desk people were also dumb-founded.  In their system, the previous person had already checked out.  But why was there a couple of ladies taking a nap in the room?  They called the room  and conversed with one of them in Mandarin.  Apparently, the ladies were also in the dark.  Huh?

The hotel couldn't find me another room (even an upgrade) until 3pm.  Well, there's always a hikmah (or silver lining) to everything.  For the trouble, I got a bigger room and one that's facing city center, as well as a S$50 credit to my room.  Yay!

The model in the lobby.

It looks big from down here

The infinity pool on the Skypark

More development to come

View from at the end of the hallway - Chingay parade at the Singapore Flyer

My room! Definitely better than the window-less one in 2007. :D

With Syah

I was pleased to show the certified amphibian Syah the Skypark, albeit for a very short time.  He had a plane to catch you see.  I just stood in the shades while he went for a quick swim.  It was so hot out that I could hardly open my eyes.

With a soon-to-be certified triathlete

After parted ways with Syah, I headed over to Novena to meet up with Kash to get my hands on my RoadID.  All the way to Singapore! Hahaha. While waiting for her, I killed time by window-shopping at the sports stores there. Shoot! If only I didn't have holes in my pocket.

Taking a dip at Skypark

I never woke up so early before when I was in vacation.  In fact, I always dread waking up early for work.  But knowing that the pool opens up as early as 6am, I showed up in person at 6:30 after Subuh prayers.  2 days in a row! Haha!

Wouldn't it be nice to sit back and enjoy a view like this every single day?

At the edge of the infinity pool

It was cold, but who cares

Hanging out with my cousin's friends

My cousin's friend is working in Singapore and she treated me to some murtabak and beriyani.  Then we hung out with 2 of her friends; walked by a flea market, strolled on the Skypark and ate dinner.  Thanks you guys.

And to end the post, here's a couple of shots on my last night in Singapore.

The Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands

The Esplanade

So where to next? Tungguuuuuuu