Sunday, July 29, 2007
Singapore
Fabulous shopping, eating, clubbing

July 12 - July 21

2007

Ahhhh Singapore. What a blast. I must admit this was one wickid-ass holiday. I have decided to write the details of our Singapore trip regardless of the fact that I do not have the photos to go with it. A week has passed and I think it would be better that I recount the events that had passed in Singapore before my head starts making up memories.


The Flight
Will and I make our way to Singapore on Tiger Airways. The way there we were bursting with energy and excitement... well I was. Will was his usual calm cool and collected self. The flight itself was what I had expected. There were 3 seats on either side of the very very narrow isle. No food, you gottsa pay for insta noodles, sandwiches etc.

On the way back, it was quite fun, having Adrian sitting with us rather than some random. Things were mighty friendly on board, luckily Will n Adrian were sitting next to each other, otherwise I'd be in the line of fire, and probably be scarred for life, forever in the foetal position. Clem and Alicia unfortunately could not find seats near us, but they were nevertheless together!

Traveler's Tip: If you are to fly Tiger Airways, DO pre-select your seats. Departing from Perth, you do get your own separate queue to check-in, which is A LOT faster. Plus you don't have to worry about whether you will be placed next to your traveling buddies or not = D


The Accommodation
Robertson Quay Hotel... what can I say... hahahah lets just start off with, first come first serve. Will and I were the first to check into the hotel, we believe due to that, we had minimal problems with our room. After that, it went downhill. The difference between the rooms were so great that hey... it ended up being quite comical.

Adrian checked in realised he did not have a fridge in his room (after hanging out in our room), Drew and Katie arrived and were not given a fridge, shower curtain, and the lights just did not work... I think there were similar disparities in the other rooms, but we did not hear about it. In the latter part of our holiday, Adrian and Chia Hui realised why their bathroom was always wet and why ours were nice and dry, Will and I had the luxury of having a little wall around our shower, whereas they didnt.

So Will and I had the no problem room...the only thing that bugged us (and the rest of the group) was that they were EXTREMELY small and the bathrooms... HA even for me was too small. When we say small... this is what we mean... basic toilet, wash basin and shower. Room for one, everything so damn squished that even when you go to sit on the toilet you have to sit on an angle because the wash basin is protruding into your leg/sitting space . From the guys POV from what I've heard... they have had to learn how aim and pee diagonally while half asleep and hungover...

The general cleanliness of the rooms were to standard. I have stayed at some swaanky places like Bunker Bay which was rooms to die for... luxurious to the max, but yea. Once you become accustomed to how small the room and bathrooms are, you begin to settle and enjoy the place... by the second night we were calling it home.

We were given complimentary hot breakfasts every morning. It was the same standard baked beans, eggs, toast, sausage buffet style with tea, coffee or OJ for drinks. There was the choice of corn flakes, but Will and I never went for it. I really enjoyed going downstairs for juice and then meeting up with the rest of the sleepy-eyed gang.

Traveler's Tip: Robertson Quay is excellently located next to Clarke Quay, the heart of the nightlife in Singapore. There is also a small shopping centre across the street which has a supermarket inside which is great for your water, fruit and snack supplies. Around the corner there is a 7/11 where you can buy supplies, food, and your SIM card. Stay here if you plan on spending the majority of your time out and about, and not in your room. It is also ideal if you plan on going out to the clubs, restaurants and orchard road is only 5 Singapore dollars away by taxi.


The Shopping
Orchard Road is an eye opener for sure!!! Large Shopping complexes on either side of the street... gosh it was sooo good. There was so many things you can get there that you can't get in Australia... which is another good reason why the shopping is awesome. We were also lucky because we went during the Shopping Sales in Singapore. Which starts in June and ends in July. DISCOUNTS!!! yeaaaa... I was never really a huge shopper until we went to Singapore.

The places that I really enjoyed though were Bugis Street (Bargains galore baby... the handbags are soo good!!) and wait for it guys.... I can actually remember the name of it now... Far East . Far East... I went to 3 times... just coz it was sooo good. I should have bought more stuff aye. More clothes, more shoes! I only bought 4 pairs of dress shoes. Lucky I had Chia Hui there, She was my ultimate shopping buddie!!! = D

Traveler's Tip: If you want to go Shopping go during the Sales. June-July. Fully sick maite.


The Food
OMG... this is one of the things that I truly miss... the FOOD!!! Omg... soo good. I loved eating the noodles in soup...I loved the bread (Breadtalk is awesome) the sweet glossy buns, the buns with the sausage in it. the Cheesy ones... AAAAHH!!! I also loved the prata... ooh yeaa, and Teh Tarik and and and... oooh golly gosh my mouth is foaming just thinking of it all! OOh yea...we went during the Singapore Food Festival, so a lot of the Shopping complexes had food stalls... the best one was definitely the ground floor of
Ngee Ann City (the complex with Takashimaya). Places to go is definitely Lau Pa Sat in Chinatown. The satay strip is soo cool and kinda scary but yea... still very very yummo!!! The best meals I had were the ones we had at the Hawker places, I cannot forget the last breakfast we had, Will, Drew, Adrian Chia Hui and I walked 5 mins fro our hotel to have prata and teh tarik. Aw... was sooo good. The things you do need to try when you are in Singapore are:
  • Chicken rice
  • Chilli Crab
  • Fried Kuey Teow
  • Prata
  • High Tea
Speaking of High Tea. Ah yes... this was the only meal where all 12 of us got together and ate. Will made a booking at the Tiffin Room at the Raffles Hotel. This is a must go! The atmosphere and the experience is something that really makes this a great thing to do. The food was good, there was the fusion of the English traditions which included the tea, sandwiches, some pastry finger food like quiche and scones (scones.. ohh baby... i loved the scones); and Asian finger foods, things you would find at dim sum.

I think the best bit was the harp player and the waiters who open your chair when you want to get up or sit down and who re-lay your napkin when you sit. EhHEhehe...

There are many other cool places to go and eat in Singapore. Clarke Quay had heaps of interesting and novel places to eat such as Hooters and the like...

Traveler's tip: Eat food from the hawker places, they are el cheapo and el tasty!!! Oh and the Singapore Food Festival is always on during the month of July... so July is the ultimate month!


The Clubbing
The nightlife in Singapore. AWESOME. Makes coming back to Perth very hard. We either stayed out shopping till 10pm or we were out Clubbing! Places we went to:
  • Zouk
  • Ministry of Sound
  • St James Powerstation
  • Clinic
  • Cafe Del Mar
  • Gotham Penthouse
There are many stories that have come from our clubbing experiences in Singapore!!! HhAhahaha good times, good times...but since this entry is already super long, lets just do it bullet point style. In order of occurrence:

  • Zouk - Friday 13 July
    • The first night out for Will, me, Adrian and Chia Hui. Got Mega tanked with the 1 for 1 deals they have... mixed hennessy included in this deal!
    • Chia Hui and I danced crazily for a good hour together in the middle of the empty dance floor until we got ppl grooving!!!
    • Random chic coming into the toilets and first thing she says to me is "You have the same dress as me" (I indeed had the same dress, only mine was purple and hers was black)
    • Random chic hijacking my toilet as I walked into the stall. She followed me in, sat on the seat talked to me whilst she pee'd and then expected me to reciprocate. I kinda made up a story about gonna chuck. She walked out, leaving me be, BUT leaving me WITHOUT A SQUARE TO SPARE!!! No Toilet paper! Had to ask the girl in the stall next to me for some, she was a good Samaritan in a time of need, even though she herself was chucking.
    • Me loosing my little handbag containing my ID, credit card, bank card and phone when getting out of the taxi. Will drunkly commanded me to run after the taxi, which I did. BIG thanks to Adrian who found it on the road where the taxi had dropped us.
  • Gotham Penthouse - Tuesday 17 July
    • HAHAHAh another good time, we all stumbled into Gotham Penthouse on a usually quiet night out for Singapore and found Gotham Penthouse in Clarke Quay. Music was really good (y'know the stuff you hear on the radio) and the floor was empty!!! we all Boogied on down.
    • Some random group of Chics started a dance off!!! Trying to shake their booty, but we all were too good!!! We sent them home!!!!
    • The "performance" OOHHH yeaaa.... 4 Hunky, buffed, male dancers!!! WEEHEHEHEEE... Drew and Clem loved it... I swear I heard them screaming just as loud as we were!
    • Leaving Gotham Penthouse at the same time the dancers were!!! They allowed us to take a group pic with them... very nice guys.
  • St James Powerstation - Wednesday 18 July
    • Laaaaadies night!!!! Free entry and 5 coupons for mixed drinks! Though Chia Hui, Alicia and I decided to redeem our coupons all at once and got JUGS of Vodka and Ribena!!! oohhh yummoo!!!.... oooh... dangerous-o....
    • Danced to really good RnB music, danced out lil hearts out n gotten a photo taken.
    • Going for water... hahaha we went to get water from bar, barman ended up giving us 3 FREE waterfalls. He made us drink it at the bar, one at a time, and as we drank he lit up another glass of alcohol and poured it as we drank... it left us...well... smashed.
  • Zouk - Wednesday 18 July
    • Mambo Jumbo night? Lets just say... it was very very scary. Club packed with guys, doing co-ordinated hand actions to 80s music. O_o Ask Chia Hui for a good demonstration. (imagine something like Japanese Para-para dancing, only corny-ier)
Traveler's Tip: Definitely go clubbing on Wednesday nights!!! ladies nights rocks!!! Ministry of Sound is awesome, check out the studio 54 room, groovy baby! Clinic is good too, its located near MOS in Clarke Quay, and it is set out to look like a hospital. Adrian n I ordered Syringes Shots which was pretty awesome. = D Cafe Del Mar is located on Sentosa Island... the place is HOT, would have liked to gone at night, if you go, remember to bring your bathers = D


The Sightseeing
We did not do very much sightseeing. The places we went to were:
  • Merlion
  • Durian looking building
  • Raffle Hotel
  • Singapore Zoo
  • Singapore Night Safari
  • Sentosa Island
Ahhh the sightseeing... Yes... definately go see the Zoo, the Zoo in Singapore is very unique. With its open "enclosure" the animals (more so the monkeys) are almost free roaming. There is not cage enclosing them. Very nice... and the Night Safari... yea... pretty alright... pretty entertaining, similar to the Zoo except at night and you see all the nocturnal animals come alive.

Sentosa Island, yea... fun fun fun! It probably would have been a lot more fun if it was sunny, but nevertheless, we all had heaps of fun! We went down the Luge (or "loogie" as I mistakenly pronounced it), 4 times!!! The first time we went down, it was sooo fun, so when we came to Sentosa a second time (to go and check out Cafe Del Mar) we went down 3 times.


Conclusion
This was a really great trip, would love to do it again, and just have fun! Weird funny things that have emerged during the trip include:
  • Midge
  • Cuba
  • "... just like Adrian"
  • "Loogie"
  • Adrian and Chia Hui finding out about the cool convenient light switch.
  • Will and I finding out about how the bed side lamp worked.
  • "Yo Momma so fat..."
  • "Woah Woah Wee Wah." (Borat)
  • "Sexy time" (Borat)
  • "Lah" - everyone except me... I can't pull the "Lahs" very well.
  • Will's "victory" on the Luge - while on the home stretch Will was ecstatic that he was winning, he let go of the luge handles and swerved off the track, whilst Adrian passed him by.... giggling.
  • Adrian's sexy Spanish dancing at Cafe del Mar (duggaduggadugga...DANG!...duggadugga..DANG!)


Cast

(listed in order of appearance at Robertson Quay Hotel):

  • Me (yes I arrived first coz Will's a gentleman and allowed me to walk in thro the door first)
  • Will
  • Adrian
  • Chia Hui
  • Drew
  • Katie
  • Clem
  • Alicia
  • Shuyen
  • Siew Moon
  • Vanni
  • Chrissy
Special Guest Appearance:
  • El Louise
  • Amelia
  • Edwin


Special Thanks to:
  • Tiger Airways
  • Robertson Quay Hotel
  • The taxi and MRT system in Singapore


Soundtrack:
  • Umbrella - Rhianna feat. Jay-Z
  • Destination Calabria - Alex Gaudino
  • Beautiful Liar - Beyonce feat. Shakira
  • What I've Done - Linkin Park
  • Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5
  • Sexyback - Justin Timberlake
  • Snap you fingers - Lil John

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posted by Anna Panna the Lil Banana at 6:15 PM | 5 comments
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Heya all... yeaaa I know its high time that I get my fingers typing and give the run down on the Singapore trip.

Unfortunately it is not finger fatigue or the lack of creativity that prevents me doing so. It is the temporary shortage of photos!!!! Yess... yess.... I think photos are a must...

So in light of this, I have blogged to say... it is coming soon = D

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posted by Anna Panna the Lil Banana at 10:07 PM | 0 comments
Sunday, July 22, 2007
WoooOOOOOHHOOooo!!!!!!

Our Claim to Fame!!!

We barely remember it and we can hardly believe it. But us lil Aussies have left our mark on the Singaporean clubbing scene.

Yes, the photo we have been waiting for has been found.



If you want to see more photos of the night itself direct your page to:

http://www.nightlife.sg

If you can, find our other pic for us... = P





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posted by Anna Panna the Lil Banana at 11:41 PM | 2 comments
Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Yea... Ive been pretty excited!!! Waiting and counting down the days, hours, mins, seconds till Will and I take off for Singapore!

I am ready to try out the El Cheapo Tiger Airway flight and our decently priced and excellent located accommodation at Robertson Quay Hotel (pretty much next to Clarke Quay).

But in the meantime, I have been passing my days working, hanging out with Will (his last holiday before starting at Deloitte) and watching movies. The last movie watched....

TRANSFORMERS!!!
'Uhh...More than meets the Eye... to you'



It is such a GREAT movie! I love it!! I definitely give it 5 BANANAS outta 5!!!! It was sooo good! the action, the mystery, the graphics!!! It was sooo realistic! I found that I was soo amped before the movie, and I continued to be amped throughout the whole duration of the movie till the very end!!! It was very cool.

The humans and the transformers themselves are quite funny in a cute nerdy way, but I still laughed my brains out! = D

Go See it... I am not going to spoil it for anyone.


= D

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posted by Anna Panna the Lil Banana at 12:15 PM | 0 comments