Fairytales do come true. ♥

FIRST DAY in Singapore.

Changi Airport > The Coris > Vivo City > Raffles Place > Asian Civilization Museum > Esplanade Park > Merlion Park > Esplanade Mall > Makansutra.

We arrived at around 12MN (05.18.2012), disembarking at Changi Airport’s Terminal 1. (It’s just like you’re sleeping inside the mall. And the bathrooms are awesome! Smells good.) It took us about half an hour finding our luggage. (First-timer ee. :D )

Ate Mae was waiting for us outside. She rented a Maxi Cab

(Wasn’t able to get a picture. Madilim kasi.)

Inside of the Maxi Cab. It’s one of the largest and most luxurious mode of transportation in Singapore, the 7 seater Mercedes Benz Vito Maxi Cab Limousine).

(Wasn’t able to get a picture also. I got this one from the net.)

We went to her HDB Flat (The Coris) located at Compassvale Bow (Near Buangkok MRT). We stayed there for 6 days.

Then we left the HBD around 10 to meet Ate Mae for lunch @ Ikea. We got our EZ link Card.

(It cost SGD 12. It’s the only way to get around SG. You can use it both on the bus and MRT. And it’s very easy to use. You just need to tap the card when you enter a bus and before you enter MRT platform And then tap it again before you leave the bus/MRT. Or else you will charge the full fare. Si Lolo nag 1,2,3 sa bus. Haha!).

And since it’s out first time, we got lost. But you gotta love their Transportation System. Well organized.

But getting off the MRT though was a bit confusing. From Buangkok MRT station, we went to Harbour Front (VIVO City). Since we are having a hard time commuting, Ate Mae just met us at Vivo City and we have a late lunch there.

Then she went back to her office and since we already consumed too much time, we decided to skip the National Museum and went to Asian Civilization Museum @ Empress Place instead. We managed to get ourselves to Raffles Place by asking the Mrt staffs/crews. We came out from the Exit H onto Bonham Street. Then a few minutes’ walk towards the river, then you have to cross the Cavernagh Bridge and then you’re at the Entrance of the Museum.

Cavenagh Bridge

Asian Civilization Museum.

We paid SG $20 instead of $8 each because of family package deal. We entered the museum around 3PM and guess what time we went out?? 7PM!! Haha! It took us 4 hours and we haven’t seen the entire museum yet. The museum houses 11 galleries which showcase over 1300 artifacts from the Museum’s growing collections on the civilizations of China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia/ Islamic. The experience was very educational. It reminds me of Asian Civilization subject during my 4^th Year College. Parang field trip lang. J

(I’m going to post some pictures I’ve taken inside the museum on a different page.)

After touring the museum, we went out and headed to Merlion Park to meet Ate Mae for dinner. We’ve been walking for about 20 minutes when we realized that we’re heading the wrong way. Instead of going to Merlion Park, we found ourselves in Esplanade Park. We took the opportunity to take pictures na rin with the MSB as our background.

Then we walked towards the opposite direction and reached our final destination the Merlion Park. While waiting for Ate Mae, we were able to see the Merlion clearly and we are also able to watch the Light and Water Show at Marina Bay Sands, though the place was a bit crowded. The view was still impressive and superb! There are a lot of people taking pictures with the famous Merlion. We also had some photos taken. Syempre, di ko papalagpasin ito. Parang dati sa pictures at post cards mo lang makikita, tapos ngayon nasa likod mo na!

The Merlion (Malay: Singa-Laut) is a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. Its name combines “mer” meaning the sea and lion. The fish body represents Singapore’s origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek which means “sea town” in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore’s original name — Singapura — meaning “lion city” or “kota singa”.

Wasn’t able to get a decent shot because of the large number of people taking pictures.

After taking a few photos, we decided to go to Gluttons Bay to have dinner. So from Merlion Park, we walked to Makansutra Gluttons Bay. Finding a seat/table wasn’t easy because the place was packed with people enjoying their dinner.