Sis & Mum's Visit - 6 Days 5 Nights @ YourSingapore

... with me as the Tour Guide!

I guess I mentioned before that I’m lousy at tour guiding. I tend to rush my “guests” around in attempt to let them “see” more things, but in the end losing out the “enjoying” things part. I tried to keep that in mind this time and decided to have the most relaxing tour, ever!

So here was what happened on the last 6 days…

Friday, 15th July 2012 - Changi - Singapore Zoo - Vivocity

It was my first time going to budget terminal, so I intended to give myself a bit of buffer time just incase I got lost. I left at around 8.20am along with Winson (he was going to office), and reached Changi at 9.10am. I never really noticed the budget terminal sign, but apparently it’s all there and the signboards are really helpful. I was taking the bus to budget terminal at around 9.20am and reached the arrival hall at 9.30am.

So this is the free shuttle bus to Budget Terminal!

The flight touched down at 9.30am. I was happily smiling standing and waiting. 15 minutes passed but there was no sign of people coming out. 15 mins become 30 mins, then 45 mins, then AN HOUR! They finally came out at around 10.45am. My smile wore out but I was still really happy to see my family! Welcome to Singapore!

Welcome! - Blurry Pic, blamed it to the taxi driver for driving too fast!

First destination is home. Brought them back to my rental flat and let them rest for a while – eat, nap, unpack, etc. At around 2pm, we went out to our next destination, Singapore Zoo! I purposely planned it on the first day based on the experience I had before – if I planned it near the end of the journey, people tend to lose the excitement :p

At Singapore Zoo with all different "Ancestors" as the background

The day was sunny – or hot, I would say. We walked around three quarter of the park. I was kind of confused with the map; it doesn’t seem to be really precise. I can’t find the animals where they were supposed to be even after few rounds of checking. I know that my map reading ability is bad, but I believe it’s not that bad! There were constructions going all over the zoo, so maybe they have to relocate some of the animals for constructions. We watched 2 of the famous shows – Rain Forest Fights Back and Elephants At Work and Play. We decided to go for dinner afterwards.

White Peacock during the Rain Forest Fights Back Show!

Not really able to snap with all the moving animals, so we took one with the static one instead

Dinner is at Sushi Tei, Vivocity. It was 5pm in the afternoon and the restaurant was almost fully occupied. I still don’t understand how can it be so popular! We had great time with the food, then went to Giant for some fruits shopping, went back home and called it a day.

Sushi!

Saturday, 16th June 2012 - Bugis - Marina Bay Sands

Woke up at 6am, breakfast at 8pm, and then we went to Bugis for prayer and lunch at 12pm. Had lunch at my favorite restaurant at Bugis – Crystal Jade La Mien.

Bugis is filled with Rice Dumplings Stall!

Lunch at Crystal Jade La Mien!

After lunch, we went back home, packed, and went to Marina Bay Sands for check in. Relax there for the rest of the day – had dinner at No Signboard Restaurant, esplanade

Our Room!

Deluxe Room - guess this is the smallest room, but still spacious enough with Balcony!

View outside the Balcony - Garden by the Bay in the making!

It was 5pm and the sun was freaking hot, but the place was so crowded I can hardly believe it

There is no way to take pic without at least another 10 people behind

On our way to Esplanade via The Helix Bridge

Dinner! - Chili Crab & Butter Crab

Sunday, 17th June 2012 - Sky Park, Fountain of Wealth, IKEA

Was contemplating if we should to USS on Sunday or Monday. After awhile, decided to go on Monday, so we spent the morning swimming and relaxing at Sky Park.

Finally managed to take a decent group pic after endless try

Last shot of the room before checking out

We checked out at 11am, and then went to Suntec for lunch at Soup Restaurant. Got a chance to visit the fountain of wealth as well. After a bit of walk around, we went back home, rest, and then went to IKEA for dinner.

Suntec - Almost the whole section were closed, lucky the fountain area was open

Lunch at Soup Restaurant - Samsui Ginger Chicken!

Walking around IKEA

Our Dinner - guess we ordered almost everything in the Menu

Monday, 18th June 2012 - Universal Studio Singapore

We spent the whole day at Universal Studio Singapore. I thought Monday would have fewer crowds compare with weekend’s. Well, I might be right, but the queue was still horrendous! I spent 20 mins just to queue for the ticket for monorail *faint.

First destination in the theme park was… Madagascar. We rode on the Crate Adventure and King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round before dashing to the Lost World for Water World show.

Greeted by Woody Woodpecker near the entrance

Water World - Most probably my 5th time watching this show

After the show, we went to Discovery Food Court, has some set meals for lunch, then went back to Far Far Away for the Shrek 4D Adventure and Enchanted Airways (I can’t believe mum agreed to take this!)

My Ayam Penyet Seat Meal - $11

Shrek!

Done with the ride, we went back to Lost World to check on the waiting time for Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure. It was 20 mins waiting time, so we decided to give it a go. I tried it before but can’t really remember when will the fun splash begin, so I was alert throughout the journey. We got really soaked after the show, but thankfully the sun was strong enough that all was dried within an hour. That was the last ride I took for the day. We just kind of passed through Ancient Egypt section (I managed to get a pic with Cleopatra!)

Is Cleopatra not allowed to smile?

We moved quickly to the Sci Fi city as my niece said that he wanted to ride Transformer. Alas, the waiting time was 90 freaking minutes. It was already 4.30pm and we decided to give it a miss. He went to Accelerator ride, while I enjoyed snapping pics of the Transformer. Man it was huge!

Transformer! Is this Optimus Prime? Can't Remember

Moving on after Sci-Fi city was New York. I’m lucky enough to meet quite a few of the characters there – Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Mel’s Waiter, Betty, and Frankenstein. I saw Puss in Boots and Kungfu Panda too, but was too late for a pic with them =( We went for our last show of the day – Lights! Camera! Action! Hosted by Steven Spielberg. After few more shots around the Universal Studio, we took the monorail back to Vivocity and (based on demand) we went to Kopitiam to have dinner, Singapore style! :)

Sexy Marilyn Monroe!

Tuesday, 19th June 2012 - Chinatown - Orchard

Good time flies. It was the last full day and I started to get the ‘can’t let go’ feeling. We had lunch together with Lily Sis and her two cute sons at Yum Cha, and then have the shopping season started at OG Chinatown.

Family lunch!

We shopped until around 4pm, and then took a taxi to Orchard for… another round of shopping! We walked around until around 6pm, took some pics, then went back to my place and have dinner around the area. Last few hours before slept were filled with packing. I’m impressed and will always be impressed with my sis’ packing capability. She can pack a big whole mess into 6 nice suitcases adding up to 40kg sharp. Power! We slept at around 11pm after making sure that we didn’t miss out anything.

Wednesday, 20th June 2012 - Changi

It’s finally the time to say good-bye. We woke up at 6am, had breakfast, packed the few last items, and then took a taxi to airport at around 8am. Check in was smooth, and so did the GST claim. Everything was fine and we were all done by 8.30am. It was 2 hours to departure and so we’re just sitting around and chat. The more we chat, the more I wish that the plan is delayed so I can maybe have another lunch with them before they go :p unfortunately my bad wish didn’t come true. The gate opened on time, even though there were like half an hour delayed on the take off time.

Last pic at Departure Hall - Bye, Mum, Sis, Niece!

So that’s pretty much summarized all the 6 Days 5 Nights in Singapore. Who said that there is nothing to see in Singapore? I still haven’t shown them the Night Safari, Jurong Bird Park, Sentosa, Singapore Flyer, Little India, Clarke Quay and not even Casino T_T They still haven’t eaten the Founder’s Bak Kut Teh, Boon Tong Kee Chicken Rice, and what about showing them my favourite KFC! They need to come back for more! Anyway, I truly enjoyed the time spent… family gathering always made me felt closer to my family… and sob, home sick for few days.

Ok, now time to burn down the calories! Fitness First I’m coming!
ED