I have no regrets. I have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. There's nothing more that I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I got?
A successful Singapore.
What have I given up?
My life.
Lee Kuan Yew
Merlion Park / Photo Credit: Dimpsy
If memory serves me well, it was in November 2, 2013 when I had my first out of the country trip. My Mom and my sister were having a hidden agenda of buying my airline ticket. It was on the 30th of October when my Mom spilled out the beans that I will be flying with them to the Lion City. My older brother already arranged a flight for my parents a month ago before the scheduled flight stated and my younger sister together with her family had a scheduled flight to Singapore as well before the year ends. My Mom was saddened that her other daughter (my sister) will go to Singapore and me will be staying at home; so she decided to tag me along so her two daughters can visit the city of fines...ahhh...all is fair in mother's love.
FIRST IMMIGRATION EXPERIENCE
We left home 3 hours before the flight schedule and waited for the check-in counter to operate. After we checked-in, we lined up to one of the booths at the immigration department and had our turn for the interview from the immigration officer assigned to our chosen booth. Vividly I can still recall the questions thrown at me by the Immigration Officer as I handed him my passport and plane tickets. As he checked the passport he asked:
Officer: Is this your first time to travel outside the country?
Me: Yes Sir.
Officer: Are you working?
Me: Yes Sir.
Officer: In what Company?
Me: ACS of the Philippines.
Officer: Do you have a certificate of employment that you are still connected to the company?
Me: Yes Sir I have (handed him the certificate of employment, together with the photo copy of my company ID, photo copy of my pay slips for the last three months, and my certificate of leave of absence; all documents were duly signed by my manager, team leader and HR personnel.).
After a run through of my documents he then asked:
Officer: What is your purpose in going to Singapore?
Me: To accompany my elder parents (pointing at my parents behind me).
Officer: Who is going to support your stay in Singapore?
Me: My older brother Sir.
Officer: Do you have a photo copy of your brother's pass or his company ID?
Me: Yes Sir and I have an invitation letter from my brother (handed him the papers)
Less than a minute he returned some of the supporting documents that I provided him and stamped on my passport and handed it back to me and said with a smile:
Officer: Enjoy your stay in Singapore.
Me (with all SMILE): Thank you Sir.
It was then my parents turn but they were not interrogated as much as I was since they're senior citizens already. The whole time that I was questioned, my hands were sweaty and shaking. But after that moment, I am so ecstatic to go on board and be in the City of Fines.
Our flight schedule was at 7:45pm and expected time of arrival in Singapore is at 11:45pm. I was in euphoria the whole travel time. True to it's word, we landed on the expected time of arrival but we disembarked from the plane at around 12am. When I stepped out from the movable enclosed walkway, I was amazed by the impeccable cleanliness and the hugeness of the airport. But then again, we have to pass through at the Immigration counter but this time my hands get twice sweater and twice the nerve racking. My turn came and handed my passport to the Indian man who was the immigration officer and asked:
Officer: What is your name?
Me: Erlin Yu Sir.
Without further ado -- he stamped on my passport and handed it back to me and said:
Officer: Welcome to Singapore and enjoy your stay.
Me: (Surprised!) Oh, thank you so much Sir.
When I look at my passport it was a 30 days visit pass.
It made me wonder why Philippine Immigration Officers give travelers the third degree when Singapore is with heavy hand but very loose in giving out the pass. They say it was just a good timing.
ATTRACTIONS WE'VE VISITED
What to see video in Singapore / Video Credit: Marie Thuy
Briefly I will share the places we've been to during our trip. I will have a separate blog for some of our visits on my future travel blogs. This blog is an introduction and a glimpse of my first out of the country journey. So here are the places that I've visited during my two weeks stay in Singapore.
1.) THE MERLION
The Merlion / Photo Credit: Dimpsy
A well known national personification of Singapore that portrays a mythical creature of a lion with a mermaid tail. The lion head represents the country's name simha which means "lion" and the fish body represents the country's origin as a fishing village that is called Temasek, which means "sea".
Source: Wikipedia
Singapore is a modification of a native Malay name of a country which is Singapura and was derived from two literary languages where simha is "lion" and pura is "town" or "city". It is also tagged as the "Fine City" because of the many imposed fines of the country. The words imbued two different definitions: first, it's a fine city to live in and second, it refers to the fine system imposed by the government to keep the country in tip-top shape.
SINGAPORE -- THE CITY OF FINES
1. Not Flushing SG$150
2. No Feeding - SG$1,000
3. No Littering - SG$1,000
4. No Smoking - SG$1,000
5. Vandalism - Jail and Cane
6. No Urinating in Lifts SG$600
7. Possession of Firecrackers - Cane
8. No eating and drinking in MRT - SG$500
9. Possession of Drugs 20g - Death Sentence
2.) MAKANSUTRA GLUTTONS BAY
Gluttons Bay / Photo Credit: Anisha of the blacksakura.wordpress.com
Singapore's first Peking Duck Hawker at 8 Raffles Ave #01-15. Owned by the known food encyclopedia of Singapore -- KF Seetoh. A high quality food stalls situated along the Singapore river with variations of ready to cook meals from meats, veggies, seafoods, noodle soups, rice dishes and all kinds of mixed spices that is ready to be served. The place is fully packed where we hardly got a table to settle in. I still remember standing in the corner eyeing for customers to vacate the table and fortunately there was one long table for us. I like the ambiance, the cool breeze from the river and seeing the well known Marina Bay Sands Hotel and the Art Science Museum at night and not to mention witnessing the great light show from the Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Bay Sands.
The concept of Makansutra was originated from a discussion with a French friend in 1995 which means “eating lessons”.
Source: National Library Board Singapore
Glutton is someone who regularly eat and drink more than what is needed.
Source: Cambridge English Dictionary
3.) GARDENS BY THE BAY
Gardens by the Bay / Photo Credit: Dimpsy
Spending your whole day in this Garden is not enough. A lot of spectacular views awaits you to witness and enjoy. As I've said in my previous blog: A Day in Gardens by the Bay there are three waterfront gardens that comprise in this place. From landscapes, greeneries, greenhouses, architectural designs and cooled conservatories you can find it here. Just click on the highlighted title of my blog stated above for more information about the three gardens.
4.) SINGAPORE ZOO
Singapore Zoo / Photo Credit: Dimpsy
Singapore Zoo is known of it's Night Safari ride which unfortunately we haven't tried it since we're tired of trying to roam around the 28 hectares area. Locally this is also called as the Mandai Zoo which I think because the zoo is situated in 80 Mandai Lake Road. The zoo is not limited to the animals alone. There are animal shows that both young and young at hearts can enjoy and various modes of rides. A portion in the zoo that kids can enjoy and get wet at the Rainforest Kidzworld. No worries for dangerous animals, safety measures are considered. They are kept in landscape glass-fronted enclosures.
5.) FLOWER DOME
FLOWER DOME / Photo Credit: A Certain Slant of Light
If you are an anthophilous person, then this place is the best place for you. A script from my blog A Day in Gardens by the Bay: it's a cool-dry columnless conservatory glasshouse showcasing displays of different flowers and plants from the Mediterranean and other semi-arid regions such as South America, South Africa and parts of Australia can be found in Gardens by the Bay--the Flower Dome. You can check out my previous blog to know more about the dome.
6.) CLOUD FOREST
CLOUD FOREST / Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The world's tallest indoor waterfall that has a temperature of 23ºC – 25ºC. Feel refreshed in a cool-moist conservatory forest with an area measurement compared to a 1.5 regular football field. Covered by 2,577 glass panels with 690 distinct shapes and sizes settled in a surface dome are of 12,000m2. This 35 metre tall mountain has nine unique zones that can enhance one's knowledge regarding biodiversity and geology and environmental threats that can harm the species. Canquer your fear of heights by strolling the cloud walk, tree top walk and discover the lost world.
7.) DUCK TOUR
Duck Tours / Photo Credit: Dimpsy
My first hand experience riding on an amphibian vessel. It's a land and sea adventure. Hop on the duck and start cruising at Marina Bay, passing by Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands, and Merlion Park. The last stop is at Merlion Park where you get to see upclose Singapore's trademark for a minute or two then it will head back to Marina Bay and this time the duck will waddle up on dry land for a city tour.
Duck Tours (Wacky Duck) is a remodeled amphibious Vietnamese war craft used during World War II.
Source: Duck Tours Singapore
8.) SENTOSA ISLAND
Aerial Panorama view of Sentosa Island / Photo Credit: Wikipedia
The best place to bring out the child in you is at Sentosa Island. Grabbed the Best Singapore Destination at TripZilla Excellence Awards 2017 and Asia's leading leisure destination getaway. This island resort can be reached through the city by road, cable car, monorail and pedestrian boardwalk. Since we have senior citizens with us, my brother opt to ride the cable car just so for parental experience.
Universal Studios Singapore / Photo Credit: Dimpsy
There are a lot of attractions that you can choose from but the main attraction that I liked most is the Universal Studios Singapore where we spent most of our day time and that alone isn't enough to wander around the studio. With the aide of the map, we did some selections of the rides and shows that we want to see or ride. But our bad was not taking into consideration the conflict of the time in each show and rides. I would suggest to list down the time schedules so you will have a smooth direction not a to and fro just as we did.
Complete Walkthrough of Universal Studios Singapore / Video Credit: SG Yap
The Far Far Away Land is where it brought out the child in me. And for the rides, there are a lot to mention but I will just cite few of my favorites first as the best: Transformers The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle, Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure (Water ride), and Madagascar: A Create Adventure. For the shows, first on the list is the Songs of the Sea (just click on this link for the separate blog) followed by Lights, Camera, Action! -- Hosted by Steven Spielberg, 4D Adventure Shrek, and Donkey Live. There are still a lot of things to do and see in Singapore but I will stop from here. Maybe I will make a part two of this blog.
Overall, my two weeks stay in Singapore is a life changing adventure. I highly appreciate the citizens of Singapore for the high respect of the laws mandated by their government. Such a safe place to live. How I wish for the Philippines to be like the Lion City. Well, I've reached to the end of my journey 'til my next blog.
This has been Dimpsy and this blog is written and published for bitlanders and leaving you this quote:
The world is full of wonders for me to wander.
Single Wanderess
Until my next blog. Happy reading. ♥
