Hello all! 😀
I was unintentionally caught up doing work yesterday (I know… boo!) so there was no time (or energy) to prep a post for today. Instead, you’ll get to see what I did last week in Singapore! So come take a virtual tour with me 🙂 I flew down by Jetstar because it only cost me something like RM132 return. I know right! Duty free! 😀
We start at Vivocity where the new Sentosa Boardwalk has been constructed. Now, you can walk the 500m or so length all the way from VivoCity to Sentosa! Not quite as fun as taking the cable car, but cheaper 😛 You only pay S$1 when you reach the end of the Boardwalk and its a very easy walk. Or if you just want the walk, turn around and walk back – that’s 1km you just walked haha! 😛 If you’re lazy, there are travellators along the way. Yeah I know. Next thing, it’ll be air-conditioned! 😛
Getting into Sentosa on a weekday, it was quiet so it was easy to walk around and browse. I stopped by the Universal Studios logo, where for one moment, I carried the world on the back of my shoulders like Atlas. Little did I realize that it was at about this time that Japan was hit by that devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Next, because everyone told me to, I stopped for popcorn at Garrett’s Popcorn – Oprah endorsed. I was offered the Cashew Caramelcrisp to try which I purchased. A small bag was S$9 😯 ITS JUST POPCORN!!! I found it too sweet so I ate some and left the rest for BiL because he loves it, apparently 😛
My sneaky sis enticed me down to visit, with a promise of a Segway ride. You know what a Segway is right? Its that people mover contraption that you stand on, which you can move and manoeuvre using your body. Tilt forward and it moves forward. Tilt back and it moves back. Always wanted to try it after I saw the gendarme (police) in Paris riding it. Not sure if it helps them catch the baddies any faster 😛
I went on the Segway Eco-Adventure on Sentosa which was fun in itself as we rode the Segway around the beach area. The company running it however needs a good rapping on the wrist. They made us wait nearly an hour for our ride to start with no explanation or assistance, refused to entertain our questions but was more concerned with selling more and more tickets (should I be surprised?), treated me with condescension when I ran into trouble on the way (wheel ran over a rock and went off track) and were just rude. All in all, it left a bitter taste in my mouth so for that, I’d not recommend them at all. I’ve written to them with no response to date. Really. I expected so much more from a service in Singapore. They do however have monopoly on this ride so perhaps that’s why they felt they can behave in this high-handed manner. Oh and interestingly, I went on a group deal (Usual price S$38 but paid S$23.50). So that’s 2 horrible experiences from a group deal. hmm… Its no excuse though. Boo to them! Boo!
To walk off my irritation, I went down to Siloso Beach where a bemused tourist proclaimed to me “Welcome to the smallest beach in the world!” Made me laugh so irritation was gone 🙂
Its been a while since I’ve been on a beach (man made or otherwise) so I tried getting some “cool” shots taken.
Photo was liberally cropped. There were SO MANY PEOPLE around getting into my photos. But despite wanting to look cool and sophisticated, I couldn’t. Bah…
And finally, here are some random shots I took of the food I had. Just to y’know. Make you drool? 🙂
A self grill Japanese restaurant at Vivocity – wagyu beef and kurubota pork (sorry to Muslim readers!)
More Japanese food – beef on rice in bamboo basket at Somerset 313
Abalone Dim Sum at Summer Palace restaurant – looks prettier than it tasted. The Stuffed Crab (not shown) is tastier than it looks!
So that was my weekend in Singapore. It was fun, I didn’t do any shopping but just ate and ate and err… ate; caught up with my sis; thought long and hard about whether I wanted to buy a DSLR camera (and eventually deciding I wouldn’t) and all in all, had a nice little break. Coming back saw me sitting in the plane on the tarmac for close to an hour while they “checked on things”. So that was the fly in the ointment. But for RM132 what do you expect, really.
On a beauty note, I had on the Laura Mercier Silk Road palette all throughout my Sentosa escapade and it held up through the sun and sweat. So I was suitably impressed. Oh and I picked up the Chanel Ombres Perlees eyeshadow palette so I can’t say I didn’t shop at all 😉
I hope you have a lovely Sunday. I had great fun re-living my little weekend trip and I hope you did too 😀
Paris B
Hanny says
March 20, 2011 at 9:20 amEEEEE!!! I love Singapore! I go there about once a year ahahahahaha, just to visit my aunt and shop! ^.^
And Universal Studios was actually not half bad. It was pretty small, but still, I expected something much smaller. In fact, Disneyland Hong Kong is about the same size (BOOHOOO!). The coolest thing was the ambient music all over the place was actually soundtracks from the Universal Studios movies, so we heard like the Harry Potter theme at the ticket stand, the Jurassic Park theme at the food court etc etc! ^.^
I’ve stayed once in Sentosa before, I think the hotel’s name was the Beaufort? Brilliant shuttle service they had too!
^.^ Nice to know that you had a grat weekend!
ParisB says
March 20, 2011 at 12:43 pmI didn’t go into Universal Studios. No time 🙂 It was a fun weekend – mostly spent eating haha!
xin says
March 20, 2011 at 10:15 amI have seen the segway in movies too. Again, booooo to cheap deals
ParisB says
March 20, 2011 at 12:43 pmBoobooboo!!!
jia says
March 20, 2011 at 10:42 amparis, it’s such fun to be treated with those rare candid shots of you ! love them ! for someone who we read ( a few times ! ) everyday, i’m sure a lot of us have grown to be quite fond of you.
keep up the great work, stay gorgeous ( you are ! ) and thanks for maintaining this wonderful site for women.
ParisB says
March 20, 2011 at 12:44 pmAww… thank you Jia! 😀 You are tooooo sweet!
evie says
March 20, 2011 at 1:21 pmahahahah!! “welcome to the smallest beach in the world.hhehe so true! yeah its full of ppl, seldom go there too much ppl!
aiyo i dislike poor service! tsk esp those rude staff, makes ur blood boil when all you want is to enjoy..ggrr…guess i shall give the segway a pass if i ever wan to try haha …yes the popcorn is soo expensive! hear lots of great reviews about them then but i stop at the price -.-…its just a tiny bag!
ParisB says
March 21, 2011 at 10:56 amIts not quite a tiny bag, but its very expensive for what is just heated corn coated in caramel 😛 I actually tasted the cheese version too. One word – weird!! The beach was super hot and the people were really starting to come in by the time I was there. I guess if there’s no choice, there’s no choice eh? 😉
shannen says
March 20, 2011 at 1:36 pmah.. finally can see some pics of you! looks so pweetty!! Nice pendant btw 🙂 i have not been to SG for more than 10 yrs.. i just happened to check my passport yest.. haha
ParisB says
March 21, 2011 at 10:57 amAww, thank you 🙂 I had a SA in Guardian pharmacy ask me about the pendant too! 😀 Time for you to visit Singapore again I think eh?
Grace says
March 20, 2011 at 10:06 pmLooks like fun! I’m planning my mini getaway to Singapura soon! Shopping, Sephora, Universal Studios & makan. Heh 🙂 Enjoy, Paris!
ParisB says
March 21, 2011 at 10:57 amSounds like a pretty good trip overall! 😀
Mari says
March 21, 2011 at 3:58 amGirl, I love those mini break escapades! I’m already planning a trip to Brasilia (our capital city) during… err.. Restaurant Week. My mom says I always plan trips around food. 😛 So I don’t need to tell you how much I drooled over those tasty pics of food! 😀
Anyway, I’m glad to see you at a different location! Loved those shades! Meh, I know how difficult it is to find a desert beach these days – beaches here are so crowded during weekends and holidays! But I must say the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen was in Cancún, Mexico. Amazingly crystal clear waters and no one to be seen there. Well, it was almost bare of sand, just really dangerous-looking rocks so I guess it doesn’t count.^^
And the Segway seems great! I’d love to try it sometime! Too bad you had such a bad experience with the personnel. 🙁
ParisB says
March 21, 2011 at 10:59 amYay so do I! Sometimes a holiday doesn’t have to be a long drawn out affair eh 😀 I love food festivals – you always get such good deals on food then! I hope you have a great time 😀 And you’ve gone down to Cancun and all! I hear their beaches are amazing too! And Rio 🙂 Ahhh…. I’d love to visit Brazil some day – not for just a weekend though hehe… 😀
eira says
March 21, 2011 at 10:53 amu didnt do any shopping in singapore? err how is that possible? 😛
whenever i was in sg, i ended up spending too much $, i mean who can resist sephora right?
ParisB says
March 21, 2011 at 10:59 amlol! I’m just too jaded with the place 😛 I didn’t go into Sephora even, or into ION. I guess its just too much of the same thing over and over 😀
Joyce says
March 21, 2011 at 11:16 amtake me with you!! 😛
Sam says
March 21, 2011 at 11:39 amGlad you had a lovely time – I got back from Singapore yesterday. I didn’t go to Sentosa this time, maybe next trip.
I ate and ate too so good for food there!
beetrice says
March 21, 2011 at 12:32 pmGarrett isn’t half bad, although I’d agree with you on the ‘jelak’ part – I did the Chicago mix which was caramel and cheese (the cheese popcorn tastes like a bit like Cheezels) which helped to balance out the sweetness. Loved it but definitely not something to be indulged on a daily basis! :p
Damn the Segways…had been hoping to try it out when I saw it last month, but don’t think I want to after this…
ParisB says
March 21, 2011 at 1:25 pmThe cheese one I ate tasted like artifically cheese flavoured cardboard 😛 Prefer the caramel even if I die of sugar shock from eating it haha! The bits of cashew nuts were nice though. And yes, the Segway is fun but the service is ergh! Nearly a week and no reply from them.
Kazza says
March 21, 2011 at 1:59 pmWish I could go to Singapore again after reading your review. There are so many more things to do/see now than before. 😀
ParisB says
March 21, 2011 at 2:07 pmHaha yeah its always changing. There’s always something new to see and do everywhere it seems 🙂 That’s what makes travelling so exciting.
Tanya says
March 22, 2011 at 8:22 amHi!
Nice blog!! I am a European living in Singapore, but I like Malaysia too:-))
Oh, and it’s raining AGAIN….