Summertime in Singapore: Day 1

I haven’t traveled much outside the Philippines, so I’m really a noob in this whole wanderlust thing that my generation seemed to be obsessed about. I have to admit though that I already need to catch up with my personal goal of trying out new things and experiencing the world, that’s why whenever I get the opportunity to go out of the country and immerse myself to foreign culture, I’d most likely grab it.

One of these opportunities came up when we were given the option at work take a part in a Digital Marketing Show in Singapore. This is perfect because I haven’t been to Singapore, plus I get to learn some insights on the new trends of Digital Marketing as well! It was a 2-day conference but we stayed in Singapore for 4 days because you know - wanderlust.

Our itinerary for the first day was all fun and exploration! We knew we won’t have much time to go around on the 2^nd and 3^rd days because of the conference, so we made sure to fill-up our to-do list with R&R activities. Lemme take you through our first day in pictures:

Check-in at Hotel Clover

We stayed at Hotel Clover 33 at Jalan Sultan because it’s close to Suntec City where the Digital Marketing Show will be held. We got there early in the morning, left our luggage, and off we went!

Singapore was unbelievably hotter than the Philippines when we visited, so we made sure we're dressed up for the weather.

A Quick Visit to Nuffnang Singapore

We wouldn’t pass the chance to visit Nuffnang Singapore and meet the SG Nuffies. They’re also young, cool, and fun - not to mention good looking..haha.

It was a no-shoes office, so everybody had to wear slippers or socks inside.

The Nuffnang SG Talent-bloggers, I presume. Lovely! 

See what I'm talking about? We blend right in!

Lunch at Vivo City – Food Republic

We knew that it’s going to be a loooong day ahead so we refueled ourselves first at the food court of Vivo City. I like their food court – it’s thematic and walking around feels like you’re in a small Asian village. The ambiance made me enjoy my food a little bit more.

Cereal Prawn Rice - SGD 6.80

Sweet and Sour Pork Rice - SGD 5.80

Ginger and Onion Pork Rice - SGD 5.80

Laksa (This was Jel's order, of course)

Coconut Cakes. Comes in coconut and peanut butter fillings. Let's hope I don't crave for this anytime soon.

Conquering fears at Universal Studios

Okay, I admit that the “conquering fears” part was a bit untrue because I mostly said no to the extreme rides. What’s great though is that there are still a lot of attractions that give you loads of fun! My personal favorites were the Steven Spielberg special effects set and Transformers 4D (mostly because they’re safe). Imma tell you about the whole experience in a separate post.

Finally! I have my own Universal Studios obligatory shot!

Reminiscent of Disney Land

I made new friends!

Steven Spielberg's Light's, Camera, Action!

One of the actual cars used in the Furious 7 movie

Wet and Wild!

It was amazing seeing this in real life!

We took a quick break where Jel ordered this from Oasis Spice Cafe

It will be fun, they said. No sudden drops, they said.

I'd go back for the Transformers ride anytime!

Dinner at Resorts World Sentosa  - Malaysian Food Street

It was an early dinner but we were so happily exhausted that we knew we had to grab a bite. Plus we’re not yet done for the day so a pit stop was necessary!

Still thematic. I'm loving Singapore food courts!

Claypot Chicken

Grace had Kaya Toast with eggs. Loved this too!

Sugar-loading at Candylicious

Waiting just outside Universal Studios is the sweet-tooth heaven that it Candylicious. I know that I just had dinner but those jelly beans were calling out to me – how could I resist?

In Candylicious, treats grow on trees

A Musical Finale at Gardens by the Bay

Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands were mandatory in the itinerary if you’re a first-timer in Singapore, so in spite of my aching feet, I mustered up my perseverance and made another bus-train-walk trip to get to Gardens by the Bay. When I got there, I knew that pushing my endurance to the limit was worth it.

Behind the scenes

Den Den was feeling at home, all right.

It was already a beautiful sight as it is, but what we didn’t know is that we were in for an even lovelier surprise - Gardens by the Bay suddenly introduced a musical light show! The video below doesn’t give justice to the beauty, but I hope it gives you an idea of how lovely it was.

Getting Lost in Singapore

It was a whole day of walking and riding and running around in 34 degrees of heat, so you can just imagine the torture that we let our feet go through in a single day. We were already pushing it when we went to Gardens by the Bay! Maybe it’s because of our exhaustion, but at some point on the way home, we seemed to lose our sense of direction and got lost!

It’s not lost like we’re clueless as to where we were. We still have an idea of our location, but we couldn’t figure out the exact way back to our hotel. We ended up going around in circles for almost an hour, and had to ask people around for directions. Good thing the people we met were nice enough to point us to the right way.

In the end, it was an all’s well that ends well for all of us. We were tired but we didn’t mind because we had so much fun! We were all fast asleep not long after getting back to the hotel – knowing that we still had to be up early for the conference the next day.