Singapore Sojourn (2012)

I just came back from a 5 days Singapore trip last week. It was my first trip to this mini-city state this year but me and few friends are already planning to go back mid of this year. Time and again, this city has never failed to amaze me with newer sights to see and better things to do.

It was such a busy trip as mainly the purpose of my travel is for business and a bit of leisure is just a bonus if time permits. Didn’t have the chance to go perfume-hording this time but was able to enjoy the food and some new attractions.

Me and a colleague tried Duck Tour. It is such a popular tour for Thais so we have to try and see for ourselves what makes it attractive. It is a land and water tour (half of the trip you will traverse the concrete streets and the other half, the vehicle will wade the waters particularly the area along Marina Bay.

We were in the middle of the tour when it started to drizzle so most of the pictures I took while on water is a bit dark and gloomy. Tour Duration is 1 hour. You will get to see a different angle of the now famous landmarks of Singapore: The Singapore Flyer, The Esplanade and Marina Bay Sands.

We also did inspection of the new Resorts World Sentosa hotels as part of our job. Isn’t it great that your job requires you to be able to see and stay (at times) those fine hotels that normally you would only see in the glossy magazines or travel books?

We went to Equarius Hotel as well as the Beach Villa. These 2 newly opened property completes the accommodation part of RWS. Equarius Hotel is a refreshing hotel. The moment you stepped into the lobby, there is huge waterfall replica with cascading waters and plenty of green. Really relaxing colours.

 

We’ve also inspected The Beach Villa. Actually, there is no sandy beach in sight. However, the Villas are overlooking the Bay and the tall skyscrapers of modern Singapore is definitely a sight to behold.

Was also able to try Transformers The Ride which is the latest and most expensive ride in Universal Studios Singapore (USS). It is not an extreme ride like Battlestar Galactica and The Mummy but the sheer technology used (they define it as hyper-realistic 3D thrill ride) will definitely give you a feeling like you are in the middle of the battle between AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS. Everyone in the capsule I was in was clapping and rejoicing as we “Freedom Fighters” successfully defeated the villains. Unfortunately, you cannot take photo or video of the ride.

Hopefully my Singapore trip with friends will push through middle of this year. It is their first time in Singapore so I would let them “Get Lost” in Singapore (taken from the latest PR campaign of Singapore to Australia).

Singapore Sojourn (2011)

Last week, I had a quick business trip to Singapore (sorry Ms. GBP, didn’t have the chance to contact you so we could meet up). As usual, Singapore never cease to amaze me as it always offer something new every time I visit this highly-urbanized City State.

The last time I was there was February 2010 and in a very short span of time, a lot of new developments had happened.

Of course we all know that Marina Bay Sands, Resorts World Sentosa and Universal Studios Singapore are now open which was partly still under construction last time I was there so I did not miss the opportunity to see these hot attractions.

I stayed in Park Regis Hotel, a new hotel conveniently located in Clarke Quay. The location is great as it is less than 5 mins. walk to MRT station as well as the Central Mall and all those nice night spots.

The room is good but a bit small. But never mind as I am not in the hotel most of the time.

The meetings of the 1st 2 days of my trip was very rigorous if not tiring but it was a good exchange of ideas from various heads of different countries.

Tuesday night, I get to meet my former Philippine colleagues and had a sumptuous dinner in a Hawker centre overlooking Marina Bay Sands. It is very ironic that the other country heads were having dinner at Marina Bay Sands during that time (which I had to pass so I could meet my former colleagues) and we were just looking at the grand structure while eating tasty foods outside.

After dinner, few of us headed straight to Chijmes to cap the night with a few drinks and good music.

Next day was the day of our flight back to Bangkok. We still had a meeting over lunch but after that, I get to enjoy Universal Studios Singapore even for a few hours (as we had to rush to the airport for our flight). Luckily most of the rides have short queue or none at all since it was a weekday.

I really enjoyed The Mummy ride and the most sought after Battlestar Galactica. It was one helluva scary ride but I will definitely try it again next time.

Didn’t get the chance to go shopping or go to the Bak Kuh Teh shop near our office where I tasted the best one in Singapore. I just consoled my self with a bowl of this food bought in Vivo City en route to the airport.

I’m looking forward to going back to Singapore again very soon.

Sharing you some of the pics here..Pardon me I inserted some pics with me in it..lol.