Temporarily OOT Day 1
Finally! I've gone out of the country!!!!! ^.^ In the middle of the 1st semester, I'm having a 5-day vacation in Singapore :D Well I'm actually here to work on my PR application. Ok let's look at the highlights of my 1st day!
[MANILA, 11:00am]
We arrived at NAIA airport and fortunately and all the pre-flight procedures went smoothly. When we arrived at the Immigration section, I saw my greatest celebrity elementary crush which would be none other than ATOM!!! Yes if you know him he appeared on "Five and Up" and is now currently a host on "Breakfast". The great thing was, he's in the same flight I'm in and was seated 2 rows ahead of me. Downside was, it looks like he has some mutual understanding (they were acting so sweet with each other, it was killing me) with another co-host on breakfast who, according to my kapatid was the sister of Mariel (of the "Big Brother" fame).
[MANILA, 12:20n]
We boarded the JetStar plane to Singapore, and we were caught up in air traffic! Can you believe that? There was this long queue of airplanes waiting to lift off that my excitement lessened a notch. When we did finally lifted off, I was so amazed by the sight of the various vegetation and infrastructure getting smaller and smaller! Too bad that phones and cameras are prohibited from use. I soooo wanted to take a picture so I can share it with you guys. Moreover, since the skies weren't that friendly (it was raining) we experienced some turbulence. I wasn't really scared since the feeling was similar to riding a roller coaster and it even felt good.
[SOUTH CHINA SEA, 1:00pm]
All I can see was blue and white and blue....you get the picture.
[SINGAPORE, 3:00pm]
The flight took 2 hours and 55 minutes, like driving from Manila to Calamba. As far as I can say, NAIA pales in comparison to CHANGI airport. It's like comparing an analog mobile phone to a 3G cellphone. For the nth time, I realized how poor the Philippines really is. There were free internet services, the place was sooo clean you can barely see a speck of dust, the bathrooms are like heaven!
[SINGAPORE, 3:30pm]
Changi airport was located very far from the residential and commercial areas. We rode the taxi to my father's house and I was amazed by the trip on the car.
1) There was no traffic! The lanes were very spacious.
2) There are no toll gates unlike in SLEX or NLEX. My father explained that cars have this E-pass technology on them and there's an overhead sensor (but I didn't notice any) that automatically subtracts the amount.
3) All you can see are trees, lots of it!!! They don't cramp spaces here with lots of infrastructure. This is urban planning at its best. They have many protected forests interspersed with planned sections of residential and commercial areas. The rivers are very clean!!
[SINGAPORE, 4:00pm]
Almost all of the homes here are similar to condo buildings only more spacious. The only ones who can own a house and lot here are those who are *very wealthy*. The buildings are identified by numbers, even the streets. We are currently at Yishun Ringroad. The elevator only had 3 numbers on the panel (1,6,11) we had to go down 2 flights of stairs because the apartment was located on the fourth floor.
[SINGAPORE, 7:00pm]
After a brief snack, we went to our first order of business: a medical check-up. Even though it was already 7:00pm here, it was still very bright outside (as if it was only 5:00pm in Manila). Here, you only use a single card as fare to all transportation except the taxi. We rode a bus and I had to tap the card on the sensor on boarding and alighting the vehicle. The same goes for the MRT (train). Trains here work just like our local MRT, only that it is more spacious here and much faster. The stations are very high-tech and clean.
[SINGAPORE, 7:30]
We arrive at a small clinic here and it just so happens that one of the attendants was a Filipino!! ^^ Lucky! But on the X-ray, I found out I had a minor scoliosis >< It was all because I was prone to slumping on my seat whenever I was in front of the computer, which would be like all the time :D All they did was get our blood samples and X-ray.
[SINGAPORE, 9:00]
Dad showed us around Orchard, Singapore's nightlife and shopping center. It was so fun! there were live bands performing on the street (that might I add, was free of trash and smelly urine) and despite the countless malls and restaurants I can still see trees and lots of it ^^ Also it's interesting to note that the ice cream they sell on the street don't melt easily!!! You'd almost think at first that they are selling a dirty ice cream counterpart but in fact they are selling Magnolia and Walls (which is known as Selecta in the Philippines) ice cream! They cut the ice cream in rectangles and you have the option to either wrap it around a waffle or a bread. It was delicious!!! We browsed around the shops, a lot of which were branded! Burberry, Elle, Polo, Lacoste, Yves Saint Laurent etc... the prices can choke you but luckily they are currently having this "Great Singapore Sale" where all the shops, are of course in sale. (PS: I bought some *original* anime VCDs :D)
[SINGAPORE, 12:00]
It was tantamount to roving the whole "Mall of Asia". My feet and back were so sore!!!! I was more than glad to go home. Just so, the MRT line here is more complicated than what we have there. There are numerous levels of escalators going from one way to the other that if you failed to read the signs, you're toast errr lost I mean. Anyway it wouldn't be hard since English is widely used here. Singapore is mainly Mandarin Chinese with some Malays and Indians. Also there are a lot of Filipinos here so you really wouldn't feel lonely.
------------------
Well it's 2am here already and I am wide awake, typing on my lj account ^.^ Look forward to my adventures later (maybe *much later*) as we will go sight-seeing again!
Author's note: Any typo or bad grammar can be blamed on the author's lack of sleep ^.^
[MANILA, 11:00am]
We arrived at NAIA airport and fortunately and all the pre-flight procedures went smoothly. When we arrived at the Immigration section, I saw my greatest celebrity elementary crush which would be none other than ATOM!!! Yes if you know him he appeared on "Five and Up" and is now currently a host on "Breakfast". The great thing was, he's in the same flight I'm in and was seated 2 rows ahead of me. Downside was, it looks like he has some mutual understanding (they were acting so sweet with each other, it was killing me) with another co-host on breakfast who, according to my kapatid was the sister of Mariel (of the "Big Brother" fame).
[MANILA, 12:20n]
We boarded the JetStar plane to Singapore, and we were caught up in air traffic! Can you believe that? There was this long queue of airplanes waiting to lift off that my excitement lessened a notch. When we did finally lifted off, I was so amazed by the sight of the various vegetation and infrastructure getting smaller and smaller! Too bad that phones and cameras are prohibited from use. I soooo wanted to take a picture so I can share it with you guys. Moreover, since the skies weren't that friendly (it was raining) we experienced some turbulence. I wasn't really scared since the feeling was similar to riding a roller coaster and it even felt good.
[SOUTH CHINA SEA, 1:00pm]
All I can see was blue and white and blue....you get the picture.
[SINGAPORE, 3:00pm]
The flight took 2 hours and 55 minutes, like driving from Manila to Calamba. As far as I can say, NAIA pales in comparison to CHANGI airport. It's like comparing an analog mobile phone to a 3G cellphone. For the nth time, I realized how poor the Philippines really is. There were free internet services, the place was sooo clean you can barely see a speck of dust, the bathrooms are like heaven!
[SINGAPORE, 3:30pm]
Changi airport was located very far from the residential and commercial areas. We rode the taxi to my father's house and I was amazed by the trip on the car.
1) There was no traffic! The lanes were very spacious.
2) There are no toll gates unlike in SLEX or NLEX. My father explained that cars have this E-pass technology on them and there's an overhead sensor (but I didn't notice any) that automatically subtracts the amount.
3) All you can see are trees, lots of it!!! They don't cramp spaces here with lots of infrastructure. This is urban planning at its best. They have many protected forests interspersed with planned sections of residential and commercial areas. The rivers are very clean!!
[SINGAPORE, 4:00pm]
Almost all of the homes here are similar to condo buildings only more spacious. The only ones who can own a house and lot here are those who are *very wealthy*. The buildings are identified by numbers, even the streets. We are currently at Yishun Ringroad. The elevator only had 3 numbers on the panel (1,6,11) we had to go down 2 flights of stairs because the apartment was located on the fourth floor.
[SINGAPORE, 7:00pm]
After a brief snack, we went to our first order of business: a medical check-up. Even though it was already 7:00pm here, it was still very bright outside (as if it was only 5:00pm in Manila). Here, you only use a single card as fare to all transportation except the taxi. We rode a bus and I had to tap the card on the sensor on boarding and alighting the vehicle. The same goes for the MRT (train). Trains here work just like our local MRT, only that it is more spacious here and much faster. The stations are very high-tech and clean.
[SINGAPORE, 7:30]
We arrive at a small clinic here and it just so happens that one of the attendants was a Filipino!! ^^ Lucky! But on the X-ray, I found out I had a minor scoliosis >< It was all because I was prone to slumping on my seat whenever I was in front of the computer, which would be like all the time :D All they did was get our blood samples and X-ray.
[SINGAPORE, 9:00]
Dad showed us around Orchard, Singapore's nightlife and shopping center. It was so fun! there were live bands performing on the street (that might I add, was free of trash and smelly urine) and despite the countless malls and restaurants I can still see trees and lots of it ^^ Also it's interesting to note that the ice cream they sell on the street don't melt easily!!! You'd almost think at first that they are selling a dirty ice cream counterpart but in fact they are selling Magnolia and Walls (which is known as Selecta in the Philippines) ice cream! They cut the ice cream in rectangles and you have the option to either wrap it around a waffle or a bread. It was delicious!!! We browsed around the shops, a lot of which were branded! Burberry, Elle, Polo, Lacoste, Yves Saint Laurent etc... the prices can choke you but luckily they are currently having this "Great Singapore Sale" where all the shops, are of course in sale. (PS: I bought some *original* anime VCDs :D)
[SINGAPORE, 12:00]
It was tantamount to roving the whole "Mall of Asia". My feet and back were so sore!!!! I was more than glad to go home. Just so, the MRT line here is more complicated than what we have there. There are numerous levels of escalators going from one way to the other that if you failed to read the signs, you're toast errr lost I mean. Anyway it wouldn't be hard since English is widely used here. Singapore is mainly Mandarin Chinese with some Malays and Indians. Also there are a lot of Filipinos here so you really wouldn't feel lonely.
------------------
Well it's 2am here already and I am wide awake, typing on my lj account ^.^ Look forward to my adventures later (maybe *much later*) as we will go sight-seeing again!
Author's note: Any typo or bad grammar can be blamed on the author's lack of sleep ^.^