Singapore Short Getaways

We had fun in Singapore last week. I really need to unwind from the stressful work environment I am facing at the moment. I am a bit frustrated when everyone relying on us to ‘save the service level’ when the direction is pretty clear that we will only jump in after the TL’s and managers unable to manage things. I guess it’s the other way around now. So when the boss asked us to be at the Hari Putrajaya Belia 2013 to conduct interviews for new recruitment I simply say no. I need a break. Sorry boss.

 It is just a short trip and I think 1 post is suffices to cover our 4 days 3 nights short getaway to Johor & Singapore.

Since we are on leave on Thursday for Noah and Sara routine checkup, we decided to make a full use of our long weekend. Hence, we leave to Johor from Prince Court that afternoon. It is a long drive so all of us dozed off as soon as we checked in to our hotel.

We stayed in Grand Paragon JB, it is a 5 star hotel but it doesn’t look like one to us.  The hotel is old and a bit worn out. I really think major renovations are needed here. The service is okay, I have no complaint on that. There is a handbags boutique in the lobby which I thought selling imitate items at first <lots of Hermes and Channel bags> but they actually selling new and pre-loved bags. Well I saw this 1 Hermes bag with 21k price tag. Gulp!

Later that night we have our dinner in Grand Bay view restaurant in Danga Bay. We are attracted with its huge selections of live seafood <we never seen some of it in our entire life>. The menu is seriously long and everything looks delicious so we asked a suggestion from the waitress. 20 minutes later the dinner is served- Fried Rice, Nestum fried prawn, sambal sotong and Broccoli&mushroom. The food was scrumptious and the portion is quite big for all of us. The total bill is RM108 which is very reasonable I reckon.

We checked out from Grand Paragon the next morning and headed to Singapore. At first we thought the process of bring in the car to Singapore is hideous. We are wrong. It is a simple and fast procedure actually. We need to register and buy autopass card at the checkpoint to Singapore. To register the car we need to present the car registration card, valid road tax and completed the application form. The autopass cost is s$10 and the card can be reloaded at any 7-11 chain.

As soon as we enter Singapore, hubs had a privilege of seeing his long lost kin. We checked in to our hotel after we say hi to Abg Is and family in Pasir Ris. The main reason we choose to stay in Grand Copthorne is because of its free parking < The car park rate in Singapore can be very pricey > and wi-fi. The complimentary breakfast and Bay view is a plus. We are glad to see the baby cot is already in the room and ready to be used <we normally had to request for it>.

Our first destination is off course the Merlion Park. Our days in Singapore will not complete if we don’t come here. This is the symbol of Singapore. We must have our own picture with the lion-fish statue haha. The place was cramped with tourist and it is difficult to make a nice picture of the Merlion without tourists.  We are very lucky indeed when a group of tourists from Thailand help us with our family picture. 1 person captures our picture while the rest blocking other tourists from entering ‘the photo’.

The view gets more interesting at night. The Merlion statue, the bay and Marina Bay sand make a good picture. The bay itself beautiful at night and it is well worth walking around. The lightshow was breathtaking and the bonus is it is free.

We had our dinner with Abang Is family in Beach Road Hawkers that night. He promised to take us to the famous Singapore sup tulang merah. I am looking forward to put my hands on the notorious red concoctions that everyone is raving about. It is a mouth drooling, heavenly scrumptious. The place reminds me of Uptown <only its cleaner> and the stall just like any typical mamak restaurant except for its signature dish- the ultimate guilty pleasure- its legendary crimson hue mutton <we came back for more sup tulang merah after that>. The price is quite cheap I must say, s$18 for 12 pcs.. I am willing to pay more for this goddess! ;p

The main branch

Our second day in Singapore we chose to explore the nature and skip the USS. We bought park hoppers ticket for Singapore Zoo and Nightlife Safari. The Singapore zoo was ranked top #3 best zoo in the world. We enjoyed the elephant show and rainforest fight back show. To ride the elephant there is a charge of s$8 per adult but it’s worth it. Arisara enjoyed it very much and that is what really matters.

This is our second visit to Night Safari. The Tambuakar Show is what driven us here actually. The hunks play with fire make the audience raving in awe with their performance. The queues for the tram were ugly but you have the choice to explore the Night Safari on foot. The lights were not too bright added to the Jurassic Park feeling. During the tram ride, a trained guide will request everyone to strictly stay still and as quite as possible and not to take pictures with flashes so as not to put the creatures off <That explains why there is no animals pics>. Although the animals were housed in open enclosures, there were barriers that were hidden to give the illusion of an open space as if nothing separates them from us. The tram ride lasts about 45 minutes.

It was a magical experience for us <especially Sara>. We were thrilled and awed with both places and since we are a nature and an animal lover as well, this will surely be just another of the many visits we will make to this park.

It’s time to say goodbye to Singapore. Before we left we bought Sup tulang Merah for Abah and Ayah. On our way home we decide to check out Johor Premium Outlet in Kulai. The place looks impressive from outside with the entire notable big brand. Unfortunately we don’t find any ‘must buy’ items that is worth buying<except for Coach and Nike>. The place was packed and the toilet was dirty.

That’s about it, our short get away to Singapore!

Thanks for reading! Much love xx