2 down, 5 to go...

Yesterday was my 2nd year anniversary here in SG.
Time flies by so fast, I hardly noticed it. Hopefully the next five would be a breeze as well.
Yep. I'm staying here for atleast 5 more years (that's the plan for now... but we'll see how it goes...)

too much convenience?

Just the other day, while I was walking back home from work, I noticed that there is a new 7/11 convenience store near the MRT. Another one?!! But we already have 2?!!

The first one is inside the MRT station itself:


The second one is just about 150 paces away from the first one:


Then the newest one, is also about 150 paces away from the other 2.


*(yes, I counted my steps! just goes to show how bored I am!)

If there weren't any wall in the middle of the three 7/11's, you can simply stand in the center and see all of them!

What the hell is wrong with these people?!
brain-freeze from slurpee?

What's up, poopypants!?

So I haven't been actively writing lately... I have my excuses... (Some of us have jobs and real life, you know. :P)

A lot of things have happened lately. I guess the biggest highlight would be Tin coming over to SG last weekend. (Did I just hear you say "again?!" hehehe...)

Yes my kiddies... Now you know why this blog's so quiet. :P

Thank God for Philippine Independence day falling on a Friday, so she was able to stay a bit longer than usual.

Pictures to follow once she uploads them. :P

burn all bridges now!!!

Just saw in the news that Malaysia has officially joined the H1N1 Virus club... 

Now Singapore expects that it will be a matter of time before the virus crosses the border.

Oh crap... 

May isang batang di nakatiis... (part 3)

Day 3 - Sunday

Started the day by watching some episodes of the series we started the other day. By lunch time, we walked to Plaza Singapura to eat some Japanese food for lunch.

yes, you have to act shocked while eating sushi

someone's happy about their ramen

After lunch, since it was so hot, we decided to get some ice blended coffee at The Coffee Club.



After coffee, we went back to watching movies and series.

By 10pm, we prepared our stuff as we needed to head to the Airport soon...

The ride was short and soon we were at Terminal 2. We had late dinner at Burger King, and then soon, it was time to part ways again.

We walked towards the immigration gate and made the usual goodbyes...
I thought as we made these more often it would get easier, but somehow it's a bit more difficult to let go each time.

I wasn't quite sure what to do next when she had disappeared from my sight. Then, I decided to go to the taxi stand, but halfway through, I went back to the immigration area.

Somehow, there's this selfish side of me that was half-hoping there had been problems so she had to stay behind or something (bad noh? well, I did say selfish, right?!)

A few minutes of standing in front of the immigration gate, it was apparent that for my own sanity, I had to get out of there. I once again went back to the taxi stand, and in a few minutes, I'm back to an empty room that I can never call home. Home left a few minutes ago... :(

I know, I know, I should stop ending these stories with sappy sadness... thus I bring you a very unrelated, but terribly uplifting video of the sneezing baby panda...



I know, WTF? :)

May isang batang di nakatiis... (part 2)

Day 2 - Saturday

We started watching movies by early morning.
Then, we prepared to leave by 10am so that we can have brunch at Marche. It's the same resto we went before last December, but had to go back since we lost the pictures we took the last time we were there. (and there were also a bunch of foodstuff in there that we'd like to try!)

At Marche:

how can you not love a face like that??? 

I'm not quite sure what's more distracting...
a. the food on the table.
b. the gf wearing spaghetti straps (unfortunately covered by my jacket).
c. the picture of the cow peaking behind the window.

yeah, we know... "maraming batang nagugutom..." and all that eklavoo
but i don't think mabubusog sila pag inubos namin yan! :)

We weren't sure if it was ok to take pictures as most establishments have this rule. So these are "guerrilla" shots taken by the gf using her camera phone... pasaway! :D











After brunch, as if we haven't stuffed ourselves enough, we decided to get dessert. Fine...fine... I decided to get dessert! (baka may mag protesta e...:) )

"what else can I add to make this the most sinful dessert ever?"

"are you really expecting me to have decent poses???"

gf: "pag di ka tumino sa picture, wala kang dessert!"
me: "madali naman akong kausap e"

After dessert, we went to Orchard so that the gf can buy pasalubong for her officemates. Then we proceeded to watch some series and movies from my laptop.

By 6pm, we got out to ride the Singapore Flyer. A.K.A., "the 30 minutes of our lives we can never get back"

See those smiles? That's BEFORE the ride


The first few minutes was spent on the anticipation of something good that's gonna happen soon...













Suddenly the anticipation, turns into wondering... wondering why you ever rode the damn thing...


...then to boredom...

...pati sya na bore na din!

...then to anger...

it's poses like this that reaffirms that we are in fact made for each other... bwaaaaahahaha...

By the time the ride was over, we had to search within ourselves and thought about re-evaluating our lives... In a nutshell: "Wow... that sucked! We need to ride GMAX!"

Yes. After the flyer had sucked the life out of us, we decided that reverse bungee would be the perfect cure! So off we went to Clarke Quay!

This was the second time we rode GMAX. Personally, this ride was better than when we first tried it last December. There were more spins while we were at the peak this time than the last time. This officially guarantees that there will be a third time... :)

After that exhilarating ride, we were famished. I recommended that we go to Hooter's (for the food, of course!), and the girlfriend agreed! :D


After dinner, we ordered beer. For those of you who know me and have seen me drink, you know very well how much my tolerance is for alcohol.... basically 0.

Do you remember those goons you'd see in old Pinoy films? You know, the one who guards the kidnapped female lead, while drinking beer in some old warehouse? By the start of the 2nd mug, I started looking like one of them...

I look so creepy in this picture...

servings are based on BMI's these days... :) The fatter you are, the more food you get. :)

After a few more minutes (not drinks!), we called it a night and headed back to rest.

... to be continued...

May isang batang di nakatiis... (part 1)

... at sumakay ng eroplano ng walang kaabog-abog!

The girlfriend went over on an "unscheduled" trip to SG early March.

Before that, the original plan was, after meeting her in Thailand last early Feb, the next time we'll be seeing each other is when I go back home to the Philippines by the end of March. 

But by end of Feb, while sitting at her desk, she had a sudden urge to book an eticket online to SG for early March... Ah! the Internets! How much do I love you more now???

As agreed upon, we won't be going around much this time. We'll basically spend quality time together. We'll be talking and watching movies and series we would watch had we been on the same geographical location. Of course, food, food, and a lot more food is also part of the itinerary.

Day 1 - Friday

I waited anxiously at Terminal 2. The flight came in early, which disproved my belief that PAL flights are always late.

After a few stroll here and there around the terminal, the package has landed! And the package was hungry!

So we bought a sandwich at Starbucks and took a cab so that we can get some rest.

... to be continued...

Merriest Christmas part 5 and 6

Day 5

Day 5 also started early since the girlfriend wanted to see the sunrise. We walked along the beach and took some pictures.

Best view I've seen so far :)

Beach shadows...

After taking some pictures and enjoying the view, we decided to have some breakfast.

Buffet (AGAIN?!) breakfast

The food model with matching product advertisement

After breakfast we proceeded to our room to fix our stuff and rest for awhile. We checked-out by 12nn and rode the shuttle bus to the ferry terminal.

Since we arrived early in the terminal, we decided to have some snacks. The girlfriend got some noodles while I got some ice cream and chips (which we bought because snoopy was in the cover) :)



A few minutes later, the ferry arrived and before we knew it, we were already back in Singapore.

We took a cab from Tanah Merah ferry terminal to Crowne Plaza Hotel. We put out stuff down in our room and admired it's contemporary design.

nag-e-emote ang bata...

Then, we proceeded to Orchard Road for some last minute pasalubong shopping.

After shopping for some stuff, we got dinner at California Pizza Kitchen along Orchard. I chose this place because I was craving for their Red Velvet cake... yum yum... :)



After dinner, we rushed back to our flat to get the girlfriend's remaining stuff, and then headed back to the hotel to rest.

So ends Day 5

Day 6

Day 6 was the day I hoped would never come. It was the girlfriend's last day in Singapore. We woke-up early and went straight to the airport. The hotel has direct access to T3, so from T3, we took the skytrain to T2.

We got some coffee and pastries from the Starbucks in T2, and then we rode a bus to the budget terminal. We arrived in the terminal early so we just sat there and ate our breakfast.

Time flew by so fast and it was time to say goodbye. I was standing on the other side of the glass wall, while the girlfriend was waving goodbye on the other side. She was walking away, looking back every once and awhile until I could no longer see her. I still stood there for a few more minutes.

While I was there, I saw another couple saying their goodbyes. The girl was also going back to the Philippines, while the guy stayed standing near me. I was watching them closely as they did the same routine my girlfriend and I did... looking back, waving goodbye, walking away, looking back, waving goodbye, walking away, until the image fades and the other one is left standing.

The guy smiling the whole time, but as soon as his girlfriend was out of sight, the smile immediately turned into a sniff, as he discretely wiped the tears from his eyes. Bumigay din ang loko.

After another few minutes, I decided to get away from the airport.

So ends Day 6.

Merriest Christmas part 3

Day 3

As mentioned previously in a recent post, some pictures were mistakenly deleted before they were backed-up. Most of those pictures are for Day 3, which explains why this blogpost only has 4 pictures. :(

Day 3, same as the other days, started with FOOD! Yet another PG moment at the buffet breakfast in the hotel.

yea, yea, yea, I know what you're thinking: "WTF! What the hell happened to the gorgeous food model of Day 2???"

After breakfast, we immediately proceeded to Lucky Plaza to buy more souvenir items. Apparently, the girlfriend has an entire baranggay of friends to give stuff to (peace po!):)

After Lucky Plaza, we rode the MRT to Plaza Singapura, the mall near the hotel we're staying in. Being that we were in Plaza Singapura, it was only fitting that I let the girlfriend taste my favorite ice cream located in Plaza SG's basement: Asabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice Cream's "Sea salt and Caramel" yum yum yum...

yup, the gorgeous food model is back! :)

Yes, you read it right... it's caramel ice cream with a touch of salt! I know it sounds strange, but it really tastes good. Unfortunately, the girlfriend was not very enthusiastic about it as I was, so she wasn't able to finish hers.

After ice cream, we walked around the mall, and the girlfriend literally dragged me to one of the stores, where she bought a purple and gray shirt for me. According to her it looks nice on me. (syempre, sya bumili eh?! hehehe...)

We rushed back to the hotel just in time for check-out. After checking-out, we headed straight to our flat where we're supposed to drop off our stuff before we proceed to Sentosa.

Once we reached home, I gave the girlfriend a tour of our flat.

by the window of my room

We also played some Wii games. We had a round of boxing, where my arms started hurting about halfway into the game. We also had a few rounds of tennis. But the game she liked the most was the target shooting one, probably because she was kicking my ass at it, big time! Those damned ducks are fast!

After resting awhile, we proceeded to Harbour front. We had lunch at Marche, in Vivo City. We ate A LOT! I think 4 people could have eaten what we ate for lunch!

After lunch and some picture-taking in Vivo City, we proceeded to ride the Cable Car to Sentosa. It's my first time to ride the Cable car to Sentosa, since I usually take the train. We took the Crystal Car, which is a car whose walls are mostly transparent, so you'll have a better (and scarier) view of the path the cable car is taking.

Since we don't have pictures of the cable car ride, I'm stealing one from the net:

did I mention I have issues with heights?!

After the cable car ride, we went around and took some pictures of the place. After that, we queued-up for the Luge and Skyride combo.



After the combo ride, we took a bus to go to the Underwater World. Due to my amazing navigational skills [insert sarcasm here], it seems we ended up in the wrong place. :)

Upon checking the map, we noticed that it was near the Beach station where they will be showing the Songs of the Sea. We decided we should just walk to get there. Bad decision. It was a pretty long walk! By the time we got there, the show was about to start. What's worse was that the show was already sold-out for the entire night. GREAT!

So tired, we tried to just appreciate the view, we were, afterall, beside the beach. After some time, we decided we should just head back home. Since both of us were just dead-tired, instead of taking the train, we just opted to call a cab.

Before heading home, we asked the driver to drop us off at the Pasar Malam (night market) near our place. This is where we had our dinner, sitting in the sidewalks and eating Singaporean street food... ah, good times... :)

We had cheese tofu(my favorite!), otah, sharksfin soup, roti john, and bird's nest juice.

The girlfriend also bought some stuff from the night market for her god-children back in the Philippines. Wait, scratch that, she bought A LOT of stuff from the night market. In fact, the guy even gave her some freebies, because she bought so many stuff from his stall.

After our night market adventures, we went straight home to rest our throbbing feet.

Thus ends Day 3... with food and foot aches.

Merriest Christmas part 2

Day 2

Day 2 started with buffet breakfast in the hotel. Yup, buffet... which means PG moment for me na naman! :)

you know it's gonna be a good day when it's starts with this sight :) (1 cookie-point!)

After breakfast, we waited for the shuttle bus to arrive in the hotel. The shuttle bus took us to the harbor for the Cheng Ho Cruise.

The Cheng Ho Cruise Ship

The beautiful ceiling art inside the ship...and the even more beautiful girlfriend (2 cookie-points!)

The cruise took about 2.5 hours, which includes a 30-minute stop-over at Kusu Island (Tortoise Island)

Kusu Island

The Kusu Island Pose :))

The boys and girls of Kusu Island

The girlfriend poses with the turtles... lucky 'tards!

Alin, alin, alin ang naiba, isipin kung alin ang naiba...

After the cruise, we went to Suntec City to have lunch at Swensen's





After lunch, we headed to the Build-a-Bear Workshop, also in Suntec City. We made bear-versions of ourselves, complete with 10-second voice messages. (keso alert!!!)

Tin and Tina Bear. Teka, nakakalito... who's who? hihihi...

Dressing-up Andy Bear and Tina Bear

After we got our respective bears, we went to the Esplanade to take some "tourist" shots.

Tin, me, and the Giant Durian (a.k.a the Esplanade)

We walked towards the Merlion but saw that there were too many people, so we opted to just see it from afar... There's always a next time, and I don't think Merlie will be going anywhere some time soon. :)

After that, we went back to the hotel to rest for awhile and drop some of our stuff, including Andy and Tina. After some time, we went ahead and took a bus to the mall capital of Singapore: Orchard Road!

We bought some souvenirs found on the basement level of Lucky Plaza, one of the malls along Orchard Road. Lucky Plaza, or "LP" as some Pinoys call it, which also stands for "Little Philippines", houses a lot of Pinoy stores, restaurants, and remittance centers. So if you want to hear a lot of people talking in Tagalog (or other Philippine dialects), this is the place to go!

Anyway, going back...

Orchard Road, as always, was full of people. Especially this season, since it's fully decorated with big-ass Christmas decors.







While walking along Orchard, we saw several ice cream vendors. Obviously, we had to buy some, for experience's sake. (ok, fine, I admit, I just wanted to eat ice cream!!!)

Singapore's version of "dirty" ice cream and my "don't mess with my food" look.

One thing peculiar about Singapore is that it's supposed to be a "conservative" country, and yet, there are so many sex shops! One of the more popular ones is along Orchard Road. The House of Condom.

Aha! Huli ka! :))

Still walking along Orchard, we found some vendors selling clip-on mini Santa hats. I just couldn't resist not buying, in spite of the fact that the thing costs 5SGD each! huwwwaaaaat?!?! That's one full lunch!?!

I'm obviously not very happy being caught wearing a clip...

After getting some complaints from our feet due to over-walking, we decided to take a cab back to the hotel and grab a late dinner at the 24-hour Kopitiam near the hotel.

The Kopitiam is Singapore's version of the food court. It houses several cuisines from most of Singapore's major races: Chinese, Malay, and Indian. Some have Indonesian, Thai, Japanese and Korean aswell.

For dinner, we opted for some Thai food. (one of my favorites!)

The official (and gorgeous) food model (3 cookie-points!)

Thai dinner: pineapple fried rice, mango salad, seafood tom yum noodles, and some beef dish whose name I've already forgotten (memory gap!)

We walked back to the hotel with full stomachs, ending the day once again with food!

End of Day 2 :)