On the second week of December, Steven, Owen and I went down to Singapore as a business trip to help with the setting up of the new Hamleys outlet opening at Marina Bay Sands. On Monday morning, we met up at McDonald's in KLIA2. After checking in our luggages, we headed to the departure hall to wait for our flight but it arrived slightly late. Upon getting onto the plane, the pilot apologised and informed us that there was a minor problem with the plane's pressure thing or something like that. While we sat in the plane, the engineers solved the issue after over one hour and forty five minutes. I slept dozed in and out of sleep on the flight and we reached Changi Airport safely. Steven lead us out after the immigration gates and we purchased our EZ-Link cards, which are used for taking the public transport. We proceeded to board the MRT and headed to Dhoby Ghaut. Our first stop was not our hotel, instead we headed to the Hamleys store in Plaza Singapura to drop off some items from Steven's luggage that was brought over for the store. Steven introduced the Singaporean team to us, Kelvin, Daphne, Beng Chee, Chester, Shirley, Jeremy and Fazzila. While Steven settled some stuff, Owen and I toured around the store. Because I was in work mode, it wasn't long before I was itching with the urge to notify someone that there were issues with the displays but Steven told me not to do so because the store is in the middle of transferring stocks for the new outlet so it was unavoidable that the store would be in a mess. After Steven settled the issues, we then collect our luggage and headed down to City Hall to check in to our hotel, the Peninsula Excelsior Hotel. After settling down for a bit, Owen went out to meet some friends. Steven had to go back to Plaza Singapura and I had nothing to do so I followed him. We went to have dinner at Mos Burger before going to the store. Mos Burger is a Japanese fast food restaurant who's highlight on the menu are their rice burgers. Steven had recommended it and boy, it was really good. After the succulent dinner, we headed back to the toy store and helped prepare for the transfer of goods. After we were done packing up on our part, Steven and I headed back to the hotel to find Owen back there all ready to sleep. Our room was a two person room so I shared the bed with Steven. Before we went to sleep, I updated Feng and my cousin, Dominic about my status. I had already informed them that I would be going down to Singapore for work the week before so they were expecting to see me. After that Steven, Owen and I went to sleep, w all knocked out pretty fast, probably tired from the delayed trip down.
The next morning, the three of us went to Raffles City to have breakfast. After inspecting the few restaurants, we settled for Nam Nam, a Vietnamese restaurant that had an attractive breakfast set on offer. I ordered a bowl of beef pho while Steven and Owen got a banh mi each. It was pretty damn good. After breakfast, we took the MRT and headed to Bayfront. It took us a while to figure out which trains to take but we got there just fine. The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands was more than I expected. It was such a lavish mall, a majority of the shops there are expensive brands and there is a section of the mall that is dedicated to high class brands, so luxurious that I've never heard of the names and the items on display are so elegant, posh and extravagant. There was even a shoe shiner in that section. We were not sure where the new store is located so Steven brought us up to the ground floor to see this bowl shaped construct outside the mall. I later learned that this construct, called the Rain Oculus was an installation by some architect dude. Steven mentioned how the Rain Oculus can make sound travel through it from opposite ends so that if you whispered from one end of the bowl, another person on the opposite side can hear it. While we waited for Fazzila to come and show us the way to the new store, I walked around near the entrance to see the torch that was set up for the 8th ASEAN Para Games. After a while, Fazzila showed up and we walked to the new store together. It was located at the end of one of the blocks, and the first thing I noticed was the Christmas decoration set up right outside, before I noticed the massive DC Comics Super Heroes Cafe on the top floor facing Hamleys on the opposite side. I didn't get to go of course, we were working after all. Unfortunately, when we walked into the hoarding, we found that constructions were still in the middle of work. Workers were still installing the air vents, wiring and solving some plumbing issues. What's worse is that we found out that the stocks transfer that was supposed to be done the night before was not executed. It was postponed to Tuesday night and so we were left with nothing to do. We tried to make this trip productive so we fixed the height for the wall bay headers and started adjust them. After that we were left with absolutely nothing to do so I informed Feng that I was done for the day. Dominic had class so he had told me that he couldn't see me this day. Feng and I later arranged to meet up after lunch. Steven, Owen and I went to Plaza Singapura to have lunch at the food court before going our own way. Steven passed me the card key for our hotel room because I was going back to change first. Before we did go our separate ways, Steven and I went to buy some cans of beer for the few nights ahead of us. I took the MRT alone back to the hotel with a feeling of adventure because it was my first time going somewhere alone in a foreign country.
At the hotel, I took a bath, changed and then headed down when Feng messaged me that she had reached the City Hall station. I went out and before the pedestrian crossing I spotted her coming my way but she didn't notice me. I called out to her and she was taken by surprise because she thought I was another guy behind me. She said I had gotten skinnier and the first thing she pointed out was that I was slouching, something that she always tells me whenever we meet. It has been about three years since we last met and there were a few things we didn't quite remember about each other, like how I didn't remember Feng being taller than me. Feng however noted about how I'm still the same as ever. I barely explored Singapore before so Feng became my tour guide and we walked around the small section of the south of Singapore. First we walked past the National Gallery towards the Esplanade. We then made a turn and walked past the Victoria Theatre. I stopped to take some photos of these giant balls outside the Asian Civilisations Museum then we walked across the Anderson Bridge towards Fullerton Hotel where I told Feng that I've never seen the Merlion before. She then took me to see it which stood majestically facing Marina Bay Sands. It was less impressive than I had imagined it however. Feng then took me past the Esplanade towards Marina Square. She had told me about her favourite dessert place called Llaollao that serves frozen yoghurt with fruits and various toppings, it tasted way better than any of the frozen yoghurt desserts I've tried before. After the scrumptious dessert, Feng took me over to the Helix Bridge which lead into The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. She lead me up the longest escalator which took us up to the roof where we got a view of the bay. On the roof we walked through Marina Bay Sands towards the Gardens by the Bay. Feng told me about the light show that happens in the evening but it was still early, so we walked into the area and had a look at the Christmas decorations. Feng managed to convince me to climb up to the canopy walk but when we queued up to buy tickets, the management informed us that ticket sales have stopped because of the poor weather conditions. I was half relieved and half disappointed. We walked back to the vantage point of the Gardens by the Bay but we left before the light show because Feng was concerned about not making it in time for dinner unless we took the MRT, however I insisted not to take the MRT because I'd rather walk where walking is so safe (unlike in Malaysia). We walked back to the Helix Bridge and took some photos of the bridge because of it's beautiful night lights. Then we made our way back to Fullerton Road and towards Boat Quay. The whole street was lined with pubs and seafood restaurants. Eventually we made our way to Brewerkz at Clarke Quay. We got our table and we ordered a pizza to be shared and a pint of beer each. I got a lager and she got wheat beer when she actually wanted steamed beer but had at first ordered some kind of hop, basically she made her order wrong twice. Obviously I got tipsy and Feng was such a dear and guided me back to the hotel. We took the MRT but along the way I was already sobering up. I had a really good time catching up with Feng and I am thankful for her kindest hospitality. We chatted for a bit while she waited for her friend to pick her up outside the hotel. That night I knocked out after a bath on the sofa chair in our room.
The next morning, Steven had to rush to the new store because he was informed of some issues so Owen and I went to have breakfast together at Nam Nam again. I tried one of the banh mi this time and it was so good too. After breakfast we headed to The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands and started working. The stocks were already transferred over so we could display some of the products on the wall bays. We split into three teams and we got to work. I started off by teaching my team on how to do product display, I was still nervous about talking to new people and I don't quite know how to translate the stuff that goes through my head when doing product display so I wasn't sure if those guys understood what I was saying. Steven called for an early lunch and a group of us took the MRT to Chinatown for lunch. We ate at a Chinese food court and I ordered a bowl of mee pok. Over lunch we got to know the staff better. We went back to the store after lunch and continued to do displays. We were done before 7pm so everyone else went home but Owen and I had to wait for Steven to settle some operational issues. We then went for dinner at the Plaza Singapura food court, however we didn't have a lot of choices to choose from this time because a lot of the stores had already closed at 9pm. I ordered a bowl of la mian which was the most appetising looking store of the ones that were still open. That night Steven kicked me off the bed in his sleep in the middle of the night. His leg was taking up my part of the bed so I had no choice but to sleep on the sofa chair again, it wasn't that bad.
Thursday morning, the three of us had breakfast at the Plaza Singapura food court because Steven had told us about the breakfast set there being good. It wasn't that bad but the egg tarts there were wet and gross. On the way to the store, Steven and Owen were busy on their phones so we made a few mistakes getting to Bayfront. We first got on the wrong platform, then we got on the wrong train on the right platform and finally we went the wrong direction to The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. Dominic came to find me during lunch and he convinced me to try the McDonald's there. We headed to Chinatown and I got the McSpicy, the Singaporean equivalent of our Spicy McChicken Deluxe, only better but slightly less spicy. I also tried the seasonal truffle shaker fries seasoning which made my french fries taste like mushrooms, it was amazing! After lunch Dominic walked me back to the store and we parted. Someone had bought Pizza Hut for the managers to eat and they had a whole pizza (put together with three different pizzas) left for me, along with garlic bread and chicken drumsticks. I only ate one slice because I wasn't that hungry. We continued to work until 8:30pm. After that we headed out to find dinner. It was late already so most of the restaurants are already closed. It was so odd to me because in Malaysia our restaurants close at 10pm and we also have mamaks that are still open in the wee hours of the morning. Steven and Owen had no choice but to go to McDonald's. I had the leftover pizza from lunch so I was good. They had their meals on takeout and we headed back to the hotel to eat. After my cold dinner, I drank my double can of beer and then we went to sleep.
Friday morning is my last morning. I was gonna be flying back to Singapore alone because Steven is leaving on Saturday and Owen is going to Johor Bahru. I had some plans so I left early with my luggage. My first stop was at Chinatown, I went to buy some souvenirs and I spotted a sex toy shop. I wanted to mischievously check it out but it was close so I abandoned the plan and took the MRT to Changi Airport. I went through the gates and walked around the departure hall. There were a lot of things to see. The airport was so much better than KLIA, I got to see a plane leaving after the passengers boarded it. After checking out the Social Tree, I went to look for the thing I had the full intention of looking for, gummy candy. I knew for sure that they would be selling the real deal which was non-halal, the one with pork gelatin instead of beef. I walked into one of the candy stores and found an isle of them, it took me quite a while to decide because they had a free gift if I purchased three packets of gummy candies but I only wanted two, and if I had purchased three, I wouldn't have been able to get the lunch I was aiming for. So I just got a packet of juicy gummy bears and a a packet of gummy aeroplanes. After that I headed to Burger King. On our first day, Steven told us that the Burger King in Changi Airport serves their burgers exceptionally big, compared to the retail outlets outside (no need to compare to Malaysia's) and so I went there to have my lunch, and sure enough, the burger I ordered was huge. It was bigger than my palm, as big as my face! I ordered their seasonal Gourmeji Mushroom Swiss burger. It was too good to be true. The burger was bursting with the delicious taste of mushrooms and cheese and beef. I kept wishing that I could stay in Singapore with each bite. The flight back home was smooth and fast.
The business trip down to Singapore has assured my indecision to go down there to find a job. Hopefully I can get transferred there after I enquire Steven about doing so. The transport system there is so organised and swift, getting one place to another is a breeze and because of that there's no need to drive. People in Singapore may not be as polite, but the food there is reasonably cheap. Also, for the dough, I'd go there so I can help my family with the bills and also support my two sisters' education.
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