As the girls (and aunt) already had purchased their flight tickets and their accommodation, I had to buy mine myself. Getting the flight tickets to Singapore was easy but return flight was out of the budget I had set so I went to buy a coach ticket back to KL which was cheaper. I asked the sister if it was okay for me to share their room, I offered to pay my share and after about a week of discussion (I think the right word is "convincing") with their aunt, I was allowed to join them but Lydia was still concerned that the hotel clerk would not let an additional tenant into the room so we hatched a plan where I would try and sneak into the hotel unnoticed.
As the trip was on the weekend, I packed my stuff and after work I went to Kathleen's place before going to the sisters' place. As per usual, we put the night at KLIA2. My flight was an hour earlier than the others so I left earlier than them. It was quite the exciting experience because technically I was flying out of the country alone. Lucky for me, I got a window seat so I got to see the morning sky over the Singapore Strait.
Upon reaching the airport, I started planning how to meet the others. Lydia had said to meet at the first information counter but what she didn't take into account is the fact that there are two wings in Changi Airport Terminal 1. After using the loo I thought maybe I sit by the Social Tree where I can see the plans coming in from the big window so I could maybe spot the next AirAsia plane coming in but then I realised that the planes could be coming in from the opposite side where I can't see so I walked over to the nearest information counter and asked about which gate the next AirAsia plane from KL is coming in. And so I walked over to the gate as the estimated time for the plane to come in was in about five minutes from the point of time enquiry.
It didn't take long for the plane to come in and after meeting up with them, we made our way out of the airport. Lydia went to get the Singapore Tourist Pass to get on the all the trains and buses. Initially I thought of using the pass I got the last time I went to Singapore but then I decided to get the tourist pass as well as I foresaw that we'd be using the public transports a lot.
Our first stop is the hotel located in Chinatown. After walking for some time, we found it and they went in to check while I waited outside. Later on, Lydia came out to take my bag. She said check in is at 2pm so we can't go in yet but we can leave our bags inside with the receptionist. I wanted to change my shirt for the next itinerary but because I wasn't sure what was really going on, I didn't get to wear my Pokemon shirt.
With this, we headed up to Bugis for lunch. To me, there wasn't a need to decide what to eat because I know that I would for sure eat at the Pokemon Cafe. All of us made our way to the top of Bugis Junction. We (Audrey and I) already knew about the three hour queue that was there the first few weeks when the cafe launched so to my surprised the queue wasn't that long when we got there. Lydia and the aunt (obviously) didn't want to eat there so they were gonna somewhere else to eat. Audrey was hesitant because the items on the menu were expensive. I already had checked the prices to I was prepared. I told the others that I didn't mind if I ate alone because I was the one who had all the intention to have the Pokemon Cafe experience but Lydia insisted Audrey that I should be accompanied so Audrey waited in line with the giant man baby that is me. As we were nearing the end of the queue, a staff member took our order and to my horror, dismay, disappointment, and despondence, the Pokeball cup that comes free with a certain meal was out of stock. I almost lost all intention of eating at the cafe but I didn't let myself fall because this cafe was the main intention of my trip. Audrey was indecisive about what to order on the menu so to ease her decision, I offered to treat her as thanks. We got seated and not too long after, the Pikachu mascot come out! Everyone in the cafe got excited. Some kids went crazy. I went crazy. But I know I shouldn't go all out crazy so I was screaming internally and kept bouncing in joy in my seat. Audrey just shook her head in amusement to my childish reactions. I ordered a Pikachu's Sweeeeet Pancake and a Pikachu Iced Latte, and Audrey got a Battle on Pikachu! Level-up with Rare Candy!. Lydia and her aunt came to check and us after their lunch and they were just in time as Audrey and I were taking photos with Pikachu, so Lydia joined us in a photo.
After lunch, I went to check out the goods at the Pokemon Cafe official merchandise shop. I promised my sister that I'll get her a shirt because she always got me something from the US. I also bought a souvenir for Rachael and Yati. After I was done, we met up with Lydia and her aunt again and we went down. Lydia said she wanted to check out this belly dance competition that was gonna happen in the mall but before that she mentioned that she saw a lot of Pop! Funko bobble heads so we went to check that out at a hobby store nearby. I was in awe because there were so many characters! Even limited edition ones. After we were done looking around, we stopped at another store just a shop away and had a look at the good sold inside. This was one of those miscellaneous items store that has a range of different items sold inside. Just as we entered the shop, my phone started ringing and to my surprised Feng was calling me via the Facebook Messenger app. She saw my Facebook post about me in Singapore and decided to meet up. Apparently I forgot to update her about my trip being pushed forward to June instead of July. She invited me to join her for a beer at night as it was a Saturday and I was totally on board. I had to double confirm with her to suite my group's itinerary, I also informed Lydia about my plans for the night. In the store, my interest was completely taken by the Rubik's cubes and other cube puzzles in a display case while Audrey was looking at these banana plush keychains, and Lydia and her aunt were looking at mood rings. Audrey picked one banana and we went down to see the belly dancing competition. While watching the competition, we checked the time and decided it was time to go and check into the hotel. At the same time, Audrey met up with her friend, Wendy. Wendy followed us to the hotel. By the way, did I mention I used up more than half of the total Singapore dollars I brought on this trip? Yeah. Pokemon Cafe is expensive as heck.
We got to the hotel and we checked. Audrey then quickly rushed me past the receptionist office telling me to go first while they take the bags to pass to me later inside. We made our way to our room and I must say, this hotel is really a tight place. 5footway.inn is a pretty nice place. There are a few outlets around Singapore. Our room is located at the highest floor all the way at the back so we have a view above the rooftops. There's a pantry outside on the roof of the same floor but it's under renovation. The room itself is pretty interesting. I'm not sure about the other floors but in this three persons room, there is a double bed and a single bed. Before I get to the part about the beds, let's talk about the room. The room is really narrow but long. It's just right for three people and small luggage. Once you enter the door, the shower stall is on the right. Straight ahead and you see the double bed and a long and narrow bedside table/desk/stand/what(?)/thing just narrow enough to put small stuff like phones, wallets or a small bag (but the bag will fall). Over the double bed is a big window where you can see the clear blue sky and the neighbouring rooftops. It was a tight but snug room. So.... Where is the single bed you ask? Well, just behind the shower stall, in between the double bed and the back of the shower stall, is a big ladder. The ladder goes up above the shower stall, and that's where you find the single bed, over the shower stall. Yes. Over the shower stall. Nope, not at the side, not behind, not under. Over. How you ask? Over the shower stall is a layer of cement and then there's the bed. I don't quite know how to explain how or why but it works and it's amazing. Before the trip, Lydia and Audrey suggested that I bring a sleeping bag to sleep in because they didn't know what the beds will look like and if there was space for me. I completely agreed with them. However, the girls' aunt said that it's better if everyone sleeps on the beds. I didn't need to sleep on the floor in my sleeping bag. I guess she was being nice. They discusses the possibility of me sleeping in the single bed above but Audrey quickly shot it down, reasoning it with the fact that I'm afraid of heights and so I shouldn't sleep up there. Lydia and I know very well what the real reason is though, Audrey really hates their aunt and so she won't sleep in the same bed as her no matter what. I chimed in again that I don't mind sleeping on the floor but the aunt insists that I sleep on the bed, so to stop the discussion, Lydia agreed to let me on the bed with them. To make space, the three of us were to sleep on the bed horizontally. I didn't any more space for declining so I just agreed.
Our next itinerary is to go to the Singapore Night Safari. The girls' aunt took a shower first while the rest of us relaxed on the bed. After everyone was ready, we all headed out to take the MRT to Ang Mo Kio. Wendy took us to have dinner at a food court in Ang Mo Koi. She recommended her grandaunt's duck rice and noodles but she didn't order from there because she felt paiseh as she said her grandaunt would treat her a meal. The duck noodles sure did not disappoint me. As we walked around Ang Mo Koi, it brought back some memories as my uncle, aunt and cousins lived there before moving to Yishun, and currently, Sembawang. Over dinner, I checked with Lydia about the plans at night and after we came up with a convenient solution, I updated Feng about the plan and we decided to meet up in Ang Mo Kio. It's easier because she lives here and I will be back here as well after the night safari. Wendy showed us to the public bus to take to the Singapore Zoo and then she went her way back home. I didn't noticed that she left until the bus departed from the station. Sorry Wendy.
The bus was pretty full of tourists who were all heading to the Singapore Zoo but Lydia and I only identified two groups of people, three Koreans and an Indian family. We later on found out that this other Chinese guy was also a tourist when we asked him if he knows which stop we have to get off and he said he doesn't know either. Basically all the tourists in the bus wasn't sure which stop to get off on but when we reached, we immediately knew because the bus literally stopped outside the zoo.
The one hour bus ride had us just in time! ...To miss the first session into the Night Safari. The 7:30pm slots were sold out so we had to take the next one, which was shy of the time we were planning to take to go back, for the ladies, to avoid missing the last public bus and MRT, and me, to make it in time to catch up with Feng. We got our tickets and we had to wait about an hour for our turn so we waited around the entrance area, took some photos with the displays and checked out the gift shop. Soon enough we waited in queue for our turn to go in when the announcement was made. The queue was freaking long, the sky turned from dim to dark. Luckily for us, the Thumbuakar performance started when we were right in front of them so we got to see them up front! I was very impressed by their fire breathing performances. I have never seen people juggle fire the way they do. Watching them do their tricks felt as if they were real fire benders from The Last Avatar. As their mesmerising performance was over, we all got to go in. From this I knew that the management of the zoo was very well done. After scanning our tickets and going in, we made our way to see the Creatures of the Night Show. The good seats were already taken so we made our way to sit at the side where we can be as close to the center as possible. The show was pretty amazing. We got to see some animals, like an otter, a snake, a hyena. There were other nocturnal animals too! It was so cool! After the show was over, we made our way to ride on the tram for the night tour with fingers crossed that we won't over shoot our planned time. I don't quite recall what it's like during the day (I've been Singapore Zoo during the day before), but at night, the animals are like out and all over the place. Some animals are within touching range, but of course, people on the tram are advised to stay on the tram and not touch the animals. From deers, to boars, to tapirs. The most impressive one was the elephant. The pre-recorded announcer often does not do justice to what's really happening in the exhibits as the animals are either on the opposite direction or sleeping or just laying around. When we reached the elephant exhibit, the voice on the speaker said to look right and see the majestic elephant and to my great surprise, an elephant stood still beautifully under the moonlight in the clearing of some trees. For a moment I thought it was a statue because I thought it wasn't possible that out of all the animals we've seen so far could there be one where it was perfectly standing there, all ready and embellishing it's beauty to the zoo's visitors, standing perfectly under the curtain of moonlight, when suddenly it started moving it's ears. I was full of awe and glee! I had never seen such raw beauty of wildlife in person, only on television and most of the time they were CG. We missed the tiger feeding session so we went to the end and quickly headed to the bus station to catch the bus back to Ang Mo Kio.
Surprisingly the route back to Ang Mo Koi was shorter than expected. Along the way I kept Feng updated and she was already at the station waiting for us. Upon arrival it wasn't hard to spot her because she was sitting right by the door. So together we headed down southeast towards Clarke Quay while the others headed back to Chinatown. I tried to get Audrey and Feng to talk but Audrey doesn't open up easy to new people so Feng and I just chatted away. We only had one key to the hotel so Lydia, Audrey and I arranged that I'd have to message either one of the two sisters via Whatsapp when I am done. If they fall asleep, I was to spam either one of them. I hoped I didn't have to resort to that because I'd feel bad about it. Feng and I talked while we walked around Clarke Quay, deciding on where to have our drink. I tried to find a quiet place but because of the Euro Cup, almost every bar was loud and crowded. We then decided to go to Brewerkz instead, which was where I initially wanted to go to. Their beer menu has changed and so I got a fruity one which was pretty nice to me. Like before, I still know nothing about hops and whatnot about home brewed beer. Feng ordered a plate of fries with some sauce that I have forgotten what it was. Time flew as we talked over the one pint of beer and fries. After the bill was settled, we headed back to the noisy area to have another drink but we decided to have Sombersby ciders instead. Still, I got pretty high and I lost track of time. Because I had set my phone to not use background data, I did not receive Lydia's messages until I opened the app. I felt so terrible, I told her that I was on the way back and Feng called for a GrabCar. However the GrabCar driver was not familiar with the area and it took a while for him to find our immediate location. After exchanging farewells in the car and getting off, I quickly messaged Lydia to inform her that I've reached the hotel. As a safe measure, I messaged Audrey as well but replies were not coming in. In the moment of being tipsy, I increasingly spammed Lydia (Audrey as well but mostly Lydia) with the first things that come to my head, to which I can only recall because I can read them. I had to run off to find a toilet to use because my bladder was about to burst. Thankfully I could still make decent rational decisions because I had put "peeing behind some bushes" as one of my options and I wouldn't want to know that happened when I get sober. I ended up running down to a restaurant that was thankfully still open late in the night. I pretended that I was a patron and calmly walked in to use their toilet and sneakily made my way out after I was done, all while still tipsy. Eventually saw the double ticks turn blue and Lydia told me that she's coming down to open the door and a wave of relief washed through me. Just as I went over to the door, a guy walked out so I quickly stepped in before the door closed and I went up to the second door and waited for Lydia there. Her sleepy face appeared behind the window in the door and she apologised that she had fell asleep while waiting for me. I in return apologised many times while she kept saying that it was okay. While Lydia went back to sleep, I quickly took a shower and I knocked out on the bed right after without waiting for my hair to dry.
The next morning, I surprisingly didn't have a hangover or any headaches. Our itinerary for the day was to go to the Underwater World as it was closing down, in fact, today is the last day of it's operation. We wanted to hurry so Audrey and I went down to the common shower rooms while Lydia was in our room's. Before we headed out, Lydia shared my messages with Audrey and they laughed about it. Audrey was a little disappointed that my messages to her were not as funny as the ones I sent to Lydia. Huh. So we made our way out of Chinatown and took the MRT to Harbour Front. We entered VivoCity and walked out to see some people dressed in army uniforms (National Service or just what?) showing people to this mockup battleship. It was some kind of event going. Cool part was that there was a real helicopter on the fake battleship. We made our way towards Sentosa Island and crossed the bridge. We weren't sure where the Underwater World was located so we walked around and found ourselves in front of Universal Studios, it was so damn cool! I wanted to take a photo by the globe but at the same time I didn't want to because I wasn't going there so a photo might be deceiving but now that I think about it, I should have. We asked for directions and a grumpy looking girl gave us directions but it didn't quite make sense to us because we had to take a train? So what we did instead was walk to the opposite side of where we were and figured out our way. We eventually came to a massive parking lot and we walked around it to some bus stops which were exactly where we needed to be. Lucky for us, a bus arrived just in time and we hopped on.
It didn't take long for us to reach outside Underwater World. There wasn't a very long queue outside but inside was pretty packed with people. While Lydia went to buy the tickets, Audrey and I had a look around the place outside. We first went to look at this tower that leads to Fort Siloso opposite Underwater World, then we went to see turtles swimming in the water. I was amazed, I didn't expect to see turtles of such large sizes swimming outside the Underwater World building. Maybe the water had salt. There were a flight of steps that went under so you can see more turtles swimming behind a glass wall. After that we went back up and regrouped with Lydia and the aunt. I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting but after going through the ticket check, there were so many petting areas. You could touch small stingrays, starfishes, I think there was a sea cucumber? I didn't dare to touch them. We walked further in and there were some small aquatic animal displays. Our attention was soon captured by the huge open water stingray tank. Inside the tank were three types of rays and one of them was massive! It's tail was so long! Some of the smaller rays kept swimming near the sides so people could actually touch them, one of them was even friendly and kept coming near to play (or something? I don't know? Let humans touch it). Lydia managed to touch one of them and she convinced me to touch it as well but the rays were moving so fast and more and more people blocked the front row so I gave up. We then moved further in and looked at some fish and crabs. There was even a tank with salamanders. I didn't know salamanders can actually stay underwater for long periods. I got excited seeing the horseshoe crab but the girls didn't wanna go see them. So we moved along and there was a tank with a camouflaged octopus. We tried to find it but to no avail, if it was empty we'd be fooled as well. I soon spotted something that blew my mind. There was one housing nautiluses! It was the first time I saw an actual nautilus in person! Most of them were still, hanging on to the sides of rocks but one of them moved and started swimming around! I was so full of awe. After that was a section full of various crabs. There were some Japanese spider crabs, some smaller crabs of various species, even one that looked furious and was in what I think is a fighting stance. Moving along we saw clownfish and jellyfish. However, this section was so packed. We decided to quickly hop onto the conveyor belt and go into the tank tunnel where we got to see various fish and sharks swimming around and above us. It was quite a sight. The conveyor belt goes one around and back to the area with the clownfish and jellyfish. We squeezed our way in to see the jellyfish and after that we headed back out and had a look at some seahorses before going out to the exit. We stopped by at the gift shop and checked out the stuff. We could see other closed sections of the place from the gift shop and Audrey pointed out the dolphin one to me. Most of the aquatic animals have been sent to other places, the dolphins went to Hong Kong. As the place was closing down, a lot of their items were on clearance sale. Lydia decided to get Kayla a gift, a jiggle eyed shark pen. Audrey and I picked out a pin. After that we went out and headed back to take the bus. The sun was out and it was too hot so the girls decided against going to see Fort Siloso. Before leaving, Audrey wanted to get one of those press coin souvenirs because it has the Underwater World's design. I helped the girls get it because some strength was required to press the coin using the handle. After that we took the bus and got off at the first stop we saw that had a cable car station because Lydia wanted to ride one, but the station we got off at only goes back to the Underwater World so we walked instead. We passed by the butterfly park and the Sentosa Merlion until we reached Resort World Sentosa. We stopped to take photos outside Madame Tussauds.
Lydia wanted to check out the casino and so we went. It was my first time entering a casino and by golly, it was pretty cool but I wanted to get out. A massive gambling den is not the kind of place I want to be in as I have a personal dislike for gambling with money or possessions. We watched some people play various card games and Lydia looked like she was entranced by it. Just looking at her and I could tell that she felt like trying (also because she said it herself but she didn't dare to). We had a look at some slot machines which I didn't know modern ones were very different from the ones I see on television before moving on to look at other gambling tables that hosted other games like Big Small and roulette. While Lydia and her aunt watched a Big Small game, I walked a little further with Audrey and watched, to my horror as a group of old people (from China, their accent gave them away) lose millions and thousands worth of chips to the roulette table. I knew as much as I was curious and eager to watch people gamble, I wanted to get out. After letting Lydia know that we were gonna go get some free drinks, Audrey and I made our way to one of the drink counters and helped ourselves. There, the two of us agreed that it was time to go because we noticed that the aunt has been playing the shoulder devil, convincing Lydia to try and gamble. But to our horror, Lydia and the aunt has disappeared from where they were supposed to wait for us. The casino is huge and there a hundreds of people in this place. As calm and possible, I lead Audrey around the nearby tables and we soon found Lydia and the aunt standing at one of the Big Small tables we were at. My heart sank and a wave of disappointment and concern swallowed me when I saw a stack of chips in Lydia's hand. The two of them were so focused on the table that they didn't notice they lost us. Audrey and I went over to join them, there was nothing I could say because it was too late to get Lydia out of there. Lydia and the aunt were still watching the table first, I soon noticed that on this table, the dices kept rolling small numbers so unknown reasons. Playing safe, Lydia put one chip in three different numbered boxes on the table and she won some money. Other people kept putting big amounts on other betting slots like Big, Triple number and the sort but Lydia just kept playing safe, putting her small chips on the numbers, one to four. Eventually it was evident that the tables was odd as the dices kept rolling small ever single turn. Lydia won more than she lost. Even after they changed the dealer, the dices still kept rolling smalls. Eventually a high positioned casino staff put a sign on the table telling that soon the smallest amount that can be bet was at $500. Audrey and I used this opportunity to pull Lydia away from the table. The two of us were hungry and Audrey was upset because Lydia gambled. Lydia turned to me for support on her side but I told her nicely that I was also afraid and disappointed. She then smiled sadly and made her way to the exchange counter. I really can't tell what goes on in her head. Apparently their aunt footed out money for Lydia to gamble so Lydia returned all the money to the aunt, even the one she won. I don't know about the others but I felt that their aunt had a disappointed look because Lydia didn't win bigger money. Audrey and I agreed later on that if Lydia were to loose the money, their aunt would put all the blame on her. What's more is the aunt didn't treat anyone to anything, not even Lydia, even though she had won money. Says a lot to me about how stingy their aunt is, the two sisters' tales sure didn't tell me enough.
Everyone was hungry so we made our way out to find food. Audrey wanted to check out this Malaysian food court so we went there. I was against it because I knew for sure that the food there is extremely overpriced and the taste would not be as good as it is back home. After looking around the place, the girls decided it wasn't worth the money and we went out. Not knowing what to eat, we decided to walk back to VivoCity. I suggested trying Mosh Burger to the girls. I had pointed it out to an outlet at a different place the day before but I had no idea where else has it, and my service provider changed from Singtel to StarHub so my roaming can't work and therefore I can't Google it, Audrey also faced the same problem. So we went to look at the directory in VivoCity. The girls saw that there was a Long John Silver restaurant here so they wanted to see the price because apparently Malaysia doesn't have this franchise anymore. We walked around in a few circles because we were not familiar with the structure of the mall. Eventually we found our way and to the girls' disappointment, Long John Silver was closed for renovations. We then decided to go to the food court within the mall. We found a seat and so Audrey and I walked around together to pick out our dinner. While we had our dinner, Lydia slept. To me it looked like she was exhausted from the sheer excitement of gambling for the first time. Audrey kept urging her to get up and eat something. After a bit of complaining, Lydia eventually got up and had chicken rice for lunch.
After lunch, we took the MRT to Clarke Quay. I wanted to show the girls the large chrome spheres outside the Asian Civilisation Museum that I've seen before. Lydia has asked me about them before when she saw I had set one for my Instagram profile picture. So we walked along the river and we made a turn and walked into the middle of the skyscrapers around Raffles Place because we saw a sculpture of some sort. We sat outside One Raffles Place and took a rest and looked at some of the modern art sculptures standing around the grassy area. It was breezy and honestly I almost fell asleep. The place was busy but quiet and that made it feel so peaceful. Audrey needed to use the bathroom so we went into One Raffles Place and looked for the loo. The place seems like a small mall built into a office building. Most of the shops were closed and we suggested that maybe the shops here open the same time as office hours and since it was a Sunday, they would be closed. The only store open was Uniqlo. We walked back out and headed towards the Cavenagh Bridge and made it across to the chrome spheres. We took a few photos and then we headed back over towards the Merlion, past Fullerton Hotel.
We didn't spend a long time with the Merlion. Lydia and Audrey wanted to take the MRT over into Marina Bay Sands, but I suggested that we walk over there instead. Reluctantly they followed and we got to see some live bands play by Marina Bay. Apparently there was a music festival going on and Marina Bay Grandstand was hosting it. A number of bands were playing at the same time in different sections and a metal band started playing as we passed by the The Float. We walked into The Shoppes and I lead the girls up to the roof to their pleasant surprise. They wanted to walk around the mall but instead we got to see some nice sights on the roof. I thought maybe we could walk on the OCBC Skyway so I lead them to the Gardens by the Bay. We were all tired from walking but I kept pushing on, I may have made the sisters upset. Saying that since we were already at the gardens, Lydia lead us to the information counter to see the price to take the buggy to see the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest but then everything was out of our budget so we decided to walk around the gardens instead. As the sun set and the sky turned dark, we made our way to the Supertree Grove to catch the light show. At first Lydia had us sit under one of the trees but I pointed out that we can get a better view on the grass where everyone else is. Lydia was a little reluctant but the rest of us went over to the grass. After checking if it was wet (which it wasn't), we sat on the grass and eventually laid down to watch the light show. That night they played some songs from the 70s and 80s (I think, some enjoyable oldies). Audrey said the last time she came, she saw a better light show.
After the light show was over, we walked back to The Shoppes and took the MRT back to Chinatown. I forgot to take the girls to see the Helix Bridge at night. Lydia had planned for us to have dinner at a restaurant near our hotel, which turned out to be the one that I had went in to use the toilet the night before. Audrey and I planned to order our individual meal, she wanted rice and I wanted noodles but the aunt looked at the menu and when she saw that there was only one type of fried rice, she turned everyone's mood a 180 and said that she's rather go back to the hotel room and skip dinner as she was sick of eating noodles. At that moment I lost my tolerance to their aunt's attitude but I kept my cool. Lydia didn't want their aunt to just leave and ruin the dinner mood so Audrey and I agreed to ordering some dishes and eat rice together. When we made our order, the waitress rudely asked us why we didn't fill in the barbecue ordering list. Turns out the restaurant wasn't the kind of restaurant we thought it was. This place is more of a China style Chinese barbecue restaurant, it was only after we noticed that majority of the people dinning there were from China (tell from their accent) and that the staff there were from China as well. I deduced that the waitress was annoyed because instead of just taking the ordering list from the table, she had to stand and take orders. Anyway, among the items, Lydia ordered mapo tofu, to everyone's delight. However, I forgot a crucial information. China's mapo tofu is different from the Malaysian mapo tofu that we enjoy, I only remembered when I put the tofu in my mouth and there was a strange numbed tingling feeling in my mouth. Lydia mentioned that the tofu tasted weird and so I told her about the difference between authentic mapo tofu, and the Malaysian variation altered to suit Malaysian tongues. The two sisters were surprised. We tried to finish it but the strange numbing feeling was too strong to enjoy so we left a quarter of it left. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and called it a night.
The next morning, we took our time and lazed around in bed. Lydia, Audrey and their aunt has to head to the airport to take their flight back, and I have to head to Boon Lay to find my bus. We packed up our bags and checked out. At the Chinatown MRT station, we parted ways because I had to take a different line from the girls. After hugs and goodbyes, I headed down to Dhoby Ghaut. I had time to spare so I went to see the Hamleys in Plaza Singapura. After that I went to have lunch at Mosh Burger before taking the MRT down to Bayfront and visiting the Hamleys in The Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands. After my short visit, I started my journey to Boon Lay. I had arranged to meet my cousin, Dominic but because I didn't have my plans fixed, I couldn't inform him earlier. By the time I had it planned out, he wouldn't make it in time to see me because it would take an hour for him to arrive and by that time, I'd have to go, basically time constraints. I got to Boon Lay and asked for directions to the Boon Lay Shopping Centre, which I had to take a bus to. A very friendly Indian man talked to me on the bus and he told me which station to get off at as his stop was earlier than mine. I found myself early at where I had to be in the Boon Lay Shopping Centre (which was more like a morning market with a roof) but to my horror, I couldn't return the Singapore Tourist Pass there. I had to return it at a bus or rail station counter. I quickly got on a bus again and went back to the Boon Lay bus station to change. I was panicking the whole time because I was worried that I wouldn't make it in time but thankfully I was still early to wait for the bus. There were not a lot of people with me in the shuttle bus back to Kuala Lumpur. The journey took about five hours, it was a little over 10:30pm by the time I got to 1Utama. I was the only one to get off at 1Utama, everyone else got off at Berjaya Times Square.
This Singapore trip wasn't too bad. It's the closest the three of us can get to having a holiday without parents around. Well, I already kinda have had an experience of a holiday without my parents. Hopefully we can soon travel together, along with Kayla, without any parents.
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