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November 2010

Singapore Zoo white Bengal tigers staring

Singapore 2010: Day 3 – Singapore Zoo, Marina Bay Sands; leaving Singapore for Penang

Date: 27th September 2010

We only had from morning to evening in Singapore today, so we decided to skip Sentosa as the journey all the way to the theme park wouldn’t be worth it unless we could spend time at Universal Studios as well… for which we didn’t have “sufficient funds”. So, Singapore Zoo it was.

This being our last day in Singapore, I decided to take a few photographs of ABC Hostels, in case you were curious as to what its like from the inside.

ABC Backpacker hostel reception Singapore
The reception
ABC Backpacker hostel reception free internet Singapore
The hostel provides free internet; we found it quite slow

ABC Backpacker hostel reception free internet Singapore

ABC Backpacker hostel breakfast kitchen Singapore
This is the kitchen
ABC Backpacker hostel breakfast kitchen restroom Singapore
…where you’d come to make your own breakfast or anything else
ABC Backpacker hostel breakfast table Singapore
Once made, you have to sit outside. Once done, wash the dishes yourself. (Photo taken by my friend Loi)

ABC Backpacker hostel breakfast table eating area SingaporeABC Backpacker hostel moped Singapore alley

ABC Backpacker hostel rooms Singapore
Our room was at the end to the right

I didn’t take a photo of the room we got because it was in a mess, but picture this: not a big room, big enough bed for 3 mid-sized adults, functional split A/C, well-lit, with a mirror and table. That’s it. If you want more than a room for just sleeping, its best you book yourself into a regular hotel.

After finding out how to get to Singapore Zoo, we set off for Bugis MRT station.

Raffles Hospital open field Victoria street junctionRochor Center Victoria street junction SingaporeTo get Singapore Zoo, we first needed to get to Ang Mo Kio MRT station, and then take a bus from there.

Ang Mo Kio bus station Singapore
Ang Mo Kio bus interchange

Ang Mo Kio bus interchange station opposite MRT SingaporeBut as soon as we got down, there was a van waiting with a woman approaching tourists with a deal. Buy the entry ticket with 4 tram rides and a drop to the zoo in a van (one way) for SGD23 (SGD18 + 5 for the tram rides). We knew the entry fee is SGD18 (Rs. 620/$14/€10) for adults so it seemed like a good deal (but what do we know). Plus we didn’t have to take the bus.

Singapore Zoo agents van ride ticket

Singapore Zoo entry ticket special
The entry ticket costs SGD18 even if you were to buy it at the zoo entrance

When the van quickly filled up with other tourists, we set off.

Ang Mo Kio branch office Singapore
This part of Singapore was noticeably different
Ang Mo Kio metro road traffic Singapore
It’s still well connected by the metro

Ang Mo Kio public library SingaporeAng Mo Kio MRT track Singapore

Driving to Singapore Zoo lush greenery
There was lush greenery around these parts

After a 15 minute ride, we arrived at Singapore Zoo. The weren’t a whole lot of people in queue — but we just walked straight in as we already had our entry tickets.

Singapore Zoo entrance gate

Singapore zoo elephant statues
They have real ones too

Singapore zoo entrance leaves greenFirst up, monkeys…

Singapore zoo cotton top Tamarin monkeySingapore zoo cotton top tamarin monkey habitatSingapore Zoo cotton top tamarin information… then parrots.

Singapore Zoo cockatoo parrots entrance

Singapore Zoo parrots at the entranceSingapore Zoo cockatoo pink parrotFrom this point on, the zoo truly begins.

Singapore Zoo animal shows timings ridesSingapore Zoo wooden bridgeSingapore Zoo alligator in water

Singapore Zoo greater mousedeers
Greater mousedeers they are called

Singapore Zoo waterfall

Singapore Zoo asian small clawed otter
These otters were ‘busy’

Singapore Zoo Asian small clawed otter info

Singapore Zoo siamang hidden in tree
There was a siamang (a type of ape) hiding in the trees

Singapore Zoo wooden bridge ledge

Singapore Zoo Tiger Trek gate
Next up, my favourite animal

Singapore Zoo tiger trailSingapore Zoo tiger statue

Singapore Zoo white Bengal tiger den
There they are!
Singapore Zoo white Bengal tigers staring
Hello beautiful
Singapore Zoo white Bengal tiger yawning roaring
Its roar was sooo… (oh who am I kidding), it was only yawning

Singapore Zoo white Bengal tiger sleepy scratchingSingapore Zoo tiger exhibit wooden platform

Singapore zoo babirusa wild boar
Babirusa, native to Indonesia

Singapore zoo babirusa wild boar hornsThe zoo has a few sections for smaller creatures, like reptiles which are on display in enclosed exhibits.

Singapore Zoo lizardSingapore zoo aquarium fishesSingapore zoo tortoiseSingapore zoo aquarium large fishSingapore zoo aquarium large fish full

Singapore zoo pygmy hippo water
The pygmy hippo… or at least half of it
Singapore Zoo desert warthog
Desert warthog a.k.a Pumba

Singapore zoo pond boat house

Singapore zoo Australian lizard
This was at the Australian Outback section
Singapore zoo carpet python
Carpet python

Singapore zoo path to kangaroos

Singapore zoo Australian kangaroo
If you don’t know by now, they’re called kangaroos
Singapore zoo Australia kangaroo meaning
This I didn’t know

Singapore zoo Australian kangaroo feedingSingapore zoo Australian jeepSingapore zoo Australian kangaroos

Singapore zoo Australia Steve Irwin tribute
Remembering the late Steve Irwin
Singapore zoo big bird small head
Funny looking thing, this bird
Singapore Zoo Hamadryas baboons entrance
Next up, baboons!

Singapore Zoo Hamadryas baboons sectionSingapore Zoo hamadryas baboons habitatSingapore zoo hamadryas baboons lazing sleeping

Singapore zoo hamadryas baboons ibex
They have to share their space though

Singapore zoo hamadryas baboons ibex rocks

Singapore zoo hamadryas baboons acting human
It’s fun watching monkeys behave human

Singapore zoo hamadryas baboons scratching back Singapore zoo hamadryas baboons close upSingapore zoo hamadryas baboons close up staring

Singapore zoo hamadryas baboons waterfallSingapore zoo hamadryas baboons injured

Singapore zoo banded mongoose sand
Banded mongoose
Singapore zoo saddle billed stork bird
Saddle billed stork
Singapore zoo black backed jackal
Black backed jackal

Singapore zoo bamboo path Ramesh

Singapore zoo elephant fountain statue
Next up were Asian elephants
Singapore zoo elephant show panorama
This is where they have the shows

Singapore zoo Asian elephants

Singapore zoo Asian elephant SBI adopted
Good on SBI for doing so
Singapore zoo hog deer
Hog deer

Singapore zoo long billed bird

Singapore zoo manatee water
Manatee
Singapore zoo African penguins
African penguins
Singapore zoo African penguins info
Didn’t know there were penguins in Africa
Singapore zoo crocodile eyes above water
Guess what this creature was
Singapore zoo crocodile under water
Yup. I didn’t bother knocking on the glass or anything. I was too chicken.
Singapore zoo lake boat ride
Boat rides on the lake are also available
Singapore zoo chimpanzee trees
This is where the chimpanzees play
Singapore zoo chimpanzee
Couldn’t get a clear shot of its face

Singapore zoo chimpanzee climbing

Singapore zoo pony rides
They have a few ponies at the kids area

Singapore zoo pony

Singapore zoo model house old chinese
This was some model of an old farm house
Singapore zoo KFC restaurant
Oh the irony of seeing a KFC at a zoo

Singapore zoo mountain goats

Singapore zoo llamas
Llamas
Singapore zoo mandrill baboon
Mandrill baboon
Singapore zoo proboscis monkeys sign
More monkeys

Singapore zoo proboscis monkeysSingapore zoo rain water level comparison

Singapore zoo Malaysian horned frog
Malaysian horned frog. Waited for the guy to turn around. He didn’t.
Singapore zoo American bullfrog
American bullfrog

Singapore zoo red birds

Singapore zoo pigeon hair small head
This is one of the most intriguing-looking pigeon-type bird I’ve seen

Singapore zoo river duck one legAfter this, we entered a fairly large netted section which enclosed a few bats, birds and some more interesting animals of this world.

Singapore zoo netted section bat hanging

Singapore zoo huge bat flying wing span
Took this on the same settings as the last shot, which is why it came out this way. Still, kinda cool.

Singapore zoo huge bat upside downSingapore zoo huge bat eating

Singapore zoo long tail animal closeup
You can get pretty close to these animals but you are asked not to touch them or feed them

Singapore zoo long tailed animal

Singapore zoo lemur family
Lemurs

Singapore zoo green white bird

Singapore zoo sloth hanging eating
Sloth. How these animals eat upside down is amazing.

Singapore zoo butterfly

Singapore zoo fragile forest
Went in here next

Singapore zoo leopard walking on tree

Shooting the above leopard proved to be quite difficult, and in this video you’ll see why:

Singapore zoo leopards
They did stay still eventually
Singapore zoo puma
Puma, the real thing
Singapore zoo lion
Finally, his highness truly
Singapore zoo lion tongue
😛 to you too
Singapore zoo lion den ground panorama
The king gets a pretty big ground for himself

Singapore zoo giraffe

Singapore zoo feeding giraffes
You can pay to feed the giraffes and get your photo taken

Singapore zoo zebras

Singapore zoo ostrich
Hello ostrich
Singapore zoo wind blowing trees
It was very windy and looked like it was going to rain fairly soon
Singapore zoo cheetah
The fastest animal on the planet, the awesome cheetah

Singapore zoo cheetah cubsSingapore zoo heron

Singapore zoo birds cleaning rhinos back
The rhino and its cleaning birds
Singapore zoo orangutan island
‘Orangutan island’

Singapore zoo orangutan swingingSingapore zoo orangutanSingapore zoo orangutan eating

Singapore zoo old big orangutan
I know you can’t make out much of what this is

The one above was a very big ape (I believe an orangutan), quite old in age who was kept in this glass enclosure and it was quite dark… so you really couldn’t see it. It was moving around very slowly but unfortunately, due to the darkness inside its “cage” and the reflection on the glass, I couldn’t really get a good shot.

Singapore zoo polar bear exhibit
Aww shucks, I really wanted to see the polar bear
Singapore zoo tram ride
Despite having paid for 4 rides, I never availed the tram rides

With that, we were finally done. Well, sort of. We could have stayed back longer and waited for some of the animal shows. But it was 2:30pm, we had to have our lunch and the skies were quite cloudy.

I still wanted to go to Marina Bay Sands and since Ramesh and Loi were against it, I wasted no time and decided to go on my own.

Singapore Zoo Night Safari entrance
Something for next time

I waited at the bus station just outside and in under 5 minutes, got one that goes to Ang Mo Kio MRT station.

Driving to Singapore zoo Night Safari Orchid gardenAng Mo Kio rainy day dark clouds SingaporeSingapore Ang Mo Kio Spiritual Grace Memorial GardenSingapore Ang Mo Kio shopsSingapore Ang Mo Kio Balinese massage Japanese restaurant

Singapore Tagore Drive road
They have a street named Tagore Drive; not sure if it’s after our Rabindranath Tagore

Ang Mo Kio Yiu Chu Kang Secondary School SingaporeSingapore Ang Mo Kio HBD apartments bus stationIt was nice to drive through the residential side of Singapore. Compared to all the commercial glitz and glamour of the central business district, Ang Mo Kio seemed so quaint and… nice.

Anyway, I arrived at Ang Mo Kio bus terminal in around 15 minutes and got down to take the underpass to the MRT station. Ang Mo Kio is located on the red line, so the train goes straight to Marina Bay — the last stop. The ride took another 15 minutes.

Once I was out of the station/construction site (it looked like they were upgrading the station) it was still drizzling.

Singapore Marina Bay construction workSingapore Marina Bay road junction

Getting to Marina Bay Sands Casino Singapore
That’s where I was headed

Singapore marina bay art monument

Singapore marina bay rainy day
It was tough holding a camera on one hand and an umbrella on the other
Singapore marina bay financial district offices rainy day
When I saw this, I smiled 🙂

Why did I smile? Because seeing the above instantly reminded me of another ‘marina’ I was at in April. I could help but go: “Ahh, so that’s where Dubai got the idea from!”

Singapore Marina Bay City Gallery rainy day
Marina Bay City Gallery
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Singapore
The mall at Marina Bay Sands Casino & Hotel

Marina Bay Sands Shoppes way to mall Singapore

Marina Bay Sands mall shoppes Singapore
More stores are set to open

Marina Bay Sands shoppes mall Harley Davidson Furla Testoni store Singapore

Felt like going in just to see the car

Singapore Marina Bay Sands shoppes mall directionsSingapore Marina Bay Sands shoppes Gucci store

Singapore Marina Bay Sands shoppes mall canals sampan rides
They offer boat (sampan) rides on these canals
Singapore shoppes mall to Marina Bay Sands Casino hotel
To get to the hotel and Sky Park counter, you need to go down this
Singapore Marina Bay Sands Casino way to Helix Bridge
Go up, come out the left side of the lobby, which leads out to the Helix Bridge
Singapore Marina Bay Sands observation deck sky park ticket counter
Then take a left and go down this escalator. Down here is the ticket counter for the Sky Park.

And when I got there they asked me to wait because the sky park was wet.

$@#%!

Turns out they have a “wet policy” which essentially closes the observation deck to visitors if the observation deck is wet. I asked them if I could go up as I was leaving Singapore in a few hours but they said sorry, they couldn’t make an exception.

I told them I couldn’t wait as I had a flight to catch in a few hours time, so I didn’t.

I made way back up disappointed and decided to check out the hotel instead.

Singapore Marina Bay Sands hotel inside lobby architecture designSingapore Marina Bay Sands hotel inside lobby architecture designSingapore Marina Bay Sands hotel tower 2 lobby giant lanternsSingapore Marina Bay Sands hotel tower 3 lobby RueYou could tell by looking at the guests coming down to the lobby they were high rollers; in town to gamble a lot of money away.

Since I couldn’t check out the Sky Park, I thought I’d at least check out the casino.

Singapore Marina Bay Sands Bvlgari way to casinoBuuuuut… the casino has a strict dress code… and a “No Photography” rule — both of which I didn’t qualify for. I didn’t even bother using the “but I’m leaving Singapore in a few hours” excuse as one sight of the huge security men at the casino entrance will make you think otherwise.

Singapore Marina Bay Sands Shoppes escalators
So I made my way back to the mall
Singapore Marina Bay Sands office buildings rainy day
Damn you rain god! Ruining everything!

Singapore Esplanade concert halls rainy day from Marina Bay Sands

Singapore Marina Bay Sands wishing well rain oculus panorama
Saw this “wishing well” of sorts outside the mall. I had to take a closer look.
Singapore Marina Bay Sands casino hotel rain oculus wishing well coins
If you are wondering what those are… they’re coins!

I went to the other side of the mall to where the buses to the Marina Bay MRT station are.

Singapore Marina Bay Sands convention center
Besides having a 2500-room hotel, casino and a shopping mall, they also have Singapore’s largest convention center

Singapore Marina Bay Sands casino hotel towers

Singapore Marina Bay Sands Sky Park rainy day
Sigh. So close, yet nowhere near.

It sucks I couldn’t check out Marina Bay Sands Casino & Hotel the way I had planned. Oh well, another thing for next time.

It was past 4:30pm when I boarded the bus back to the MRT station. The drizzling hadn’t stopped, and I had to take the metro back to our hostel. I got to the hostel before my friends did and I used the time to get out of my wet clothes and re-pack. When the other two arrived, we took all our bags and walked towards Victoria MRT.

We took the MRT all the way to Terminal 2 at Changi. As soon as we got out, right in front of us was a board showing the layout of Changi Airport. Three big terminals… and then one tiny red square. That was our budget terminal 🙂

It was so funny, I regret not taking a photo of it. It was like the big guys just wanted to keep rubbing it in on how cheap people who avail budget carriers are, just so they would quit and use the regular airlines instead.

Anyway, we were at the budget terminal by around 6:30pm for our 8:15pm Tiger Airways flight. And then the flight got delayed by 30 minutes. While we could pass time by availing the free internet and having snacks at the airport, it was still annoying as it only meant our arrival at Penang would also be late.

Waiting at Singapore Budget terminal airport
A minute before announcing it was time to board, most of them were sitting on the floor
Singapore Tiger Airways Penang flight delay
Departing 20:15; current time – 20:38. Oh Tiger… 🙂

Once the plane did finally take off, we all three agreed on one thing: we were definitely coming back to Singapore!

Even though it was only 3 days, we loved every bit of it. Except the rain bit, we all hated that. We also decided we would come back during F1 week but stay much longer.

Singapore Port container ships at night from plane
Thats just some of the many container ships at Singapore Port

We landed at Penang, got through immigration quick and soon took a pre-paid taxi to head to Georgetown, where our guesthouse was.

Penang tree lights airport Malaysia
Hello Malaysia
Penang taxi at night Malaysia
It was raining here as well

It took more than half an hour to reach our hotel in Georgetown, that’s how far the airport was.  We were going to be staying at Old Penang Guesthouse during our time on Penang island.

Old Penang Guesthouse triple room interiors
We booked a triple/family room

Since it was nearing 12am, we quickly went out in search of dinner.

We were told there were 24 hour restaurants, mostly serving Indian cuisine, not too far from our guesthouse. We walked under our umbrellas and got into one.

Penang dinner Kassim Mustafa Indian restaurant

Penang dinner Nasi Kandar rice mutton curry
What I had: Nasi Kandar

Basically rice with your choice of meat and a mix of curries. Yum it was.

There were many ‘Indian’ restaurants in the area.

Penang Ros Mutiara Indian restaurant catering

Penang restoran Kapitans 24hrs Indian restaurant
Kapitan’s is quite popular – and open 24hrs

Penang street lamps glow rainy nightPenang night Chinese temple rainingPenang night cobble stone cars parked road rainPenang night cobble stone road red light

Penang night cobble stone temple junction road rain Georgetown

Penang Georgetown junction cars raining night

Penang Old Trafford Man Utd burger stall
Yup. A burger stall honouring Machester United. Just one of many such tributes we came across in Malaysia in honour of England’s most famous football club.
Penang Reggae Bar The Meeting Point Georgetown Malaysia
There is a 7-Eleven and quite a few bars near our guesthouse

Penang Georgetown garage Ken = Cow graffiti

Once back in the room, and a warm shower later, we did our calculations and thought about what had to do tomorrow.

Penang Yeo's Glass Jelly drink can
In my ongoing quest to try out things I’ve never had before, I drank this. It was okay.

Our first trip to Singapore was done, and Malaysia had begun. We only hoped it would be nice & sunny in Penang tomorrow.


Other posts in this series:

Singapore & Malaysia 2010: Planning and preparing for the trip

Singapore 2010: Day 1 – Little India, CBD, Clarke Quay, China Town… and a lot of walking

Singapore 2010: Day 2 – Orchard Road, mall-hopping… and already shopping

Malaysia 2010: Day 4 — One day in Penang (Around Georgetown, Gurney Drive, Penang Hill)

Malaysia 2010: Day 5 — Langkawi (Ferry ride from Penang, Cable car & Sky Bridge)

Malaysia 2010: Day 6 — Langkawi (Island hopping tour, Pantai Tengah beach, Night market)

Malaysia 2010: Day 7 — Kuala Lumpur (Low Yat Plaza, Petronas Towers, Jalan Alor)

Malaysia 2010: Day 8 — Kuala Lumpur (Batu Caves, Petaling Street/China Town)

Malaysia 2010: Day 9 — Kuala Lumpur (KLCC Aquaria, Merdeka Square, KL Tower observation deck)

Malaysia 2010: Leaving Kuala Lumpur… and about going back

2AM – ‘Saint O’ Clock’ album review: My favourite K-pop album of 2010!

When I heard of 2AM the first time, I disregarded them as some soppy-boy band for girls who love their mushy love songs. An Asian version of Il Divo (minus the opera) if you may.

2am Saint O' Clock promo teaser concept member photos
From top: Jinwoon, Changmin, Jo Kwon, Seulong

Even when allkpop began hyping their upcoming new release with the many (many) teasers they kept releasing, I never bothered to click. Then when the official music videos for their first two singles were released, I was curious to see if the hype was all worth it. I listened to the two singles – “Like Crazy” and  “You Wouldn’t Answer My calls” and went: “Wow, nice songs. They have great voices too.”

So I thought to myself: ” Well, if they have two great songs in one album, they may have a few more good songs”.

2am Saint O'Clock rain alternate new album cover
2AM's first full-length studio album

Long story short, here I am writing a track-by-track album review for an album I think is one of the best pop albums of the year! (I’ve managed to find out the English translation for the Korean song titles):

1) INTRO – Phone:  A beautiful piano laden instrumental with the phone constantly ringing in the background. Sounds very Japanese soundtrack-esque. Also a precursor to the next track.

2) 전활 받지 않는 너에게 / You Wouldn’t Answer My Calls – A beautiful emotional ballad. Not much else to say really. It’s beautiful track.

I wouldn’t rave about the video, but then again, I’m a guy. The girls seem to love it. (4 out of 5 for the song)

3. 미친 듯이 / Like Crazy – Another great ballad! Slightly more uptempo compared to its predecessor but a soppy ballad none the less.

Since I don’t know Korean, I have no idea why they’re crying so much in the video. (4/5 for the song)

4. 바로 나야 (feat. GLAM) / Just Me (Feat. GLAM) – One of the my favourite tracks on the album! Happier, fresh-sounding with a 90s- groove to it. (4/5)

5. Mirage – Getting into American R & B territory with this one. Just ‘okay’ to me. (Sorry, I don’t like Korean-pop trying too hard to sound American) (2.5/5)

6. 다시 사랑하기엔 / To Love Again – A nice ballad. Sounds like a track you’d often find on a soundtrack to some K-drama or movie. (3/5)

7. 이젠 없다 / Now, There’s No More – Found this to be track best enjoyed with your eyes closed. Another great ballad. (3.5/5)

8. 불안하다 / Nervous – Beats! Thumping beats! Yet another song with a strong 90s-vibe. This time a lot more uptempo. (4/5)

9. Love U, Hate U (feat. 방탄소년단) – My least favourite track on this album. Only because its another attempt to sound American with its “H to the A to the T to E” lyrics. Didn’t even bother listening to it in full the first time. (1/5)

10. With or Without U – The most uptempo track on the album, this is a great track with the guys letting it all out in the chorus. (3.5/5)

11. 사랑한단 말 못해 / Can’t Tell You That I Love You – The final track on the album and believe it or not… my favourite song on this album! A sexy uptempo track with great beats, this seems to be a favourite among fans as well.

Overall album rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

I’m definitely getting this album! Either on yesasia.com or when I go to Bangkok in a few days time. With this album, 2AM are now officially on my k-pop radar.

Update: I finally bought my copy of the album. Picked it up when I was in Manila, Philippines.

Shinee Hello 2AM Saint O' Clock album CDs India
Also bought SHINee's 'Hello' re-package album because I loved "Lucifer" so much!
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