12 Hours in Singapore

27th May 2013 (Monday)

Like in the previous return trip to Port Moresby, I took the first plane out of Sibu to Singapore via Kuching. This time, my plan was to visit Marina Bay again in order to complete my walk around Marina Bay promenade. I did not complete the last walk six months ago because of rain.

From Changi Airport MRT Station at Terminal 2, I took the MRT to Bugis Junction where I had lunch of Laksa at Tong Seng Coffee Shop. From there, I went to Marina Bay MRT Station and then walked to the bay. At the promenade, I decided to take the left path to Merlion, then to Double Helix and finally to Marina Bay Sands before going to Chinatown for dinner.

I noticed a MRT station at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands on the Bayfront side. It did not have a name yet but everything seemed completed. There were also no passengers coming and going. Close to the Marina Bay Sands is the Bayfront MRT Station. I didn't know that the Bayfront MRT Station was closer to the promenade compared to Marina Bay MRT Station.

If I had known that, I would have taken the MRT Circular Line to come to the promenade. Since my visit to Marina Bay ended here, I took the Circular Line at Bayfront MRT Station to Dhoby Ghaut Interchange, before taking the North-East Line to Chinatown.

At Chinatown MRT Station, I exited from C Entrance, thinking that was the exit I took six months ago. I was wrong, but right there was People's Park Complex with two food stands in front. I could not be more pleased than this. I read that there were many food stalls in Chinatown but did not find them the last time. It seemed that I took the wrong exit the last time but this time, I was right on track. Next to it was the Chinatown Food Court.

There were too many choices that I did not know where to stop for some tasty food. When I saw Fuzhou Fishball Soup, I knew this would be it. I ordered the fishball soup with noodles, costing me SGD4.50.

36 Hours in Singapore - The Last 24 Hours

14 November 2012

After waking up this morning, the first thing I did was to call up the Air Niugini ticketing agency where I bought my air tickets. I bought the tickets two months earlier and was not happy with them for not informing me about the rescheduled flight date before I flew out of Port Moresby. The agency would know that its customers would be affected by it. However, it did nothing to inform me.

Anyway, after making a call to the agency and getting the new ticket via email, I had it printed at the hotel. I have a long day ahead. After checking with the reception, I was told the nearest MRT station was Aljunied MRT Station.

While walking around the Geylang neighbourhood looking for breakfast, I saw several budget hostels around the area. This must be a backpacker district. Most of the restaurants and coffee shops had not opened for business with messy tables, plates and eating utensils yet to be cleared and washed. Nevertheless, I ended at Koung's Wan Tan Mee. On the wall was posted a newspaper clipping with the headlines "Koung - king of wantan mee". Great! I landed myself in another famous food spot. Indeed, this noodle stall lived up to its reputation as the king of wantan mee. It was good.

Just after mid-day, I checked out from the hotel and went to catch the MRT at Aljunied Station. Without the SMRT Tourist Pass, I had to cough out some cash to buy a one way ticket to Changi Airport from the ticketing machine. This time, I decided to leave my luggage at the Left Luggage Office at Terminal 1.

From the airport, I decided to go to Marina Bay, to see Singapore's latest landmark. The surrounding area outside the MRT station exit was undergoing a construction boom. From the Marina Bay MRT Station, it was a few hundred metres walk to Marina Bay promenade.

At the Bay area, I was quite fascinated with all the tall glass towers. There were not many people around and the ample space at the promenade made the atmosphere felt so relaxing. I never realised that a man-made area surrounded by tall glass towers and concrete structures could create such an atmosphere.

I planned to walk a full circle of the promenade. As I reached the double helix pedestrian bridge, it started to drizzle. I aborted my attempt and returned to Marina Bay Station, this time dropping in at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

From Marina Bay, I went to Chinatown MRT Station. On stepping out of the station A Entrance to Pagoda Street, I saw the wet ground and the dark sky. It was pouring rain. There was no fun in the wet weather. The area around A Entrance has lots of souvenir shops and restaurants, all draped in plastic to protect themselves from the rain. There was nothing to see and I walked across the overhead bridge to People's Park Complex. Here, I found a few food stalls and decided to taste something there.

I left Chinatown after 5 p.m. and decided to drop by at Bugis MRT Station for dinner and to pick up some finger food before returning to Changi Airport. I had been eyeing the delicious looking finger food there and must have it before leaving Singapore for Port Moresby that evening.