I have never thought in the middle of my busy senior year filled with exams and deadlines, I would have the chance to go to Singapore just three days before the mid-term test week. That did happen, and I want to share you my wild, unearthly experience.
It was a normal Wednesday afternoon with me minding my own business and not caring for the world. Suddenly my mother burst into the room, telling me that we were going to go to Singapore that weekend. At first, I was thinking, “oh yeah, sure, cool cool, we’re going to Singapore.” But then, the realization hit me. The mid-term test is starting in five days, I have an essay that’s due in six days—and I’m going to Singapore in two days. There was a lot to process by then, so I just try to take it easy and go with the flow.
I went to Singapore on Friday, the 3rd of March and will be back home by Sunday, the 6th. I went with my mother and my younger brother, and we arrived at Changi Airport safely. We went to our hotel by MRT since it was much cheaper than taking the cab and also because the hotel is located above the MRT station in Lavender. I’ve been to Singapore before, so I was already used to the customs there. Singapore is very different from Indonesia, that’s what I’ve come to learn.
We decided to go watch a movie at Isetan, so we went there by walking underground via Wisma Atria. I absolutely have no idea about the places there so I’m telling you based of my memory of the signs I saw while passing by. We passed a small shop called Typo and I legit panicked because they sell adorable stuffs. Its normal for me to panic because the store doesn’t exist in my country. My mom bought me a black, parachute-based, two-way bag from the store and I love it so much. We also bought Garrett’s Popcorn because it is a must.
By the time we arrived at Isetan, it was definitely late. The department store was going to close, but the cinema was still open. We queued for a while and when it was our turn, my mother did all the talking. There was a problem, though. My brother and I weren’t allowed to watch the movie we were going to watch (we planned on watching Logan) because we were underage. Well, that was a bummer. Despite the minor inconvenience, I was quite happy .
Day 2
The next morning, I hurried myself so I could go to the place I always wanted to go but couldn’t because of reasons; Gardens By The Bay. We took the MRT from Lavender to Marina Bay by changing trains at City Hall. But somehow, we rode the wrong train and so we went to Dhoby Ghaut instead. Its the other way around. But fortunately, we rode the right train after that and went straightly to Marina Bay. It was a nice experience.
When we arrived at Gardens By The Bay, there was a light rain. We bought the tickets to get into the Cloud Forest Dome and the Flower Dome. We also bought tickets for the shuttle because we didn’t want to get wet because of the rain. On the shuttle, we drove pass Marina Bay Sands and a man-made lake.
We got into the Flower Dome first and holy mother of macaroni I did not regret spending money for this wonderful chance. THERE WERE SO MANY FLOWERS AND PLANTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD! THEY HAVE ORCHIDS AND CACTI! THEY GROW PAPRIKA AND CHILI! THEY ALSO HAVE THESE BEAUTIFUL WOODEN CARVINGS EVERYWHERE! What a time to be alive. The place was gigantic and so, I took a lot of pictures. Just look at the slideshow I made:
I am so in love with the place. I didn’t pay attention how long I was in there because time isn’t real. If I could stay there forever, I would, but there’s still so many things I want to see beyond the Flower Dome, so I say goodbye to all of the beautiful flowers and plants I saw and perhaps someday, I could see them again.
After that, we went to the Cloud Forest Dome where there’s this enormous waterfall inside. The air was cold because of the water falling and splashing and stuff and I saw people wearing raincoats because of it. The inside was similar to Flower Dome, but it doesn’t have as much flowers. The plants, however, were diverse, and there was a platform that circles the waterfall. Despite my fear of heights, I walked on the platform. It was nice at first but after 30 seconds of trying not to look down, I couldn’t take it. I held my mother’s arm so hard. Ugh. It was a delightful experience, nonetheless. Here’s the slideshow:
After finish visiting the conservatories, we rode the shuttle again. On our way back, I was sitting behind the same driver and I saw a golden retriever with its owner. Out of excitement, I gasped and said, “Oh my God!”, but the driver thought something happened. He immediately asked me if anything was wrong but I replied with, “No, there was a dog!” He chuckled and said that he was relieved nothing bad happened.
We went to Marina Bay Sands and I’ve never been here before also. The place was so huge. I’m tired from all of the walking. But hey, at least they have free wi-fi! We took a small bite there and went straight to our hotel via MRT because it was already evening and I needed my shower.
Resting in a hotel room had never felt so good. My legs are sore from all the walking I did (even though it was probably nothing to you, my dear audience). My brother took his time to swim in the swimming pool but I’d much rather sit on my bed and watch television. We bought food from the kopitiam behind the hotel and prepared ourselves because we were going to Mustafa Centre that night. There, I bought cheap souvenirs for my friends. I bought keychains, pens, chocolates, and biscuits. Mostly chocolates. I spent so much money on that.
Day 3
Ah, my last day. That day was a Sunday, and we go to church on Sundays. So we did. We went to a church in City Hall called Tiberias. I always go to Tiberias in Indonesia, and turns out they also have Sunday service in Singapore. It was great, the people were very kind.
We rushed our way back to the hotel to gather our belongings because we have a flight to catch. We still have some changes to spare, so we spent them on a bag of chocolate. We went to the airport by taxi because we needed to be quick.
My mother bought us some puffs filled with curry, rendang, and sardine at the airport. It was so good 10/10 would try it again. We waited to board the plane for a while and I got the seat beside the window. I was pleased because I could see all the scenic views but then I remembered that I’m afraid of heights. Yikes.
Thankfully, our plane didn’t crash. We arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport with our body parts still attached. It’s good to be back, but not so good after I realize I have to face deadlines and exams again.
Going to Singapore was an incredible experience for me and I would like to enjoy it again. There are some places that I want to visit the next time I have the chance and I would most definitely feel welcomed. If you think that there are places you could recommend, let me know on the comments. Thanks.
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nice story u got here. I always enjoy ur writing. please know that my jacket is missing singapore too.
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