SEA Aquarium, Resort World Sentosa 25 Dec 2014

Had the chance to visit SEA Aquarium at a discounted price.  Usual entrance fee is S$38 but my ticket was only S$8.  We took the Sentosa express in which cost S$4 per person and alighted one stop later.  Upon reaching Resort World, we were greeted with lots of shop...follow the direction of the sign and you will see SEA Aquarium.

If you are going to drive in, do park at Tanjong or Palawan car park. From 7am-5pm, Sentosa entry per car cost S$6. Parking for 1st 8 hours cost S$3 and S$1 for subsequent hour.  Except 12pm-2pm, entry would cost S$2 per car (Rates covers all passengers in car).

 

Upon entering SEA Aquarium, you will be greeted by a whole lot of exhibits from different parts of the world.

Even Noah's Ark is here!

We came on the wrong day coz it was so crowded.  Makes it difficult to walk around or even take pictures.  Got to queue to take good shots.  On top of that, a lot of people were sitting and resting infront of the tanks, can't really get close at all.

Look at some interesting species of fishes I found!!!

Yellow leafy seahorse...I thought that's seaweed -.-"

Overheard one customer said that those fishes in the last photo (yah, those travelling in troops) must be really bored.  They don't have a targeted direction and would just follow the flow.  Actually, isn't following the flow also considered a target?

See the yellow stingray on top? That's a real performer!  Was told he would appear whenever there is a crowd near the tank and start performing his stunts.  Quite entertaining though.

The jellies are pretty.  Probably should have some classical music playing in the background like the one I saw in Manila.  

Nemo found!

Not a big fish lover but I love puffy fish.  Look at this cute little thing!

This puffy has heartshaped eyes....so adorable.

Sharks....many different sharks.

And that's the end of my SEA Aquarium tour. Might visit again when there's not too many people for better photography opportunity.



More photos available here.

SEA Aquarium official website here.

Phuket 13-14 Dec 2014

Hotel: JW Marriott, Phuket

Took a short trip to Phuket for my cousin's wedding.  Didn't have time to walk around much as it was a 2 day 1 night trip and I was helping to coordinate between some of the guests. We were booked onto Tiger. Thank goodness, there wasn't any hiccups this time.

Upon arriving at Phuket airport, we were taken straight to JW Marriott.  While the wedding planners checked in for us, we took the hotel transport out to Turtle Village for our lunch.

Wanted Thai Express but it wasn't open yet. Infact, the entire mall looks like a dead town in the day.  It comes alive only in the night. Since our preferred restaurant wasn't open, we headed for the Chinese restaurant next to it.  It took almost an hour for our orders to be served.  Considering the entire restaurant to be pretty quiet (including us, there were 3 tables occupied and 1 of the 3 tables have completed their meals), one hour is really not acceptable.

When the food came, we were more than disappointed. The portion was for kids.  But we were starving so had to gobble down the food. I regretted not taking pictures.  And of course, the price couldn't match the quality and the service.

 



Upon checking in, we were greeted by great surprises. The entire place gives the home away from home feeling.  There was even a brolly holder (near the entrance) with 3 huge umbrellas in it.  Also near the door, there is washing machine and dryer provided.

Once you walk in, you will be able to see the huge living and dining area.  The sofa at the living room can even be converted into a queen size bed.  Next to the living room, you will see a small balcony which is also connected to the master bed room.

It was a pleasant surprise to be checked into a 2 bedroom suite (arranged by the couple). The master bedroom is huge...its bathroom is every bigger! If you are not used to the bathtub, there is even a separate standing shower room. This room is the typical honeymoon suite kind of room. Perfect for the newly weds.

2nd bedroom has 1 single bed and 1 queen size bed in it. There is an ensuite bathroom but it is also a common bathroom (connected to the living room...meaning there is 2 doors so when you shower, need to lock 2 doors).

The kitchenette is one of my favourite place. It is fully equipped with everything a household would need.  From fridge to microwave to water heater to cooking facilities.

There are so many kitchen utensils that you don't really need to walk out to buy anything except raw materials to cook.  For raw food, you can basically purchased from the supermarket at Turtle Village (basement) which isn't too far from the hotel.  Just take the free transport out :)

And so, since my only purpose here is for the wedding, I need to put up some wedding pictures.  To be frank, this isn't the first beach wedding I have attended but this is definitely one that isn't burning hot. he seabreeze was really cooling. The romantic and beautiful sunset signifies the end of matrimony ceremony which also means, the eating starts!

We were ushered into Ginja restaurant...oh alright, we weren't ushered in. I went in myself! It was a nice and cosy little restaurant.  The ambience was perfect for mass candlelight dinner. The dessert was delicious especially the mango pancake...tasted more like soufflé than pancake. I tasted this white soup thingie that I didn't quite like.  To date, I still don't know what I drank but check out the cute chef who cook it for me :) The spread was sumptuous and staff were attentive. Great job Ginja gang!

And here's my little selection.  I had more but was busy enjoying the food and company that I totally forgotten to take more pictures.

The dining was interrupted with a super romantic cake cutting ceremony and followed closely with fireworks.  Who doesn't like fireworks right?  They are stars dancing in the night sky.  That ended the our eventful night.

We have a breath takingly green view.  I mean, it is really very green.  Nothing else but plants upon plants.  It's good for the soul coz it tends to keep the wildest person calm...just my take.  My super efficient aunty ordered breakfast for all of us...so we were happily eating while waiting for our transport to the main lobby to wait for another transport to the airport. 

Here's some scene at the lobby.  There's a Christmas tree because well...it's near Christmas.  The interest Thai touch on the tree was quite fascinating too.

Time to go home!  Though the trip was super short.  I felt that this was indeed one very fulfilling trip!

Oh...and thanks to JW Marriott for the beautiful bracelet!

More pictures available here

Malacca 14-15 Nov 2014

Hotel: Vintage Eleven, Malacca, The Explorer Hotel, Malacca

Back to Malacca again.  This time, we went as a whole family because I got a package from Visit Malaysia fair for Vintage Eleven Boutique Hotel at an unbelievably cheap rate that you won't be able to find online.

To cut cost as well as for ease of travel and because there are so many of us, we decided to drive from Singapore to Malacca. 

Upon our arrival in Jonker (where the hotel is located), we went for Chicken rice balls.  Yes, this is something everyone need to eat when you land your feet in Malacca.  Let's just put it this way, if you haven't eaten Chicken rice balls, you haven't been the Malacca.

We had our Chicken rice at Famosa Restaurant.  It's not difficult to recognise the restaurant as it's entirely red with a pic of Cai Lan (Hong Kong celebrity chef) on the entrance.  As we wanted to try everything, we ordered both steam and roast chicken.  As usual, it's delicious.  After meals, we went up to the second floor where there is a small museum. I have been there countless of times so didn't take pics. Most pictures were in my mum's camera.

The first hotel we stayed in was Vintage Eleven which is just a corner off Jonker Walk night market. I thought it would be noisy due to the night market but was really wrong. This quaint little corner was quiet in the night and we were able to sleep really well.  The living room is like a 5 star hotel lobby and beyond the living room door, you'll find a separate area with spiral staircase leading up to the second floor and a swimming pool with Jacuzzi function.

 



On the second floor, there is a resting area with a fully equipped kitchenette that comes with microwave oven pots and pans, cutlery, drinking water dispenser, champagne glasses (yes, I'm not kidding you...they provide champagne glasses perhaps for honeymoon couple).  But of course, if you want any other drinks from the fridge, you gotta pay. It'll definitely be cheaper to get some drinks from the supermart.  The fridge is huge enough to stock up lots of drinks.   And from the open walk way, you can also see the Jacuzzi pool on the ground floor.

The master bedroom comes with an attached bathroom (one glass panel is missing from the bath tub and the tap is pretty lose...they need to do some upkeeping here). But the view is rather pretty as it faces the mezzanine. The other bedroom is huge.  I mean...really huge! Besides the sofa bed, there is 1 king size and 1 queen size bed in the same huge room.

The mezzanine looks pretty in the day and magnificent at night with all the lights lit up.  We got adventurous and decided to do some Jacuzzi soaking in the middle of the night complete with wine and chocolate.

No complains about the hotel except that there's more mozzies than human! Wifi is stronger in the living and super weak on the second floor.  But the staff is really friendly and helpful and he is just a call away :)

Woke up early for some yum cha breakfast just a few steps from our hotel. The price is extremely cheap and the food is so filling.  We couldn't stuff in any lunch after that.  After breakfast, we checked in at another hotel nearer to the shopping belts.

Arrived at The Explorer Hotel.   I have a fascination for new hotels. So needless to say, I book it because it's new.  Yah...even the café is not really done up yet.  Simple and no frills hotel.  The good part is that it is so near to all the malls.  We are right next to Mahkota Parade! After short rest and some shopping around the malls, we got ready to move out for dinner.

We arrived at Portuguese settlement for our seafood dinner a tad too early. The place was still very bright and quiet. My favourite shellfish shop is still not open yet. It will only be opened around 7.30pm but we were more than an hour early.

Alright, besides the 4 dishes shown, we ordered oysters as well.  But we kindda gobbled the whole thing up before any one of us remembered to take pics.  Shells weren't really fresh that day for some reasons coz all who ate them ended up with food poisoning. The previous time I ate was ok. Not sure what happened.  Nonetheless, due to the crowdless environment, we didn't really enjoy it this time. But as usual, the moment we drove into the area, we had a whole bunch of really helpful folks leading our car to the parking lot and then tried to psyho us to eat from their stall.  We still went for Stall no. 1. 

After dinner, we hung around Jonker night market until it started to drizzle and followed by heavy downpour -.-" The entire trip concluded with a pot....I mean, I cup of ice cream that looks like potted plant.  The soil looking thingie is actually crushed Oreo cookie and the plant is mint! :)

More photos available here

Link: Portuguese Village