Phew ... After an exhausting day at the zoo, Sunday was the day we had to relax and get the local sight seeing and shopping done. We decided to take stuff from 31st and 4th Nov and finish them off on Sunday --- we needed to cover. This was too much planning for Sudhir to handle, I tell you - so Ravi and myself figured stuff out.
My feet had started hurting due to the Vibrams pressing against my ankle, and Sudhir suggested that we get the Scholl heel filler for shoes to alleviate the pain. We were to first go to Little India (where Mustafa centre is) :) :) and do cheap shopping as per Singapore standards. I'm pretty sure everyone is aware that Singapore is not a cheap place to shop / live in - it is one of the most expensive cities in the world. This being said, we got on the MRT and went to Dhoby Ghaut, from where we changed lines onto the North-East one to get off at Little India. Before flying, I had read articles about how the country had done its bit for Diwali - there were Diwali themed MRT trains, one street was covered with Diwali decoration etc. As we exited the station onto the main street, I was like "OMG ! This place is from the article I read !! Look at the decorations on the road for Diwali!!!" The entire street was covered with Indian-y decorative stuff and we could see that at night, it would be lit with LED bulbs.
We started walking down the decorated street a bit and spotted ... Guess what - MTR !!! And Sudhir was like "Duuuudes! we HAVE to eat there" - already the fellow had begun craving Indian food - and we were not even quarter into the trip. We went in, and like good children stood in the queue. The place was jam packed on account of Diwali - full of Indians and some foreigners. I ordered Rasam-idli, Ravi had Ragi dosa and something else, while Sudhir took the special meal :D
The food was awesome!!! Though I think this was more because of the fact that we had been having fancy food all along, and somehow... I don't know, you crave eating food that you grew up with after some time. Anyway we got done and then watched Sudhir take his time to go through 3 courses of food. The icing on the cake according to him was the curd rice that they served in the meal :D
 |
| Me going "DUUDES! This place is awesome!" |
After we got done with a bit of shopping and checking out all the levels, we took the MRT to go to Bayfront (from where we decided to walk to Esplanade and Suntech city).
At Bayfront, we started walking towards Suntech city out in the open as Ravi told us the buildings are pretty impressive.
In that place, Ravi did some google-ing, so that the 2 guys could avoid walking too much as I had a pretty big list of shops-that-I-had-to-see. He found out that Sephora is there in Suntech city mall, so it is not like I HAVE to go to Orchard to buy stuff. I started jumping about saying - YES lets go !!! He also told me that there is a Marks and Spencers at Esplanade. Why M&S ? Well, ever since he told me that he has a bathtub, I had been making them take me to all possible Watsons and Guardians that we saw while roaming around to see if I could get bubble bath. And we had absolutely no luck. I told him that I know M&S has the goods and that they smell amazing as well, due to which all this research was being done as to where is an M&S store. We didn't spend too much time in the store as we had a lot of ground to cover. I found the Bubble Bath, and picked up 2 bottles (one was a gift for Subhi) and started off from there to Sephora at Suntech city :P
On reaching, I told them to go off on their own while I would do my special-much-awaited-shopping at my own sweet pace, post which I would join them, wherever they were. The Sephora there was massive (I think all their outlets are huge given the number of brands they carry). I had a few brands in mind from which I wanted to purchase a few things - brands which are not available in India. Got a Tarte blush (in shade Risque), Tarte eyeshadow pallet and a Benefit contour kit. Yippee !!! I even went and got a membership card. Lol, sadly the one I have in India won't work here,
 |
| Super thrilled seeing the brands I wanted to buy at Sephora |
so got it off in Subhi's name (with my details of course). After spending a chunk of money, I step outside and what do I see ? These 2 bums standing there - with accusatory looks. Why ? Coz they had nothing better to do than to waste time waiting for me and according to them, I was the reason for it. And being who I am, I started feeling super guilty for taking so much time there and forcing them to get bored :-|
My sense got the better of me, I shrugged it off and told them that we should proceed to the next mall. We went to Esplanade Mall (which looks like the national fruit of Singapore - a durian) and looked around inside almost every single shop :P
We then started walking towards the biggie - Marina Bay Sands. On our way Ravi was insistent that we eat popcorn at Garret's and I was like - what's the big deal man. And he gave me that "wait and watch" look.
Oh.
My.
God.
The entire underground subway connection route was smelling of butter and cheese and corn and multiple delicious aromas. The popcorn is to die for. You get salted, caramel and cheese and even a mix of the last 2. Damn! wish they had stores in India.
Carrying the pack of popcorn and grinning like morons we started entering Marina Bay Sands. OMG OMG OMG !!! It is so bloody enormous and full of so so so many shops that we cannot even dream of affording !!!
Burberry, Givenchy, Armani, Also, Jimmy Choo *pauses to catch breath* Swarovski, Dior, Bvlgari, YSL, Tiffany and Co... You guys get the drift, right ? I think the only affordable places in that mall were Sephora, Bath and Body Works, the food court restaurants (some of them at least), Starbucks and maybe one or two more at max. Unfortunately, I didn't go to the Sephora there, having just splurged around 145 SD at the previous one, but I did go to the BBW store :P They had an offer going on their Signature collection (buy 4 and get 6) - so I went and got 6 pieces - had already decided who was getting what :)
Post this, we went up to the roof to take a look at the view. What I loved about the terrace is that there was soft jazz music playing from speakers that had been installed there, and people lazing about minding their own business and ... It looked extremely peaceful and relaxing ... :)
On the left we could see the Singapore Flyer, while on the right there was the Marina Bay Sands hotel (the one with the ship on top with the Infinity pool).
By this time it was around 6 in the evening - boy does time fly when you are shopping, I tell you. Ravi was like there is this brilliant light and sound program at Gardens By The Bay (which was behind the hotel) and it would be better if we started walking there so that we could grab a good view point for the show which was to start at 7:15PM. We walked in to the pier and started doing all touristy stuff and amused the s**t out of the other tourists and locals :D
The weird lotus shaped building behind us is the Science museum where we decided to go catch the Escher gallery show that was on display.
Once we got done with our nonsense, we started walking. We walked, and walked, and walked some more until we finally reached the place - and I was exhausted by then, what with all the shopping and excitement and walking!! We entered and realised that this place also has tonnes to see, and we decided that we should do it the next day after the Bird Park.
While walking through this place, Ravi realised that the bridge where people were gathering to see the show did not have as good a view as he had had the previous time he came with Subhi. So we decided to find it. But by this time our feet were killing us again and I decided to plonk off on some random walkway that was there which gave a decent view of the place and which didn't have too many people - and most importantly it was right where we were at that point of time. We just sat off there and I decided to bug Sudhir with my spoils of the day *evil grin*
And then .... the entire place plunged into darkness, and the show began. Wow, it was spectacular - the music and the way the lights worked sent shivers down my spine. There were several songs from Chicago, and a few more popular ones as well, and the lighting work on the trees portrayed the mood of the music magnificently.
After this we walked back to Marina bay Sands and watched a fountain show going on at the waterfront!! The reason why the show was unlike anything I've seen before is that the water was sprayed to form a screen of sorts on which the show was projected. After we got done, we realised that it was getting a little late and that we should catch some dinner. Initially it was decided that we would go to Raffle's Bay, but as that was too far Ravi took us to a closer place that had a restaurant called Muchos. At that place, Ravi told me that Subhi had ordered a drink the Singapore Sling and that I should try the same - as it is a Singapore favourite, and is in the top 10 drinks of the roll and all that jazz. Fine, I ordered it. Jesus Christ ! IT SUCKED !! It was the worst thing I had ever tasted in my entire life ! I cannot, for the lift of me, imagine why people would make such a foul, evil tasting beverage and force people to pay for it !!!! I asked the waiter to take it back, ordered an orange juice and was happy :-|
 |
| Lamborghini showroom and I got to touch a car :) |
 |
| Ravi and myself before the Gardens By the Bay show started |
No comments:
Post a Comment