wrote this entry a week ago, couldn't find time to post it.
8/28/07 1:14am
i'm back from my vacation. last week was pretty eventful and really, really tiring but at the same time fun and memorable. :)
aug 21
went to cebu. my parents decided for us to meet and fly out from there since cebu is closer to them than manila.
aug 22
the day started slow. we checked out at noon and still had a lot of time to kill before going to the airport. was bored and missed the times when we were always in a hurry. little did i know that i'd get my wish that same afternoon.
we went to the mall to pass time. at around 5pm, we were trying to decide on where to eat our dinner when nanay (my mom) realized that she might have gotten the flight schedule mixed up (yeah, yeah, i know, our bad.) called up marites (since we were on the same flight with her parents) to check the flight schedule. imagine the shock i got when she told me that her parents were already at the airport and she said she thought that the flight was around 7pm. 7pm?!? whatthe?!?! we were at the mall! and it's past 5!! and we didn't have our tickets and luggage with us!! *faints, well almost*
we rushed back to get our luggage. it was rush hour and the place we were staying at was around half an hour away from the airport (and around 15 minutes from the mall.) was in panic the whole ride to the airport (my bonus and raise went into this trip.) luckily the flight was at 7:40pm but i was still really worried since last i remembered international flights required 2 hours showtime before departure. thank God we made it on time.
we ended up having our dinner in singapore.
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our vacation...
inuka the polar bear
5 tours and a short visit to malaysia in 3 days. i'm beat.
aug 23
singapore zoo:
eversince i read the golden compass i've been wanting to see a polar bear. was thrilled when i learned that there are polar bears in this zoo. we got to meet inuka and his mom. he's really cute and cuddly (just kidding.) he's really big and beautiful. learned that their fur wasn't really white but transparent. we also got to see white tigers and other animals. (pics)
city tour:
by this time i already had a headache. the sun was up and the guide kept encouraging us to take pictures. heat and headache don't really mix well but i couldn't really just remain all alone in the van so went out with the rest of the group (plus i was the designated photographer.) it was a small tour group, just 7 of us. 3 couples plus moi. all senior citizens. wee! what fun! :P (pics)
night safari:
no flash photography = no photographs for me. couldn't even see the animals clearly with my own eyes. we're talking untrained and uncaged animals here (with just a moat, for the dangerous ones, and none for others separating us) so i didn't dare use my flash for fear of being attacked. there were tram rides that went around the whole zoo and there were stops where we could get off if we wanted to walk around trails. we decided to visit the leopard trail (leopards are gorgeous creatures by the way.) each trail takes around 20-30 minutes to complete. we were supposed to head back to the same place we got off but we got lost. imagine walking around at night in a forest-like environment, you're lost, there are no guides, you hear thunder so you know rain is near and you're tired (and some unknown insect bit you.) i just wanted to go home right then. it turned out we actually walked two trails (yes, i'm bad with directions) and ended up walking back to the main entrance. we had to take the tram ride again so we could see the rest of the animals. by then the rain was pouring, some of the animals were hiding/taking shelter from the rain and the animal shows were cancelled. :( still, quite an experience. (pics)
aug 24
jurong bird park:
this wasn't in our plan but they (the "elders") decided to go so i had to tag along. i loved the birds of prey show (owls, falcons, eagles, etc.) the elders liked the parrot show better. that parrot (amigo) was really amazing. he can sing in mandarin and in malay, can count in chinese and can speak a little japanese. saw the penguins too, real cute animals. (pics)
sentosa:
took a cable car to get into sentosa. i wanted to see the aquarium since i enjoyed the one in ocean park in hong kong (come to think of it, they have a lot in common, tram rides, aquarium, revolving towers, dolphin show, etc.) although the sentosa underwater aquarium was better and longer the main aquarium in ocean park is way cooler and way bigger. we watched the dolphin show too, the pink dolphins were really cute. i learned a little of singapore's history too and it made me appreciate their country more. i was bored but impressed (it's history, what did you expect?) we also went up the merlion (mermaid-lion) statue that's 10-storey high. imo, the highlight of sentosa is the songs of the sea. was really impressed with the show. a must-see for singapore. (pics)
walk along orchard road:
was really tired but we got back to the hotel early (past 9) so my tatay (my dad) and I decided to window shop. we walked along orchard road (since that was where the hotel was) and just like in hong kong, i felt safe... but then a bird decided to drop something into my head. ewww!
aug 25
johur bahru, malaysia:
we wanted to visit malaysia (so we can get extra stamps on our passport :P) but didn't really have enough time so we decided to go on this tour. johur bahru is just 45 minutes away from our hotel. malaysia is very similar to the philippines. first we visited a batik factory, then a spice garden (where most of the plants, except one, are very common here in the philippines) and then to a mosque. (pics)
shopping!
we decided to check out sim lim square but realized that prices were more competitive in lucky plaza in orchard road. bought a PSP and i don't really know what to do with it. i don't like playing games but i liked the idea of being able to play subtitled videos on it (although i can't get it to work yet.)
aug 26
coming home:
our flight home was originally at 00:25 but there was a delay and it got rescheduled to 02:15. was really tired and sleepy by then. passed time reading back entries on my f-list (thanks to the free internet in the airport.) arrived in cebu at around 6am and slept until 5pm.
the ride back to manila was agonizing. you know that painful feeling you get in your ears when in an airplane? imagine that happening to your whole head down your neck. it felt like my head was gonna explode. i came home with a headache and a cold.
