Nowhere
near crazy rich but all-too-economically-ordinary, this Asian did sense and
savor – for real, not reel – if only in snatches, that ambience of elegance, of
opulence the film celebrated. And more.
All
it took was so-smooth a Cebu Pacific Air flight from the Clark airport,
arriving 30 minutes ahead of ETA at Changi. The world’s best airport’s
awesomeness enough to make it a premier destination in itself.
And
the most gracious Singapore Tourism Board made sure we had only the best feel,
and fill, of the city-state packed in a weekend.
Starting
off with Concorde Hotel for that perfect home-away-from-home feel with its
friendly staff, and at 100 Orchard Road, the ideal start- and end-point to any
adventure in the city, with the easiest accessibility by bus, MRT or good old
two-legs mobility.
By
bus, after a sumptuous take of local culinary delights at Simply
Peranakan, post-prandial perambulation
around Merlion Park right on our first night, fitting courtesy call, a homage
to Singapore’s national icon – half-fish, half-lion, swimming in prosperity,
roaring as one of the world’s best economies. Medium becoming message, there
amply delivered.
Across
the eponymous bay, the new icon that is Marina Bay Sands, its magnificence splendored
by the interplay of lights and sounds dazzlingly reflected on the waters. A mug
of café americano at Starbucks made a fitting cap to a wonderful night.
Marina Bay Sands
Took
the CRA – Crazy Rich Asian, as if you still didn’t know – package on the first
day.
SkyPark,
Marina Bay Sands where the guy proposed to the girl in the movie daw. From the deck, the city spread of
skyscrapers, green mountains behind
them on one side. The bay, vessels of all bulk and fancy moored and in transit,
on the other side. Edifices of various calls, invariably interspersed with
greens, in between. On top of the best of all worlds, aye, what better place to
make the greatest profession of one’s love than here?
This
is where they wed! Some romantic in our group of travelling mediamen exclaimed
at the white steepled church of the once-Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus
Middle English School (CHIJMES) – per info of Charles Lim of Selrahco – that is
now an enclave of restaurants, bars and events space.
Unfortunately,
we were not allowed into the church as there was a private event – a wedding,
what else? – ongoing.
Chili
crab – Singapore’s signature dish – featured in the movie too daw, we had to have, else our trip here would
be much wanting. And New Uban Seafood lived up to its claim of “Truly
Singaporean Experience at Chijmes” with the chili crab for main entrée and pulut hitam for dessert. STB area
director Lael Loh upped the gastronomic delight even more with her briefer on
each of the dishes served, duly noted by CebPac corporate communications
director Charo L. Lagamon.
Post-lunch,
at the Gardens by the Bay where nature takes you in its cool, refreshing
embrace. First stop: Cloud Forest, a veritable immersion in a lush rainforest centered
around a tall waterfall. Second: Flower Dome, a virtual one-stop display of the
gardens of the world.
Newton
Circus – where the lovers took their first repast upon arrival in Singapore.
Much like the food parks in good old PHL, but for the satay and peanut sauces,
the nasi goreng, nasi lemak, nasi ayam, and the laksa to live for. Burrrppp!
Not
in the movie daw, but as good an
experience as it can get – Art Science Museum Future World, its interactive
environment-themed light-and-sound show catering best to the future of the
planet – young girls and boys.
Then,
there’s the de rigueur in every trip to Singapore – Bugis Street bargain
shopping! The $1 stores the hardest to beat.
Revisiting
the CRA scenes gloriously done, more of the usual Singapore came to the fore.
Oops, did I just say the usual?
Resorts World Sentosa
There’s something always new to find here, said Julia Jalandoon of STB
Philippines, and made good on her word on our second day.
Sentosa – been there, done that. But not Resorts World Sentosa.
So,
I’ve done Madame Tussaud’s in Bangkok and Hongkong – did all those selfies with
Mao, Deng, Picasso, Gandhi, et al; got a kick out of Bruce Lee and sparred with
Ali; sat with the Queen, tried Obama’s chair for size; basked in the glamour of
Hollywood stars. Still, the thrill of posing for photos with the wax images for
FB upload has not the least waned.
And
what else did I find in the house of Madame here? Aside from Ironman and Thor,
one hero of my lost youth, long fallen from grace among his own – the
Indonesian nationalist and first president Sukarno. Yeah, if only for the
reverential “Bung” before his name so close to my own,
One
thing though that keeps me going to Tussaud’s: Doing Paul Varjak to Holly
Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. How
I love Audrey Hepburn, be it in Sabrina,
Roman Holiday, Two for the Road…
The
romanticist turns juvenile at the Trick Eye Museum. Whether in Phuket where I
first experienced it, or in Marquee Mall and SM City Pampanga where I had a
surfeit of it, the optical illusion in 3-D art never fails to bring out the playful
child
even
in this senior citizen. And with the added AR – augmented reality – here, art
comes to virtual life! Wow!
New
and glorious find at RW-Sentosa is Sessions at Hard Rock Hotel. Beyond chili
crabs, the Louisiana seafood gumbo, steamed fillet in superior soy sauce,
poached fresh prawns, and Cajun dishes – all cooked before your very eyes –
needless to say, are a gourmet’s delight.
Suffice
to say Universal Studios, arguably the best this side of the world far removed
from LA.
Forest of the night
Farthest
from that world of make-believe was the last of part of this Singapore journey
– to that side of life in the wild. But only after a sumptuous dinner at the
Ulu-Ulu Asian Buffet Night in the Night Safari area of Singapore Zoo.
Pitch
darkness broken only by moonlight, tram ride through forest primeval
replication of the Himalayan foothills, the Indian sub-continent and the
Southeast Asian rainforest and marvel at the wildlife – elephants, tapirs,
leopards, white lions, striped hyenas, mouse deer, flamingos, etc. – in their
nocturnal elements.
“Tyger,
Tyger burning bright, in the forest of the night…” William Blake’s paean to the
big cat comes all too real at the Malaysian tiger by the end of the safari
ride. What beauty in the beast, even in the dark!
Lights
– sparkling, showering, twinkling, blazing – put the drama in the trees, the
rocks, the plants, the shrubs in a walk through the 2.5-kilometer meandering
path at Rainforest Lumina, adjacent to the Night Safari area. The beauty of
creation, of life, amid the darkness of night makes the very call for
conservation, to which the traveler commits himself at the end of the walk, .
Changi
The
theme of forests follows even at Changi, where trees and shrubs abound, where
all sorts of flowers bloom in green oases widely distributed along the
duty-free shops and the lounges right inside the airport.
A
refreshing environment even past midnight, as we waited for our 3:45 a.m.
Monday Cebu Pacific flight to Manila, breezing through the counters, check-in .
On
one wall of T-4, a new attraction – a micro-mini operetta in 3-D on the eternal
theme of young love, not of the crazy rich but the middleclass Asians though.
So,
ended this short swing to Singapore as it began.
(Cebu Pacific flies
Clark-Singapore-Clark Tuesdays and Fridays)
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