Shopping in Singapore

I had my first Christmas break in 13 years this year, and headed down to Singapore with my mum. It was also my first time spending Christmas in Singapore. Most people raved about the lights, but sad to say, the only lights I saw were inside a shopping mall. Hah Hah! I was a substantial donor to the Singapore retail industry! So much so, I did not even have time to take the camera out from my bag! Reflecting back on my 5 days there, I feel kind of disgusted with myself!

So I did the next best thing - I took some pictures of my shopping spree.

At the end of our First Day

At the end of our Fourth Day

The next time I go to Singapore, I shall not drive anymore. It was just too great a temptation to buy without hesitation as for the first time ever on holiday, I did not have to worry about luggage space!

My car boot

My general shopping tally:-

6 pairs of shoes

13 bags (all sizes)

11 pieces of clothings (1 white, 1 red, and 9 black!!! Only realised it when I was packing to go home on the last day)

1 Chinese teapot and 2 teacups

6 Kopitiam cups (got an earful from my mum when she saw it Heh Heh)

All my shopping, minus the clothes....

Culture Shock...hee hee

Hoteliers tend to be more critical of other hotels when we travel, and at the same time, are always on the lookout for new ideas from other hotels. I went to Kathmandu with 2 other friends - one a hotelier, and the other a banker. Well, imagine our astonishment when we saw our room door lock and hotel safe.

This is the 'hotel safe' located at the reception. We were asked to place our valuables inside the envelope, and just sign across the sealed flap. After which, the envelope was locked inside the Manager's office. We really learnt the concept of 'Trust' quickly!

Our room door lock was just as hilarious. I had to hold back my laughter when we saw it for the first time as the poor hotel staff just climbed 3 flights of stairs with our luggage to show us to our rooms.

Guess we really have to travel to appreciate what we have back home. But overall, it was a nice hotel and the manager and staff were really friendly. In fact, the manager actually took time out to walk with us and showed us all the nearby sights in the city.

Our Hotel

Having a welcome drink with the Hotel manager at the courtyard

Disneyland, LA

This was at one of our earlier trips to USA ~ Disneyland. This was one of the few trips that quite a substantial of the Tan Clan were able to go. Of course, it was also during a time that most of us cousins were still 'single' and 'sponsored'! Hah! It was in Year 2001, I believe.




This picture taken with Mr. Walt Disney and his most famous cartoon character ~ Mickey Mouse.

Some memories of this Disneyland trip that I still have:-

1. Listening to the "It's A Small World' song over and over again in the ride. Became absolutely irritating after a while!

2. Queueing up for some mountain ride.....ok, so I forgot what was the ride. But it was a damn long queue.

3. Being amazed at the efficiency of all the queues - they were long, but moved quite fast.
4. Absolutely loving the Indiana Jones ride.
5. Thinking 'what an absolute waste of time' inside the Haunted House.

All in all, we had an enjoyable time although I was kind of expecting there would more rides available.

Hanoi

Spent 4 whole days in Hanoi browsing through the varied shops along the narrow streets, braving motorcycles and fellow tourists. However, did manage to 'squeeze' in one morning of sightseeing - went to the HCM Museum and Residence. Unfortunately, his mausoluem was closed as his body has been sent to Russia for its annual 'maintenance'.

The weather was just nice this time of the year, sunny (but not hot) in the daytime and cooling during the night. Its strategic location around the Hoan Kiem Lake was also an additional appeal, and it was immensely enjoyable having coffee and even breakfast next to the lake.

There were lots of shops selling homewares, lacquerware, bags and shoes galore, etc and we spent many hours just browsing from one shop to another. The locals were overall friendly, and it is very normal for them to offer you a chair/stool to sit whilst you slowly browse through their products and negotiate the prices with them. We were even offered tea in one stall!

Another highlight of the trip was the trishaw ride - which seems to be a 'must' in most tour groups' itinerary. So...when in Rome...(in this case Hanoi), we also joined in the experience. Although the price was rather steep by Hanoians standard, it was a most pleasant experience and left me with free hands and eyes to take lots of pictures of the streets.