Just got back from my trip, obviously fatter and darker haha! I spent the first few days in Singapore then went onboard the cruise then got off several times for shore excursions in Malaysia and Thailand. After the cruise, we went to Malaysia for several days to have a city tour.
Met up with my Singapore-based cousins who I haven't seen in several years! They were kind enough to create a scheduled tour plan to be led by them. We went to Sentosa which was really beautiful, but what I enjoyed most was the shopping! :) Just our luck, it was the Nationwide Singapore Sale. So I burned my wallet at my favorite Vivo City! I didn't buy anything at Orchard because everything was branded and still expensive even after the discounts. We also went to different hawker markets and food places to try out Singapore's popular dishes. I pigged out on so much laksa and chili crabs! I wanted to go to the supermarket to see if they have some laksa flavor mix or something so I can bring the flavor home. Damn, I can live in Singapore!
Next stop was the cruise. What can I say? It was buffet all day! There were three main dining buffet areas (Mediterranean, Chinese and American)that we could go to free of charge so we always ate there breakfast, lunch and dinner. There were other small but interesting restaurants available but they were not free. My favorite was the Bella Vista American buffet because it was fine dining food. Para na akong nag-Circles everyday.
Did I forget to mention that 50% of the people on board (excluding cabin crew & staff) were from India? They always hang-out at the Mediterranean because they don't know how to eat American and Chinese food. Plus the Mediterranean offers their kind of curry food. My gulay, pag-bukas ng pinto sa Mediterranean and pumasok kami lumabas yung sobrang tapang na amoy ng curry...tapos napaisip kami kung yung naaamoy ba namin ay galing sa mga kilikili nila o sa ulam.
Call it boring but I didn't participate in much of the activities in the cruise. It was either I was eating at the buffet, going to the spa & gym,reading at the library, shopping, sleeping, swimming or going to the buffet again. Whenever my aunts would play bingo, sing at the karaoke, join the disco and other activities to their liking, I only stayed at the sidelines. At nights, we usually go to the Lido Theatre where they have different types of shows each night. On our first night, my uncles wanted to watch a topless show so everyone decided to go with them including me and my grandma. It was also my first time to ever go inside a full-scale casino haha!
Our shore excursion in Thailand was pretty much nature-related. We went to Patong Beach, which was were the 2004 tsunami occurred, evident by the many in-case-of-tsunami signs. But the beach was beautiful and already developed with no traces of disaster hitting it years ago. We also went elephant-riding in the forest and watched an elephant and monkey show. The elephant performed a Thai massage for my Uncle using its leg which was really cool! Kaso medyo manyak/malambing yung elephant kasi hahalikan ka niya(equals sticky laway) and hahawakan ka either sa boobs or sa balls. We also visited some Buddhist temples which for me were really beautiful and somewhat majestic. After we had buffet dinner at what was proudly proclaimed as the biggest restaurant in Thailand. But the food sucks or maybe I was already getting tired of all the pigging out. At night, we watched transvestites in their haven near the beach. Grabe ang gaganda at lalandi hahaha! At the end of the shore excursion, we had Thai massages which was what we all needed from all that walking and shopping we did in Singapore.
Our shore excursion in Malaysia was also nature-related. We trekked up a mountain where there's a lake nearby where we could go swimming. Then we went to an eagle-feeding activity which for me was a waste of time. Afterwards we went to the beach to eat, sleep, swim and relax. I went parasailing which burned the hell out of my skin but was totally fun and I wanna do it again!! I fell asleep in the sand while the air was cool and before I knew it, the day was over.
The last night of the cruise, we had th Captain's Night Ball so we had to dress up. I got dizzy with all the margaritas so I just decided to watch a Broadway musical instead of walking around.
When we left the cruise, we proceeded to Malaysia which was a long bus ride from Singapore. We went to Genting Highlands which is like Tagaytay Higlands, Casino Filipino, Enchanted Kingdom and Glorietta all rolled into one. It was so freakin' cold since the place was on top of a mountain and I was wearing beach attire all along. At the city, we did more shopping at the malls, tiangges and night markets. When we are not eating or shopping, we visited the KL Tower and the Petronas Twin Towers. I didn't buy so many things anymore because there was little more space in our luggage.My mom even had to buy an additional luggage because she bought so much meat jerkies and chocolates. Besides the fashion in Kuala Lumpur is more or less similar in Manila.
It was suprisingly to our advantage that we brought along my grandma, who walks around with a cane. It was customary pala to let senior citizens especially those who are "handicapped" to always get special treatment. So we never had to fall in line for rides, shows and even in the airport. So everytime we see a long line, my grandma would ask for a wheelchair to emphasize her "disability" and she including all of us would immediately get zipped up in front of the line. Now that's cool!
So now it's back to reality. I now don't have an excuse to not get a job and end my glorious bum life.
