We stayed at the Fairmont Hotel - super nice hotel, great location and the buffet breakfast is so good! I was so scared to weigh myself after 4 days of buffet breakfast. Haha...
The view from our room is the Chijmes and Raffles Hotel. The best view though is from the Executive Lounge at night where you can see the beautiful Singapore skyline -
At the hotel lobby and in one of the hotel exits, there are beautiful artworks on display. Check these out -
I wasn't able to capture all of the sculptures' stories except for one - the little girl in green dress. Entitled "Dear Children - I See", it's by a Chinese artist named Xing Jing.
So this cute kid has a look of wonder in her bean eyes. She has lots of questions and is looking for answers. But she will eventually realize that there isn't always an answer so the best that she can do is to love this world with a kind heart. It's entitled "I See" to differentiate it from "I know" or "I get it" as "I see" signifies an act of comprehension from the heart. Such beautiful message! :)
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Last Sunday, we were able to hear mass at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd across Chijmes. The church is fund-raising and they were selling these beautifully-crafted statues of the Good Shepherd made from Tiger Wood and sculpted by people from the village of Banteay Prieb, a vocational center for people with disabilities in Cambodia.
The statue has a unique and nice concept - it's a hold and pray statue. The statue is detachable from the base so when you pray, you can actually hold the statue with your hands.
Incidentally, volunteers were distributing some handouts at the church exit and one of them had a very beautiful prayer (the prayer isn't related to the statue though).
Sharing it below (with minor edits):
I Pray
Gracious God,
You have done so much for us.
You ask for willingness
and we are often stubborn.
You ask for humility
and we are often proud.
You ask for open listening hearts
and we are often deaf.
You ask for service
and we are often busy.
You ask for our love
and we are often self-centered.
Grant us mercy that we may be compassionate;
that we may give life to others.
Grant that we, like Mary, may be your willing servants.
Amen.
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We also had time to meet up with ex-colleagues from Singapore. The first dinner, they took us for chili crabs, salted egg crabs (yes, crabs with salted egg sauce!), cereal prawns, clams on bamboo, etc. The second dinner was Chinese at Ban Heng. Out of excitement to exchange stories and eat, I forgot to take photos except for these. Haha...
It was so much fun to see our ex-colleagues after so many years - more than 10 years!!! I think the last time when we were all together was during a regional event in Brisbane, Australia. Since I'm not active on FB, I was totally out of touch with them. But it's amazing that even if we come from different cultures, we share the same sense of humor. It was non-stop chatter and laughter. :)
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Where else did eat?
Soup Restaurant. We had Samsui Ginger Chicken and I super love it! Yum!
We also ate at Tim Ho Wan. Just like in Manila, there's always a long queue during lunch and dinner time so the best time to dine is during odd hours.
It was so much fun to see our ex-colleagues after so many years - more than 10 years!!! I think the last time when we were all together was during a regional event in Brisbane, Australia. Since I'm not active on FB, I was totally out of touch with them. But it's amazing that even if we come from different cultures, we share the same sense of humor. It was non-stop chatter and laughter. :)
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Where else did eat?
Soup Restaurant. We had Samsui Ginger Chicken and I super love it! Yum!
We also ate at Tim Ho Wan. Just like in Manila, there's always a long queue during lunch and dinner time so the best time to dine is during odd hours.
One night at 11pm, we got hungry and went to Lau Pa Sat. Yummy sate and baby squid!
I'm trying to avoid cold dessert since I've become prone to colds lately but how can you say no to shaved ice?! We had yoghurt bingsoo at Ice Lab.
If you're crazy about Salted Egg Chips, the most popular brand in Singapore is Irvin's. They quickly run out of stocks so they've implemented a cap on purchases - they only allow a maximum purchase of 5 small and 5 big packs for every buyer. But between the salted egg fish skin and salted egg potato chips, I highly recommend the fish skin. True to its tagline, it's dangerously addictive. :)
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Our last agenda in Singapore was to do some Christmas shopping. But nope, we weren't able to tick off everything on our list since our luggage allowance was maxed out already and we didn't want to pay for extra weight. Haha...
Finally, while in Singapore, I was able to tick off an item from my bucket list! To watch a movie alone. Haha...
My friend had a meeting for her other business and I didn't want to tag along. Instead, I took it as an opportunity to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I missed watching it with friends the first week since I was in Bangalore. I can't afford to miss it on the big screen since I'm a big Harry Potter fan. :)
Watching alone isn't as awkward as I thought. I've always admired those who can do it and I finally did it! And I think I can do it again. Haha... :)
