Melaka

Our trip from Singapore to Melaka took around 5 hours. We left Singapore via S&S International Express. Since we are only staying overnight, we booked our tickets round trip which cost us $47 SG. We left at 9AM and we arrived in Melaka at 2PM. From there, we rode the taxi to our lodging which is a guest house named D'Laksamana. It's a three bedroom house complete with kitchen facilities and recreation area. If ever you plan to go to Melaka, I would recommend D'Laksamana for your lodging. Its location is a walking distance to everything that you need to see in Melaka. It's near to the World Heritage site where you can see old buildings like St. Paul's Hill or A Famosa. It was a Fort built by the Portuguese which ruled in Melaka from 1511 - 1641.

The Dutch took over in 17th Century. There are also a few old churches, the Dutch graveyard where you can still see the old tombstone dating back to fifteen hundreds. One famous streets in Melaka is the Jonker Walk. It comes alive at night every weekend. When we came back from our World Heritage Tour, we were surprised to see the activity at Jonker Walk. When we took our walk in the afternoon, it was still quiet. We had so much fun trying local delicacies and enjoying the music and just observing the other tourists having fun as well. We hardly slept at all. We tried to make the most out of this historically beautiful place because our bus will leave at 8AM the next day. We wished we had more time to explore the place more. But we did not regret going to Melaka as it was a different experience seeing all these beautiful old building

Universal Studios Singapore

Universal Studios is not only for kids. When my friends and I visited Singapore, we allocated one day to be spent in that place. I'm glad we went on a weekday. Aside from it's much cheaper having to pay only $68 SG as compared to $85 SG if on weekends, the longest time we've waited on queue was only about thirty minutes. We were able to enjoy around 90% of the rides and sites. What is lacking on weekdays is that there are no fireworks during closing as compared to weekends where there are fireworks display. Nevertheless, our group truly enjoyed the place and most importantly, we all bonded.

When I set foot on Universal Studios, I felt like a kid again. I was so excited. We tried almost every ride. The ride that I most enjoyed was the Transformers The Ride 3D. It was a roller coaster but we had 3D glasses on. We were freedom fighters and Optimus Prime was there. It was the best ride for me. We were all shouting and raising our arms. We truly felt like we were actually there. It was amazing.

There is one ride that I did not dare try. It was

the Battlestar Galatcitca: Human vs Cyclone. Only three of us dared to try it. They said that they screamed like girls during the ride and that they would not go again. At least they were brave enough to try it out. In this ride, your feet will be hanging if you ride the blue roller coaster. The blue roller coaster is the Cyclone. My friends were lucky they queued in BattleStar because their feet would not be hanging. Even if their feet was not hanging free, it was still scary but thrilling according to them. They were proud they had the guts. The three of us just stayed behind and watched their things.

There were really a lot of rides that I enjoyed. I would mention the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure. Just be prepared to get wet. We were soaked wet after the ride but it didn't matter. I would just like to mention that Universal Studios are really clever in their business. Since we know that this ride will get us wet, they have provided a locker for a fee. Locker prices depends on the size. We paid $4 SG four our locker and we really tried to squeeze all our stuff in just one locker. Then, they sell raincoats which costs $3 SG. We

did not buy for ourselves thinking that we would easily dry. When we got out after the ride and we were soaked, we saw a drying machine which costs $5 SG for 5 minutes. If only our clothes were wet, we could have dealt with it. The only problem was that our shoes were wet as well. I guess you have an idea what it feels like walking on wet shoes. So we had no choice and we rented the drier. I guess that's how it is. Fun sometimes takes some spending on our part. It was a small price to pay for all the fun that we had. This clearly shows that age is only a number. I truly felt like a kid ready to explore everything when I was there. Well, at least almost everything:)

My next post will be our trip to Melaka, Malaysia the next day. Till then:)

Singapore

I love to travel. Once again, I have been blessed to travel back to Singapore with friends really close to my heart. And the best thing was that my husband was with me. Yes, it was supposed to be our honeymoon and we were supposed to be alone yet somehow, I felt that it was just right that we had our friends with us. At first, I was a bit worried because we had our church friends, my friend since elementary and my husband's friend since high school. I did not really know if they would click. When we all met at the airport, everyone was reserved and sort of feeling the the rest of the group's personality. My hubby and I stood as their parents. We prepared food for them and sort of guided them on what to expect during travel and when passing to immigration. When we got to Singapore, we were met by my sister in law and her fiance and took us straight to our hostel. We stayed at Bunc Hostel in Little India. It's a new hostel and I was impressed by their cleanliness and I loved the design. I have posted some pictures of the hostel. I was not able to get pictures of our room because I guess we were always tired when we came back. During the duration of our trip, we only had about 3 hours of sleep. We just had so much fun. I am really thankful that the group bonded and we are now planning to save up for our next out of the country trip next year. The group actually started bonding the following day after we arrived. We went to Universal Studios and it was where all the fun and the bonding began. My next few blogs will be about our adventures during the trip. I will post more pictures:) If ever you are in Singapore, I really suggest Bunc Hostel. They have a facebook account. Check them out.

My Best Friend's Wedding

One of my closest friends got married last July 2011. It was one of the most memorable weddings I attended. It was simple, elegant ang meaningful. It was a garden wedding and the venue for the ceremony was also the venue for the reception. Things started a little late because of the rain. When it seems that the rain would not stop, they decided to proceed with the ceremony. The beautiful bride walked down the aisle with an umbrella as well as most of the entourage. The couple only invited their closest friends and the good thing about that is, even if it started late and it rained and supper was late, no one complained. In face, I think everybody just had fun and was excited these two hearts finally becoming one. Some of us were soaked as we took pictures under the rain. It was not a traditional wedding. For one, the motif was black and white. Both of them wore Tom's shoes. It was really cute. I loved their wedding. But most importantly, I am so happy that one of my best friends have already found her lifetime partner.

Movies and Lockers

The movies I liked to watch growing up usually revolved around teens coping up with school and the pressures of being accepted. Somehow, their life seem much more exciting compared to my usual routine of waking up, going to school, and going home. My life was so much simpler then. I remember watching those movies and wishing that my school had the same atmosphere as those in the big screen. I used to dream of having my own locker in school. It would have been so convenient. Back in high school, I carried around ten books and I had to bring it everyday. Life then would have been much easier if school lockers were provided.

Now that I am working, I am still wishing the same thing. How I wish our company provides lockers for work. It would be so nice to have a storage area wherein I can put my personal stuff like toiletries, utensils, and extra clothes. Sometimes, going back home to get some stuff takes so much time. Oh well, movies can really give us ideas.

Words that might help

I just want to share an article that I received from a friend. Whatever we are going through, just believe that God is bigger than anything else. Waking up in the middle of the night because of some events in our lives is not good. Once again, I have been reminded that worrying gets us nowhere. So I hope this article can somehow help uplift whatever mood we are in.

Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble,

but it is a "steering wheel" that directs the right path throughout.

Do you know why a Car's WINDSHIELD is so large & the Rearview Mirror is so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our

FUTURE. Look Ahead and Move on.

Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn, but it

takes years to write.

All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it, they

will not last forever. If going wrong, don't worry, they can't last

long either.

Old Friends are Gold! New Friends are Diamond! If you get a

Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you

always need a Base of Gold!

Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from

above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!

When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities;

when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.

A blind person asked Swami Vivekanand: "Can there be anything

worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision!"

When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them,

and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone

has prayed for you.

WORRYING does not take away tomorrows' TROUBLES, it takes away

todays' PEACE.

Eat All you Can

Pounds Pounds Go Away and Never Come Back!!! How many of us feel the same way. I remember the movie "Defending Your Life" being starred by Meryl Streep and Alber Brooks. I think I was still in elementary when I saw this movie. I am sure the movie gives a lot of insight about life and death. The characters of Streep and Brooks both die and they go to a place wherein they will be judged if they move forward or sent back home. The place seems like our world and the judging is similar to a courtroom and lawyers are there to defend you.

However, having seen it at such a young age, the thing that most struck me was the food. In that place, you can eat everything you can and never gain a single pound. Another amazing thing for me is the food. They all look so delicious and as a child, I envisioned heaven to be the same way.

How I wish that in our world, we could just eat anything and maintain our figures:)