*GRZC*: SINGAPORE ROCKS!! (Warning: This Post is UBER Long!)

Our Singapore Holy Week trip to celebrate Dad (Lolo Johnny) and Mom's (Lola Luz) 45th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY was an absolute blast!!

We had so much fun!!

And took so many pictures and video!

Around 380 pics!!!! Hehehehehehehehe!!

So Lez Begin!!

It was Cara's first time to ride an airplane.

And it was Cara Car's first time to sleep on an airplane...

Scary plane noises and weird ear pressure thingies during landings??

No problemo for Da Cara Girl!!

After 4 fun-filled hours.....

WELCOME TO SINGAPORE - Zackster and Cara-ring!!

We got in to Changi Airport at around 6pm.

Then off we went to the Stamford Swissotel to meet up with the other Castillo's who had gone ahead on an earlier flight.

The drive to the city was so amazing.

There were so many trees!!

I was expecting the usual urban sprawl a' la Hong Kong.

But it was totally the opposite.

Now I know why they call Singapore - The Garden City.

And yes.

It was all carefully planned!!

Unreal.

We were able to secure a crib from the Stamford for Cara before we came over from the P.I.

And what a crib it was!!

Is that Stainless Steel??

The hotel was so cool.

And the room we got was pretty big.

But most cool of all was that the Stamford was attached to the Raffles City Mall!!

Which is more or less like, the Shangri-la (Philippines) Plaza of Singapore.

That meant that we just had to take our elevator to the 3rd floor and walk out into the mall!!

The 3rd floor had an awesome foodcourt where you could get budget meals.

And if that didn't suit your stomach, you could just go down to the mall basement which housed a Burger King, MOS Burger (Singapore's Jollibee) and a kick-ass Supermarket!

Talk about super-convenience!!

Especially for a growing family of 4. :)

Once we got to the hotel, we met up with The Castillo's for a quick bite at the Raffles Foodcourt:

Talkin' 'bout Cheap Meals...

We had a FREE HOTEL BREAKFAST everyday!!

(Thanks to our superb Air/Hotel travel package!)

YEP!!.....FREE BREAKFAST everyday!!

Dang!!

It was probably too much of a good thing as Cara got carried away and started chompin' down on Singapore!!!

Sheesh...... :)

Check out our Uber-cool Hotel room balcony view of Suntec City Shopping Mall, Singapore Convention Center, The Singapore War Memorial and the Esplanade. (Click to enlarge.)

Don't have no panoramic lens.

So 4 shots and Photoshop should do .... :)

Our first adventure for the day was Singapore Zoo.

The weather wasn't exactly cooperating.

So Cara did a little "Macgyver" to remedy the situation.

Whattacutie!!!! :)

Rosabel was absolutely on target with her Weather Forecast update before we left:

"60% chance of Precipitation".

So through the rain and the muggy heat, we ventured into the beautiful Singapore Zoo to check out the awesome animals and scenery.

Check out all the AMAZIN' CREATURES!! (Click to enlarge.)

Ngyek.

The Orangutans were walking all over the place.

With trainers mindya.

And they had real cool enclosures.

One of the enclosures was actually hanging over the Zoo pathway.

To get there, the Orangutans would scale a high tree and cross a rope to the enclosure.

And while crossin' - Mr. Orangutan took out his revenge on those damn Zoo Tourists...

Yoiks! I thought it stopped raining????

After a quick bite, it was off to the "Private Tour Bus" hosted by the Sassy Singaporean Jackie Neo.

The Sassy Jackie who would regale us with quick and interesting Singaporean facts and figures.

Such as...

1) How he purchased his apartment via a downpayment of SING$10,000.
2) How he had an infected wisdom tooth that he had pulled out.
3) How he prefers using the word "Sex" instead of "Cheese" when taking pics.

Hahahahaha!

The guy was ok though.

Send him an email if you're ever in Singapore and want to experience his superior skillz firsthand. :)

Our first tour stop was the famous MERLION.

That's our hotel in the background...

All 70 Floors of it!!

Awwww... how sweet....

The Zachster with his best friend/cousin Raffy.

Here are the other sites we checked out during the "Fun Bus Tour".

From Top Left moving Clockwise:
a) Cara and the KOI Pond atop Mt. Faber,
b) The Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple situated in Chinatown??? (Long story),
c) The Downtown Commercial District Buildings and the Singapore River where it all began,
d) The National Flower Of Singapore - The Vanda Miss Joaquim,
e) Posin' at the National Orchid Garden,
f) This is as close as we got to Little India. :)

Man....did that freakin' KOI jump out of the Pond when I took this shot?

You tell me.

Yeppers Dad!! This tour is absolute...

And finally, what better way to cap the great day then with a night trip to the TOYS R' US at Suntec City Mall!!!!

Here's Zachy with the Santamaria's and his Golden HAUL!!
Woohoo!!

We woke up the next day for some serious....

Here's Lola Luz and Lolo Johnny with the kiddies!

Of course, ya gotta hit ye olde UNDERWATER WORLD while at Sentosa Island.

It's smaller than the Ocean Park Aquarium (Hong Kong) and/or the Vancouver Aquarium where Mako used to work.

Although it was lacking in size, it was definitely not lacking in character

The definite highlights were :

1. The Giant Sea Turtles!!

Man, those turtles blew my mind.

I can't remember when was the last time I saw giant sea turtles live.

It's so awe-inspiring knowing how old they must be - considering their hugeness.

And there were like 5 of them too!

2. The Giant Crabsticks!! Ahhh ... este .. The Giant Japanese Spider Crabs!!

The Crab above is the rebuilt exoskeleton of a crab that molted sometime ago.

Click here for more info on dem crabbies.

They had several live ones in the tanks.

Yum!! Good eats!! Hehehehehehehe!!

3. The Underwater Walkalator

The Walkalator is definitely the main attraction in Underwater World.

And it does not disappoint!

It was so amazing.

It was like being underwater.

Like DUH!!!!!!!!

The round-trip on the walkator takes around 10 Minutes.

You can step off anytime you want and take a closer look at some fishies.

Jez' like the fishy on the lower right of the pic above (click to enlarge) with the "infected" or "chewed-on" eye!!

We ended up goin' around like twice.

After Underwater World, we took a bus to the Dolphin Show at one of the adjoining beaches.

In case ya didn't know, the main way to get around Sentosa is by Bus. (For us Touristy-types)

Of course, as the day progressed, the number of tourists on the island super-increased.

Causing some serious "Sardine-Bus Situations."

Finally, Rosabel and Zachy decided that they had enough....

Tsk tsk!! Jaywalking in Singapore?

Good thing we weren't caned! :)

We also checked out the other Sentosa Attractions like the True Merlion, the Sky Tower, the Luge etc.

But from a distance only.

Riding those "sardine buses" was getting irritating.

Furthermore, rain-clouds were beginning to form overhead.

So we decided that it was time for us to leave the Sentosa fun.

Our timing was impeccable, as it started to rain cats and dogs the moment we got back to the Stamford.

After a much-needed Family Siesta, we decided to stroll around the Raffles Mall before dinner to look for a pair of jeans for moi.

It's absolutely impossible for me to buy a pair of jeans in Manila.

Considering that I'm 6' 4" and all the jeans they sell in Manila usually go around to an inseam length of 32 inches only.

But lo and behold, after just ONE try at the Levi's Store in Raffles City.

I got my 38 (sob..) x 34 Levi's 501's!!!

Hip hip Hooray!!!!! Thanks for the gift Family Cui!!

And now for Day 4 in Singapore!

What better way to start the day than with a......

SINGAPORE RIVER BOAT CRUISE!!!

The river is where it all began for Singapore.

"The Singapore River was the lifeline of Singapore where it's first immigrants eked out a meagre living and saw Singapore transform from an obscure little fishing village to a great seaport." - New Asia Singapore.com

Furthermore, the river's a real great place to take postcard-type pics!!

Here's a smorgasboard of samples (Click to enlarge):

From Top Left moving Clockwise:
a) The Ministy of Information, Communications and the Arts Building - check out the cool window shutters!
b) The Singapore Skyscrapers and the Merlion
c) The Singapore Skyscrapers
d) The Merlion, The Stamford Swissotel (Our Hotel) and The Esplanade
e) The Merlion and The Stamford Swissotel
f) Clarke Quay

Here's my favorite one though.... :)

That'll be SING$ 5.00 for a a copy please!

Sir Stamford Raffles had his own views though..

Alrighty then................

Anywayz, after a short hop on Singapore's lovely MRT, we got back to the hotel to get ready for Mom and Dad's 45th Wedding Anniversary Luncheon.

Here are some formal family pictures we took before headin' up to the Jaan Restaurant on the 70th Floor of the Stamford to celebrate.

Note: The theme color for the Wedding Anni is Green aight? :) (Rosabel: "It's the color of the year!!)

Da Cui's

Da Castillo's

And here's the view from the 70th Floor.....

I-SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!!

Notice the Merlion on the bottom left of the pic? :) (Click to enlarge)

Lunch was super-sarap!!

We even had eat-all-you-can Foie Gras!

Which is kinda gross and is even being considered to be banned for sale & consumption in California by 2012.

Oh well ..... twas' pretty tasty. :)

After another much needed Family Siesta, we checked out the Raffles Hotel next door.

The Raffles Hotel is one of the most expensive and luxurious Hotels in Singapore.

It goes up to USD$ 700 per night. Phew!!!!

But it also has the most history and character among all the hotels in Singapore.

Just stepping into their lobby makes you feel like you've stepped into a time machine and transported yourself back into the early 1900's!

Naks, a' la "Somewhere in Time" .... hehehehehe!!

Oh yeah ... the Singapore Sling was invented here....

Ho-hum.... give me a San Mig Light anyday!!

Check out the Old School Gravel Driveway!!

Zachy's in the stroller coz' he was starting to get tired from all d' roamin' around. Hehehehehe!

But he sure wasn't tired for.....

THE NIGHT SAFARI!!!!

The Night Safari is an absolute "must-go" if you're ever in Singapore.

There's just something so different when checking out a zoo at night..

It's more eerie, more mysterious, the animals are more frantic, and..........

It's frickin way dark and scary!!!

Dude, we were so right not to bring Cara and her stroller.

(Rosabel and Cara enjoyed some Mother-Daughter Bonding Time in the Hotel. :))

It would have been an absolute mess.

Especially since we chose to use the pathways instead of the trams. (We didn't want to spend extra....hehehehehe!)

How dark was it?

Well, can you see the Giraffes and Zebras here?

Uuuuhhh.....Sorry.. it flashed automatically (No Flash Photography is allowed in the Night Safari) ... but ya still can't see a thing!!

Anyway, was able to shoot a lot of video coz' my camcorder had an Infrared Nightshot Function.

We got some nice footage of the Tiger chowin' down on some meat thrown by the trainers from above in one of the enclosures.

Was so proud of Zachy as he walked most of the trail.

It got pretty scary in some spots as the trail was really dark, winding and slippery.

But Zachy just kept on truckin'!!

(There are a few Zoo "People" strategically placed along the way to prevent people from falling into a crocodile pit. Emphasis on the word - "a few" pleez)

Nice one Boyo!!

Phew!! What an adventure!!!

Easter Sunday was our last full day in Singapore before headin' home.

We had Easter Mass at the Good Shepherd Cathedral, passed through CHIJMES, had lunch at the Raffles City Mall and bought a whole lot of cool stuff at IKEA.

Then in the afternoon, we decided to hit the place where - as Rosabel said -"where REAL Singaporeans shop".

Don't ask me what she meant by a "REAL" Singaporean. Just put it this way:

"Where REAL Singaporeans Shop?" (Singapore) = "Where's the nearest SM?" (Philippines)

Anyway, we figured that Plaza Singapura would be our best bet - as per the recommendation of one of our numerous taxi drivers.

***
Warning!!!

Weird Side Story

I just have to mention that Rosabel makes a kick-ass Chicken Curry and that there are many people of East Indian descent in Singapore. (Duh! Little India! Heller??)

I swear one of our East Indian or Sri Lankan cab drivers smelled so Curry-Good.

Just like Rose's Chicken Curry.

I just wanted to eat the guy.

He was pretty plump too! Yum........
***

And so, we found our little SM in Plaza Singapura -- Carrefour!! (Rose bought 3 nice Novels here at a steal!! One of her best buys for the trip.)

Rosabel's Lenten Sacrifice was chocolate.

It was a super hard sacrifice for Rosabel coz' Chocolate is her ultimate comfort food.

For 40 days and 40 nights, she resisted the charms and temptations of that super sweet delight.

Until Easter Sunday…

HAPPY EASTER ROSE!!!!

A picture(s) is worth a thousand chocolates.
Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream sponsored by Swensen’s!

The rest of the evening was spent just hangin’ around the hotel room, packin’ our suitcases and taking loads of family pictures…