Make time for people who make you feel extra special.

Jewel Changi Airport

A few months back, my mum managed to get the preview tickets for Jewel Changi! Even though we went there before the official opening, it was still so crowded T.T This is what happened when Singapore is too small... Thankfully the shopping complex is quite huge, so even though the entire world is at Jewel Changi, it doesn't feel like overcrowded/suffocating :D

The centrepiece of the Jewel Changi is this Rain Vortex, the world's tallest indoor waterfall standing at 40 metres high. It is surrounded by a terraced forest setting, which is somewhat a first in Singapore.

The first stop we hurriedly headed towards is the 'Shake Shack', an American fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. I tried it once in Seoul, and the taste was unforgettable. Hahaha, unfortunately the fast food restaurant was closed on the day of my visit for one of their internal events. Zzz, wasted. Fast forward till today, I still have yet to try the Shack Shack in Singapore because Changi Airport is #toofar for me. Hahaha :/

There are plenty of dining options at Jewel Changi, but how is it that all of them have long queues?! We ended up at Song Fa Bak Kut Teh, because it was the shortest queue we spotted in the sea of people. Hahaha, we ordered a table full of food and it was great!

And of course, if you know me well enough, I need my daily coffee fix! Decided to give Huggs Coffee a try because it was highly recommended by many Singaporeans online. They do offer diverse coffee and beverage varieties, ranging from espresso coffees to traditional coffees and teas. I love the latte art especially, it is so cute?!

It has been a long wait, and this well-known Taiwanese bubble tea chain founded in Taichung, Taiwan, has finally opened its first store in Singapore! A word of caution: the wait time is around 40 minutes to an hour please.

Did a bit of research before making my orders, and reviews showed that the Brown Sugar Deerioca Fresh Milk (the signature drink of The Alley) is a must-order! Made with Japanese grade fresh milk, the drink comes with brown sugar tapioca pearls that are ever so delicate and chewy! Also another all-time favourite drink on the menu is the Matcha Brown Sugar Deerioca Fresh Milk - basically the same ingredients with the added matcha taste.

With a stomach full of good delicacies, we decided to further explore the shopping complex. Part of the attractions includes an indoor garden, Forest Valley. At the topmost level of Jewel Changi, there is also a Canopy Park which features more leisure facilities and gardens, namely the Topiary Walk and Petal Garden. They showcase animal-shaped topiaries and seasonal floral displays respectively. There is also a suspension bridge called the Canopy Bridge which offers a paranomic view of the iconic waterfall. 

Something that caught my eyes was the Canopy Mazes. The Hedge Maze is Singapore's largest maze with hedge walls, it is a similar concept to the maze that is popularised in Korea! Kpop drama fans, you should be able to relate to this (: On the other hand, the Mirror Maze makes use of mirrors and various reflections which were made to confuse you purposely LOL.

For the youngsters and families with children, there are also the Discovery Slides to entertain them. The two tube slides and two sliding surface slides enable visitors to view the Forest Valley and Rain Vortex at a birdeye's view. Another interesting activity is the Sky Nets, where children can play on the bouncing and walking nets respectively.

After queuing for 1.5 hours, we finally got ourselves seats at A&W. I swear the queue was insane, even though I thought I was smart enough to start queuing early. T.T Guess that everyone else has the same thought as me hmm... Honestly, I feel that their food is not very impressive? Definitely not worth the long wait!

Found a nice backdrop to take my instaworthy photo hahaha! There is also a light show at night. The circular walls of the waterfall will become a 360 degree stage for the 10 minute show, and it was breathtaking!

I was quite impressed overall with Jewel Changi, it is a nature-themed entertainment and retail complex. The mall is really gigantic, spanning 10 storeys in total. It houses a hotel and over 300 retail and dining facilities. Would highly recommend visiting Jewel Changi if you haven't been there yet!

I smile because I have survived
everything the world has thrown at me.
I smile because when I was knocked down,
I got back up.

They say look out the window to find happiness but all I need to do is look at you.

If I can tell Santa what to give you, it would be happiness and peace, not just this Christmas, but for the entire year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! :D

Christmas Wonderland

- Gardens by the Bay -

(Admission Tickets)

Guess which two idiots did not buy tickets online in time, then we ended up having to pay extra $2 each to buy tickets on site. They didn't even let us keep the physical tickets for souvenir purpose!!

(Lights dancing in the sky)

There were many people, but thankfully it was not very crowded. Perhaps it was because we went on a weekday night. The main attraction - the Luminarie light structure - was quite disappointing, because they put this mirror maze thing in it which just ruined the entire structure. T.T

(But we managed to snap a nice photo with Santa)

I think this was the main highlight of our visit hahahaha! The queue into the Santa's Grotto was quite short, and there were some other magnificent structures in the room! We were taking photos halfway when a cute little girl just wiggled her way into our photo. Damn cute, we took a selfie together in the end. I love kids! :D

(Picturesque)

'twas a great night :D Thanks JH for accompanying me. Hope everyone had a great Christmas too!

Life is a drink and love is a drug.
Oh, now I think I must be miles up.
When I was a river dried up,
You came to rain a flood.

Strangers can become best friends just as quickly as best friends can become strangers.

I have been keeping myself busy these days with an internship, so all's good! :D Feeling so blessed because I felt that my life is going back on track. We will take things slowly and hopefully everything will work out in the end!~ Let's hope that 2019 will be a better year!

Anyways, there have been many drama going on in my school department these days, and I just hope that everything will die down soon. As much as I don't have a great sense of belonging to school, I still hope that my school's reputation won't be tarnished x.x

(Genki Sushi)

Throwback to the last day of school.

After my NM4102 presentation which I think we did well, Vivian Phang and I headed to Genki Sushi for a celebratory meal. Hehes, we ordered everything salmon and it was all so good! I missed their Mentaiko salmon! :D If there’s something that I would thank CNM for, it is for connecting me to my old pal again. We were secondary school mates who lost contact ever since we went our separate ways in JC, but we met again coincidentally in University because we were doing the same major. For this, I’m grateful! Really.

(Train Selfie)

So after the meal, I went to find JJ and we ended up at Singapore’s oldest reservoir, the MacRitchie Reservoir. As you can see from the photo above, wearing a skirt and wedges, someone is obviously in the wrong outfit for hiking. T.T

(The skies are blue!)

(View from the Tree Top Walk)

(And the best thing is, there wasn't anyone here)

It felt great to breathe in fresh air, and it was a great exercise considering that it had been quite some time since I last hiked! One thing to be thankful for, is the minimal sunlight LOL! I really cannot stand the afternoon sun x.x However, it rained the day before, so the ground is a little muddy...

Also, I said goodbye to my favourite wedges which I bought all the way from Korea. It survived the 3h long hike, but it died the moment I reached home x.x Sighs.

Find someone who wants to
invest in you, learn from you,
see you win, support your vision
and fall in love with you daily.

Don't let yesterday use up too much of today.

Happy belated birthday to my bestie for the past six years, Amanda Seah!

(Twenty-two year olds with a child-like mind)

My birthday wish for you is that I hope you never stop enjoying the small things in life, because that's what makes life worth living. I hope that you take some time to enjoy the present while working for a better future. And I hope your year will be full of memories, happiness and adventure. I will always be supporting you~

(Ticket to the amusement park)

Throwback to the time spent at Universal Studios Singapore (USS)! It has been ten million years since I visited the place, because the tickets are #expensive

(When can I ever enjoy life like this zebra?)

(Did I mention that one of my favourite animals is the lion?)

Firstly, we took some lazy train to see these cute animals from the Madagascar cartoon! We went up thinking that it would be some exciting ride, but it turned out to be those chill, family-friendly ride. Hahaha! Okay luh, not bad for the first ride of the day!

(Lookalike?!)

(Me and my best friend, Mr Zebra)

We continued the lazy rides, and this time we got on the Carousel! There are many animals to choose from, but Manda and I just run towards the bigger animals LOL. #fightthekids #snatchwiththem

(The Ferris Wheel that we took eternity to find)

As we suck at reading maps, we wanted to identify a landmark to find our exact location. According to the USS map, there is a ferris wheel at the place that we were standing that time. However, we were not able to spot it. In the end, we chanced upon it when we headed to one souvenir shop. It turned out to be some mini kiddy ride. Like whut?! We were expecting some big ass 10m tall ferris wheel T.T

(Just realized we were decked in black and white)

At the end of the day, we tried all the rides except for the scary Battlestar Galactica: Human vs. Cylon. We still cannot bring ourselves to ride these omg. T.T On a side note, we spent $14 each for lunch at USS. It was super expensive and the quality does not meet its price?! Maybe next time y'guys can consider packing your own food there to save on some costs, or have a picnic there! :D

(Further proof that it is not worth $14)

(Back to our childhood)

Thank you bestie for the amazing day! There are friends and then there are best friends, once again happy birthday to the best friend that I could have ever asked for!

美人鱼的眼泪
是一个连伤心都
透明的世界

Lost inside your kiss.

JJ 林俊杰 2018 Concert

(Ripped from Yahoo Style)

Throw back to August when we finally get to see JJ! Amanda and I were super excited when the singer JJ Lin announced that he will be opening concerts at various parts of Asia. He has been one of my favourite singers since my primary school days, and I remain his fan until now!

(Squeezing in time for a photo before the crowds stream in)

(Here's a photo with my mum and sister)

It was super tedious trying to queue for the ticket. Even though we have priority with our StarHub account and AMEX card, the ticketing website hanged on us many times, and we missed the opportunity to purchase the tickets. In the end, we decided to jostle with the other people at the post office on the last few days of ticket sales.

I was super thankful to Amanda because she managed to get tickets for the both of us, as well as my mother and sister! Here’s why I always tell her that staying in Sembawang is good. The place is ulu, which makes it easier to get tickets too! LOL, nobody managed to buy tickets from the CCK post office branch. T.T Not even the guy who was first in line.

(This is how close we were to him)

Initially we thought that we would end up with bad seats because our view was supposedly to be “blocked”. However, surprisingly we were quite close to him :D Feeling so blessed.

(Ripped from 8days)

(Ripped from 8days)

I'm not someone who will splurge on concert tickets. Come'on, they are so pricey?! However, since he was my childhood idol, that inner self in me was screaming to get my hands on those tickets. Expensive price to pay but the experience was worth it! His live singing was really fantastic, no wonder he was often dubbed "行走的 CD".

(Lightsticks)

Also, they gave out light sticks at the entrance of the Singapore Indoor Stadium! We were able to bring them home. I just tried it awhile back, and the light stick can still be lighted up. :D Thanks JJ for that great experience - I was very high throughout!

Sometimes it's so hard to believe
When the nights can be so long
And faith gave me the strength
And kept me holding on.

With midnight closing in, you take my hand as our shadows dance, with moonlight on your skin.

Mid Autumn Festival

Marking the end of the autumn harvest, the festival was traditionally held to give thanks to the gods. It is also the time of the year when the moon is at its brightest. The folktale has it that Chang'E drank the elixir of immortality in order to save her people from her husband, a merciless king. She then ascended to the moon, and ever since people has been worshipping her as a Moon Goddess.

(Sunset at Hort Park)

Met JH at Queenstown MRT before heading to Hort Park together. We timed ourselves so as to reach our destination at the right timing to see the sunset! Breathtaking, hehes. We saw a couple taking their wedding shots there as well. Damn sweet of them!

(Hiking in the midst)

(Henderson Waves Bridge)

Reached Henderson Waves Bridge after ~45 minutes of hiking. It was a nice feeling with the breeze caressing my face. We stopped there for quite some time, taking in the view. It was super therapeutic!

(The nicest toilet in Singapore)

(Reflection)

We continued hiking and finally reached Mount Faber, the place in Singapore which has the nicest washrooms! They were fully glass enclosed, so we get to see panoramic views of the Mount Faber hill. Unfortunately, it was dark when we reached so the view wasn't that fantastic. I recalled that we were able to spot cable cars in the day the last time I went!

(Iced Teh Cino)

Hiked down the Mount Faber hill in the dark, thankfully I have a iPhone with super bright flashlight to save us LOL. There were no bus services because it was a weekday, and the worst thing was that there wasn't any street lights either. Halp. Hehes, thanks JH for being such a great navigator and that we managed to walk out alive hahahaha!

We walked out from the exit facing Vivo City, and had dinner at a hawker center beside Vivo City. I finally get to eat my Char Kway Teow and carrot cake! I cried tears of happiness when I found that there was a drink stall which sells my favourite iced teh cino! It was horrible ever since NUS UTown changed food court vendor, and they no longer sell iced teh cino T.T

(Disney Tsum Tsum Lantern Installations)

Since we were already at Vivo City, we decided to drop by the 'Disney Tsum Tsum Mid-Autumn Celebration of Love campaign' (aka lantern installations) located at the rooftop level of the mall. It was quite crowded, but was quite worth it because the lantern installations was a sight to behold. They have many Tsum Tsum themed lanterns lighting up the night sky (and many kids as well)!

You could offer me the sun and the moon,
and I would still believe that
you gave me everything
when you gave your heart to me.

But here we are jumping in without no safety net. And I don't know what ropes would break this fall.

Warning: This is a super throwback post. LOL!

AJC x SRJC Open House

(I love these lighted up blocks!)

Backstory: Anderson Junior College has merged with Serangoon Junior College recently. As a alumna, I am not very keen on the merger but ohwell, at least my school compound is still around. x.x It was super crowded during the open house, and they ran out of goodie bags so I only managed to get two packets of biscuits omg.

(Loving the lights)

I cannot remember the theme of the open house, but I love it overall! There are so many pretty lights everywhere, and this was the first time that I actually thought that the school looked decent LOL (y'know how it usually looked damn old and historic, and like everything is going to fall apart anytime T.T).

(Pavilion with blinking lights)

It is so instaworthy hahaha! Everyone is just taking photos of themselves non-stop, but I have to admit that the sight was really breathtaking. The lights were blinking, and it just felt very magical hehehes! :D

(The Choir's booth)

I think the white performing costume that they hanged there looked so ghostly?! Anyways, I cannot find the Chinese Orchestra booth LOL, not sure if it's just me but it indeed was very crowded and I lost my patience finding hahahaha!

(Pathway leading to the field)

After walking around aimlessly, it was time for some performance, and we were shoo-ed towards the field/stage area. I got a shock of my life, I didn't believe that this was AJC. LOL!! My school really changed a lot after the merger huh!

(Real-life concert)

The performances were great! The performers wore bright neon shirts; they sang popular songs and dance to Kpop music. It was drizzling, but it didn't dampen the mood. Everyone just sang along, and we were so high! For a moment, I forgot that this was my school's open house, because it really felt like I'm attending some pop star concert! Great job, kudos to them!

(All 'dem changing lights)

My parents complained that it made them dizzy hahahaha! I think it's because of the rain, the loud music, the crowd and that we stood for quite some time already.

(Lights, lights everywhere!)

We used to walk along the street
When the porch lights were shining bright
Before I had somewhere to be
Back when we had all night
And we were happy