Collection of Tickets for An Important Event at The Float@Marina Bay

Two weeks ago, i had to visit the Float@Marina Bay for collection of a set of tickets for a very important national event. By this time, i presume some of you would have guessed what the event is.

But for other readers who may not be as informative, i am just going to keep this going (this is a blog, not an interactive social media platform that merely one picture is more than sufficient to describe what i have collected).

The collection centre was manned by only men - such a sexist organisation does exist in Singapore, despite efforts by the government to make sure that there is sexual equality. Still wondering what the event is? Take a look at the colour of the uniforms worn by the staff which is a very obvious indication.

Some people would not see any reason why i am so excited.

I am because i am a citizen of this tiny yet successful country and it is my honour to celebrate Singapore's Independence Day on 09 August 2012! Yes, i have won 4 tickets to the National Parade 2012! 


Yippppeeeeee!

Laguna Redang Island Resort Review @ Pulau Redang, Terengganu [Malaysia]

Now is the right time to give my personal review on the accommodation for my Redang trip made earlier this month; it would be a nice breather away from the recent snorkeling and food postings!

As mentioned in the Merang Jetty post, there was a ferry that would bring us straight to the resort. From memory, i think the journey took us around an hour and the weather, as shown on the picture, was fantastic.

Shortly after we disembarked at 10am, we were ushered to a briefing room. You heard me right - there was a briefing conducted to inform all newcomers on the do's and dont's! 

I guess this was related to the full board package that most visitors signed up for as it touched on things like mealtime hours, how to use the uniquely-shaped key, where are the snorkeling destinations, what you can do in your free time etc etc.

The resort is the second biggest (in term of number of rooms) along a congested stretch known as Pasir Panjang (not to be confused with the one in Singapore) and you can see from the above, the area it encompasses. 

This sign board would give you a rough gauge on the distance to other resorts from Laguna Redang. Pasir Panjang is the most happening stretch (according to the very informative www.redang.org) although i still find it pretty boring at night since i am not a booze / party person. 

Registration would take place in the main lobby and given how lazy most tourists can be, there were two trams on duty that will bring us there. 

Our room would only be available from 12 noon and this resulted in too much time on our hands! Time to explore the white, powdery beach and familiarize ourselves with the new surroundings! 

First up - the More More Tea Inn~! Check out my review here. 

A dangerous looking wooden pathway right beside the 'inn' piqued our interest.

It actually provided a dry walkway to the Redang Reef resort that would otherwise be separated (by water) from the rest of the resorts along Pasir Panjang. 

Green hills, clear turquoise blue water, white sandy beach - most of us would love to stay rooted on the elevated pathway and enjoy the bird's eye view if not for the glaring, merciless sun!

With the exception of safety for children and those who are allergic to salt water, i basically don't understand why people would swim in chlorinated water when there is an ocean right outside the resort. 

Known as the recreation centre, you can find pool tables, mahjong tables, a massage centre and a tiny food court that sells roti pratas and really nice smelling Ramly burgers! This is also the place for us to draw out life jackets and snorkeling masks. 

Love to hear professional singers belting out memorable songs while you drink a mug of beer and enjoy the beautiful ocean view? This beach bar would allow you to do just that!

Kids would love this floating structure called Float Island. I initially thought the use of this facility would be free and i am stupid to have made that assumption!

Like any profit oriented organisations, charges were imposed at RM30 for adults and RM20 for children. Thankfully i have no children; i bet Jerald would definitely pester my brother in law to pay for this.

Our room was finally ready after lunch! For my review on food in Laguna Redang, please click here. 

For two persons, i would say the room was bigger than what we expected and could easily house another two persons. The television was indeed a bit dated with bad reception but overall, it looked inviting. And comfortable. 

What i couldn't stand is that the mirror and wash basin were outside the bath room! It was a pain in the ass (not literally) for the two nights as i tend to brush and floss my teeth naked before having my shower. 

I paid for a garden view room and what appeared beyond the balcony was greenery alright even though it would be more appropriate to categorise it as forest or jungle! 

Nonetheless, despite the above, the service by the resort staff was fabulous and i did enjoy my 3 days, 2 nights stay at Laguna Redang island resort.

The lack of shopping (which was almost non-existent) honestly enabled us to rest and relax. This is what people always want from beach holidays. 

Don't we? 

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Location

The resort is located on the east coast of Pulau Redang and is known as a great place to catch sunrise. 

Additional Information

For more entries on Redang, please click

http://cavinteo.blogspot.sg/search/label/Travel_Redang

Petaling Street (茨廠街) and its Surrounding in the Morning @ Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur (吉隆坡) [Malaysia]

In many travel guides, Petaling street is often said to be THE place for counterfeit products with the focus on its night market. But, i would strongly recommend a visit in the morning when the street is cleared of any makeshift stalls.

It's an entirely different feel and given the lack of human traffic that is quite tormenting at night time, we can relax our pace and take in the sights of century old buildings.

Our first point of contact - the morning wet market.

For the younger generation in Singapore, this is a typical scene of the wet markets in Singapore approximately fifteen years ago! Back then, regulations on display of fresh meat were pretty lax and they were sold openly on the counter, exposing themselves to bacteria in the hot, humid weather.

Live chickens were also delivered to the market for slaughtering to ensure their freshness. It was a messy business and the raw smell of blood lingered in the air; definitely not for those with nasal sensitivity.

We reached too early that morning (around 8.45am) although some stalls were already open for business. I guess a good time to visit would be around 11am when many shops (not stalls) start their business operation.

Most importantly, my purpose that day was to get some breakfast! It's not a difficult task since the street has quite a number of stalls hawking food like deep fried sweet potato balls.

Plastic chairs and collapsible tables lined the street for this pretty famous stall with over seventy years of history that sells porridge and chee cheong fun. I had them a long time ago and thought they were good (and cheap) albeit not exceptional.

I would have loved to try the roast ducks (people were raving about them on the web) but the serving was too much for both Alex and I. We could not stomach half a duck (their minimum order) and it would be so wasteful! 

Tried a box of muah chee from the queen if muah chee. Check out my review here.

Unlike at night, the street is open for vehicles to weave in and out. So be very careful as the street is very narrow and the cars can get very close.

All the power points outside the shops were there for a structural reason; power for the makeshift stalls that cluttered the street at night.

The existence of a flea market caught me by surprise as i didn't remember it in my last visit to Petaling street which was over two years ago.

A temple that worships the Chinese God of War; Guan Yu.

Stone lion outside the temple's entrance with a slip that asked worshipers not to place any incense sticks in the lion's mouth, which is a common practice.

The major renovation in 2003 saw the installation of a green roof stretching the entire touristy section of Petaling street. The wavering design of the roof has given it a well deserved, cultural title: the green dragon.

Despite the period being Malaysia's school holiday, i saw a group of students taking paper and pencil to draw out the heritage essence of Petaling street.

Delivery man making his rounds. From the look of the boxes, they were destined for the fruit stalls.

Bouquets of beautiful flowers for sale! Compared to Singapore's pricing, they were a steal starting from as low as RM5 for the ones on the bottom left of the picture.

Unknown to many tourists, KL Chinatown has a number of shops (some as high as four storeys) providing wholesale pricing for lady accessories, bags and gifts.

However, the wholesale price would only be given if you buy more than ten of the same item. This might be a deterrant although you might wish to note that most of the time, the wholesale price is more than fifty percent off the original!

For a miser like me, it is the main reason why i always visit Petaling street in the morning.