Singapore Part Two: Theatre, Elephant Rides And A Bit More Shopping

Picking up form where I left off with my Singapore Part 1 post, I'm just going to dive right into it and tell you all about my second and final amazing week on holiday. So here we go.

Fresh back from sunny Indonesia, we decided to throw ourselves right back into the active lifestyle of Singapore with a day trip to Singapore Zoo. I love visits to the zoo. It's one of my absolute favourite things to do. In fact, at one point in life, I was adamant that my dream job would be as a zoo keeper. It didn't work out, but I still adore visiting. To be in a warm and sunny country, surrounded by a huge variety of tropical and amazing animals was just a dream. And it was here that I experienced the highlight of my trip. When we were in Bintan, I got hugely excited by the fact that the hotel offered elephant rides, and struggled to hide my disappointment when I was told that you needed to book at least a day in advance, and the that elephants didn't ride on Sundays. Saddened by the lost opportunity, I told myself that it was OK, it was just a sign that I'd have to return someday to enjoy this experience and all of the other wonderful adventures the resort had to offer. It turns out that I needn't have been so disappointed after all, as when I opened up the Zoo map, there it was! Elephant riding!! It might not seem that exciting to those of you that live in places like Asia, where the opportunity probably presents itself all the time (I mean, you only have to go to your local zoo!), but for me it was absolutely amazing and by far the most memorable part of my trip. The elephants were so playful, so intelligent and so beautiful! I'd never really considered how magnificent they were before, but I think they are definitely one of the most amazing animals I have ever had the pleasure of being so close to, and the trip has sparked in me a desire to learn so much more about the majestic creatures. It makes me grin just writing about the experience, it was so wonderful!

Me on a frickin' elephant! Ahh!

The cutest little meerkat you ever did see!

The following day was equally action packed. I think by this point we were aware of the end of the trip, making us determined to cram in as much as humanly possible. We journeyed over to the island of Sentosa, which is about a 5 minute monorail ride away from the Singapore coastline, and spent a fun filled day at Universal Studios. Lacking a Wizarding World of Harry Potter, this place has nothing on Orlando, although I'm kind of glad for that as I feel as though it would have taken away from the magical experience of my previous year's trip to Florida if it had been at all comparable. Despite that, this theme park is amazing in it's own way. It features some of the same attractions as it's Western counterpart, The Mummy roller coaster being a particular favourite of mine, but it also has some new elements including an entire area dedicated to Shrek, as well as a Madagascar section and a Sci-Fi City featuring a rather exciting 4D Transformers ride. It was such a fantastic day, that really made me happily nostalgic for last year's holiday (I spent a week and a half at Universal Studios Resort, Orlando, and then a week and a half visiting my aunt in Miami). 

Wednesday took us to the relatively new Gardens by the Bay. If I'm honest, I preferred the Botanic Gardens, which were free, and absolutely breath taking, but the Gardens by the Bay had their own charm. Something I found particularly interesting, and kind of weird, is that the main attractions of the Bay are two large, domed, greenhouses that are home to plants from all around the world. Now, to me, greenhouses are supposed to get hot to help the plants grow, but here, they are made colder than the outside climate in order to house exotic displays like the English country garden! Ha! I cannot tell you how odd it felt to be standing amidst rose bushes and the like, thinking about how similar it is to your own back garden, with a load of Asian people ogling at how interesting and different all of the flowers are! It's so odd to consider that what is normal, almost boring to some, is fascinating and new to others! The gardens also had these really interesting structures called the Skywalk, which looked like some kind of futuristic forest. It was really nice to be able to see the surrounding bay from atop these quirky structures.

On Wednesday evening, we went back to Sentosa, this time taking the scenic Cable Car over to the island. We got popcorn and drinks for the journey, and it was fantastic to get a birds eye view of the place. Once we arrived, we went luging, which was a really fun go kart thing, down to the seafront and had dinner on the beach. The restaurant was beautiful, the food delicious, and it was such a relaxing and enjoyable evening. I wish I could do it every night!

They had one of those cool weather signs haha!

On Thursday, I took myself on another lone shopping trip, but during the evening, I was very much in my element, as we were taken the see The Phantom of the Opera. Dressed to the nines, we head out to a cute little restaurant called Au Chocolat, which featured, you guessed it, chocolate, in all it's food. I was desperate to try out one of their many beautiful desserts, but the meals were kind of huge (see my brother's beast of a burger), and I thought it unwise, considering the impending theatre trip. Phantom was on at the Mastercard theatre, which is inside the Marina Bay Sands shopping centre. Shopping and theatre in the same building - bliss. A huge fan of everything musical theatre, it had never really been high on my must watch list, but I absolutely loved it! The music, the costumes, the story - everything was just perfect, and it was a fantastic evening out.

The Beastburger

Friday was another day for shopping. First of all, me and my Mum (not really a guys day out) went to a place called Bugis Street, which was recommended to me, and described as a bigger, better version of Chinatown. A large sheltered square littered with all kinds of market stalls, it was all a bit to claustrophobic and crowded for my liking, so we didn't stay long and decided to go and see what else Singapore had to offer. So we picked a direction and took a leisurely stroll which landed us on Arab Street, followed by Haji Lane. Now these were more my kind of places. Lined with cute little boutiques, brimming with beautiful handmade jewellery and sweet little trinkets, we whiled away the afternoon exploring all the fantastic little corners of these roads.

After a lovely days shopping, we went for dinner at the Singapore Cricket Club, and then went out for drinks at a bar called One Altitude, which perches on top of One Raffles Place and is the worlds highest outside bar. 64 floors up, the drinks are good, but the views are breathtaking. You feel like you're on top of the world, and we had the best time pointing out all of the places we had visited over the past two weeks. I  had never been to a rooftop club before, England not exactly offering the best climate for it, and I only wish that my friends had been there to enjoy it with me - they would have all loved it! Oh well, I'll just have to go back there with them, won't I?

My camera's crappy attempt at night photography

On Saturday, we spent the morning taking in the history of Singapore at the Asian Civilisations Museum. As an Ancient History graduate, I absolutely love this kind of thing, but admittedly it isn't for everyone. We then took a river cruise, and were able to get another wonderful view of the bay from the water. As we were heading home the following evening, and the boys wanted to watch the Grand Prix (yawn), we decided not to go out for the evening, instead opting for a tasty barbecue on the terrace. It was delicious, and reminded me so much of my childhood, as it was kind of traditional to have as many barbecues as possible whilst we were on holiday. The perfect end to the perfect trip. 

On our final day, I zipped out for the last of many trips to Sephora, before heading back to the apartment for another afternoon at the Botanic Gardens. There, we had a fancy lunch in the centre of the Gardens, where I had a Caesar Salad in a bowl that I could have feasibly worn as a helmet. Delicious, but huge. After a leisurely afternoon, wandering around to the places we didn't have the time to explore during our first venture, we went back to the apartment to pack and drove to the airport. I was so sad to go, but I'm sure I haven't seen the last of this magnificent island.

There is still so much that I want to do in Singapore, and I will most definitely be venturing back there, hopefully sooner rather than later. I had no idea how much I would fall in love with the beautiful city island, but it is safe to say that those two weeks were two of the best in my life. If you are ever given the opportunity to visit Singapore, grasp it with both hands! I promise, you'll have the time of your life.

Are you considering visiting Singapore? What would you be most excited to do there? Let me know!

S.

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Singapore Spree: Sephora Haul

Due to some kind of colossal oversight, there are no Sephora's in England. Tragic but true. So, whenever I go on holiday, I make a point of seeking out the mothership and going a little crazy with my credit card. Some might call it unnecessary, but hey, if you can't splurge on holiday, when can you, eh? Naively, I thought that the store was more a western thing, but on my recent trip to Singapore, I saw them dotted around all over the place! Needless to say, I returned to England with a severely depleted bank balance, and beauty products coming out my ears. As excited as a kid at Christmas to have a play around with all my new purchases, I couldn't wait to share them with you either. So, here is a summary of all the cosmetic treats I picked up.

Firstly, I'll tell you about what is arguably my favourite buy: Fishwife by Butter London. I've been lusting after this beauty for rather a while now, so you can imagine my squeal of delight when I saw it perched atop the Butter London display. Unavailable in the UK for reasons I can't quite fathom, this is possibly the most beautiful polish I've ever owned. A stunning holographic sea foam green with flecks of gold and all sorts in it, I have worn this solidly for about 3 weeks now. It also seems to be immune to chipping and is so easy to apply - the Wonder Woman of the nail varnish world! I'll do a full review on this at a later date, but it's definitely replaced my previous favourite, Fiver, at the top of the nail art hierarchy.

The other contender for favourite purchase is a Too Faced palette, aptly named Pretty Rebel. It is packed with some magnificent metallic shades, perfect for either dolled up or grunged down looks, as well as a couple of matte neutral shades, one of which has become a staple part of my everyday make up, and a questionable pink shade. Not sure why they thought that was a good idea, but hey, I'll try anything once. I've never bought anything from Too Faced, so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the palette is very similar in quality, design and pigmentation to it's Urban Decay counterparts. I actually only got it because of one magnificent shade, Girly, which is an iridescent brown with shots of green in it. I spent a long while umming and ahhing about whether it was a good idea to spend a considerable amount of money for 10 shadows when I only really wanted one of them. I'm so glad I took the plunge though, because I absolutely love it! Again, I will do a more detailed post on this wonderful palette another day. It's just so much fun to play around with!

Sorry about the photo quality! I have yet to find anywhere in my house where the lighting is decent enough to get a good photo!

Next on my list are the Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment, and the standard Tinted Lip Treatment in the shade, Coral. I love these products, and have been wanting to replenish my dwindling collection for a while now, so of course I had to pick up a couple! I had never tried the Advanced Therapy product before, but I have to say, it has worked wonders on my dry, flaky lips as an overnight treatment. As for the Coral Lip Treatment, the colour pay off is fantastic for a tinted balm, and, as always, I love that it contains SPF 15.

I then got the Bliss FatGirlSlim Skin Firming Cream. A while ago, my friend recommended this to me, along with it's partner product, FatGirlSleep, as one of the best anti-cellulite products she had ever tried. Cellulite is one of my biggest insecurities, so I was really keen to give it a go! Now, I know that it is no substitute for a balanced diet and good old fashioned exercise, but sometimes it's nice to have that extra kick of confidence that a caffeine based product like this one can give, be it on a night out, or a special occasion, when you're desperate to wear that new skirt, but are worried about the dreaded orange peel. I didn't get both products, as it is quite a lot of money to part with for a product that I had never tried before, plus, I had a weight allowance to worry about. So far, I'm really getting on with it though. Although not drastic, I can see a difference when I've put it on, and, weird as it sounds, it's one of those products that you can feel working, which I really like. I think I'll give FatGirlSleep a try at some point soon. Maybe when my bank balance has had a little more time to recuperate.

The next was a bit of an impulse buy. I hate it when they put stuff near the tills. Disaster waiting to happen! It's a Philosophy Lip Shine in the flavour, Melon Daiquiri, and as well as providing a beautiful peachy shimmer for the lips, it's delicious!! I can see myself reapplying this rather too often on the days I miss lunch. Yum!

I also bought a NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in the shade, Cashmere. If I'm being perfectly honest, I only bought this because I have never owned an NYX product, as they aren't readily available in the UK, and I wasn't going to leave having not bought something from the brand. But actually, I'm loving this pencil! It's been getting most of its use as an inner corner highlighter, but I really like it as an eyeshadow base or on its own, scribbled across my lids. It's a really beautiful pale gold colour, and it only cost S$9! (£4.50) Such a steal! I'm really glad I picked this up.

Finally, I got myself a travel brush set. I'm a firm believer that you can never have too many brushes. I really like the Sephora brush collection, but can't get past how long the handles are. Honestly, they're like chopsticks for giants. Can't be working with those. But the travel sets are a much better size, easy to travel with (clearly), as well as being quite a lot cheaper. I got the Face and Eye Travel Tool Kit, and I've gotten quite a lot of use out of them already.

I also got a couple of things in duty free on the way there, the first being Benefit's Porefessional. Now, I'll be honest, I heard rave reviews about this product, and although it does happen on occasion (cough cough, Philosophy Lip Gloss), I rarely buy something unless I'm pretty sure I'm going to like it. But I used this primer for the two weeks that I was away, and it didn't really do it for me. I don't know whether it's aimed at more oily skin, but it didn't really minimise my pores at all, although it did make my skin look a bit smoother. As for staying power, it was OK, but nothing amazing. Granted, it might have has something to do with the humidity and heat of Singapore, so I'm going to give it a second chance now that I'm home, but honestly, I'm not holding out much hope for this one. It's such a shame, because I was really excited about this product. I'll just stick to my trusty bareMinerals Prime Time from now on I think.

Last, but not least, I bought the essential duty free purchase, a new perfume! It's Daisy Sunshine by Marc Jacobs. A deliciously fruity scent, I knew I had to have it the moment my nose caught a whiff. I'm not too enamoured with the somewhat garish bottle, much preferring the more subtle original version, but with a smell this delectable, who really cares. I only wish that I could have found a 100ml size.

So there you have it, my Sephora haul. It's quite a long post, but then again, I bought quite a lot of stuff! And, let's be serious, when do I ever manage to write short blog posts? Condensed is not my thing, and for that, I can only apologise.

Do you have any of the products I have recently purchased? What do you think of them? Like me, do you suffer from a distinct lack of Sephora's near you? Let me know!

S.

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Singapore Part One: Rooftop Bars and Racing Cars

This month, I was given the most amazing opportunity to visit Singapore. We flew out to visit my dad's best friend, who lives and works in the country, and to be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I have travelled Europe and visited America countless times, but I had yet to fly east to drink in the sights of Asia. I researched the country beforehand, trying to get a handle on the culture, the climate and the do's and don'ts of the island, but let me tell you, nothing could have prepared me for the wonderful city that greeted me. I was blown away by how fantastic Singapore was, so clean and well organised, brimming with decadent shops and opulent night life, as well as the kindness of the people that reside there. It is such a cosmopolitan city, and despite the bustling hawker stalls, and the streets teeming with city dwellers and tourists alike, never have I visited a city in which I felt more safe. Having been back on the British soil for less than a week, I am already considering looking for work out there, as it is hands down, one of the most fantastic places I have ever had the privilege of visiting. And after all of it, I couldn't wait to share my adventures with you!

First up, let me warn you that this might well be the world's longest blog post. Although I was only there for little over two weeks, we crammed an awful lot in, and although I have enough material to do a post per day, I don't really want to do it that way. Instead, I want to group into two posts covering the two weeks I was there, so sorry if it's a bit much, but I like it that way.

We flew out on the 9th August and arrived at around 5pm. Fresh of the plane, we navigated our way to our host's penthouse (I know!!), dumped our luggage, and hopped on over to Clarke Quay to experience some of the night life. We went for a leisurely dinner and lingered afterwards, waiting for the night to pick up, which it didn't take long to do. There's clearly a work hard, play hard kind of ethos going on here. We left rather early, as we were all still on English time, and struggling at this point, but according to our rather lively taxi driver, the night had yet to begin for him and the Saturday night party goers. He informed us that in Singapore, the clubs don't shut until 6am, meaning that people often don't head out until around 3! Now, I'd only been there for a few hours, but I already knew that I would fall in love with the Singaporean lifestyle.

One of the amazing views from the Flyer

Family pic! Dad blinked =(

View of the Formula 1 starting line from above.

The next day, despite our long flight and late night, we were up, bright eyed and bushy tailed, for our first venture into daytime Singapore. We first visited the Singapore Flyer, and it was lovely to be able to see the whole city and its impressive skylines from so high up. It was nice to get an overview of the city before venturing out to take in all the details. It was really just a better version of the London Eye to be honest. In fact I came to learn that most of Singapore is like an improved version of London. Having only been a city for 48 years, I think they must have just picked up the things that were working to a degree in other places, and ironed out all the kinks. It was all just so brilliantly organised. We also took a stroll down the Singapore Grand Prix track. I'll be honest, I wasn't all that excited, but my Dad and brother were like kids in a sweet shop. Each to their own I guess.

The fantastic Lantern Bar with a view of Marina Bay Sands behind me!

Of course, no trip to Singapore would be complete without a visit to the infamous Raffles Hotel, so in the evening, we head on over for the island's trademark Singapore Sling. Although it's 1930s-esque decor and delicious drinks were marvellous, I couldn't quite get past the mess! It's the norm there to snack on monkey nuts, and just discard the shells wherever you fancy, primarily the floor. It's just a sea of nutty debris - very distracting to a clean freak like me. So after we'd had our cocktails, we headed off to the less touristy, nut-free Lantern Bar atop the Fullerton Bay Hotel. Now, this was my favourite spot in the country. So elegant and sophisticated, much like the rest of Singapore, it housed the perfect atmosphere and breathtaking views of the bay. Touristy excursions aside, if you ever visit Singapore, make a point of going here. And while your at it, order a mojito. I've had a fair few of the minty beverages in my time, but none hold a candle to the one served here. Delicious.

Glow in the dark scorpions!! Avatar is real!

Me and my brother wearing fun gift shop hats!

After a jam packed Sunday, and some lingering jet lag, we decided to spend Monday by the pool, relaxing and recuperating, ready for the night ahead. Much to my delight, the apartment was conveniently located on Singapore's famous shopping street: Orchard Road. Whilst everyone else was having their lazy day, I stole the opportunity to sneak in an uninterrupted, blissful day of shopping. Oh, it was grand! I also discovered a Sephora and might have literally jumped for joy. I don't remember, it's all a wonderful blur of retail goodness. More on that later. In the evening, we mosied on over to the Night Safari. It was absolutely amazing to see so many beautiful nocturnal animals, and the nights are so warm there that it really was an extremely pleasant evening. Understandably, flash photography wasn't allowed, but sadly my camera is very poor at taking night time pictures without one. Such a shame as the safari was filled with so many beautiful creatures!

Not a great picture, but I really liked the lanterns!

On Tuesday, we spent the day ambling around the city, and made our way over to Chinatown in the late afternoon. We visited the most beautiful, vibrant and colourful Hindu Temple, at which we witnessed some kind of ritual, with a lot of people surrounding a man who was dancing with some type of vase on his head. I had no idea what was going on, but it was so mesmerising. If anyone know's what this was called, or what it symbolises, please do let me know, because it was absolutely beautiful and my 'Hindu vase dancing' google searches have so far been fruitless. I didn't take pictures, as I wasn't entirely sure whether it would be considered disrespectful, and I thought it best not to risk it. Afterwards, we went to get Chinese food (when in Rome) at a hawker stall, which I really enjoyed. The food was so cheap, something I wasn't expecting considering the decadence we had so far encountered. Alcohol is pricey though, which my liver probably considered a good thing. Even so, we had a couple of drinks and watched the people around us. When the sun set, the streets came to life, with market stalls flogging their wares to locals and tourists alike. It really was wonderful, and safe to say, my purse was rather a lot lighter upon leaving.

Wednesday night was particularly exciting as we went to see Stereophonics, who performed at Fort Canning Park. Now, I can't remember the last time I went to a concert that wasn't crammed with freshers, vomiting all over the place and forming dreaded mosh pits, like black holes growing larger and larger, sucking unsuspecting music lovers into the unknown, spitting them out dazed and concussed. Fun at the time, but I feel I've matured somewhat. This was a relatively small, but fantastically atmospheric gig which I absolutely loved. I actually didn't consider myself a fan until they started playing. I had no idea how many of their songs I actually knew. Needless to say, I was singing along, dancing the night away and having the time of my life. It was such a nice change from the English weather as well, to be outside at midnight and still be warm. Odd, but brilliant. 

This reminded me of the Hunger Games, so I had to pop it in.

My dodgy attempt at a panoramic photo. Safe to safe, photography is not my forte.

On Thursday, we ticked another box on the tourist to do list and visited the Botanic Gardens. I must say, it's very strange to find yourself in such a huge tropical oasis, when you know that you're smack bang in the middle of a city. The garden was stunning, and had lots of interesting sectors to it. My favourites were the Orchid Garden, orchids being the national flower of Singapore as well as my personal favourite bloom, and the Swan Lake, filled with an abundance of huge fish and darling little turtles. That evening, we head off to dinner at Ku De Ta, a restaurant at the very top of a building that is arguably Singapore's crown jewel: the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The view was spectacular, as was the food, a beautiful place to drink in both the wine and the scenery.

The pool bar.

Ready to go on our ATVs

That'll do me nicely, thanks

The boys on their jetskis

The weekend held a positively magical adventure - we went on a mini break. Yep. A mini break, whilst we were on holiday. Very extravagant. We travelled over to a place called Bintan in Indonesia. Although only a half an hour ferry ride, Bintan seemed worlds away from Singapore. A veritable island paradise, with white sands, dazzling seas, and all the rest, it was the perfect weekend. We spent both the evenings at the hotel's beach party, where I had the pleasure of meeting the owner of the resort, who was rather generous with the drinks, I must say, as well as finding some great friends in the hotel's event staff. Both the highlight and the worst part of the break was a knuckle biting ATV ride, which left me eaten alive by mosquitoes, and with a few too many grazes on my legs from a lot of rogue shrubbery. But it was all worth it, as we were taken to a secluded and untouched lagoon by the locals as a result, more than worth the week of angry itchy marks that erupted all over my legs. The only one of us with a camera at the time took a picture, and I haven't been able to get hold of it yet, but I'll add it when I've got it. It was absolutely mesmerising.

So, on Sunday morning we headed back to Singapore to commence our second weeks adventures. But more on that later.

Have you ever visited Singapore? Were you as enamoured with it as I am? Better yet, is anyone reading this from Singapore? Let me know!

S.

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