OK, I am going to segment my posts into each day instead, due to the amount of photos and the potential lengthiness :P It also makes filtering and processing the photos easier for me, too D: So here begins day 1 out of 5!

It all began a few days before the trip…

She’s making a list… she’s checking it twice…
Yeah, my list for the last-minute stuff that needs to be packed, which I wrote and posted 2 days before the actual trip :P The rest are all already packed into my suitcase and train case already XD I pride myself in being an efficient packer :D

On the 17th August 2010, Tuesday, dearest Louis, Mum and me left home towards Singapore with my car (The 2006 Honda Jazz VTEC) at almost 10.30 a.m.. There wasn’t much photos of the journey there as I mainly spent my time asleep and my LX3 camera was in dearest’s backpack in the back seat, which I was too lazy to retrieve :x

We adjourned at Malacca briefly for lunch before continuing our journey. Dearest chose to use the Tuas checkpoint, and handled all the immigration stuff since he’s used to it- travelling to Singapore every few months with one of his bosses for business/work, although it’s usually a one day trip :P We passed by without any problems…

… And here we are, finally, welcome to Singapore! Although this photo was taken somewhat further into Singapore from the Tuas checkpoint already since I decided to retrieve my LX3 camera >_> It kind of reminds me of Penang, especially it’s industrial area (Bayan Lepas) since it was all also industrial areas, factories and greenery @_@ And look at the fonts on the road signs, it’s so different from the ones we have in Malaysia XD

It was about 3 p.m. (If I remembered correctly) when we arrived… and it was raining :(

Not only are their road sign fonts different… the underground passes are different too! It’s half covered, and half-exposed! Mind-blowing I tell you XD

We arrived at our hotel- Fragrance Hotel Selegie, located on Selegie Road and checked in. We booked the family room… but don’t be deceived by the photo- our room looked exactly like the one photographed (Although the mirror and vanity was in between the two beds and the windows were at the feet of the beds)… except that it was all. There is just enough leg room at the feet of the beds for people to walk past and that’s it. No wardrobe, no space for your clothes and/or luggage. The bathroom was practically one huge shower stall- the toilet, sink and shower were all cramped into the space, but it was clean (Phew!) at least.

Seeing such small space, we thought of getting an upgrade, but the executive deluxe room only had bed space for two and there were no extra beds or mattresses, although it was marginally bigger. Bummer >_> It took some time getting used to the hotel room due to its superiorly small size but otherwise, it was pretty good. The hotel was very clean, the staff rather friendly, the beds comfortable (Although their pillows were flatter than what dearest and I are accustomed to, though, which resulted in neck pains) and the location was quite good and convenient as well :D

Oh well, we dumped our luggage into our allocated room and got comfortable (For me this usually means taking out my toiletries and skincare stuff and arranging them in the bathroom and on the vanity), then when Mum confirmed that she didn’t want to rest for a while (Dearest was concerned that she was tired, and thought of letting her, as well as us, rest a while before going off) we decided to walk to Orchard Road :D Initially we thought of going for the Night Safari, but didn’t want to rush too much and tire ourselves out.

A view from outside Fragrance Hotel Selegie :D Look at the dark clouds and gloomy skies, don’t you welcome new tourists to Singapore? :(

The Rex Cinemas located behind our hotel. Mum recognises it from her last visit to Singapore, which was approximately 27 years ago!

You could see it more clearly on the non-resized photo, but the shop says Mr. Bean’s XD

Walking past the grand School of the Arts Singapore. It’s one of the more grander institutions I’ve ever seen (Although it’s an art school, to give it credit). Either way, eat your heart out Limkokwing University of Creative Technology!

While walking along, we stumbled upon the Cathay Cineplex, which Mum also recognised :D They apparently built the new, modern shopping complex (Cineleisure, like the one we have had here :P) behind and extending out from behind the original, old structure, which is pretty impressive as it’s a blend of both old and new.

The box office. From what I see it’s housed within the old, original structure, but that’s about it. There’s the motorcycle as used by Angelina Jolie in the movie Salt, I guess :P Cineleisure is a shopping mall, albeit a small one compared to the others, and we went in to have a look around. There wasn’t much, but it’s the first shopping mall in Singapore I went to :P Saw Lomography cameras (Cheaper than in Malaysia, too!) and various other housing decor shops, but didn’t buy much apart from a magnetic money clip for dearest :3

The outside view of Cathay Cineplex. There’s the Singapore Management University there.

Feeling a bit lost and unsure where exactly is the direction to Orchard Road, since dearest usually travels by car and stays in Bencoolen Street, so we’re not exactly familiar with walking and from Selegie Road D:

Mum admiring the pretty light displays outside of Cathay Cineplex.

Dearest taking photos of Mum :3

Opposite Cathay Cineplex is this Methodist church. And look! A road sign that says Bras Basah Road, which translates in Malay to “wet rice” (The uncooked variety) XD

Dearest tweaking the settings for Mum‘s camera to take more photos of her lol >_>

Cathay Cineplex celebrating 75 years. That’s a really, really long time! I really love how old and new blend in together so nicely, and the lighting at this time is pretty and awesome too :D

We continued on, past and through Singapore Management University, until we reached what I remember is the National Museum of Singapore. It was also around here that we realised we’ve been walking in the wrong direction and had to do a detour T_T Thankfully though, thanks to a few helpful locals we accosted on the streets for directions, we eventually managed to reach Orchard Road :D

One of the shopping malls along Orchard Road, which is literally lined with the whole lot of them. I think this is Orchard Central :O We ended up going into 313@Somerset instead, which is right beside it XD The shopping malls all really light up the street with it’s colourful, colour-changing displays and it’s also impressive.

In 313@Somerset we went to Forever 21, Cotton On and Zara, where Mum bought some clothes, and I didn’t see any suitable for me >_> It wasn’t until we went to UniQlo where I bought some clothes XD I bought a pair of red and black checkered skinny pants, a black cowl-neck long sleeved modal sweater and a light brown light trench coat-dress, while Mum bought some clothes as well and dearest too- a pair of shorts, a red and black checked flannel shirt and a an official Gundam t-shirt :D I have to say, they really do have a different selection compared to Malaysia, as in they have more variety. I’m usually not to thrilled clothes shopping here, but it feels so different in Singapore D:

Walked around until almost closing time (Boo!) and had dinner at the food court there. Not too bad I’d say, but like Arell said, food in Malaysia is more traditional compared to in Singapore XD It was time to walk back to Selegie Road now!

There are dot-matrix boards like this around Singapore, especially around the areas with a lot of complexes or shopping malls. They show the number of available parking lots in the nearby, surrounding complexes or shopping malls, which is really convenient so you don’t enter a parking lot that’s full and wait for ages for a parking space (Unlike here in Malaysia) and you know where to head to to avoid traffic congestion. This is a lovely photo taken by dearest :3

Oh, and pedestrians seem to really own the roads in Singapore XD Some of the pedestrian crossing lights are scary though, due to their beeping sounds. There’s one in front of our hotel and sometimes when we walk past we stop and wonder what’s that sound before realising, because we’re not accustomed to it D:

Day 1 wasn’t much overall, admittedly, but it sure got me excited to explore more, since I haven’t seen much of it! And I haven’t really had my fill of shopping :(

Hello there! I just got back from my holiday trip to Singapore with Mum and dearest Louis yesterday, and we were there from Tuesday, 17th August 2010 to Saturday, 21st August 2010 :D A proper post (Or two… or three, depends) on the trip will be up soon, as we got back around 12.30 a.m. and I am still in post-holiday recovering mode XD

Singapore was awesome as a whole. It’s clean, safe, convenient and a true shopping heaven (Most of the stuff still works out to be cheaper than in Malaysia despite the higher exchange rate), although I still have mixed feelings for the people there :x Some can be really really nice and know their stuff, while others can be just plain rude.

So… my haul from Singapore includes:

A 64GB Wi-Fi Apple iPad (Birthday present from Dad :D), whose box I had to sadly dispose of in Singapore for fear of customs tax… but in the end they didn’t even open the bags! :( Oh well :P Now I have Windows, Android and Apple XD

Lots of clothes from Desigual in VivoCity (The wild, colourful ones :D) and UniQlo in 313@Somerset (A relatively famous Japanese brand, and I got a lovely lightweight trench coat from here) :3 I can safely say this is the first time I went wild clothes shopping XD Malaysia cannot hope to compare here.

Various souvenirs (And not to mention photos) from Chinatown, Singapore Zoo and its Night Safari, Underwater World and a Singapore expedition journal from the National Geographic Store in VivoCity ♥ Oh, and I also managed to try Ben & Jerry’s! :D

T-shirts from Chinatown, Singapore Zoo and Underwater World :D Apart from the peacock one from Singapore Zoo, the rest are kids tees… in large size, and I can fit them orz.

I want to go back to Singapore ;_; Or stay there ;_;

P.S. I got a pedicure from Colour Culture in Sunway Giza Kota Damansara (Nice place, comfortable too!) before my trip to Singapore, and got the Catch Me In Your Net colour from O.P.I. It’s a lovely, lovely colour! Bluish metallic green that looks quite ethereal. The photo just does not do it justice :(

While reading through Makeup And Beauty Blog‘s archives I stumbled across her blog tag about getting to know you ;D So I figured I might as well do an entry about it myself :)

Things I’m Passionate About
+ Reading (♥ Books!)
+ Sleeping.
+ Travelling.
+ Shopping.
+ Gadgets (Laptops, phones, e-book readers, anything!)
+ Animals (‘Nuff said)
+ Organisation and cleaning.
+ Skincare (More so than makeup, really!)
+ Money (Ehehehehe :D)
+ Bags.
+ Writing (And all the implements that come with it such as journals, paper, ink, etc.)
+ Good food and drinks.

Things I’d Like To Do Before I Die
+ Skydive (For real, the skydiving simulator in Genting Highlands don’t count any more :P)
+ Travel to Europe (England, Scotland, France, Italy, Rome, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland), Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong.
+ Own my dream house… and dream car :D
+ Be rich (Subjective, but that’s up to me :P)
+ Learn surfing and go surfing somewhere like Hawaii!
+ Dive at some of the best dive spots in the world.
+ Come to peace with myself.

Things I Say Often
+ Whaaaat?
+ Gibberish (Literally)
+ Huh
+ Whatever
I really don’t pay much attention to what else I say :P

Books I’ve Recently Read
+ Stories, edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio
+ How To Walk In High Heels, by Camilla Morton

Songs I Could Listen To Over And Over
+ Velvet Revolver- Messages
+ Linkin Park- By Myself
+ Slash Featuring Ozzy Osbourne- Crucify The Dead
+ All Time Low- Painting Flowers
+ Guns N Roses- November Rain
+ Cowboy Bebop OST- Words That We Couldn’t Say
+ Slash Featuring Andrew Stockdale- By The Sword
+ Linkin Park- From The Inside
+ Santana Featuring Rob Thomas- Smooth
+ Slipknot- Before I Forget
+ Rolling Stones- Paint It Black
+ AC/DC- Shoot To Thrill
+ Linkin Park- Easier To Run
+ Santana Featuring Steven Tyler- Just Feel Better
+ Aerosmith- I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing
I have a lot more really @_@

Traits I’m Attracted To In My Best Friends
+ Patience
+ Loyalty
+ Kookiness (Must be whacky! But not too whacky, obviously >_>)
+ Creativity
+ Open mind
+ Good sense of humour!

I’ll be having a holiday in Singapore from 17th August to 21st August with dearest Louis and Mum :D Then after that I’d be relatively busy, since dearest’s parents are moving back here (So excited!) and there’s a lot to be done. University will also be starting and I might miss the first week of class due to my feng shui course clashes, but we’ll see for sure when the schedule comes out and I’m not worrying too much about it since I’ll have it all in order :3

Take me down to the paradise city // Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty // (Take me home) Oh , won’t you please take me home

5th August 2010- A rock legend comes to town, and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance (After all, how often do you get people like Slash coming to Malaysia?) to see him!

Slash‘s concert was simply, in a word: awesome! He is definitely worthy of being a rock legend and a guitar god. I am still high on headbanging and music from Slash and Guns N Roses although I am temporarily half deaf-ish, my throat feels funny (From the screaming) and my neck and body is aching @_@

Personal details censored hehe :P I printed the tickets myself since I bought them online directly from FatDeal after the concert date was announced. It’s dearest Louis’ and my first major concert and we were feeling really excited!

The line waiting at around 5.15 p.m., at the entrance to Sunway Lagoon. We were there early actually… around 3 p.m.? But we had lunch and walked around Sunway Pyramid, doing some window shopping and spending some time together instead.

This is the line waiting at approximately 5.50 p.m., because we went back in Sunway Pyramid for a while. Funnily enough, gates were supposed to be open to public by 6 p.m. but there were no indications that it was going to be open any time soon.

Dearest waiting, and looking cute :P

The view from where we were sitting when seen straight on. You can see the entrance to Sunway Pyramid here XD

The crowd grew and grew as 6 p.m. approaches and passes…

Was reading the terms and conditions on the ticket to while away the time when dearest took this photo of me. This was already almost 6.30 p.m., I think. I lost track of time :P

Feeling a bit peckish, so we headed to Robot Sushi And Bar for some sushi rolls instead. The service there leaves much to be desired really, but the rolls were good! Although admittedly, pricey. RM 53 (Or so) for 3 rolls? omg :(

Dearest could not resist taking this shot ♥

A basic overview of my get-up. Black peak-shoulder top from Cotton On, shorts from MNG (Psst, both chosen by dearest!), black calf-high leather boots from Zara and leather cuffs :P Oh, and my Lowepro Terraclime 100 bag XD

Dearest kept running out (While waiting for our rolls and even drinks to be served) to see if the gates are open, and snapped this photo of the crowd. Wow. But I still heave a sigh of relief because it’s still a smaller crowd than what I had expected to be honest XD

The chopstick wrapper says “Byte me!” so dearest did.

This is the scenery that greeted us when we left Robot Sushi. Beautiful, but not welcome. Please please please don’t rain!

Oooh oooh! The line is moving! The line is finally moving! The gates are open at laaasst!

Waiting in line. Looking a bit grumpy because it’s kind of packed, pushy and the rain clouds are hovering above us (Main reason) with a few rain drops falling down already. Also, there was an unruly group of people in front of us =_=

Miraculously, the rain did not go beyond a few rain drops woooooo! This is where we parked ourselves, in the PS1 area. A very good view of the stage actually (I was pleasantly surprised) with breathing space, since in front of us was the rotating camera and thus, some empty space (And it did not block our view). Also, most of us there are around my size, which is a good thing :D The only downside was that we occasionally had to move back a little when the camera rotates and pans around.

Some last minute setting up and fine-tuning…

Some more last minute tweaking… the crowd was going pretty wild at this point. There were some really rude foreigners literally pushing their way between us to get to the front, and I snapped and shouted at them because they didn’t even have the decency to say “Excuse me”. After that anyone who tried to push their way between us without saying “Excuse me” were stopped and denied, and pushed back. No more nonsense roar!

And the legend himself takes the stage! I didn’t see the time, but I believe he started around 8 p.m. or just slightly after. There was supposed to be an opening act by Amy Search, but he did not appear, nor were there any announcements on why, at least not that I know of, to be honest. Anyone have any idea why? XD

It’s a kind of relief to dearest and me though, since although we paid RM 131 (RM 128 plus RM 3 ticketing fee) for one concert by Slash (Instead of supposedly “two”), we didn’t really want to hear Amy Search :x

The concert officially begins with the appearance of the rest of the band! ♥ I swear, I’ve never sweated so much in my entire life ever than when I was moshing and headbanging to the magnificient Slash and his awesome band!

Photos of the concert from here on ;3

Such a beautiful, beautiful picture.

After this, we moved to the back, 3/4 into the concert. Main reason was that a foreigner behind me was super rude enough to keep punching my back and knee-ing me forward the whole time and also when we were pushed back because of the rotating camera. Telling the foreigner off did not work, unfortunately, and it really pissed me off to no end. It was a nice change, however, being at the back because there was more space to breathe and move (And mosh and headbang!), and we’re not so near the speakers so our ears are kind of spared XD I also really wished the people around us would mosh more, though. The ones at the centre moshed like mad!

Along with Myles Kennedy, they performed songs mainly from Slash‘s solo album such as Ghost, Back From Cali, Nothing To Say and Starlight (Where everyone held up their phones/lighters, beautiful!), and some songs from Guns N Roses such as Sweet Child O’ Mine (Massive sing-a-long!) and Civil War. The final song was Paradise City by Guns N Roses, and it was simply mindblowing. Duckboy requested a video of it but 1. I was too short to even see the stage from the back (And I was also surrounded by tall people), so a video would have turned out really crappy and 2. Dearest and I were moshing to it, so no time to take a video :P

Slash also has an awesome speaking voice actually (Compared to some artists/performers), though he’s a bit of a potty-mouth! XD And the drummer, Brent Fitz the drummer is pretty cute in his own way, smiling at the camera when it pans towards him and the like. Such an awesome concert indeed. The atmosphere was simply electrifying.

But all good things have to come an end, and the concert ended shy of 10 p.m. to a pretty disappointed crowd because we wanted more! :( Neither dearest nor me took photos of the end or near-end because we were at the back at this time (So it would be pointless) and we left as soon as we could to avoid a massive crowd thronging out the gates.

This is what I came back with… for RM 90, at a booth selling Slash merchandise near the entrance/exit to the Surf Beach where the stage was set. They have bandanna and button badges too, but this is by far the best merchandise available there in my opinion :P It’s the most expensive I’ve ever spent on a bloody t-shirt, to be honest D: But it’s worth it since it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and it’s of really good quality, material and printing-wise.

The front. Beautiful artwork to be honest.

The back. It’s pretty fun to say “We’re all gonna dieeeeee!” in an apocalyptic tone.

There are a few things that I don’t understand about the organisers, whoever they are- Firefly? Sunway? I shall list my grievances and complaints down here:

1. No outside food and drinks were allowed, and any food and/or drinks found during the bag check were to be disposed off. Bummer, because dearest and me stocked up on drinks to keep ourselves hydrated during the concert. I don’t really understand this, other than the fact that they just want to make money by selling water for RM 5 per 500ml bottle inside the venue. So no, the excuse that there might be excessive litter inside when people bring in drinks and/or food to the venue is busted.
2. The bag check. I’ve no problem with this but the people doing this were, in my humble opinion, rude. You do not roughly frisk through the contents of other people’s bags when they are being shown to you. Instead, you politely ask them to open the bag and declare for you, supervised, whatever’s inside.
3. The unruly people. As I’ve mentioned earlier, there were a group of unruly people in front of dearest and me while we were queuing up to get past the gates into Sunway Lagoon and subsequently, the Surf Beach where the stage is. They were shouting, singing (Still fine) and drinking a bottle of whiskey shared between them openly (Not fine) and were obviously drunk and/or intoxicated (Again, not fine). Why do the security and organisers still allow them in? Just because they paid? Even inside while on the way to the Surf Beach they were making huge commotions. Ugh.
4. More unruly people. Foreigners decked in their best complete leather rock attire, fine. Wearing real actual spiked cuffs, not fine, because in the densely packed area of the concert venue, someone might and could get hurt and/or seriously injured when they come in contact with the cuffs. Common sense people, please? Does this mean I can bring in my brass knuckles (If I have one) next time as part of my rock get-up and it’s OK if I accidentally punched someone with it while moshing?
5. No DSLR cameras. OK, this is simply nonsensical. Publicity in any way is always good, and these photographers might contribute positively to it. And I think that unless you have a humongous telephoto lens, there’s still no way you can really capture the performers, stage area and performance as a whole as well as the properly attired and outfitted media personnel right in the front of the stage, no? There has been widespread news about how DSLRs are targeted by thieves, etc. and unless you provide a proper, secure area for the people to stash their gear, with the guarantee that it will not be damaged and/or lost, it’s stupid to deny entry to people with DSLRs when you allow entry to potentially dangerous and/or drunk people. Also, it should have been printed in the terms and conditions or announcements made earlier about no DSLRs allowed so people wouldn’t have to lug their gear around too.
6. The queue. It can really suffocate someone and make them pass out.

I certainly hope that the organisers will look into these issues and rectify them, because they can really put a damper to some people’s experiences of the concert. The smoking and pushing during the concert itself is understandable, really, despite me not liking crowds (And the foreigner behind me also really ticked me off), but it’s all part and parcel of a concert :D

Oooh. Also, what to wear when attending a concert at the Surf Beach, Sunway Lagoon? During Slash‘s concert I saw a lot of girls wearing shorts, and so did I thankfully! It’s going to be packed and humid and sweaty at the venue, so try to dress for that (Shorts, tank tops, etc.) and I strongly suggest wearing proper shoes, since you might risk your toes being trampled on during moshing and/or headbanging, despite the venue being sandy. And pack as light as possible- wouldn’t want aching shoulders from carrying all that weight during moshing and/or headbanging. If you also plan to stand quite near to the speakers and/or are a regular concert-goer, try to get earplugs- it might “dampen” the sound a little (I need to try this out, really), but I believe I don’t want to go deaf by the time I hit 40 :P

All in all, I really enjoyed myself, and dearest did, too (He’s so cute when headbanging and moshing!) :D It’s a positive experience marred by a few glitches (That could thankfully be solved) and I do look forward to attending my next major concert if there’s any! Although I hope not all at once, because the tickets are not exactly cheap, but Slash‘s was, in my honest opinion, really worth it!

Rock on! \m/