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Oopss…sorry for the late update! Geez, 24 hours a day is never enough! Anyway, day three in Singapore was extremely fun and tiring! We had to be mindful of our timing because we wouldn’t wanna be late for my cousin’s convocation later at 3pm. We started off the day by meeting at Clementi MRT station around 8.30am.

From there, we took a bus to the city centre, and boy, was I excited! We got down near the Raffles Hotel and walked from there onwards. Just so you know, Raffles Hotel was constructed in the year 1887 and is one of the world’s last great 19th century hotels! Wow!

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And we took this one in the middle of the city…

Next, we stopped at the Memorial To The Civilian War Of The Japanese Occupation. Do you know that the remains of the unidentified war victims are buried directly beneath the monument?! Geez…lucky we were there during broad daylight. Don’t wanna risk running into some ‘friends’ at night…LOL! FYI, this memorial is built to resemble four gigantic chopsticks and these four elements are joined at the base, which represents the unity amongst the four major races in Singapore – Chinese, Indians, Malays & other groups. Cool!

I was getting more and more excited as our next stop was the famed ‘Durian’, meaning, the Esplanade – Theatres On The Bay! Well, you can see for yourself that its spiky structure resembles the King Of Fruits from afar! Best part was, you don’t have to pay anything to get in and on top of the Esplanade building (unless you’re there to attend some sort of art or music / dance show).

Moving on, we visited the iconic Merlion statue. This creature has a lion’s head and a mermaid’s body (well, they call it a fish’s body but I think it’s pretty much similar). There was a smaller one nearby too, and I called it the Merlion Baby. LOL!

Then we head on to the Cavenagh Bridge (constructed in 1870), the only suspension bridge and one of the oldest bridges in Singapore (yes, I was a bit worried that it might collapse! LOL!). We can walk freely on the bridge without having to worry about being run down by a truck or any vehicle because it was a pedestrian bridge! And there’s even a notice that prohibits vehicles weighing beyond 152kg from entering the bridge. And get this, it applies to all cattles and horses! LOL!!!

The Asian Civilisations Museum was nearby, but we didn’t enter the museum (I am never a fan of any museum, except for the wax museums with famous wax figures).

Almost every famous landmark is within walking distance of each other, including this one called Dalhousie Obelisk.

Seriously, Orchad Road wasn’t in my list of places that I wanted to visit! But Amit insisted that I must have at least walked several metres along the famed street where there are scores of shopping malls on both sides of the street, which caters to the rich and the not-so-rich people like me…hehehehe… I didn’t buy anything (I wasn’t there for shopping!) and we had a quick lunch at the foodcourt in Ngee Ann City mall.

After that, we quickly head back towards the room where I stayed in NUS for a quick refreshment and also to meet up my cousin sister and her parents there. It was close to 3pm but she was still there with her mother helping to doll her up with all kinds of make-up stuff! LOL! We had to take a shuttle bus to get to the convocation hall.

My, it was totally different from the ones in uhh…our country…ehem…I can’t help but to compare…my convocation hall was plain simple, and the chairs were cheap chairs whereas this convocation hall in NUS are waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy better! The seats are cushion type (like the ones we sit in the cinema), the atmosphere was like, hey, I’m in an opera theatre, and gosh…those usheres were all professionally trained to guide visitors like us to our seats!

I thought there will be a long boring speech by several old, botak men, but to my surprise…there wasn’t any speech when the ceremony begun!!! Went straight to the point! They announced the names of the graduates, and Liz and I were so nervous because we were gonna capture that proud moment with Amit’s video camera! I think Liz was more nervous than me because she was the one holding the camera! LOL!

And when that defining moment came, I clapped my hands so hard that I thought I crushed my fingers altogether! LOL! After the scroll giving ended, there was only one Chinese dude giving a short speech (about 15 minutes) and the ceremony concluded with ballons and confetti and a small-scaled firework (yes, indoor!) Wow!

After all that photography thing going on, we headed back to my rented room, rested for a while, and then it was time for dinner! Dinner at Boat Quay! Yay!!! But folks, beware, because all of the restaurants along Boat Quay (and I presume the same thing at Clarke and Robinson Quay), have restaurant touts! Not taxi touts but restaurant touts! They were a bunch of misleading folks, explaining the menus and ‘tremendous’ discounts you’ll get from choosing Menu A, B, C and so.

We had our dinner at this restaurant called Seafood At The Pier, where we were misled into thinking that we’ll get a 30% discount. But when the bill arrived, there was NO discount given, and they explained that the 30% discount only applies to live seafood! What the fart!!!! We created a slight ruckus and eventually got a 10% discount. Blardee @$$h0le$!!! Anyway, I was glad to have met one of my ex-collage mates who have been working in Singapore for a few years now. Thank God she was able to join us for dinner.

After the dinner, we took a bus to send my uncle and youngest cousin sister to the bus station for their ride back to Ipoh. After that, I was really exhausted and kept dreaming of the bed in my room, but Amit kept insisting that we should experience the night life in Singapore! LOL! So, with my remaining 10% of energy, we took a bus back to the city centre and went sight night-seeing! LOL!

Then we went to the Suntec City where the largest fountain (Fountain of Wealth) in the world was built. Unfortunately, we did not witness the water fountain display because there is a certain schedule / timing for it. Sigh…anyway, we stepped onto the walkway leading towards the mini water fountain and took turns circling the fountain three times (if memory serves me well), at the same time extending our hands, touching the water as we move along the circle and silently made a wish. Be careful though, coz’ your shoes / sandals will most likely get drenched.

Next stop was The Arts House At The Old Parliament. We just took some pictures there and I was extremely tired and thirsty!

Thank God we finally arrived at the Chijmes where I hastily quench my thirst with a cold, cold drink (I wish it was subzero!). This place is pretty much similar to our own The Curve. Chijmes is like a fine dining place with loads of restaurants and cafes, and you can definitely let your hair down at some of the pubs with loud music! And yes, the restored chapel is definitely a sight to behold! I just love the surroundings!

I think it was past midnight when we left the place. Luckily, we’re on time to catch the last bus back to my place. Otherwise, we would have to pay errr…30% or 50% more for the taxi charges coz their taxi rates goes up after midnight. Ahhh…so that concludes my third day in Singapore. Again, stay tuned for my last day in Singapore!