Faizal and Anna: 300 pins and counting...

Excited when Faizal called me on Tuesday morning telling that my article is out on Kosmo! Thank You again to Adham and Kosmo! for giving us another chance to share our passion, but this time more on Anna's hobby.. Here we go.. part of the article.

Still got the rockin' feel? with Faizal's post earlier on? Just to complete our journey, let me story a bit on our Singapore trip.

As usual we took a almost 10 hour train ride to Singapore. Actually the trip only takes 8 hour but the checkpoint in Woodland yang lama. Tapi disebabkan ianya murah dan selesa, kitaorang tak kisah..Tapi this time in Woodland, ada pemeriksaan H1N1, suspen jugak takut-takut kena tahan, maklumlah kalau badan panas sikit nanti boleh detect. Alhamdulillah..lebih kurang pukul 8.30pagi selamat sampai di Singapura terus pekena Lontong Singapura, peh! Terus energetic. Top-up our ezlink card terus menuju ke Bugis Station.

Since we arrived quite early for check in, we left our bag at the reception and ronda-ronda dulu. I must tell you this, The SuperHub hostel is strategically located (5 mins from Bugis Station), close to Masjid Sultan, and attractions to Malay Heritage. Dan yang paling best sekali, tempat makan yang banyak dan connivence store yang berdekatan. Within the 3 hours before we got to our room, Faizal and I sempat ke City Hall, where Faizal likes to shop his CDs and DVDs there. There is one place called, Gramaphone just opposite City Hall MRT station. Disebabkan eager to catch the concert, we went to Esplanade in case they have their merchandise to sell. Just to make sure we among the first to get it, but sadly they only have it during the concert. Patah balik to Bugis and got to our room. Wow! It is clean but the space, kecik yang amat. Price memang a bit pricey tapi kalau kat Singapura ni mana nak ada tempat yang murah in city centre. One night lebih kurang RM162 untuk 2 orang. This hostel is not suitable for those who're fussy with space and simplicity, but it's good enough for traveller who wants a good night sleep with everything else within reach. Well done, Ronnie and his mother who're running this place.

This time we have a few friends joined for the trip, especially for the concert. So we met them for lunch at Victory Restaurant opposite Masjid Sultan. Murtabak and their nasi briyani memang sedap dan banyak, so careful when you guys order them. While waiting for the concert, we went back to our hostel which is just 3-5mins walk from the restaurant to rest.

To get to Esplanade is very easy, just get down at City Hall station and follow the direction inside the station to Esplanade. Along the way, there are a few malls, such as City Link, Marina Square, Raffles City and Suntec City. This time Singapore Great Sale is not great anymore. My opinion is because their currency is high and the economy is so..so.. Pelancong memang sentiasa ramai di Singapura tetapi yang bershopping tak ramai sangat. Or maybe because we were there while they just started the sale so belum panas lagi... Anyway, we still shopped at few places such as Gramaphone, HMV and Bugis Street Market (this place boleh tahan jugaklah..ada banyak souvenir,T-shirts, streetwear and bags).

Ok back to the concert, opps! Faizal has reviewed it before, OK after the concert, after my signing autograph session, Art Fazil told us to try this Nasi Padang somewhere in North Bridge Road and Kandahar Street, Warung Pariaman. He said this is the best nasi padang in Singapore and you have to reach there early otherwise..tinggal nasi je lah... Food lovers, check it out. Ikutkan nak pergi ke Mustafa Centre sebab ianya dibuka 24 jam (dah penat sangat tak jadi, we have been there before). Tempat ni ada jual macam-macam barang, anything that you can think of. Kereta pun ada jual kat sini. Kalau nak ke sana, turun di MRT Farrer Park. Anytime around the clock boleh pergi.

The next day, after breakfast at Sultan Cafe, we took a bus no.2 to Changi Prison Chapel and Museum. Took us about 11/2hour to get there. Actually there are 2 ways to get there, 1. Take no.2 bus and get down at Changi Prison Chapel and Museum or 2., take MRT to Tanah Merah and catch no.2 bus from there. It may save you 30-40 mins. Admission is free, but SGD12 for two person for audio guided tour which i found very useful. I was trying to relate their history and ours, definitely the same as we were together before. Have heard about Leftenan Adnan?, He was one of the heroes during that time. Japanese Occupancy has brought big impact on our previous generation but the Japanese has changed and developed a lot. Especially their country and people, but asking ourselves back are we changing? After all, what they have done to us can be forgiven but definitely not to be forgotten. Want to know more, please click here.

After that we headed back to city centre, trying to shop but couldn't find things that I wanted. Except for Faizal, he was enjoying himself with CDs and DVDs. Since our hostel nearby the Kampung Glam area, we actually spent our time visiting places around there.

The next day, before we check out sempat jalan-jalan di sekitar our hostel. Memang berbaloi stay kat sini, walking distance to many places. Kali ni, our backpack agak luxury a bit, we took a flight back to Kuala Lumpur with Jetstar. Harga promosi lebih kurang RM98 seorang. Yang senangnya, from Bugis station turun kat Tanah Merah dan naik ke Changi airport. Tak payah pening kepala..kena naik teksi.. Kita orang saja je pergi airport awal sebabnya nak jalan2 dalam diaorg punya transit mall. Hard Rock Changi tempat yang Anna sebenarnya nak pergi. Changi Airport ni memang best for transit, macam2 ada, shower room, free internet, free movie ada massage dan etc..etc,, Tak boring la kalau ada yang kena transit kat sini.