it was actually a recce, for NI retreat. invited a few sisters (too few, actually).. none of 'em could make it. then, i thought of postponing to one of the coming weekdays. but nah~ i needed to get fresh air anyway. so, i brought my sister along :)
we alighted at City Hall mrt station. sebab dah lama tak jejak kaki kat situ, i was feeling extra happy, and perhaps, jakOn, to see many people, from different walks of life, going this way and that way.
and for the first time of my life (im sure of it!), i stepped into Raffles City Shopping Centre. uWoW~ looking at the boutiques and window displays.. teringat Suntec City Shopping Mall. mewah betOl~ jalan2 kat tingkat satu je, then made our way to fort canning park based on the sole memory of NI Election back in 2006.
looks like a large area, ey? it is lah.. from the starting point ("you are here" sign) we covered one big round. yupz! oh, i should've brought insect repellent, though. or maybe, coz of the heat of the day, so we got sweaty and itchy.
scenic! scenic! right in front of this fountain are the steps down to the main entrance of the park. behind, is the Raffles Terrace. unfortunately, it's small. had the chance to read a plaque at the side of the so-called house; could be that the original house had been shrunk to the mere hall that we can see today, or it could've been situated somewhere else and this hall is just a 'symbol', memorial, or whatever you wanna call it.
The surrounding area is.. cantik! green, clean grass.. the trees are not so tall. or wide. which means, it's exposed to sunlight. so too bad, we cant have the retreat there.
from top left:
the sheltered area where we had our NI Election 2006. i was really new sey. tau2 je, was invited to go. and i remember the colour code: kuning! feeling2 royal ah.. coz this hill was where the sultan's palace once stood.
the Raffles Terrace. right in front, in the middle, is a flagstaff. tak ingat what's the significance.
a bench facing a lampost. i was amused; why on earth is the bench is there? a person sits there and he can only watch the fence, the lampost and the few trees. agak terperuk pon ade. haha. mcm tak strategic dan tak scenic. O.o
that's my sister, konon tgh tgk ape2 ntah.. klw takde the marquee, i think the shot would be a bit nicer. this is the open space in front of
this tree kinda fascinated me. dahannya panjang menjalar. you can see in the picture two of 'em are supported by poles. the red-orange flowers add beauty to this tree. it must be old, like many other trees that we saw. tapi kan, dekat2 roots of the tree, byk kerangga, those big fire red ants.
from top left:
kat tingkat paling bawah of
sitting on the steps leading right into
that's me leaning on a coconut tree. it's actually on a small slope, so that tree kinda bends outwards.. hmm.. if you know what i mean.
trees and clouds. blend in beautifully.
Subhanallah!
memorial plaques, lined on the two walls outside
The Battle Box! i saw the door to the underground far east command centre first. apparently we had missed the 5pm, the last, visiting slot. i dunno if this building is part of the Battle Box, but the ticket counter's there.
at The Spice Garden. didnt pay much attention to the plants. instead, we took multiple shots sitting on this bench. i think it was past 5pm. legs were getting to get tired. but we made our way to the archeological excavation site and Keramat Iskandar Shah. i think the former is creepier. especially if you're by yourself walking inside the not-that-long gallery to see the pieces of ceramics, jewelleries and whatnots.
as aqila was signing the guestbook at the archeological site, i took these pictures.
Prehistoric Singapore - Although no evidence of prehistoric man has yet been discovered on Singapore, sites with stone tools have been found on Pulau Tekong and on the south shore of Johor. Probably prehistoric people occasionally occupied Singapore, and gathered food here.
The Founding of Temasik - By the early 14th century, Singapore had its own government: the kingdom of Temasik. Chinese traders had already come to settle here by 1330. The palace was built on Fort Canning Hill.
peering thru the window.. nothing inside actually. just a white-walled room. as the sign said, "White Studio".
after ~3 hours of sight-seeing, we returned to our starting point. we didnt descend there, tho. we walked towards the Raffles Terrace fountain and exited via the Hill Street Entrance. we strolled along the Parliament House (fuyo~ first time jejak sana!) and reached the bridge. i dunno its name, but it was surely my first time crossing it on foot. then, we passed all the restaurants and pubs, towards OUB Plaza. again, it was my first. my sis' too. dapat tgk crabs lobsters and whatnots.. the different on-the-table arrangements, deco.. nampak sah kita dua macam tourist kat situ. local. tourist.
bila tgh jalan2.. i was taking it all in. the sights. cantiknya~ it's the river lah.. makes the difference. Rabbij'al hadza baladan aaminaa.. Ya Tuhanku, jadikanlah negeri ini negeri yang aman..
we didnt end there. after taking rest on one of the many seats overlooking Empress' Place, we took a walk in the middle of the CBD.. tak tahu ape nama area tu. it's where people mostly exit from the mrt station below. time ni, dah masuk maghrib. we took train to Bugis. coz i felt like going to the National Library pulak. and Chewy Junior. :p at last, tak gi library. went to Banquet at Raffles Hospital. ate fruit salad while waiting for abang to pick us up.
that's how our day went. i felt happy the whole time. alhamdulillah..!
.. Changi Village and East Coast Park with Family (Sunday, 21 dec '08, 10am)
had our nasi lemak breakfast at Changi Village. no, no, bukan dari kedai yang asyik long queue tu. but from another stall that my bro recommended. after that, pikir nak picnic kat Changi Beach je. tapi, sebab nak main basikal, we made our way to East Coast Park.
guess who's the one who doesnt know how to ride a bicycle?? XD
and since abang got his rollerblades inside the bonnet, i took them out to give rollerblading a try. another first time. oh God! forget about being shy or embarrassed - i fell down, stood in funny positions.. enjoyed myself alright! had abang and mak or aqila to hold my arm. yupz, susah nak balance. lagipon, the rollerblades' size is big. i look forward to try it again!
the sea is blue! i just noticed it. selama ni i have a bad impression of ECP ah. the water is brownish.. coz lots of sand, dirt or what lah.. i would prefer the two ends, especially the stretch leading to the airport. tapi, when i was on the jetty, Subhanallah! a beautiful sight every singaporean can be proud of. indah belaka :)
it was also a rare opportunity for me to dip my feet in the water. you see, ayah tak izinkan berenam/mandi kat laut. so, whenever im at a beach with my friends, kite rase bersalah nak jejakkan kaki sikit pon kat air. nak kata jealous kat kawan2, tak jugak. tapi, bila dapat chance ni, ayah pon bagi green light, waahh.. it felt really good. i guess, the restriction made me more grateful of this moment. simple and normal as it seems, it's wonderful for me~
the three of us on the signature jetty. it was hOt, mind you. i tried bro's shades. oh tidak, sungguh tak kena dgn mukaku. hehe.. eh, do you notice, that we wore the same colour? dark blue.
we left the beach at 2pm. next destination was rumah nenek kat Ang Mo Kio. wah~ lepak habis kat situ. after asar, kita bertolak. the rest of the family went home, tapi kite plak ke .....
.. Marina Barrage (Sunday, 21 dec'08, 6pm)
reached Marina Bay mrt stn aroud 6pm. waited for the other sisters. i was dismayed when i got to know that 2 brothers were joining us. tapi kite tak cakap ape2 ah. yang bagusnya, diorang lambat. so, me, kak fiza and kak ruqayyah took the shuttle bus. sampai, keluar dari bus, walked towards the entrance.. and we were greeted by a... oohhhh! what a sight! woww.. wowww.. waaahh.. ooohh.. serene. spacious. the sea. the sky. subhanallah, subhanallah..
as we made our way inside the complex, we couldnt stop ooh- and ahh-ing. yeah, it was awesome! below are some of the pictures taken:
me and kak ruqayyah main air jugak. wheee~~ couldnt get enough of it! best sangat2! you know, i think i found another side of kak ruqayyah. gila-gila jugak mcm yours truly nih. hahaha.. we talked crap and had quite a big share of smiles and laughter.
aroung maghrib gitu, kak fadz, kak saqinah and kak sarah with another sister (siapa namanya eh?) sampai. the two brothers too. i just acted as though they were not there. i didnt mean to be cold or anything, i simply dont have anything to say to them. them aside, i really enjoyed the company of my gal seniors!
we had a little picnic at the top floor of the complex. open-air. sejuk je rase.. boleh tertidur kat seats, floor or even the grass. this actually reminded me of Marina South Pier. bro brought aqila and me there one night, many many months back. peaceful. far from the sounds and lights from the towns. angin sepoi2 bahasa. mmmmmmm~~~
sempat jugak me and kak ruqayyah baring kat one of the cemented seats. staring into the dark sky. blissful, indeed!
the last shuttle bus was supposed to leave at 8pm. mase tu, kita semua belom puas dgn Marina Barrage, so we decided to give it a miss and suffer the long walk to the mrt stn later. we didnt even remember the exact route out. but i guess we couldnt care less at that time.
we left the place shortly before 9pm. and suprise suprise! there was a shuttle bus. if i remember correctly, the sign on the bus said "LAST BUS". *huge relief* and so, me, kak fiza, kak ruqayyah and kak saqinah took bus, while kak fadz and the bros with their motorbikes.
on the whole.. i feel that this is the best weekend i've ever had. i cant remember the last time i felt happy, care-free. i think it's coz of the mixture of experience.. one with my sister, i took this as a time to be with myself and get away from everything. another with family (we seldom go out like this together, so i cherish 'em) and the weekend ended with a bunch of great sisters.
thank You.. thank You.
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