Fashionista Escapades: Universal Studios Singapore

As you all know, I am recently married and lucky for us, my husband had work to do in Johor Bahru, and we took the opportunity for a weekend break to Universal Studios, Singapore and since it's the merry month of December, we also decided to capitalize on the Singapore Year End Sale and have a walk through at Orchard Road and Marina Bay Sands. The last time we were in Singapore was for our pre-wedding last year, which kinda made me nostalgic *smile*. Enjoy the photos, peeps!

We participated in the 'What Makes You Smile Campaign'. Our photo will be out in their Facebook page: What Makes You Smile? next week =). I don't think they'd ever thought that their event would make it to a Malaysian blogger's page, but kudos for the event!

At Ngee Ann City. Thank you hubby for the wonderful weekend escapade =).

This photo was taken at Orchard Road. Singapore's Christmas theme this year, colorful elephants. Don't ask me why, they're a little different than Santa and a pack of reindeers but nevertheless super adorable! =)

A must-do pose at Merlion Park. Hihi!

Marina Bay Sands. Didn't have the opportunity to experience the view on top of the Sands. Will KIV that particular event for my next trip to Singapore *insyaAllah*.

Singapore skyline at Marina Bay. Kinda reminded me of our pre-wedding trip to Hong Kong *sigh*. If you're looking for the post, I haven't uploaded that yet, sorry. Will do in due time *wink*.

Love the art. This is actually at one of the interchange MRT stations.

Universal Studios guide. We booked our tickets online because last year, when we went to Singapore, the offline tickets were sold out. This time, we decided to make sure we had the tickets booked beforehand. For those who'd like to go to Universal Studios Singapore (USS), it is reachable via MRT, just make sure you stop at Harbour Front Station, and go up the escalators to Level 3 (if I'm not mistaken, it's the top-most level anyhow) of VivoCity and you can find a monorail station that will take you to Resorts World Sentosa (or Sentosa Island) where USS is located. The monorail will cost you about SGD3 or alternatively, you can also take the cab, bus or cable car. 

Look who're here! Charlie Chaplin =). 

At Lights! Camera! Action! A simulation of a Stage 3 Hurricane in New York. Had fire, strong wind, rain etc. Super cool!

At Sci-Fi City. There's Bumblebee and Megatron and Autobots!!

Queuing for the Transformers ride took 1 hour and 20 minutes. That was one long queue but it was completely worth it *thumbs up*.

That's Optimus Prime, I think *sheepish smile*.

At the Ancient Egypt. Fit physique and six pack abs *drool*

The view from one of the rides. That is Far Far Away Castle. 

Monster Rock, a musical performance by Frankenstein, Dracula, and many other monsters. They may look like monsters but their voices are very beautiful and melodic. 

At Water World. Stunts and death-defying acts, super impressive!

We had explosions, hovercrafts, boats, jet skis, flying planes, fire etc. The stunts are simply amazing. 

Three hours later. Finally made it to Far Far Away. 

Alex and Penguin says hi!

The last ride for the night, A crate adventure. You totally need a whole day for Universal Studios. 

Met Frankie on the way out. Merry Christmas, Frankie!

Left with a box of Garret's Popcorn. Slightly pricy but super sedap!

Au revoir Singapore. Am glad for the opportunity to travel with Raden as we couldn't go for our honeymoon yet and this mini getaway is enough for us to enjoy quality time together. 

A note of caution, if you're thinking of going to Singapore from Johor, try to be as early as possible to the customs/ immigration check point, it took us a two-hours wait at Singapore customs just to get through. If you're not patient, take the cab, I think it's faster than taking the bus, like we did.

Hope y'all had a great weekend peeps!


xoxo Mrs Fashionista =)

Pre Wedding Singapore

As I told y'all before, I (or more appropriately, me and my fiancé) have had more than one pre wedding session. Why did we do it? I simply don't know. Maybe because since we were going overseas anyway, we decided to bring a photographer along and take photos of us. Well, whatever it is, it's done. We had our first pre wedding in Singapore (since we had to buy some stuff for the wedding) and our second one in Macau (the recent holiday that I was mentioning about) and another session in Hong Kong (no, it is not a separate pre wedding session since our trip consisted of Macau-Hong Kong-Shenzhen all in one go). Ah well.. I've let the cat out of the bag now haven't I? So, here are some shots from the pre wedding session in Singapore that I love =).

This is one of my favorite photos out of that pre wedding session. I absolutely love silhouette photography and this one is a beautiful one of us. We both love branded items (and just in case you're wondering, no, he has not given me any LV handbags yet, though I'd say soon, he will *wink*)

This is another silhouette of us that I adore. As I'd written above, my fiancé loves giving me high-end handbags (which I happily accept, thank you very much). A Prada is also one of the things I'm looking forward to (and no, I'm not telling what handbags he already has given me *grin*).

Just in case you're wondering, our photo session was taken at Orchard Road, during Christmas sale. We wanted to capture the lights and festive mood as part of our pre wedding shot, so there there we were, gob-smacked in the middle of all the festive lights.

Though I don't like how the shadow falls over my face (thus taking away the focus from my face) but I love our pose in this one.

The next day we went to Universal Studios for our second photo shoot. We deliberately went for Universal Studios (as it has just recently opened in Singapore last year). It's the first time the three of us (meaning me, my fiancé and our photographer) have been to Universal Studios.

This photo needs no explanation =)

This one was taken later as we were wandering around Sentosa Island.

To love, relationships and my upcoming wedding.

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Ps: My pre wedding photo shoot was taken by Nazar Ibrahim Photography so if you're interested on getting to know his stuff, his link is here www.nazaribrahim.com.

Christmas Shopping in Singapore

I have always loved my travels to Singapore. And the main reason for it is because all my travels include fantastic shopping sessions. Indeed what better way to spend the time than perusing shopping complexes and then filling out your wardrobe to the max *happy sigh*.

Indeed I had this trip all planned out since July. We know how competitive shopping can be during Christmas and I'd say Singapore is one of the best shopping havens in the world. Rows of stores and boutiques all lined up side by side; sparkly goods waiting to be yours *gosh*.

Anyways, there were two main reasons for this trip:

1. To check out the new Universal Studios; and

2. To check out Armani Exchange's boutique store.

Armani anyone?

So, let's see...

First day, we touched down in Changi Airport at around 6.15 pm. Then we quickly checked into our hotel and MRTed off to Orchard Road. We arrived at Orchard by 10 pm. It was kinda late for any shopping so instead, we strolled the bustling stretch of Orchard Road and by midnight we left for Mustafa. FYI, Mustafa is a 24-store, so it's a perfect place to shop anytime of the day!

Second day, we left for Universal Studios only to find out at Vivo City that the tickets to Universal Studios are all sold out! Until 2nd January, that is. Since our trip to Singapore is only 'til Christmas, it just doesn't seem right to be buying tickets for January 3rd. So instead we decided to roam Sentosa Island (and even though there was a peddler who wanted to sell us tickets to Universal Studios, we decided that we're not the peddling type so we turned down his offer).

Me and Nazar goofing off near Merlion

Then we went shopping for Armani at Vivo City.

Me in front of Tangs

Now, imagine that you're in front of this Armani boutique and inside you see a 50% discount sign. What do you do? Storm right in, silly *duh*.

Third day, saw us coming again to Orchard, this time finalizing our purchases. Went off to ION Orchard, then Tangs, then Wisma Atria, then Takashimaya (you get the picture, right?).

Me at ION Orchard

We loaded on Armani (since that is reason no 2) and might I say that the discounts offered is really, really good =). I'd really recommend Singapore if you really feel like splurging.

We were only able to enter Universal Studios that night. The tickets are sold out but they allowed us to purchases night passes for the price of SGD5 and we were only given access to Hollywood Stars or something that sounded similar. Since we really, really wanted to go (remember: there were only two main reasons why we were in Singapore, so we tried to stick to that two main reasons). So, this is what we found:

Finally we managed to enter Universal Studios.

Where to?

Some of the attractions at Universal Studios Singapore.

  

Let's get to the Lost World and see dinosaurs!

I want to move it! Move it!

Finally we left the hustle and bustle of Singapore for the comforts of Kuching on the fourth day. I dare say I'll be back and hopefully soon =)

Me at Changi Airport. Love the beautiful Christmas deco

P/s: If you would like to shop in Singapore, I'd recommend its mid-year Great Sale rather than the year-end Christmas Sale since I've been to experience them both and found that the mid-year sale offers more discounts and better offer for tourists. Please bring your passports with you when you shop and claim your GST at whatever stores that you're shopping at ya =).

Among those that we brought home =)

Lots of hugs and plenty of shopping sprees to y'all!

 

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Fashionista Escapades: Singapore

As I mentioned in my last post last year that I was heading to Singapore for my mid-year holiday, right? So, let me share the highlights of my trip, for those who might be thinking of Singapore as their next holiday destination.

I had the good fortune of going to Singapore twice in June last year, one week after the other. We had the good opportunity of staying near to Bugis area and let me share that it was a very strategic place to stay; very near to Mustafa (a great 24-hour shopping spot and very cheap to boot; it is right next to Seranggoon MRT) and also within walking distance to Bugis Village Mall and Bugis MRT station.

This interesting display was found in front of a stall selling fresh fruit juice at Bugis. This certainly is a very interesting way to capture the customer's attention.

So what can you expect from Singapore?

If you're into shopping, it would be favorable for you to go to Singapore either in June (in time for the mid year sale which starts from end of May until end of June) or in December for the year end sale (which coincides with Christmas). Best places for shopping would be almost anywhere because Singapore has an abundance of shopping malls to choose from. One of the best places to go to would have to be Orchard Road as you would be spoilt choices with shopping malls lining side by side all along the road. I got great bargains shopping for Zara tops, the fabrics was absolutely soft and the cutting flattered my shape.

If you looking for fabrics, then Arab street would be the best place to go to. It's within walking distance from Bugis MRT (about 5 - 10 mins of walking) and you'd be looking at rows upon rows of shops selling fabrics from crepes to cottons to silk. Whatever colors and texture, I'm sure there's one for everyone. I'd recommend Arab street especially to those who are looking for wedding fabrics.

Bugis Village, famous for selling street wear at very affordable prices.

If you are looking for bargains, you might like Bugis Village Mall. There's skirts and shawls and tops all at a very reasonable price. You can even find some priced at less than S$10. I even bought gypsy skirts and blouses for only S$10 each.

And for those who love gadgets, my word of advise, DO NOT BUY at SIM LIN PLAZA. We had an absolutely horrible experience with a few shops there who are selling faulty phones and camcorders and were not able to change the faulty phone with a new one. Instead we got into a huge fight with the proprietor but it didn't end well. It was an absolutely hellish experience for me. Instead, I'd recommend you to ION or Takashimaya. There are more choices to choose from and you'd be certain of the quality.

If you are traveling with kids, then I'd recommend the Night Safari for a different experience at the zoo. As the name indicates, Night Safari is a tour of the zoo, at night. If you are going to Singapore for the first time, I'd recommend a short trip there as it is a unique experience that you would never forget.

Besides that, you might also want to bring the kids to Sentosa Island, a theme park with many activities to choose from.

A trip to Singapore is never complete without a trip to Merlion, so we headed there for a final farewell to Singapore's most famous icon.

Happy Holidays!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo