Singapore Trip 2014 (Day 2 : Burning Money and Getting Lost)

I woke up at 7... I think. I don't remember.

After waking up, I got ready and set off for Mustafa Centre at 8:30 for some shopping... chocolates to be exact. Don't ask me why...!

I walked along Jalan Besar and reached Mustafa Centre before my entire gut decides to give up on me.

"Fine, I'll have breakfast first."

I ate at a nearby restaurant (Can't remember the name unfortunately...). The prata (roti canai for you Malaysians...!) was nice, although a bit small... not that I cared at the time; I was rushing...

I think I was in there for at least 2 1/2 hours... I got 7 bottles of sparkling water, some souvenirs for my classmates (bayar oi...! lol jk)  and 3 bags of chocolates because they were cheap as heck.

Here's 2 out of 7 of the bottles. I got 4 of the blues JUST because of the colour hahaha.

I walked back to the hotel and put my stuff before setting off for Bras Basah.

For what? My drum gear, of course...! (As if I have any interest in buying anything else...)

I got off at City Hall MRT before walking to Bras Basah Complex.

There, I walked to Swee Lee Music Company(?) and bought a practice pad, a pair of Vic Firth American Jazz 1 (AJ1) sticks (great sticks, minus the lacquer...), a pocket practice "pad" (to sneak in masuk asrama next year mwehehehe), a Planet Waves NS Micro Universal guitar tuner  and a pack of Ernie Ball regular gauge (.10 gauge for the highest string and .46 for the lowest) guitar strings for my brother. (you'd better pay me darn it)

I got to test out some drums as well for 45 minutes or so. Apparently stick size matters little when it comes to reducing volume during playing...

I think I spent at least S$ 190. RIP savings....

Then, not knowing what to do... I walked back to City Hall MRT, and decided to visit the Esplanade Performing Arts Centre, more specifically the famed Outdoor Theatre.

I got lost on the underpasses. I think it took me 20 minutes from City Hall before I reached the Esplanade Concourse. I reached it at around... 4pm

And guess what?

I got lost in the building itself... but hey, at least I got to see a good part of it...

And, finally, I got out to the area where the Outdoor Theatre was located.

The entire place looked so, so different then from what I've seen in the videos and pictures.

First off, it was smaller than I thought it would be. Nice stage equipment though.

I took some pics of the venue and the bay that lay beyond it, and sat down at the seats of the theatre.

To know that some of my friends, my acquaintances and my music heroes has been here has left me with this unbelievable feeling... (If The Reign of Kindo ever performed "Till We Make Our Ascent" at the Outdoor Theatre, I would die alsndkhisds)

From there on, I swore to myself that I'll be on that stage one day... whether it's as someone's touring musician... or with a band of my own.

I sat and rested for a while. It was calming to to look out into the bay and see the place from which I've looked the very place I'm at right now two years ago.

Two views... 20 November 2012  from Merlion  Park looking out to the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre (left), and 22 October 2014, from the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre looking out to Merlion Park (right).

I got up and got back to the MRT station in order to go to Plaza Singapura so that I could check out more drum gear (cymbals, to be specific). I got out of the train when I realised that the next train I was supposed to be on was right in front of me...! I rushed towards and barely got in when the doors closed. It was fun, hahahahaha....

I stepped down at Dhoby Ghaut MRT and began making my way to Plaza Singapura.

I swear that the underground MRT was like a mini-mall or something... All those pathways... my legs still hurt oK.

I had one of those KFC Cheesy BBQ Meltz which some of my friends had talked about a bit on Twitter... heh. I could barely walk by the time I finished my meal (darn it).

I walked to the Yamaha store and went to the drums section...

Damn I was in for a disappointment. Most of the newer models weren't there...

"But the pictures..."

Then I realised that I was at the wrong store; the store I was supposed to go to was at Paya Lebar... and I had no time left.

I was on my way down when I saw a headphone store. I went there and bought a pair of cheap ATH-M20X studio monitoring headphones... Well, at least I got something...

That and the KFC Cheesy BBQ Meltz which I ate.  Worth it...!


By the time I was back at Bugis MRT, it was almost 7... I roamed around Bugis Village and Bugis Junction and got a pair of Vans for S$ 69.00.

I can't believe this thing is actually cheaper in Singapore than in Malaysia.

After getting out, I took a bus (can't remember the number, though...) and went off to Arab St. to eat again... because I have a black hole for a stomach. I got the chicken murtabak... wasn't as nice as the beef murtabak but... hey, it's food...

At around 9:00-9:30, I returned to Dickson Rd., ending my final night in Singapore.

What a day.