Singapore Trip Day 4 Part 3 - See You Again Merlion

The coming of nightfall signals the end of this journey. It's uncertain when we shall see our friends or Singapore again, but we have no regrets as we made the most out of this trip. Thanks to TC for planning this trip, Ji who made the draft for our itinerary, our hospitable friends who went out of their way to accomodate us and the Singaporeans for making Singapore the way it is today. ^^


It was 8pm of July 26, 2009 when we left Akashi after a delicious dinner courtesy of Che and Mon to rejoin my folks...
The Departure
It was a cinch to get back to Clarke Quay from Vivo City via MRT, in about 45 minutes we were back at Novotel to get on the cab. There were still a lot of time, but we had to stop by the customs to refund our tourist tax at the GST Refund counter. Of course, we were back at the budget terminal.

Selected items can avail Tax Refund for tourists. Ask the merchants before purchasing, of course, you need to keep the receipts ;).


A sign in the airport - Male Toilet, or for kids who aren't potty trained *snicker*.
Our parting meal... Double Wasabi Fish Fillet :9, now this trip has gone full circle.

Here's the security, the lounge area, and the gate to the plane. You can buy last minute pasalubong at the duty free stalls, or you can sit in one of their comfortable couches. There's even a couple of massage chairs that simulate hand massage for the legs popularized by Osim, not sure what brands these are though.



Love this shot ^^!


We have arrived at our destination, thank you for flying Cebu Pacific :)
My Loot
Here's some preview of each notable item I brought back from the trip.

Zumreed Headphones
Cute and functional as advertised. This is also my first set of headphones, it's worth every penny ♥.

Western Digital MyBook External Harddisk (1Tb)
This purchase was really planned and it is serving its purpose as secondary storage aside from my laptop's limited space. At S$179.00 you can't go wrong with this. (note: There was a Seagate 1.5Tb that has more value per money, but Ji was more biased towards MyBook :p)

Bossini Shirt
Ji and I bought a pair of shirts that complement each other, hopefully this one's not available in the Philippines. The exclusivity gives it more value lolz.

Saint Seiya Figures
Mission accomplished! I was able to get the just released Andromeda God Cloth priced at around S$85, which I was really aiming for since it's going to cost a lot more than it should if I get it shipped or from a local store. Now, hopefully I'd also have opportunities to get my hands on the 3 remaining God Cloths of the other bronze saints (Dragon, Cygnus and Phoenix).

God Cloth Andromeda Shun will go nicely beside God Cloth Pegasus Seiya!
I'm NOT sorry I spent more than I should've :D 'cause I bought two more figures... The Pisces Gold Cloth and Virgo Gold Cloth! Hooray! The two remaining Gold Cloths from the 12 zodiacs I'm searching for a decent price, especially since the Pisces was particularly hard to find by this time, now this set is finally complete.

Pisces Aphrodite, the beautiful saint. Virgo Shaka, the one closest to god.
Ok, I lied, there's one more figure :p and it's the stalwart of Hades' army, Pandora! She comes with a huge harp. This is a premium figure in Japan and the only way to get her there is by sending in purchase coupons from other figures. This one is a bit more expensive than I was hoping for since it's a consignment item.

Extra generic Canon digicam battery
This should come in handy, though the IXUS 990 SD is very efficient in terms of battery usage, taking videos on it drains it relatively fast.

Novotel Hotel Card
Oops! I have no intention of taking this back as a souvenir... honest! -_-'

Plum Liquer?
This one is from JR :D I've tried it and it actually packs a punch!

Recap
A lot of sleep was sacrificed in order to make the most out of this trip but it couldn't be helped, and all that continuous walking with deprived rest caused a strain on my lower back for at least a week (;_;)... I've met most of the people I know in Singapore, got to see a lot of sites, chowed on some of the most delicious food, fulfilled my shopping list, and spent time with some of the most important people in my life ^_^ I couldn't ask for more. Admittedly, it's tiring to recall and compose these articles of our travelogue but I surely enjoyed it and hope you also enjoyed reading. However, I know that there's still a lot left to be experienced in Singapore, heck I'd want to revisit most of these places as well. While it's uncertain when we'll get the chance to visit again, we'll be sure to share the experience with you ;).

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Chocolate Love

LG has been kicking up the marketing hype for their new phone models dubbed Chocolate series. I'm not particularly interested in the phone, but the promoters LG got ♥.


LG Chocolate BL40 Advertisement


Apparently, LG is going all out and got no less than SNSD to market their new baby with their new song Chocolate Love. The name was derived from the sleek black design this series is known for and the BL40 is probably the best one in the line so far. That's a 4.0 inch screen and it's equipped with 5 megapixel camera utilizing Schneider-Kreuznach lens!



Not convinced? Here's another one of their ads.


Other Chocolate phones usually have slide functions to reveal their keypads. Newer models also have a glowing touch sensitive touchpad used for navigation, similar to iPod. Might be a bit tad too sensitive based on some phone reviews. Aside from black, they also come in strawberry, cherry, mint and white flavors colors.


Here's the full MV for SNSD's Chocolate Love. Enjoy ^^.

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October Madness

See these brown boxes?


Are they
a) Donations for Ondoy victims?
b) Grocery items in case of emergency?
c) Damaged housewares ready to be disposed?
d) None of the above.

The correct answer is revealed after the skip.

If you answered (d), you can give yourself a pat on the back as you guessed it right.

Those are Rai's. Items bought online and were shipped from Japan and most from Hong Kong. You ask what's inside?

This,

Cutie Kureha Nendoroid
this,

Yuki Nagato Figma as an Evil Witch
these,

Lucky Star's Tsukasa, Konata, Kagami, and Miyuki in Winter Uniform Figmas
and these!!!


Lucky Star's Tsukasa and Konata in Summer Uniform Figmas
Most of the Lucky Star figures were bought in Greenhills though. But all of these he accumulated just last week in a matter of 3 days.

Mad! Right???

Then again, these toys make him a happy camper. And if he's happy, who's complaining? :)

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Yotsuba and A Tale of Three Boxes

Once there was this cute action figure that caught the fancy of a then 27 year old lady. Noticing how much she adored the figure, her beau came home from a business trip with this figure in tow.


Yotsuba&! Revoltech DX Summer Vacation Set
[よつばとリボルテックＤＸ 夏休みセット]
And oh how surprised, glad and thankful was she~. She valued the gift so much that she could not make herself open the box. She thought she'd preserve the toy for the meantime.

A little over a month, the beau acquired information that there was a another version of this character... one that preceded what he gave her as a present. Soon after... he arrived at the office carrying the first version plaything (which he bought from a local toy store in town).


Yotsuba&! Revoltech
[よつばとリボルテック]
It was like déjà vu as the same kind of emotions (amazement and gratefulness) came over her. Having two in her possession, she felt it was admissible to open one of them to serve its purpose: to be toyed with. Upon comparison, she resolved to open the last considering it had the character's signature expression. Soon after, she found herself not without her 'alter ego'.

When it was time for the beau to have another business trip, she coerced him to bring the 'alter ego' with him so he can take photos of 'her' in a different location. Unfortunately, in one his photo sessions, he accidentally dropped 'her'. When he found scratches on 'her', he felt so guilty he wanted to replace 'her' with a new one! Alas! He did buy her a new one and suggested that she can keep the new one unopened and still make use of the already-used figure to play with. So, she did.

She thought the beau had enough of the toy giving. Oh, was she wrong. One Christmas season, he handed her a simple brown box. So simple that it only had a sticker with something written in Japanese. When she opened it, she saw this

Danboard Revoltech 7-11 Limited Version
[セブン-イレブン印のダンボー]
It was her toy figure's boy friend in costume(and another cute toy figure at that). She could not believe her eyes as she knew the toy just came out and was not sold cheap. Indeed, it was too good of a surprise for her.

...
...
...

This is how I have these thus far. :)

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Dawn of the Girl's Generation (SNSD)

Neomuneomu meotjyeo nuni nuni busyeo
Sumeul mot swigesseo tteollineun girl
Gee Gee Gee Gee Baby Baby Baby
Gee Gee Gee Gee Baby Baby Baby

...gibberish? It's actually the first few lines from a Korean song which you may have already heard. It's from the song "Gee" by the Girl's Generation and I assure you that once you hear it, it's gonna be stuck in your head ^^.



I had no idea what this group was about until I caught a glimpse of their music video and got hooked @_@. If you loved the Wonder Girls' "Nobody" then you will also love this group! I won't be comparing these two groups nor do I need to make them clash as I like them both <3, the world can't have too many cute girls right? :D



Girl's Generation is an all girl group (of course!) from South Korea which is composed of nine members, namely: Yoona, Tiffany, Yuri, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, Seohyun, Taeyeon, Jessica, and Sunny formed together by SM Entertainment back in 2007. They are also referred to as SNSD, based from their Korean name So Nyeo Shi Dai. There is also a trivia that this group is the counterpart for an all male group known as Super Junior.

What I like about this group is that they are talented in singing and dancing. Hold it! But that's a given you would say... yes that's true, but I think these Korean groups bring a different kind of talent to the mix. But given the fact that they've been around since 2007 and we just heard of them will probably attribute to 2 factors IMO... the group Wonder Girls paved the way for Korean pop industry and the success of their own song "Gee".

Here's a video of the same song Gee, but in this version you can see the entire dance and how well the choreography actually is. The way they travel around the stage is impressive and fluid, the timing and synchronization are also well executed... all while maintaining that cute factor *nosebleeds*.




Guys, try not to get distracted by those legs! ^^

Now here are some of their famous singles... and some, just my favorites (though I don't understand anything :p).

Into The New World
This is their debut single back in August 2007 and a very nice song if I may add.


Kissing You
Their second single was released during early 2008, which was supposed to have done very well but personally I prefer some of their other songs.


Baby Baby
This third single released on March 2008 is somewhat mellow but is nonetheless catchy. Easy on the ears as they put it.


Him Nae! (Way To Go!)
One of my favorites... it is upbeat and seems to contain enough magic dusts to brighten up a bad day. Released along with Gee in January 2009.


Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)
Sowoneul Malhaebwa... introduced at July 2009, Girls' Generation have been fulfilling wishes with their new performance. But no doubt that SM Entertainment is getting the riches without wishing for it.


[EDIT]
HaHaHa
Added this video which I originally intended to leave out. Now I felt regret after I heard it again *bows in shame* T-T. I found 2 versions for the HaHaHa video, one is the original MV released and another shot in Incheon Airport (just the sound makes me crave for Ma-Ling :9)

Note: Below is an excerpt from the video description made by KPOPMV010 since I have exactly the same thoughts.

I really like this version of Girls Generation HaHaHa since it looks random although its not. specially invited fans were used as extras, while filming took 10 hours to do. It would have been great if it was completely impromptu.


That's it for now... if you were left unsatisfied, you might want to know they still have other songs out there ^^. Let me know what you think of them and which songs you liked alright? ;)

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