SINGAPORE (Backpackers Diary) Part 2

 

Selamat Hari Raya uolls.Tahun ni masih pegang status single ke korang? Ke dah beraya berdua, bertiga & berempat? I masih lagi jaguh bertahan single di hari raya dan masih dapat duit raya~ doa-doakan lah rezeki jodoh saya ye.

Bersambung di part 2 kisah SG, jom terjah next destination : Changi International Airport.

Al kisah selepas kami penat discover Arab street dan Bugis street sekitar pukul 1.30pm, we caught an East-West Line (EWL in green line) train at peak hours from Bugis station and changed platforms at Tanah Merah St to Changi Airport.

                                                  

The EWL train will directly to Changi Airport and took around 30@40 minutes to get there if you start from Bugis - only cost 2$.Train waiting time pun tak lama jika terlepas, less than 5mins next train sudah sampai. Sementara itu boleh la melihat kehidupan seharian warga local rushing mengejar hal ehwal dunia. 

People around 50-60 y/o still working. I guess Singapore is indeed an expensive country to live in.

Mrt platform dah connect dengan Changi Airport T2, so exit bersama-sama warga kota naik escalator ke Terminal 2. Banyak duty free shop di Terminal 2, Ain meracun Sam & I untuk try Kenangan Coffee. Alasannya nak mengimbau kenangan lama but for us mehh. My kenangan latte costs 6.5$...this one better be kenangan terindah or kenangan abadi ==' a bit pricey if you rajin nak convert- dah level Starbies coffee.

The coffee originated locally from Indonesia. Their signatures are Kenangan Latte and Avocado Coffee. The latte is so sweet and milky compared to our latte, if you guys have a sweet tooth this one is for you. Serius sedap. Sam picked iced mocha and Ain always gets her Americano~

Skytrain terminal di Level 2 T2, kena jalan depan sikit selepas booth Kenangan Coffee. Sumpah mula-mula I blur dengan route skytrain bcos first time naik. Less than 5 mins dah sampai Terminal 1, kami memang dah lapar teruk masa ni so we were headed straight away to staff canteen airport. 

Ramai orang dekat departure/arrival side, Ain dah nampak I lost (punca lapar) tak jumpa staff canteen terus dia pergi tanya di Information counter. We complete each other gituu, I memang jarang nak minta tolong unless dah blur terox. Travel with buddies-yang dah kenal since Form 4 banyak hikmahnya - I lebih mendalami diri sendiri.lol

Staff canteen ni macam foodcourt & the price for public/staff berbeza but still murahh. I bought Chinese chicken rice for just 4.8$ and a portion besar sangat. At that moment, just a few halal shops were available for us but that's fine. They were using green plates & cutleries to differentiate between halal & non-halal. Siap ada logo halal Muis.

Literally holding back my tears bcos 'our ringgit currency rate keeps on going down'.huhu

Okay back to our main interest - JEWEL. I tak jumpa entrance to Jewel Mall, maka Sam & Ain hanya membuntuti kemana sahaja kaki yayadoe melangkah.

Almost sesat nak cari skytrain untuk ke Jewel rainforest waterfall. Sam dan Ain pandang aku pelik kenapa kena datang airport nak tengok waterfall??? Itulah orang suruh study dulu before trip taknak!

Sejenak daku refresh IQ system after mentekedarah nasi ayam sgd, baru lahh paham the route. Rupanya from T1 kena jalan kaki sepanjang 1km, approximately 10mins walk to the connecting route (link bridge) ala-ala jejantas T20 untuk masuk ke mall JEWEL.

Tapi kami sudah penat nak jalan so we took a T1 Skytrain to Terminal 3, then from point B (T3)  to point E (T2) akan ada skytrain untuk merentasi kedalam JEWEL mall. 

Ohhh woww...amazed sangat view dari dalam skytrain. Diorg yang paling excited dalam skytrain sampai taknak turun. Ulang skytrain route T3-T2 sampai 4x beb sebab benda free bak kata sam.

Ini pula view dari luar train, so siapa yang transit more than 3 hours boleh habiskan tenaga dekat sini. Kitorg hanya naik skytrain je nak jimat masa dan tenaga gitu.

Back to Terminal 2, ada banyak activities dekat ini untuk korg yang transit 3 jam ke atas.  The Wonderfall display setinggi 14 meter berada di departure hall T2 untuk korg ootd, Dreamscape berkonsepkan 'digital sky' garden untuk korg yang masih dalam fasa healing , ada juga TV lounge untuk melepak, Flap Pix ni unik sangat pls google sendiri, & others exhibitions. We also found a playground with a giant funko pop-up merch to explore. No wonder Changi Airport won the best airport in the world gituuu. 1000000% setuju.

Healing di tepian sungai temasik

Next, we headed back to the city untuk ke Merlion Park, so we dropped off EWL at Raffles Place st. Keluar ikut pintu Exit H dan terus follow the crowd to riverside area. Actually laluan ni paling dekat untuk ke Merlion Park, jalan kaki dalam 10mins je. Tapi disebabkan banyak spot ootd kitorg spend 30mins tau baru sampai Merlion Park.HAHA 

Jambatan untuk menyeberang singapore river. Masa ni cuaca mendung so memang tenang je jalan walaupun penat.

My energy waktu ni dah tinggal 30%.

 Pakcik Stamford Raffles was convincing the Temasik's people to accept his colonial ideas & promises to enhance the village's port into a modern urban structure trading port and expand it into the busiest port worldwide. #sebabbolehdik

Selepas cross Fullerton road, akhirnya sampai juga di Merlion jetty area around 5pm. Gambar sini wajib snap tanda hadir. The view  from Merlion berlatar kan Marina Bay Sands & ArtScience museum yang sangat urban-moden city. Masa ni kami dah barai tapi semangat masih membara. Nasib kaki I masih bagi kerjasama walaupun muka penat tu jelas terpapar.

A few steps to the right boleh nampak the most famous monument landmark in SG - Merlion. A must go to visit walaupun seperti jangkaan ramai, the place was congested with tourists yang bermacam gaya. Entahlaa bagi I, everyone was so happy and considerate to each other at the nice spots area. After scrolling down the photos gallery, I decided untuk letak gambar Merlion Si Singa-separuh ikan ni je sebab muka I macam tak excited@ mehh-underated-sangat. sumpah aku happy. HAHA

As usual, Si Yayadoe terpaling multitasking in everything - boleh jadi photographer, videographer, tourist guide, translator dan juga porter beg rakan-rakan. Untung bakal suami saya~

 Walaupun dikelilingi hiruk pikuk manusia namun yayadoe tetap enjoy her own delulu bubble. Menghayati keindahan alam.

Cuaca mendung sebelah petang, memang damai & tenang je jiwa nak sambung heret kaki untuk ke next place. Stay tune with my next huruhara@ bebels!

With love & Eid Mubarak.

Yaya doe

SINGAPORE - (Backpacker's Diary) Part 1

 

Hai people & Salam Ramadan,

As per mentioned in the title, yayadoe kembali merentasi samudera bersama semangat baru dan jitu. Honestly, I'm been living in Johor for almost 10 years but tak pernah rasa nak masuk Singapore until Ain decided to join me when I said nak start solo travel.

 I just wanted to let you know, this was a day trip during Taylor Swift's last day concert tour. That's why most places were quite lively and crowded. Ayuhhh kita bersama-sama menyelusuri perasaan orang Malaysia yang kerja balik hari JB-SG-JB. Day trip kali ini penuh dengan suka duka dan juga haru biru yayadoe & rakan-rakan sebaya.lol

By the way, this trip only cost me below RM150. Anyone yang nak melancong ke SG please download MyICA and register your SG arrival card 3 days before departure. Lepas dah approve baru boleh scan your passport dekat autogate CIQ MY/Woodlands.

                                                                  

Pukul 7 pagi dah gerak pickup Sammy dan terus ke Larkin Sentral. Kami park kereta area Plaza Larkin sebab dah plan nak breakfast foodcourt situ dan jalan kaki ke Larkin Sentral. Sementara tunggu Ain dari Skudai, kitorg makan dulu. I order mee rebus johor & Sam pula bubur sup daging. Harus makan dulu ya sebelum naik bas.

                                                

Agak-agak nak pukul 9am baru terhegeh nak beli tiket bas. Kaunter tiket Larkin ni sampai 13 kaunter tapi bila nak beli tiket bas pergi Singapore semua cakap pergi kaunter 1. Kaunter 1 pula kosong tak ada orang. Pening. Lama juga kami termenung, Ain dengan Sam lagi la tak study aci redah. I terus gerak pergi tanya abang hensem yang jaga gate bas JB-SG. Rupanya kena beli boarding pass (qr code) RM 1/pax dulu dekat gate dan tunggu sehingga operator Bas Express SG panggil anda untuk naik bas. HAHA

Nasib sempat lari pergi tukar duit dekat money changer, sebab bas akan gerak lagi 10mins. Bayar cash ya RM4.80 tix Larkin > Queenstreet. Bas SBS Transit akan melalui JB Sentral (CIQ Malaysia) dan juga CIQ Woodlands serta direct ke Queenstreet. Simpan tiket elok-elok, hilang tiket tu memang naya. Sampai sahaja di CIQ kami dah culture shock dengan suasana yang rushing. Semua orang lari wey naik escalator dan kami hanya santai melihat ragam manusia. HAHA

Nampak lengang sebab semua jalan laju & ada yang lari naik escalator.fuyoo

Alhamdulillah berjaya lalu autogate dengan bergaya walaupun nebes terox ya. Sekali lagi di platform bas boleh silap beratur line bas Causeway Link, padahal tiket SBS Transit. Ko nape nyahhh. Nyaris kena tinggal bas di CIQ JB Sentral, hahahha sampai uncle operator tu pekik suruh cepat. Maka kami bertiga berdiri jela dalam bas sepanjang jammed nak ke Woodlands. After settle CIQ Woodlands around 10.30am kami bergegas naik bas yang sama risau kena marah pula sebab noobs. sobs  nasib baik dapat seat untuk duduk.

                                           

Cuci mata dulu. 7/11 pon ada desserts taraf Starbies.

Around 11am sampai di Terminal Bas Queenstreet,  I on app Citymapper untuk cari nearest MRT station > Bugis St to start our first destination - Arab Street (Sultan Mosque). Sepanjang day trip I roaming hotlink je RM10. Jimat sangat dan internet not bad. Citymapper bagus dan user-friendly untuk korang yang subjek geografi tak power. Ain dan Sam macam biasa akan follow jejak kaki yayadoe-yang-acah-confident pernah masuk SG 10x dah.

Suasana di Bugis station busy with local, Exit Raffles Hospital paling dekat jika nak ke main attractions.

                                            

Public transport di SG sangat mudah untuk difahami jika anda sudah terbiasa menggunakan LRT/monorail/mrt di KL. Keadaan di semua tempat sangat bersih dan teratur. Disebabkan Ain dan Sam tak ada Bigpay@Wise card, so menapak mencari 7eleven dulu di area MRT Bugis untuk beli Ez-link card for transportation. 1 card berharga 10sgd, btw Abg cashier  7/11 ni bagitau 1 hari daytrip 10sgd dah cukup untuk public transport. Topup another 5sgd bcos baki card tak boleh less than 5sgd for every transaction.    

                                               

Terik sungguh, langsung tak cloudy seperti forecast weather. Tapi best je jalan-jalan sekitar lorong-lorong Arab street, gambar yang kami snap semua lawa. Salah satu tourist spot dan wajib datang sini bcos ada banyak pilihan restaurants & cafe yang halal.

Teruja sangat dapat tengok masjid ni depan mata

One of the oldest mosques, Sultan Mosque or Masjid Sultan was built in 1824 by Sultan Hussein Shah and is an iconic landmark in SG. I was starstruck by its architecture and its massive golden domes. The mosque was surrounded by small local/international shops lot. Disebabkan masih kenyang so kami hanya berjalan-jalan di deretan kedai mencari ootd spots.

Kami meneruskan perjalanan di celah-celah streets dan akhirnya sampai di Haji Lane. Melayan Ain dan Sam ootd di setiap street arts.Ambil masa 10 mins untuk clearkan lorong ni tau, kalau petang confirm sesak.  Macam dekat Jonker walk melaka bak kata Sam. 

Si Yayadoe played Lost Tourist in the Haji Lane Wanderlust. Cantik dan aestetic tau setiap cafes di Haji Lane. Mostly operating time lewat petang. Taknak sesak dengan ramai  orang pls datang waktu matahari tegak atas kepala.

Haji Lane area ni memang spot tourist dan best kalau nak cafe hunting. For me dekat sini kena spent at least half day untuk cover semua area termasuk Little India & Chinatown. Tourist attractions are within walking distance, tak larat jalan boleh naik public bus.

Lorong ni tak silap di belakang Sultan Mosque, ada beberapa local cuisine yang viral dan ramai yang beratur. I pula tak suka beratur dan sanggup pergi kedai yang tak ada orang sebab nak cepat. Asalkan perut kenyang. settle.

Demam Swifties di semua kawasan, kedai/cafes pon pasang soundtrack Taylor Swift untuk tarik tourists masuk kedai diorg.

Area Haji Lane ada banyak gift shops untuk beli souvenir. Masa terhad so kitorg hanya singgah 1-2 kedai sahaja untuk beli keychain/magnet fridge buat diri sendiri. Elakkan convert agar hati kekal tenang.lol

Now, gerak ke Mrt Bugis untuk ke next destination. Ada pandestrian walk yang vibes ala-ala Junggle's Book@ semak samun,  disapa angin sepoi-sepoi bahasa. Ada beberapa kawasan yang berkonsepkan nature/forest city tapi bahang panas tu masih sama.

With love & Ramadan Kareem.

Yaya doe

2024 SKINCARE TOP PICKS - HOLY GRAIL

 

Hi pretty people,

It's been a long time since my last skincare post. How's your skincare-ship? HAHA 

Okay, Let's be real bc these days tiktok keeps on tempting me to purchase new items. I guess my skincare routine is still the same as before but I added a few products. My skin condition is quite good these days, Alhamdulilah. That's why I'm excited to share this routine with you guys who still struggling to achieve glass skin. I know how hard it is!

After a long day at work, I started my routine with a double cleansing method. An oil-cleansing makeup remover from Biore can effortlessly remove my 8 hours of makeup. The new formulation provides a basic cleansing to maintain the skin's moisture balance and dissolve any impurities into tiny pores. Would repurchase this one all the time and I always bought the big size bcos it can last longer. 9/10

Moving forward, I found that COSRX Salicylic Acid cleanser is really gentle on my skin. It can easily remove my makeup and exfoliate my dead skin without causing any redness or dryness. I love to try other cleansers as well but I keep coming back to this one as it seems the most effective to my skin. The cleanser helps to fight my pimples and blemishes. 10/10

Currently, Wonder: Ceramide mochi toner is the only toner that I use in my AM skincare routine. The texture is so milky and not sticky at all. Really hydrate my skin and I'm already in my second bottle. I notice my skin become more healthy and bouncy as a mochi-like skin texture. Perasann je lebih.Delulu girl. Definitely will repurchase again. 100/10

I heard so many good reviews about TO Glycolic Acid Toner, and I never regretted buying it as my exfoliator. My pores became less visible and whiteheads/blackheads were gone. The price was a bit pricey but it takes so long to finish one bottle. I use it twice a week, please don't mix it up with retinol or AHAs/BHAs guys. The cons were the texture was so sticky and it smelled weird.HAHA 7/10

One and only ampoule that saved my breakouts throughout the month. Skin 1004 centella ampoule is so underrated and it works really well with my sensitive skin. Never count how many times I repurchase this one. lol

Currently, I used the biggest size and the price was much cheaper compared to the trial size. The texture is so light and it soothes my skin from any dry patches or irritation. 1000000/10

Honestly, I'm scared to add any retinol to my routine because of my sensitive skin. So I start with the lowest amount which is The Ordinary retinol 0.2% in Squalane. What is squalane? It is one of the saturated oils in the skincare ingredients. Basically, the oils will boost the hydration of your skin and decrease any inflammation. Most of the squalane is made from olive trees or certain plants. I used the TO twice a week in my night routine to repair my skin barrier. Keep in mind, that you can't mix it with glycolic acid, Vit C, AHAs, and BHAs. I had a mild purging for 1 week bc I accidentally messed up the step. lol 9/10

The OG essence ever. HAHA. No one can deny my loyalty to Benton Snail-Bee Essence. Been using this since Day 1 of my breakouts era and it helps A LOT. Our 5 years love-hate skincare-ship is going strong guys. I wish they sold the jumbo size (500ml) like the Tony Moly toner size. It is very watery and lightweight with no scent. Nevertheless, it is very good at repairing uneven skin tone, sunburn, and acne-prone skin. ∞/10

The most viral serum in 2023 was Axis-Y - Dark Spot Correcting Serum. The hype was massive and it went viral since Dahlia promoted this serum. It promises to correct the dark pigmentation and to achieve a dewy glass skin. The price was a bit pricey for me. So far, it has delivered noticeable results on my skin after 2 tubes of this serum. 9.5/10

When buying a skincare serum, I always research everything before add into my cart especially if it goes viral. Last year, Beauty of Joseon products really caught my eye bc I've been sick of using the same serum for the past years. lol

I need a game changer in my routine so I decided to try the Glow Serum: propolis + niacinamide. It brightens up my skin tone, fades acne scars, and minimizes enlarged pores. Simply apply 1-2 drops in my AM routine and it absorbs pretty fast with glowing effects. 8/10

The best beauty secret hack is sunscreen/sunblock. If you rarely wear this pls don't talk to me.HAHA    I tried a lot of drugstore sunblock brands but I always crawl back to this 3W Clinic Sunblock Cream. The price is so affordable and the size is quite big. I had a combination of skin, and so far it blends well under my makeup. No white cast or peeling effect under makeup. Last year I never used any primer before applying the foundation fortunately it never cracked my base.phewww  10/10

Next, the most interesting part of the skincare routine is moisturizer. I've been using the same local moisturizer for ages and this time I want to try Korean bestseller: IUNIK Centella gel cream in my PM routine. Honestly, it did give a night-long moisturization and calming my stressed/blemish-prone skin. I love the packaging size and 1 tube can last for 3-4 months usage. 10000/10

Finally, the extras in my skincare go to Mugwort clay mask by Skintific. It cost around RM30, which is half the price of the Axis-Y mugwort clay mask. So if you are looking for an affordable mugwort mask dupe maybe this one is for you. I use it 1-2 times per week and it doesn't have any strong scent like the Axis-Y mask. Based on my research, mugwort is a herb plant that is used for meds, especially in bacterial infection cases. For my review, it regulates sebum production, unclogs my pores, and reduces any redness.

To sum up, a glass dewy skin look may take so much effort, money, and time to maintain. It has been a huge struggle since my second semester to deal with acne-prone skin. Everyone keeps advising me to buy this and that. Try-and-error products were likely a learning process in finding what was good and bad for my face. Not an easy rollercoaster journey to reach this stage but I appreciate every single up and down pimple.

with love.

Yaya doe

2024 - A Year Wiser

Hi peeps,

How's your 2024 so far? Mine is still bearable. 

I'm planning a lot this year as per above mentioned - 2024 vision board. Hehe. 

It was like a break for me last year because sometimes I can be too hard on myself. I was more into the inner peace era where I reflected on my past decisions and stayed low-key in my quiet zone. But this year's resolutions are different guys, I set new goals with a stronger spirit.

1) Family Bonding

2) Roadtrip Adventure

3) Coffee Talks

4) Diversity of Culture 

5) Mission Kim Possible : *clickbait*

Wish me extra-luck!!!! 

Kbai

with love,

hakuna matata