Voyager Of The Seas - Royal Caribbean International [Shore Excursions At Phuket]

Phuket has long been luring tourists to it's drop dead gorgeous beaches and dramatic bay scenery. It is also Thailand's most famous island destination for vacation from around the world. Apart from all the new developments, Phuket's natural wonders are still the main attractions where beaches, rainforest trek or boat ride to Phi Phi Island and etc are the must try or do for tourists.

And after a day in the sun, you could also pamper yourself with traditional Thai massage to experience this ancient art of healing.

Voyager Of The Seas - Royal Caribbean International [Shore Excursions At Malaysia]

First of all, this is a very over due post which I have no time to finish after my last two posts(here) on our 6 days Voyager Of The Seas Cruise Trip during June school holiday. Along the journey there were 3 ports of call whereby we stopover at Port Klang, Penang (Malaysia) And Phuket(Thailand). Since on board I am very excited to visit Penang as I have heard and read a lot of good reviews on their food especially Penang Laska, Cha Kway Teow and Bak Kut Teh.

In this post, I would like to share with you some of the places and food that we tried during our Penang stopover.

Voyager Of The Seas - Royal Caribbean International [Part I]

After about a month of waiting time, we are finally on board the "Voyager Of The Seas" which kicks off her maiden Asian itinerary coincides with Singapore’s June School Holiday period. Although this is not our 1st cruise experience but we are all very excited to onboard this huge cruise ship that first dock on our new cruise terminal at marina bay.

For your information this 14 passenger-deck "Voyager of the Seas" carries 3,840 guests at its total occupancy with luxury furnishing, international cuisines and world class entertainments on board. The package she offers during her dock in Singapore are short cruises of 3 - 5 nights to Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Phuket, as well as an 8-night cruise to Shanghai that features Ho Chi Minh, Xiamen and an overnight in Hong Kong. (A Chinese Version of this post is available over at omy.sg HERE)

Asia's Dining Destination Package - A Gastronomic Discovery at Marina Bay Sands

Recently Marina Bay Sands(MBS) and United Overseas Bank(UOB) has come out with a epicurean adventures at Asia's Dining Destination(ADD). For a year, this ADD programme comes with a luxurious stay at Club or Suite floor; champagne on arrival, a behind-the-scenes kitchen tour at the renowned SANTI , Guy Savoy and Waku Ghin; as well as breakfasts, cocktails and dinner at the celebrity chef restaurants and other participating outlets.

THE CLUB ROOM

The Club Room is located in Tower 2, on the 35th to 49th floors. It has a room area of 62-square meter space, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, calming contemporary decor, executive work desk, 42” interactive flat-screen television, iPod docking station, DVD player and Nespresso machine and etc.

On top of the above guests from the Club Room also entitled privileged access — to The Club at Marina Bay Sands which is situated 57 stories above the ground, the famous Sands SkyPark and the Infinity pool. Enjoy complimentary breakfast at The Club at Marina Bay Sands, a beautiful venue that offers airy seating, wide-open city views and attentive service.

Breathtaking view from our hotel room at level 39 which is facing the city view. The room at Tower 2 has a great panoramic view of the city which you could admire at all time of the day.

Beautiful night view of the city from our room.

INFINITY POOL @ SKYPARK

The 150 meter Infinity pool is located at SkyPark which is the world’s longest elevated swimming pool that is 200 meter above ground level. Although the SkyPark is open to the public access via ticket sales (for the Observation Deck) but the use of the pool is only available to hotel guests where they have security guards in between the gate of tower 1 and 3 to check on the flow coming in and out of the pool area.

OBSERVATION DECK @ SKYPARK

With an impressive 12,400 square meters of space that stretching longer than the Eiffel tower laid down, the Sands SkyPark can host up to 3900 people. At the Observation Deck which is located at Tower 3, visitors can feast their eyes on the unforgettable panoramic view of the city landscape (click HERE for the observation view points) as well as a choice to dine-in at Ku De Ta Restaurant.

The Sands SkyPark Public Observation Deck, which is open to members of the public and is a ticketed area, is accessible daily from 9:30am and closes at 10pm (and at 11pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday). For more details on purchasing the ticket(s) you can click HERE.

THE CLUB @ SKYPARK

As The Club Room guests we also get to enjoy complimentary sumptuous Afternoon Tea and refreshing pre-dinner cocktails from The Club located at level 57, Tower 2 . As you can see from the above there is quite a selection of English style tea snacks which is enough to fill your tummy before dinner.

The Club also served American Breakfast from 6.30am till 11.00am daily with wide selection of pastries, harm, cheese, bread, salad and etc. They even have a egg station at the counter to prepare your desire choice of egg dishes. According to the service waitress, if you are an early bird you could even catch beautiful sunrise at about 6.20 - 6.30am in the morning too.

RISE @ LOBBY AREA

For guests who purchase the Asia's Dining Destination package it also includes 2 complimentary breakfasts from either The Club at SkyPark or RISE at lobby area. In this case, guests get to try out two different concept of breakfast and dining experience in two different environment too.

At RISE guest would have more selection of their food  compared to The Club as they usually served international style of buffet items ranging from western pancake, omelette, sausage, salad to Asian dimsum, fried noodles and etc. And there is a also wide selection of pastries and bread plus fresh cut fruits too. But if you prefer more quite environment plus bird eye view of the city landscape from the SkyPark, The Club would be definitely your choice.

THIS ULTIMATE GASTRONOMIC DISCOVERY PACKAGE OFFERS:-

• a 2-night stay in a Club Room or Orchid Suite
• an exclusive behind-the-scenes kitchen tour through a selection of Celebrity Chef restaurants
• a 5-star dinner at the Celebrity Chef Restaurant of your choice
• daily breakfast at either The Club/RISE
• complimentary Afternoon Tea
• complimentary Sunset cocktails at The Club at Marina Bay Sands and more
• complimentary Airport Shuttle Bus on arrival

You can to select a 5-star dinner from one of these restaurants:
~ CUT
~ db Bistro Moderne
~ SANTI (review coming up soon)
~ Guy Savoy (review coming up soon)
~ Osteria Mozza
~ Sky on 57

For more details, pricing and reservation of the Asia's Dining Destination Package, you could refer to Marina Bay Sands official website HERE. Or related photos about this post can be found at Cuisine Paradise Facebook Page HERE.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES KITCHEN TOUR

(Upcoming post)

Behind-the-scenes Kitchen Tour of the Celebrity Chef Restaurants is one of the key focus in the Asia's Dining Destination(ADD) package where the guest(s) has a chance to tour and go behind the kitchen to meet with the chef and get to know the process of food preparation. Although the kitchen tour is only available for SANTI and Guy Savoy from the ADD package,  but we are also glad that we could managed to get into Waku Ghin's kitchen too.

So stay tune for more updates on the Behind-the-scenes Kitchen Tour(updated on 05 Dec 11, HERE) plus review on SANTI and Guy Savoy. Lastly I would like to thank Venetia and Philicia from Marina Bay Sands for the invite to experience this Asia's Dining Destination Package.

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition @ ArtScience Museum, Marina Bay Sands

Good news to all Titanic fans, RMS Titanic has arrived in Singapore docking at Art Science Museum(near Marina Bay Sands) where you can go on board the largest Ship in the world for the first time in Southeast Asia.

And for one of the highlight of the exhibition, each visitor is given a boarding pass at the entrance of the gallery to participate as one of the passengers on board the Titanic. And towards the end of the exhibition, you could also check the name written on the back of the boarding pass against those shown at the "Memorial Gallery" to see what had happened to that "passenger" in the story.

ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM

Currently there are two exhibitions held at the ArtScience Museum which are; DALI Mind of a Genius (extended until 13 November 2011)  and Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition (from 29 October 2011 to 29 April 2012).

The Museum is at Marina Bay Sands along the Marina Bay waterfront and it is easily accessible via public transport and car. If you are traveling by the MRT, Promenade Station(circle line) is about 10 minutes walk from the station whereas Marina Bay Station(North South Line) will takes you about 15 minutes walk to reach the Museum from the station.

RMS TITANIC IN SINGAPORE

Visitor can grab a copy of this "ArtScience Museum Chronicle" at the Museum's lobby on the ground level where you could read up some highlights about this Titanic Exhibition as well as some fascinating facts. For example:- The full name of the Ship, RMS Titanic actually stands for "Royal Mail Steamer Titanic" because Titanic was also built to carry British and US mail apart from those rich and famous passengers.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EXHIBITIONS

The Titanic Artifact Exhibition occupies 2500 square meters of gallery space in ArtScience Museum with 9 different exhibit areas showcasing from the Constructions of Titanic to it's First Class Stateroom,  Boiler Room, Iceberg Gallery, Discovery and etc.

In the Iceberg Gallery you can touch a real sheet of ice and experience the freezing waters of the North Atlantic where the passengers of Titanic encountered during the night on 14 April 1912.

Despite whether you have or yet to visit the Titanic Exhibition you could also check out their online Passenger Logbook at www.titanic.sg where visitors to the Exhibition shared about their thoughts on the Titanic experience. 

VISITOR INFORMATION

LOCATION
ArtScience Museum (Marina Bay Sands)
10 Bayfront Avenue
Singapore 018956
Official Site: HERE


WHERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Online: Marina Bay Sands Ticketing Portal

Ticketing Hotline: +65 6688 8826

Marina Bay Sands Box Offices

~ ArtScience Museum Lobby
~ Hotel Lobby, Tower 1 L1
~ Retail Concierge, The Shoppes L1
~ SkyPark Ticketing Counter, Tower 3 B1
~ Theater, The Shoppes B1

*Note:- 20% discount on admission for all OCBC Credit / Debit Cardmembers


HOURS OF OPERATION

10am to 10pm Daily
Last admission at 9pm


This visit to the ArtScience Museum has being a fruitful trip as we get to see 2 different exhibitions(Titanic plus Dali) for the price of S$21.00 per Adult(with 20% dsicount from OCBC Cardmembers). But as for the downside we are not able to take many photos as photographing and filming are prohibited in the galleries.

Maritime Experiential Museum And Aquarium

On 15th October 2011, Singapore's first maritime museum, the Maritime Experiential Museum And Acquarium(MEMA) opened its doors at the Resorts World Sentosa. With its unique maritime theme design and interactive exhibits which involve visitors’ participation, the museum has transform from a traditional gallery showcasing Southeast Asia’s maritime trade history.

The museum is divided into 6 zones with an outdoor exhibit showing some historic ships at the harbour behind the museum.

ZHENG HE EXHIBITS
And Bao Chuan Show

Greeting you upon entering the museum will be Admiral Zheng He's massive treasure ship known as "'Bao Chuan" where one can learn about the epic voyages he took from China to the ‘Western Ocean’ as the greatest explorer in Chinese history. There is a short video clip at the open-style theatre where you can watch an animated video about Admiral Zheng He’s voyages from China to the Western Ocean.

LIFE AND TRADE ON THE 
MARITIME SILK ROUT
Sealing your very own Passport

Before you entry the Souk, remember to grab hold of a "Passport" in order to chop with the 8 different seal at each ports. And also don't forget the "All Aboard" booklet where you read more about the Life and Trade on the Maritime Silk Route.

THE SOUK(market)

Check out the ports of call at the Souk(market) where visitors could experience the interactive touch-learn-play information panels and various bazaars cultural emporium which Admiral Zheng He explored along the Maritime Silk Routes. Visitors can have some hands-on making Chinese Junks and puppet using the prepared template at the allocated area.

MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY GALLERY

This gallery houses the museum's first major acquisition of maritime artefacts from the Bakau shipwreck that can be dated back to the early 15th century and showcases a wide array of archaeological finds that traces Singapore's early involvement in the Maritime Silk Route trade.

INTERACTIVE GAMES AT THE GALLERY

For kids or other with more artistic hand you can try creating some virtual pottery on the interactive touch screens available at level B1 near the Archaeology Gallery. Upon finished you can even sent your finished art piece via email to yourself or friends.

HISTORIC SHIP HARBOUR

At the back of the Maritime Museum you can see life-size replica ships such as Javanese jong, an Indonesian borobudur and with 3 others arriving soon. Due to safety purpose the ships are not for passenger boarding at the moment.

We did not visit the 2nd attraction which is known as "Typhoon Theatre" (additional charges applied). But if you are keen you can take your seats on the deck of a ship that's about to sail where a 360-degree screen will immerse you in a breathtaking shipwreck simulation with special effects.

VISITOR INFORMATION

LOCATION
Resorts World Sentosa
8 Sentosa Gateway Sentosa Island
Singapore 098269
Official Site: HERE

ADMISSIONS AND TICKETING

General Museum Admission:

Adult: S$5.00; Child (4 - 12 years) S$2.00; Senior Citizen (65 years and above) S$3.00
*Exclude admission to Typhoon Theatre

Typhoon Theatre Admission:

Adult: S$6.00; Child (4 - 12 years) S$4.00; Senior Citizen (65 years and above) S$3.00
*Exclude admission to Museum

HOURS OF OPERATION
Museum:
Monday to Thursday: 10am - 7pm
Friday to Sunday and  P.H: 10am - 9pm

Typhoon Theatre:
Monday to Thursday: 10am - 6pm
Friday to Sunday and P.H:10am - 8pm

Hollywood Dinosaurs @ Jurong Bird Park

Wow.. I am sure upon looking at this photo you will be feeling just as shock and excited like us. Imagine if you are able to walk into the long lost world of ancient Dinosaurs to see and understand more details on their life-style isn't that be great and wonderful.......

Although this Hollywood Dinos Events started since last year mid December but unfortunately we are not aware of it until Mum got these complimentary tickets from one of my uncle during Chinese New Year. According to the ticket, the last day of this event will be on this coming Sunday, 21 February 2010 from 10am - 10pm.

Since there is a long holiday during Chinese New Year period, we decided to use these ticket on the 3rd Day of New Year. In order to go for New Year visit, we decided to set off at our destination early in the morning and hope to reach by 10.30am to as to avoid the noon crowd or hot weather. But....... these photos proofed that we were wrong, when we reached the traffic junction along "Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim" towards the "Jurong Bird Park" entrance. We were shock to see the Super long queue of cars along the road from the traffic junction all the way up to the car park entrance of the Bird Park. I think we waited for at least 30 - 40 minutes before entering the car park.........

Rey was very very excited even though we were stuck in the car during the waiting time. He was very eager to take a lot photo shots during on the Bird Park signboards, traffic jam, tress and etc. This was because, last week during his school "Field Trip" to Jurong Bird Park he was very upset as he didn't managed to take many photos due to camera battery die off(partly because I forgot to charge the battery for him and secondly he has being taking too many photos of his classmate in the bus during the journey).

But today he managed to take all these photos before the entrance of the Bird Park which he wanted to show me badly during his field trip. (p/s: this set of photo above is taken by him.... :p)

After spending some photo taking time at the entrance, finally we are in the world that is full of "Dinosaur's". At the entrance of we greeted by a "Therizinosaurus" which look pretty real and scary. Most of the kids in front of us was very excited and kept touching it's crawls and body but Rey on the other hand was kind of held back on the photo taking/touching.

In the 1st cave, there is this walking "Dinosaurs" that will dance with the background music and most of the kids/adult were enjoying it. This dancing dino will suddenly attack the audience in the first row without giving any warning sign and you can heard scream and laughter during the 10 minutes show.

Next we move on to the "Vine Lizard - Ampelosaurus" which is about 2 meter tall or above. According to the information given, this is found in France's Paleontogoist in 1989. Most of the little kids love this "soft looking" dino which seems to be more friendly for the kids.

Round the corner we were at the entrance of the 2nd cave, the 1st Huge Dino that greeted the visitor is this "Tyrannosaurus" which means tyrant lizard that appear during the late Cretaceous Period.

Passing through the second cave, it will lead you into the 3rd cave which is pretty dark and with sandy floor. There is also a rocking wooden bridge which you can walk over it and experience yourself in forest or so with dinosaurs chasing after you. In this cave, you can find "Suchomimus" which is a large spinosaurid-type dinosaur from the middle Cretaceous period. Rey was kind of turn off by the gaint flying lizard which is known as "Quetzalcoatlus" where their first fossils were found in Texas.

There are all kinds of Dinosaurs which is either display in door(in the dark caves with special effect) or outdoor which can look real from far. Despite which is your selection, I am sure this is a very good and interesting Educational Tour to bring your kids along during this coming weekend if you are interested before the ending of this event on Sunday, 21 February 2010.

There is also a time map at the resting tank after the 3rd caves where the kids can read and refresh their memories on those Dinosaurs that they have saw along the journey.

The whole visiting time takes about an hour to an hour and half depending on the kids and the photo session during the peak hours. All visitors are also encourage to take part of the lucky drawer where you need to answer 3 simple questions where you can find the answers along your dino hunting journey. At the end of the tour, you will find a little souvenir shop which is selling all kinds of Dinosaurs products, from soft toy, bags, caps and etc..... But the price is......errrrr....... to expensive.. imagine a medium size(about 2 feet or more) dino soft toy cost around S$120.00........

Overall, this is still a very worth going trip for kids to know more about Dinosaurs as well as seeing/touching them in real life. For more details about this event, click HERE.

Last Glimpse @ MV DOULOS

Doulos was owned by a private Charity Organisation known as GBA Ships e.V. since 1977 till now. It has served about more than 20 Millions visitor during all these years on their floating book fair. This unique ship has visited more than 100 countries in including Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and many island nations.

A week or two back, I saw on one of channel 8, Saturday programme known as "Say Goodbye - 说再见" whereby they mention about the last service of this floating bookstore in it's December trip at Vivo City, Singapore. It is such a sad moment to see the bookstore ending it's last service on 30th December 2009. Can't imagine this is my 1st and last visit to this ship.........

Thank God, because of some invitation, we managed to get some information on this floating bookstore and had the chance to visit this ship during it's last service in Singapore. We will at Vivo City harbour joining the long queue while waiting to on board Doulos. And despite of the hot weather in the late afternoon, there are still many crowds waiting for their turn with families and kids. After about 30 minutes or so of queuing time, we managed to board the ship and begin our tour to explore the ship.

Although the ship was of age, but the outlook and interior layout is still in good condition. On board the ship, you can either join their guided tour to go around the ship or you can head straight to their bookstore right at the end of the second floor deck. The MV Doulos holds the biggest floating library in the world whereby there is somewhere around 3000 to 5000 books on the shelf and half a million in the hold. You can find almost all kinds of book there from kids reader, adult fashion, cookbook, leisure and etc.

One of the greater purpose of the Doulos community of this ship is to share the message of hope in a restored relationship with God in their ports visited. Although this is our last visit to the ship but I am sure it's beautiful stories and images will always be kept in our memories.

Chinese New Year Flower Fair - 新年花市

Usually during a month or so before Chinese New Year, there will be a lot of places selling all kinds of imported flowers or plants from China and the neighbouring countries like Taiwan, Malaysia and etc. Flower nurseries/gardens will bring in all kinds of auspicious flowers/plants to welcome a new head start of the year.

Every year for about the past 5 years or so, there is always a mini "Flower Fair" which showcase more than 50 different types of flowers/potted plants from the neighbouring countries. And each year the whole market area will be crowded with people of all ages who comes to admire or buying these plants. And only on occasion like this we are able to see all kind of festive flowers that brings up the atmosphere of the surrounding with their multi colourful petals.

So sorry that I can't named all the flowers/plants that appears in these photo because I am also not sure of their actual name. But all these beautiful flower can't resists my intention to share with all the readers on the coming Chinese New Year mood.

From this photo, you can see some of the common Chinese New Year plants that can be easily found in most household during New Year visit. "Pussy willows - 銀柳" which is in the middle are well known for it white or silvery buds that are silky and when they blooms it will emerald green leaves sprout that gives it a new lease of life to which it will symbolise a new beginning, prosperity and signs of growth. These are usually sold in bunches of different length or colour which will look great in a long vase.

Next you can see pots of, "Mandarin Oranges - 柑" that comes in different sizes. Some belief that the bigger it is , the bigger it represents bigger opportunities, it also speaks of sweet success too. During Chinese New Year, everyone who goes to house visiting/greetings will accompanied with a pair of oranges which is a traditional practice among the Chinese. It symbolises "Gold" and all the good wishes for the new year.

Other than the two main plants, you can also see "Red Radish" which symbolised "Good Luck - 好采头" and "Lucky Bamboo - 开运竹" which represent a harmonious balance of all the five elements of nature -" water, fire, earth, wood and metal".

Other than the usual Chinese New Year plants, some businessman or folks also love to get Pomegranate plants which some believed that they can use it's stalk of leaves to cast away evil spirits or bring them "Good Luck". And a pot of 3Ft or above Pomegranate plant might cost up to S$100 during this Chinese New Year season. But so far, I don't really see they bear any big fruits of those kind that is sold in the supermarket. Next popular on the flower might be the "Orchid" plants around the flower fair but I am not sure what special meaning it has for the New Year. Maybe those of you know any clue on this can drop me a note to share with us.

Other than the flower fair which is near our area, we also visit the "Flower Nurseries" along Thomson Road area. Everyone of us feel so excited with the Chinese New Year atmosphere with all these colourful New Year flowers/plants. There are at least about 4 nurseries along the stretch of road, so do drop by before Chinese New Year which falls on 14 February 2010 to embrace yourself with all these wonderful sight.

Look at this set of combination, I love those pots of "tiny daisy" which look like little smiling faces that can easily brighten up your days. I am not sure what is the name of the colourful flower that is shown on the bottom left. This pot comes with a bunch of very colourful tiny flowers that really caught my attention at 1st sight. And when you take a closer look, you can also find the a pot each of the red and white cherry blossom from the photo.

From the 1st picture on the left, you can see the "Nepenthes" being decorated with New Year decorations. But Rey was much more interested on the wall of "Ferns" which comes in different colour and types. Along the way while admiring those potted tangerine, we spotted 3 interesting plant. The one shown on the bottom left look like a "huge hand" which is called the "Yellow Lotus Plant". Second on the row, is the "Ling Zhi - 灵芝". At the first glance, we still thought it is not a real plant because we hardly see any real Ling Zhi around in Singapore. And this pot of Ling Zhi cost around S$90+. As for the last picture on the right, it has a very unique name which called "Nipple Fruit" which is similar to tomato family.

So... why not join in the Chinese New New countdown and immersed yourself in the festive season Flower Fair.....