MI-ssion accomplished in singapore

ok...enough of marking. time to take a break now to update my singapore trip. better do it fast when it is still fresh and i still feel a bit excitement upon seeing all the nice photos taken.

left for singapore on 5th- deepavali day. did not even realise it was the festival of light.
took the komuter train from tm to sentral then boarded the klia express. waah....it was rm35 via the klia express ah....and it is the same price with klia transit too. it took me less than 30 mins to get to the airport. anyway, i found another waaaaaaaaaaaayyyy cheaper alternative from sentral already. they do have bus plying the klia route, rm10. take note next time!!!!

reached the airport early and had to wait for chinching. we took jetstar to changi.

no bags to check-in. so one backpack and one bulky handbag. was praying hard that it won't rain because watermark will stay on the leather.

what an irony. the book is supposed to put the reader off fast food but they are just the kind of food one will find at the airport. my lunch- chocolate milkshake and 6-piece nugget.

so the jetstar flight was just slightly late. in fact, i was wishing it could even be delayed longer hahaha.
it was a new plane and everything was still luminous and shiny on the surface. i think the cushion of the seat is thicker than airasia's. anyway, it was just a 45 mins flight and we arrived in changi terminal 1 before 4p.m.

and so the wait began.........................................................................

oh, we were joined by mz. 3 crazy fans on a quest for their idol- sammi cheng.

we needed some energy to go star-chasing. so it was early dinner at starbucks in the terminal and some caffeine booster!

and soooo.....................friday's MI-ssion was indeed a success.
her flight arrived at 1810 and we were at the gate when she came out....but that was after we saw a group of fans from taiwan coming out from the same flight as her. the heart felt a heavy thud.
hanjin- a singaporean artist was with her, her guest artist at the love mi more concert.

so our only aim was to take a photo with her.....and we got one, albeit not individually and not in a brighter lighted place. 3 of us, plus mi and hanjin. after some editing, the photo turns out quite nice and sweet. lol.

not putting up the photo here though. it is for our secret viewing.

she also autographed for us and wrote our names. then it was just walking all the way till the curstom check. did not even get to chat with her since she had so many ppl around her. i talked more with hanjin. he was impressed by our 'dedication' to wait for her there. hahaha.
so this was taken at the baggage claim area. they were waiting for their luggage and that was when all the fans swarmed around her to ask for photos and autographs. although her assistant told them not to, they still glued themselves next to sammi and got their photos taken. i could have done the same too at that time and got an individual photo with her. how stupid hor??? but i was very polite and ooko...kokok...cowardly also la. even the airport staff got her to sign and take photo with them. she obliged out of courtesy i guess.

and so...everyone walked out of the terminal when she walked out and the commotion outside was 100 times worse than what was inside. i also could not wait to escape. all those screams and cameras clicking away. really a big star had arrived.

i went into a friend's car and we headed to our next destination- the stadium. haha....we really chased.

she had a short rehearsal at the stadium and when she left....we also left and followed all the way to mandarin oriental, her lodging for the weekend. did not get to see her at the hotel as she was wwwwaaaaaaayyyy faster. i mean the driver was really good.

our group went for some supper after that at newton food court. it was nice catching up with all my singaporean Mi friends. we get to know each other because of Mi but we have kept in touch all this while too. cool friends definitely.

and so i checked in at york hotel at around 10.30p.m.
was quite disappointed because whatever amenities in the room were the most basic....they did not even have a toothbrush! i had to call housekeeping for one. yes, opppss....i forgot my toothbrush. it is a 4-star hotel and i expected better. give lah some body lotion. since we travelled light, we did not bring more liquid than we were allowed on the flight.

din get a good sleep because the pillow was hard. no more york hotel next time. founded by the malayan banking group owner lagi.

so saturday....one whole day in singapore. have to be touristy a bit since i was already there. can't just go star-chasing and waste my time right???
walked along orchard and weaved in an out of malls. this pic above is ion orchard, one of the latest malls to hit that stretch. not as big as expected. no sale. so can just see see lah. anyway, the things inside are all super branded ones.
we had brunch at the food court inside ion and i had singapore hokkien prawn noodle. the specialty here on this island. totally different from our prawn noodles and it was good. the secret lies in the broth used i think. yummy. too bad they were quite stingy with seafood and egg cracked into the noodle.

we walked walked walked and walked walked walked. went into uniqlo, j+ range of coats were really nice but kinda expensive. the prices in singapore are lower than those in malaysia, even after the exchange rate. they have both prices printed on the tags, so i could make the comparison. the exchange rate on the tag was S$1=rm2.50.

anyway.........i shopped lah. bought something jugak. was looking for a pair of shorts when i found this:
the only one in the 50% discount bin and my size. got it. mom asked, "why do you need another windbreaker?" beats me. it is in tangerine and not the pink in this photo. the lights made it look pink. i paid S$69.50 for it.

it was 3 plus after i paid of that jacket and we were contemplating whether to go to the hotel to see our STAR out on her way to the stadium. we half-heartedly decided to go and boarded the mrt, but fate brought us to the wrong stop. hahahaha

we thought since mandarin oriental was at marina bay, the stop would be called marina bay.
but it turned out that we were across the river and we were actually closer to marina bay sands.
so it was fated lah....anyway, we heard fans were shooed out from the hotel. so we did not miss much action anyway.

it was quite foggy at the bay but of course the 3 towers of the sands still stood out.

we went up the skypark, S$20 to get the view of the whole island. as the name suggests, it is a park right on top of all the 3 towers of the hotel.
view from skypark.

the jacuzzi spots and hotel pool at the sky park. what a view from the pool. i wonder how comfortable those hotel guests feel swimming there being watched by all the skypark visitors.

a transparent chute outside shoppes at sands. ppl were throwing coins aiming at that small hole in the middle. can grant any special wish??

the shoppes inside sands. and there is that canal ala river with 'sampan' ride too for a price- S$5.

we did not go into the casino and walked walked walked every floor at the shoppes.....just to kill the time. we were waiting for the buffet spread at rise to start!!!! had to treat our stomach to something good.

so we walked till 6p.m. $68++ per person for the buffet at rise.
luckily we were there sharp at 6p.m. the queue was horrible and the diners were so impatient at 7p.m. everything served here was good!!! yummy!!! top quality. even their mini baguette tasted good when my stomach was already full. i thought i would have to force that piece of dough down my throat since i could not resist putting it on my plate on my 3rd trip to the counters. boy, i was wrong. i was savouring every bite actually. salivating now.

definitely worth the money paid. i want that marshmallow dipped in dark chocolate fondue!!!!

ok, stomach full, it was time for the concert. love mi more singapore.

i had very good seat. yup. brilliant! 5th row so near!! very good photo ops too as it was towards the middle.

most of the photos turned out very clear....i mean for my lousy camera lah. don't compare mind to those dslrs ok.
here are some according to the sequence in the concert:




wearing a lanvin collaboration with h&m. it is not even released yet in the shop. she also carried lanvin's bb bag. hmmh...to get sponsored items.



i want that tee!!! also lanvin with h&m. keeping my fingers crossed now. hope i can get it online and sent to the uk.

so she did a double encore. came down to shake hands with the fans...which was totally unexpected. but her voice in this concert was rather bad due to her mild cold she caught. well, the fans did not notice as they were screaming non-stop as soon as she came on stage. but it was really nice of her to do the second encore.

and once the concert was over at around 10.45p.m. (it started at 8.30p.m.), it was back to star-chasing mode!!!

quick quick quick...run into the car and shoot to the hotel!!!!

we were indeed faster than her van this time around and reached at the same time as the van.

and my group of 4.....just walked into the hotel without bothering the bellboys standing outside. nothing to make them suspect that we were fans...no banner, no poster, no fan shirt. just poised and confident slow walk into the hotel lobby. hahahahaha....

i did not even realise sammi was already inside the lobby because there was no commotion at all since there were only 4 of us. i only realised when i turned to my right and there she was walking right next to me. what a shock!!! but of course i kept my poise and complimented the tee she was wearing. it was really nice! truly! and she smiled and said that, 'yes ah, my shirt is nice'. duh! i did not shake hands with her although the others did. just did not cross my mind. her assistant had the worried look looking at us. better spare her the paranoid.

aaah....that silly exchange with sammi made our night!!! we were on cloud nine.
and we even had a little celebratory toast! hahahaha......cheers!!!
only sodas and juice. no champagne. my MI-ssion is not accomplished yet. that encounter at the hotel was not a planned one, so it was the extra cherry on the cake.

yawn! our night ended just slightly before midnight. what a tiring day filled with lots of walk.

ok....now to sunday...the last day!

crazy star-chasers checked out of the hotel at 6.15a.m. and headed to the airport hoping to catch the last glimpse of their idol.

already other fans were waiting and one even waited the whole night. so compared to her, i am not that nut right?

ching and i got our airasia boarding pass verified and started our wait. she was rumoured to be on 810 flight. my flight was 1210. ok...now you can call me crazy.

nope, she did not turn up. there was another flight at 1010 and nope...not that one.

chinching and i were already agitated and hungry and groggy due to lack of rest, so we went into the terminal and waited there instead. we said our goodbyes to our friends outside and they promised to keep us updated with the progress outside. bless their souls.

we got all the updates while having breakfast at coffeebean. this was my brunch set. only enjoyed the toast. did not like the egg and i did not have that big appetite too. the wait was torturing!!!

she finally came into the terminal at around 10.20a.m. for her 11.25 flight. phew! and at that time i just got out of the toilet. haha...chinching was standing there waiting for me with anxious look holding our all bags. i did not even get to finish my coffee!!!

there were a few fans getting cleared at the custom but sammi and her group used the premier entrance, so they were waaay faster. and we did not even noticed they were already inside the terminal as we were only looking at the general custom check point.

so follow follow follow......only ching and i. haha...those taiwanese were also there on the same flight back to hk..but they did not get close to her. they would have all their chances in hk anyway.

so these are my autographs. the one on the left was signed on friday while the second one was on sunday. love the first one for obvious reason.

we wanted individual photo with Mi but her assistant said group photo. ok loh.
her assistant even told us to say 'cheese'. lol she was not that cruel to let us wait in vain.
and oh, i hate my face so much in this photo!!!! it is not a very clear photo actually but it is definitely brighter than the one we took on friday.

ok i hate my face because i was soo soo soo soo super bloated!! water retention! those cheeks! those puffs under the eyes. OMG!!! why??! why that morning??!!! and the hair looks ugly!!!! so loose and shapeless. urgghh!!!

oh Mi was holding a red bottega venetta purse which i also have in brown. luscious. feel like using mine too but part of me dun want to abandon the wallet i am using now.

anyway, they left for the lounge after taking a photo with us and we waited at her gate. said goodbye to her at 11a.m. and then it was MI-ssion accomplished!!!
phew!

flight was not delayed. reached lcct and took a bus to sentral. then from sentral it was komuter back to tm. only reached home at 5p.m. on a cloudy and drizzly evening.

so, what do you think of my MI-ssion??? not one you will imagine a 33-year-old to take hor???

mom and aunt scolded and said, "if she can't even remember you, why do you even bother to chase and waste your time?" ouch!

you think she remembers me? well, i will just forget about this in a few days time and live my life as usual again.