I have been anticipating for my parents to come to Singapore during this Hari Raya holiday to pay me a visit since two months ago. They have arrived on Thursday’s afternoon and now, they are already in the bus on their way back home to Kuala Lumpur. Time flies; their 4 days trip here is over. And that also concludes my unpaid job these few days as a tour guide for them. Haha…This job actually sounds fun for me as I got to introduce some familiar places and cool facts about Singapore to them like a pro (although I have just been here for a little over a year only).
To be honest, I already don’t have the mood to work on the past Thursday (especially for Malaysians who back in Malaysia would still be enjoying the day as a public holiday as it is just the second day of Hari Raya celebration, but it is already a working day here in Singapore). I immediately left office before 7pm once my dad informed me that they have arrived.
After having a yummy frog porridge at Geylang (the area where I live and also where my parents’ hotel is at) for dinner on Thursday’s evening, I immediately brought them to Marina Bay Sands. It’s their favourite spot because there’s a very convenient casino there. There isn’t any need of further explanation. Haha…On Friday, I brought them to the latest attraction of Singapore, the Jewel Changi Airport.
This is my second time visiting the Jewel and I do notice that the crowd is much lesser by now. My parents aren’t that kind of interested by this mall-alike place or that ‘amazed’ by the Jewel’s star attraction; the waterfall. We spent just a short time there. To cure their boredom, our next destination is Marina Bay Sands again…haha. The place is like a pill to get them energized. Haha…
In the evening, we went for a steamboat dinner at Bugis and a beer session nearby before calling it a day. On Saturday, we head to the River Safari which is quite far from the city. I picked River Safari rather than Singapore Zoo to visit as I felt that the former is more suitable for the elders (and my dad do like to see fishes than typical land animals). We had a great half-day there and the experience is really worth it. We saw a lot of cool river wildlife like arapaima, manatees, alligators, piranhas, giant catfish, giant river otters, tiger fish, Chinese giant salamander, electric eel, giant panda, etc.
Our destination for the evening? Marina Bay Sands again. This is like their last time here before they leave so they wished to go there once again. Three days in a row. As for today (Sunday), there isn’t much they can do as their bus back home will be departing in the early afternoon. Hence, I only brought them to Bugis Street for a quick walk along the bustling streets over there before time’s up. That’s it for my job as a free tour-guide in these past 4 days. I enjoyed these four days but it was so fast. I do look forward to them paying a visit to me soon (most probably on future longer weekends when there is a public holiday that falls on Monday or Friday).
Our previous trip to Singapore was way back in December 2015 (almost 4 years ago). That time, I already brought them to famous places like Sentosa Island, Gardens by the Bay, Chinatown, Marina Bay Sands, and the Merlion. This time, I do avoid to bring them to the same places again (except Marina Bay Sands).
As Raya weekend is coming to an end, I wish everyone to have safe journey (including to my parents who are on their way back home currently) and stay calm to face the unavoidable traffic jams on the roads.
Vincent Loy's Online Journal 