It's been a couple of months since my last post. Mainly because I have greatly reduced my travelling in recent times. I am contented at having been to all the places in the world that I wanted to visit.
At this point, there is no regrets and I cherish each and every of my holiday adventures. As I have winding down in my career and have transitioned to a new work environment, I will not be travelling as much as before.
I am thankful for the opportunity to have travelled to a vast number of countries. For now I just want to enjoy what life has in store for me, to cherish every moment and live everyday like my last with no regrets.
Right now I am looking forward to my upcoming trip to Laos in June. With this, I would have travelled to all the ASEAN countries. I chanced upon a very attractive air tickets promotion by Silkair, a full service airline from Singapore and decided to take up the offer.
After purchasing the air tickets giving me a six-day vacation in Laos, I have decided to visit the two main cities - Vientiane, its capital and Luang Prabang, a UNESCO world heritage site. I am currently firming up my accommodation, transport and tours and anticipating a great experience in Laos. :)
On Labour Day, Singapore's presidential palace, the Istana, is open to the public. For info, the Istana is only open about 5 days a year, all during public holidays. Suffice to say, on the day it's opened, throngs of visitors will visit to Istana, leading to very long queues.
With that in mind, I arrived at its gate to a very short queue at 8am, ahead of its opening time at 8:30am. As it's early morning, the wait was bearable. There are queues on both sides of the gate and it was very orderly.
At 8:33am, visitors were ushered in. Singaporeans and PRs need not pay while foreigners pay a token $2 entry fee.
Once past the gate, it was an eye opening experience for me.
At this point, there is no regrets and I cherish each and every of my holiday adventures. As I have winding down in my career and have transitioned to a new work environment, I will not be travelling as much as before.
I am thankful for the opportunity to have travelled to a vast number of countries. For now I just want to enjoy what life has in store for me, to cherish every moment and live everyday like my last with no regrets.
Right now I am looking forward to my upcoming trip to Laos in June. With this, I would have travelled to all the ASEAN countries. I chanced upon a very attractive air tickets promotion by Silkair, a full service airline from Singapore and decided to take up the offer.
After purchasing the air tickets giving me a six-day vacation in Laos, I have decided to visit the two main cities - Vientiane, its capital and Luang Prabang, a UNESCO world heritage site. I am currently firming up my accommodation, transport and tours and anticipating a great experience in Laos. :)
On Labour Day, Singapore's presidential palace, the Istana, is open to the public. For info, the Istana is only open about 5 days a year, all during public holidays. Suffice to say, on the day it's opened, throngs of visitors will visit to Istana, leading to very long queues.
With that in mind, I arrived at its gate to a very short queue at 8am, ahead of its opening time at 8:30am. As it's early morning, the wait was bearable. There are queues on both sides of the gate and it was very orderly.
At 8:33am, visitors were ushered in. Singaporeans and PRs need not pay while foreigners pay a token $2 entry fee.
Once past the gate, it was an eye opening experience for me.
There are maps along the trail to guide visitors around the Istana
Installations from the museum
This is Edinburgh Road, the path leading towards the Istana main building.
This building is closed to the public.
The must-take photo of the water fountain and the Istana main building in the background
Tents were set up in front of the Istana selling tickets for the main building and nature guided tours for a fee. Those who signed up for both, including me, will get an Istana bookmark, while stocks last.
The Istana grounds boasts great views of the Marina Bay Sands in the distance.
Singapore's national flower, an orchid
There are bite-sized information provided through the QR code in the Istana app.
A pair of swans in the swan lake. I learnt from the guide that swans mate for life. Upon doing some research, I found out that only about 11 kinds of animals actually mate for life !
