We fell in love in the land that is Truly Asia

Celebrating our 10th Valentine's Day, we were star-crossed lovers meant to share forever.

Hong Kong Wanderlust

This is our first out of the country trip together so imagine how happy & giddy I am. On Day 1, I insisted that the ultimate agenda was to visit Disneyland, and I am beyond ecstatic. This is the place where all my childhood fairy tales came to life.

Day 2, we visited Ocean Park but we weren't able to bring enough guts for the extreme rides. Ha!

Day 3 was allotted to wander along the beautiful streets of Macau - the true City of Dreams.

Day 4 was a quick visit to the Ruins of St. Macau.

Day 5, we took the Ngong Ping 360 cable ride, a 25 minute cable car ride that gives tourists a 360 degree view of Lantau Island. We went to see the Tian Tan Buddha and didn't miss the chance to go for some shopping in HK's luxury outlets. As a culmination of our trip, we rode the tramp at The Peak and fell in love with HK's beautiful city skyline. We are definitely going back! :)

Beautiful Sydney

IEEE, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering is the largest professional organization for electronics all over the world. So here's the gist, my undergraduate project will be published for IEEE Tencon-Spring 2013!  When I first received the email of acceptance, my heart was literally pounding. I just couldn't believe that it was happening. I immediately told my adviser, and I was beyond ecstatic when he told me to prepare my passport and apply Visa for Sydney, Australia. 

 What more can I ask for? My undergraduate project will be published, I'll go to Sydney for a conference, and it's an all-expense paid trip. The conference was held in Radison Blu, a lovely 5 star hotel in the heart of Sydney.     

Crisron, my co-delegate from the University of the Philippines. Thank you UP for this wonderful opportunity. 

 The Magistic Ship hosted a private cruise for the all the delegates.  

A toast lead by Stefan Mozar, the General Chair of the event, for Tencon-Spring 2013.  

Dr. Joel Marciano, our UP EEE Institute Director, George Clooney of the Philippines. Haha.

 

Singapore Day Tour

Touchdown SG! This is an unexpected trip so I wasn't able to prepare an itinerary. Good thing is Singapore is a highly organized country with connecting trains that enable tourists to move easily around the city. So of course, we began with the famous Resorts World Sentosa.

An obligatory Universal Studios picture!

I've read that the Merlion is a famous tourist icon of Singapore. It's a combination of "mer" meaning sea, and lion. The fish body is said to represent Singapore's origin as a fishing village.

Man-made beach. How cool is that.

Meet my camera-shy friend whom I haven't met for around 7 years, Clarissa. She was kind enough to accompany me in exploring SG.

 

Of course, our visit to Sentosa will not be complete without some picture taking with the cute mascots from the Chocolate House. Young at heart.

After loading our hungry tummies, we then headed to Marina Bay. 

This floating Louis Vuitton store is definitely a statement - makes me drool.

 

Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

   "I wanna be a millionaire, so freaking bad" That's my theme song for this place, yes?

Interestingly, the lobby of Marina Bay Sands is open to the public. Thanks for that!

The Sky Garden at night. Picturesque.

There was a free light show for the tourists and locals alike. Too bad it can't be caught on camera!

The ever beautiful and luxurious Marina Bay Sands.

Art Science Museum - love that it resembles a flower. Haha!

Singapore skyscrapers

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Another obligatory picture at the Merlion Park.

SG's version of 'dirty' ice cream. Ice cream on a perfectly rectangular shape is just cute for me. :)

Map of the train station. 

We were able to go from Changi Airport (which is by the way my favorite), to Sentosa, to Marina Bay in a day. Oh and let me just reiterate how great Changi is, good job Singapore for having such a World Class Airport true to its name! There was a butterfly garden, nature trail, swimming pool, and 24-hour movie theater; mind you this is an airport. And of course, a wide selection of boutiques that are tax-free. I literally roamed there for 7 hours, in pure joy, and went home with a heavier luggage. :)