Singapore Galore

by Nicole Anne M. Bautista *

 

The author with her mother, Annie Lee Mabulay Bautista inside the Tiger Air plane on their Kalibo - Singapore flight. 

I am one of the fortunate people who is given the chance to ride in the first ever Kalibo to Singapore trip of Tiger Air.

 I was very delighted when I heard that my mother and I will go to Singapore. That was a rare opportunity, because going outside the country is very expensive for us. I couldn’t explain my excitement; I couldn’t even sleep and eat properly.

 I wondered and became interested when I heard that our airline will be Tiger Air. I haven’t heard about Tiger Airways before. I asked my mom about it. She told me that it will be the first trip of Tiger Air from Kalibo to Singapore. I became more interested.

After my long…long wait, the time came for us to go. I was beaming with happiness. While boarding the plane, I noticed that the flight attendants of the airline were fresh looking and beautiful. The plane was fantastic! I have motion sickness all the time but in our flight with Tiger Airways I felt very comfortable. I felt safe because the plane flew smoothly not like other planes I’ve rode in before.

At last, we reached the airport. While waiting to go down, a flight attendant talked to me and I was really entertained. She was so kind. When it’s time to go down, she said, “Enjoy your trip!” I answered, “I will.”

The Changi Airport was sooo big and beautiful. It looks like a mall! When we fetched for taxi, my mom went in to sit in front. I shouted, “Ma, that’s the driver’s seat! We all laughed especially when the driver said, “Are you trying to hijack my car? The driver was so nice to us. He joked around and told us nice things about Singapore.

We went to many places in our Singapore trip. Our first destination is Gardens by the Bay. I can’t believe that the flowers there are real! Too beautiful that I was amazed to discover that those are not artificial flowers but real ones.  We also went to Marina Bay Sands. I was surprised when I saw that the swimming pool was on the 57th floor! We also went to Orchard, where there are lots of shopping malls.

The next day, we went to Resorts World Singapore, where Universal Studios is located. It was nice. The Universal Studios is heaven for kids like me! The rides and shows are really fun! We also went to the Merlion, the trademark of Singapore. We also rode the cable car. I saw the Whole Singapore up there! Lastly, we went to the Night Safari where I enjoyed a lot. I saw lions, tigers, elephants and whoa!!! They are very near! I felt like I am hearing them breathe.

My trip to Singapore was very short yet memorable. It’s just like a dream…yes; I want to think it’s just a dream so I could sleep again and continue my journey in Singapore. 

(*Nicole Anne Mabulay Bautista is the daughter of Ron Bautista, Community Affairs Officer ll of LGU Kalibo, and Annie Lee Bautista, News Director of RGMA Kalibo. Nicole is 11 years old, a grade 6 pupil, and  a   consistent honor student of Infant Jesus Academy, Kalibo, Aklan.) /MP