TPS Travels With Garuda Indonesia & Resort World Sentosa - Singapore Skyline

Hey UNIONS! How are you guys? So since my first 2014 post is basically a compilation of last year(which was ages ago, this post was intended to be posted in January but since I’m really busy with submissions and assignments, so yeah), which could be viewed as a recap, I wanted to do something that really shouted out the term of January 2014. So as you guys might’ve found out from my Instagram, The Photographic Sense is once again travelling to Singapore!. However, this time, things are a bit different, because this trip is all thanks to Garuda Indonesia that gave me a free ticket and a voucher for a 2 night stay on either Hard Rock Hotel or Festive Hotel in Sentosa as a prize for winning their Blog Competition last year, judged by one of my favorite bloggers, Silvia Siantar off Poise Polish. If you want to read my entry, click HERE.

Anyways, as this is a Travel Diary, this will be a very long read!, let’s get started. I was head over heels excited because since I usually let my artistic side get the best of me, I don’t always hang out with my friends or anything like that since at times, I have to sacrifice it for photo shoots and stuff. The fact that some of my friends are now studying in Singapore, which basically means I get to explore the city the way that I want, at least for a day. The thing is that my dad isn’t a big fan of walking around cities, he’s more of a chilling instead of walking kind of guy. My mom, on the other side, like me, loves sightseeing and shopping around town, however, none of us know the MRT Route and those kind of stuff, so the fact that I got my friends is already a savior.

Btw, I'm travelling with my stunning Mom, Diana(@dianamputri), my beautiful Gramma, Ester, and my Princess-Sister, Aiko(@fairyaiko11) 

Saturday, January 4^th, 2014

I got an early flight(which is around 8.45 a.m.). As you guys might’ve seen on my instagram, I’m going with my mom. What you guys didn’t know is that my sister, and my grandma tagged alongside the trip. I was going for the classic TPS-airport outfit. A denim and leather jacket(well the leather is around the shoulders to the tip of my hand), my favorite Kenzo eye t-shirt, black trousers, a pair of suede, brown ankle boots, and my favorite Hermes CDC Cap. Anyways, after a 45-minute wait, we are finally boarding! Even though I travel a lot, there’s always this excitement of getting onto an aeroplane. It’s like the rage of the little kid inside of me that never really grew up.

I travel a lot with Garuda Indonesia, and I cannot be happier that I’m travelling with them again, this time for free!. The reason is that Garuda has a trusted, consistent service that gives security towards the passengers, with an immense amount of cultural reference and hospitality. The smiles exposed transforms the atmosphere to become merry, and the compliments being said are basically exploited out, making hearts gleam. It was a flight far from packed, however, as there are only 19 passengers. This made the flight a lot better since I had a quick photo shoot! Hah The Photographic Sense never sleeps, huh?. We shot INSIDE the plane which didn't end up--to TPS, but well, there was one stewardess who were around that area who watched the little shoot, and everyone thought my mom models, they even asked whether her hair was real since they said it was very pretty. These people are not only nice but they have supported a huge part of The Photographic Sense.

Ok, so up until now, my friends still always ask me whether this pasta dish is nice because it looks great and it does taste exquisite. It has this ravioli sort of shape, but unlike ravioli, it has this twitch in the middle and small wave at each end, forming a bow-like structure, and It has no filling inside, which the volume in the middle of the bow like structure gives a fine taste. It has a really nice marinara sauce with chicken alongside, it’s such a mouth watering dish.

Anyways, after the landing, we quickly grabbed our luggage(after a long line at the immigration, which was surprisingly packed with Western tourists, instead of Eastern tourists) and got our way out of the airport. My BFF, Nissi, agreed on picking us up since we need SIM cards, it wasn’t a long search as Nissi just got her hair tye-dyed teal and she pretty much stood our from the crowd. So afterwards we just purchased our SIM Cards and ordered for a van.

The thing about Sentosa is that, despite of it’s beauty and diversity, it’s far from anywhere else, since it’s already stated as a “Resort World”, it’s probably located there to be a Resort from Singapore itself.  I find Sentosa’s far distance to be a pro for many, since some tourists would want to have people walking around their window view in the middle of the night, which basically happens on Orchard or possibly Marina Bay. So, luckily, it wasn’t a long ride from the airport, and as soon as we got down to the hotel and checked in, I quickly changed my outfit (I just get so happy on outfit changes).

I changed to my Brian Litchenberg Tisci 74 t-shirt, matching it with ripped shorts, a plaid red shirt tied on the waist, an Hermes CDC cap, and flip flops(my mum insisted me on wearing them since they are a lot more comfortable). We were looking for the MRT, and the hotel receptionist told us to go to like the back of the hotel. After like a less-than-5-minute walk, the magic appears on the hotel’s “backyard”. It turned out that there’s no underground train at all, but there’s like a railway high up in the sky, where the rail is above some of the buildings, and thanks to Nissi’s good memory on where to go, we quickly rode the train to Vivo City.

We went to Vivo City since Nissi “had” to buy the One Direction perfume set, then we had turkey bacon burgers at Burger King. Nissi’s guy classmates made an appointment with us for a late lunch or an early dinner in Newton, which is located near Orchard, so after like, 4 MRT Stops, we got to Newton. One thing I admire about Singapore’s transportation is just, how fast one can travel through town. I’m not used to, basically, the fast life. The fast elevators, the fast sceneries. It’s, almost new to me even though I’ve cherished the culturally diverse city in both mind and heart. We went to this, quite-Indonesian looking restaurant. They basically have seafood there, which basically is like, the Djimbaran of Singapore without a beach, in the outskirts of Orchard, with pebble floorings, with eccentric looking elders coming up in all sorts of hair colors and styles Katy Perry pulled off last era.

Since our “Singaporean” friends decided to go catch a movie, and Maria and I(we’re the only “Indonesians) thought that spending our time for movies in Singapore isn’t worth it, we ended up spending the evening just going through shops and trying on things which end up looking bad (probably since no gym-ing in Singapore) and because we were basically wearing matching shirts, people were literally looking at us like we’re friendzoned or we’re just weird biological siblings that hardly look like each other. So It was raining so hard that night but after a Hokkaido ice cream, I decided that we’re definitely going to get wet for Topshop (which ended up making us look ratchet), which I end up buying an oversized shirt which have holes all over them, which I’ll post as you guys scroll down this super long post. We had dinner at the ION food court afterwards and met up with our friends who went to the cinema, then visited Paris Baguette for a bit. I arrived home around 11 p.m. after I dropped Maria on Marina Bay Sands since she was staying there, with a taxi, like a failed gentlemen.

Sunday, January 5^th, 2014

Singapore Skyline, a Fashion Editorial.

The day’s very different from the previous one since that Saturday was basically all about the social life and the shopping, this day will feature portfolio pieces off ‘Singapore Skyline’, which basically is like off a photo shoot I did with my mother(again) in Singapore. Oh and for the outfit of the day, I went all skull with a grey skull shirt, still the same shorts, a skull-printed headband, and a pair of flip flops.

We used the hotel lobby with it’s music and hazy color-filled theme and matched the embroidery dresses my mom made(see her works on her instagram @dianamputri, LEGIT stuff guys), The dresses shot at the hotel consisted of one aquamarine and royal blue almost punk-mermaid like midi dress, one phoenix-embroidery silver midi dress, and one dark emerald aves-like embroidery midi dress. The reason the midi dresses were being used is to “burn up” the retro even more, including even more vibe from the whole musical theme, on how the hazy color is already being implemented at Hard Rock, like a pop rave. I just love how elements from the more modern culture just blends in with the retro-purplish hazy kind of feeling. It’s like a Sky Ferreira record, not really sure where to go, but summing up perfectly like a number one hit anyone would die to leak in the first place. We decided that the other outfits would look better shot on the streets so, we moved on.

There are several outfit changes and a backpack full of it would be too heavy and weird, so we brought this yellow trolley which still looked chic, but in the same time, weird if you carry it around orchard. The worst part is that, we decided to shop first instead of shoot first, so then we carried around the trolley until like evening. I bought some stuff, though, which definitely is a pro for bringing the trolley since then we have no more weight to carry. We ended up shooting more in the orchards street with outfits most likely people wouldn’t nail except for some blazers. This resulted to having people all over the streets looking at us, which is pretty much normal in this case.

After the shoot and the orchard shopping, the 3 day trip didn’t sound quite Singaporean enough, so the next stop has to be the iconic Marina Bay Sands. I just love the Venice-themed modernism with the high end shops lined up on the entire building, also the beautiful view that could be seen from the top of the mall. It’s like a semi-resort sort of feeling, like an escape from the buzz by witnessing how the buss is just so beautiful, crisp, and just so clear in Singapore. There’s something about the mirror-walled skyscrapers in Singapore that just attracts the heart’s demand and emotion. After some shopping, Kraze Burger was up for dinner, they didn’t have the crab burger which is like the best burger I’ve ever eaten, so I ate a sad chilli dish instead.

Monday, January 6^th 2014

What is a trip to Singapore without visiting one of Resort World Sentosa’s amusements? This question/statement made me visit S.E.A Aquarium which is located right in “my backyard”. After a small walk, we got onto the building which is embellished with oriental ornaments. The last time I’ve been to S.E.A Aquarium was when it was still called Sea World. I’m a lot more impressed this time since the sea creatures and the whole aquarium concept is just a lot more diverse, it’s just, hella dope. Not forgetting to mention that S.E.A Aquarium is the WORLD’s largest aquarium.

Every single hall was like a ball of sea creatures, dancing to their marine beat. It’s a play of light in agility and a weightless manner. It’s a beautiful sight of nature to the eye most definitely. It’s like, peeking onto what the ocean really is like in a miniature-version, how God’s wonders of creations roams more than just the busy terrestrial. It’s a beautiful life cycle moreoverly. From sharks and dolphins, to the spectrum of sea corals, up to the breathtaking, out-of-this-world looking jellyfishes, lit up with colors of neon, they make the place like a resort one will never want to leave, a resort everyone wishes to wake up to, the busy “other world”, the aquatic, the marine world.

After the short getaway, there’s always time for a one last shop, as Garuda’s return trips take place in night time (hooray!), so Vivo is definitely the next spot. I didn’t shop too much earlier, and got myself some other stuff. My favorite has to be my red plaid, ombre shirt. Where the bottom part of the shirt has almost like a light yellowish color. After the shop, well it really is time to go home, well more of a Changi visit.

The thing that I love so much about Changi is that, you can just wait all day before your flight there because you literally can find anything. It’s a high end shopping centre as much as it is the world’s best airport(literally!). The hospitality of the staff, and just that feeling of being in a crisp, clean, clear place, it just leaves one of the best impressions Singapore could over. There are even botanic spots, and even a BUTTERFLY park, how cool is that?(since I didn’t visit it this time, go check it up on my previous SINGAPORE post on my blog). So after even more shopping, I caught my flight(which we taught we were late to come to). The craziest thing then happened at the plane, the empty seat next to me belonged to my best friend, Janice’s (the mermaid behind this editorial) sister, Audrey. We were strangers to each other until, well, we talked the whole night flight about how Australia and Indonesia is, and a ratchet girl twerking at some party. She’s like, the bolder version of Janice, not forgetting both of them are really nice and just, sweet mannered.

Anyways, the flight back to Surabaya actually also leaves one of the best impressions like any other Garuda flight. You just, feel so secure under the reading lights, like, you want to just sit back and relax and not wake up in 5 hours at least(but since I was talking the whole flight this statement is quite invalid). There are also LOADS of diverse entertainment on the plane tv. Like literally I can find songs that become my jam(they originally aren’t). The plus point for the flight is the fact that the hospitality performed by the staffs are just causing so much joy for the whole flight even though some may not appreciate.

So, after reading this super long post, I hope I light up that demand in each one of you to visit Singapore, it’s such a lovely country, believe me. Oh and please do book a flight with Garuda Indonesia, one of world’s BEST airlines, believe me, you’ll feel like you have a new home up in the clouds.

So UNIONS, do you want to hear more travelling experiences? Comment below if you want to hear about travelling to Villingili and Landaa Giraavaru, Maldives! Xo

The Photographic Sense Travels to Singapore with Garuda Indonesia 2.0

Singapore Skyline – The Portfolio

PAR. Reinhardt Kenneth

Model. Diana Putri

Wardrobe. Diana Couture

Playlist

1. Safe and Sound – Capital Cities

2. Team - Lorde

3. Young Volcanoes – Fall Out Boy

4. Do What You Want (ft. Christina Aguilera) – Lady Gaga

5. Millionaires – The Script

6. Summertime Sadness (Cedric Garvais Remix) – Lana Del Rey

7. Brave – Sara Bareilles

8. Pompeii - Bastille

9. White Walls – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

10. Pumpin Blood-NONONO

11. Dark Horse (ft. Juicy J) – Katy Perry

12. 23 (ft. Miley Cyrus) – Mike Will Made It

13. Through The Dark – One Direction

14. You’re Not The One – Sky Ferreira

15. Breathe – Jessie J

16. Live For The Night - Krewella

17. Something I Need- One Republic

18. Bounce – Iggy Azalea

19. Til It’s Gone – Britney Spears

20. Timber(ft. Ke$ha) – Pitbull

21. Love Me Again – John Newman

I'd like to thank everyone that made this trip possible. Thankyou Jesus for even making this trip possible, didn't thought I could get a date but got the perfect date thanks to your GRACE and possibilities! THANK YOU Garuda Indonesia on believing in THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SENSE and seeing how Singapore is envisioned in TPS' perceptions. A huge thank you to one of Indonesia's top bloggers, Silvia Siantar on picking my entry as a 1st winner alongside with blogger Wulan Wu who also made it-Congrats girl!. Thank You to my Mom, my Gramma, and Aiko for travelling alongside me and being such a joy to me. Thank you to the Garuda Team, Cindy Ozzie and Sabila Fatimah whose been a huge help with the ticketing and the competition requirements, all the loveliest sent for your endless help and hard work! Also to the Resort Worlds team that provided such friendly hospitality and to the team who managed to book me 2 nights under the circumstance of such a high season. Thank you to my friends-Nissi, Maria, Irene, Fanny, and Nissi's classmates for making the trip just so FUN!. Also thank you for Cita Hati-my school, for promoting the competition up onto my school so I could submit an entry. Once again, thank you everyone! Xo