This time around I went to Singapore Botanic Garden instead of Gardens by the Bay. This was because I was out of budget and I wanted to bring my friend to somewhere nice. Hence, we decided to go to this garden. Yes. Even though this place was beautiful and well taken care of, still you can't compare it with Gardens by the Bay. I had been to several Singapore National Parks and I like all of the parks. I could see that they really put a lot of efforts in conserving the nature. All the parks are so clean and safe for us to visit. I actually planned to visit all the national parks if I had time and money. However I just chose to go to visit one park only for this trip because I didn't want my friend to feel bored. *Imagine if it's your first trip to Singapore and your friend just bring you to national parks instead of the touristy places. Lol. * Initially I planned to go to MacRitchie resrvoir for the tree top walk. However, due to the fact that we just had two days' time at Singapore I just changed my plan.

I was amazed to find out that this garden is actually a 156-year-old tropical garden and it was founded in 1859. This garden is also Singapore's first UNESCO Heritage Site! Cool. I have listed down 5 things that you can do at the Singapore Botanic Garden. 

5 things to do at Singapore Botanic Garden

1.Visit the National Orchid Garden

The National Orchid Garden was located 900 meter from the entrance. I didn't expect this Botanic Gardens to be so big. We were drenched in sweats when we reached the Orchid Garden. The admission fee was okay. It was way more cheaper than Gardens by the Bay. *giggle*

2. Picnic with the local

The stage was surrounded by water. Lovely!

There was a symphony stage at the garden too. Try to imagine you're lying down on the grass and listening to music performed by some artists. Heaven.

The local were spending their lovely time there. We saw kids playing with their scooters, balls and running around the gardens.The parents were lying on the mat and chatting. 

3. Jogging or walk your dog

On our way to the National Orchid Garden, we saw the local jogging around the park. We were at the park for almost two hours and it was already 12 p.m. However, lots of local were spotted jogging, walking their dog and having picnic at the garden. We were like wow! We went there on 1st January so I guess many Singaporeans spent their family time here. I also saw some foreign workers brought bags of food to picnic too. I really love this place. It was so clean, safe, and nice!  We also saw many types of dogs there. As you all know Singapore is a land scarce country this garden is certainly a nice place for their dogs to mingle too. 

4. Chill at the cool house

This place was definitely the place that we wanted to stay longer when we were at the garden. 

There's a nice walkway to the cool house.

We stopped here for a while to take some photos. Suddenly, there was a friendly tourist wanted to help us to take some photos. Lol. At first my friend and I were figuring how to take nice photos at the spot. We were squatting because we wanted to find some nice angles. Suddenly this tourist approached us and helped us to take photos. Maybe she thought we really needed help. After she helped us to take photos, we asked her whether she wanted us to help us to take photos too. However, she just dashed into the cool house. Thanks anyway. 

5. Visit the mist house

The mist house is quite small. However you can see lots of beautiful orchids there.

6. Strolling casually and take nice photos

Green and lush.

During the holiday, my friends and I went to attend Izaati's wedding. It's time for a small reunion so we decided to stay at Kuala Lumpur for a night. Mira helped us to book this hotel and it was very nice! Each of us just paid RM100 to stay at this hotel because Mira said that she got promotion from the Booking.com. The name of the hotel was The Face Suites. We booked a 2 Bedroom Premier.

The 2 Bedroom Premier is 121-sqm and it has:

The entrance

This looked like a condominium for us. If my rental house is as nice as this hotel room. Lol.

The living area.

I love their free toiletries too. As usual the shower cap, sanitary bag, body lotion, shampoo, hair conditioner, shower cream, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste and razor.

The safety box was located at the master bedroom. Besides that, iron board, iron and hairdryer were provided too. The best thing about the hairdryer was it was not attached to the wall. So we could bring it anywhere.

It's our girls' day out again after so many months we parted each other. We went to a cafe called Love Me Seven Days Cafe. I didn't know much about this cafe but my friends told me that it was owned by a famous Malay artist. The cafe was located at the corner of a shop lot. It was at the 1st floor and there's an elevator that brought us to the cafe.

The ambience of this cafe was really nice. It was small but very cosy.

During our last day's visit at Cambodia. We managed to see the Independence Monument of Cambodia from a distance. The monument was not opened for visitors to visit so we didn't stop by to take photos. It's best to view it at night because the monument will be illuminated by red, blue and white floodlights, the colours of the Cambodian flag. The monument was located in the heart of the capital, Phnom Penh. When the van that I took from Siem Reap passed by this monument, I knew that I already reached Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. This monument looked like the Patuxai Victory Monument in Vientiane, Laos. Both of the monuments were built with the same purpose. Patuxai was dedicated to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France. The Independence Monument at Phnom Penh was built to celebrate the independence from the French in 1953. From my understanding, these monuments serve the same purpose but were built with different styles. 

This 20-meter high monument was designed by a Cambodian architect. It's shaped in the form of a lotus. We can also see many lotus shaped buildings at Angkor and other Khmer historical sites. This significant landmark of Cambodia was built in the middle of a roundabout so you have be careful if you want to take photos here. I have to tell you that the traffic at Cambodia was really scary. It made me feel like I was a kid again because I felt like I did not know how to cross the road. The vehicles never stopped because there were no traffic lights at most of the places even though it's a capital city. Most of the time I just pulled my friend's sleeve when I wanted to cross the roads at Cambodia. This monument was very near to the Royal Palace too. Don't miss out this historical landmark if you're at Cambodia.