043 LION CITY

After the wedding reception was over, the bride and groom set out for their honeymoon while Zhen Zhu & the other ladies retired back to the hotel and rest for the night.

The next day, Zhen Zhu quietly wanted to retained herself for the rest of the day as she enjoyed the wonderful view of singapore river down the window from their suite and video chat with Fei Shuang for free wifi but, Su Yin, Jie Liang, Rui Zhe and Katherine wanted to explore the lion city[1]. At that moment, there could be nothing that could stop them from going out with her. It was their last day in the city and didn't want to waste that opportunity.

She had no other choice but to follow after them, hoping that they would have a happy and fun day.

...

They slowly made their way to the city all thanks to Tian Yi's driver. It was very stifling with its concrete buildings everywhere—there was always building wherever you turn,yet it's also accepting, clean, fast, gorgeous and safe.

They first rode to the Orchard Road Shopping & Chinese baroque houses. Orchard Road was a whole street that's almost entirely dedicated to shopping. The wide avenue was lined with a whole host of shopping centres – from the original Chinese emporiums to modern megamalls made from steel and glass.

The Road was over 2 km long and there were 3 MRT stops lining it, namely Doby Ghaut, Orchard, and Somerset.

The women unhurriedly walked between the malls, shopping centres, and boutiques and made a few stops to buy somethings they fancied on. They continued by paying more attention while chatting about one thing or the other. Their eyes scanned at the surroundings, setting on a certain boutique with murals painted on the wall. Natural light, splashes of color and elegant music elevated their moods,making it so much fun.

They kept walking till they reached to ION Orchard. It was a stylish architectural wonder, glowing like a futuristic beacon at the end of Orchard Road and enticing fashionistas and luxury shoppers inside. Based on their own perspective, it was the most glamorous shopping complex: a glass, marble and steel work of art. Superior services include butler-style concierge services and a celebrity chef fine-dining establishment on site. Luxury couture, the hottest names fresh from the world's runways, art exhibitions, and even cloud viewing, attracted an in-vogue shopping crowd at ION Orchard.

At first, they wanted to go to the Singapore Flyer but sadly, the operations had been temporarily suspended since 19 November due to a technical fault so, they could only enjoy the city skyline from esplanade rooftop terrace among the skyscrapers.

"Wow...." Su Ying looked down and gasped. From the height, they could have a clear view of the city.

"What a beautiful view." Zhen Zhu couldn't help but smile in admiration as they all were far from the ground and everything became smaller. She felt a bit sad that Fei Shuang wasn't there to experience such a fine scene with them.

"I know right,look, that's the amusement park i was telling you guys." Right after seeing how the two women admired the view, Rui Zhe faced them with a smile.

"Maybe we should stop by." Katherine suggested with a smile.

"Yeah,that'll be fun!" The ladies squealed in joy. Things like that would always be good for ladies.

They continued admiring the city as their eyes sparkled in excitement. They all felt happy as they marveled at the spectacular scenery below.

...

Then, they headed for the 160-year-old botanical garden that was located at the fringe of Orchard Road shopping district. It was one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden.

The botanic gardens overall were lovely being, mainly trees and shrubs. The extensive range of bamboos and the sheer size of some of them was impressive,catching the attention of the five women. It's stunning verdant landscape gave them so much peace as the wind blew gently through their skin, it felt slightly cool even though it was raining season in Singapore. It looked like a small version of heaven. Zhen Zhu closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the garden scent. It felt so comfortable and peaceful. They had a pleasant experience in the garden, which made up a big part of their visit to Singapore.

Then, they made their way to the Singapore Zoo. It was a 64-acre zoo in a rainforest setting. They made entry by tickets and saw so many animals like the Asian elephants, white tigers, free-ranging orang utans, chimpanzees, shebas, proboscis monkeys, pygmy hippos, otters, Malayan tapirs, inukas, crocodiles and naked mole rats.

Rui Zhe even fed the proboscis monkeys even after reading the NO FEEDING sign.

They could smell good things like popcorn and yucky things like manure. Some animals made loud noises like when they heard a tiger roar, and it surprised them. There were lots of people at the zoo, too.

They also watched some elephant presentation and also went on a wild discoverer tour. They had also clicked photos and enjoyed too much there.

They spend about two and a half hours before leaving to snap some pictures of Merlion. It was a half-lion, half-fish statue & fountain. They already walked the skyway at Gardens by the bay yesterday during Big Jiu's reception, so there was no need to do that again.

They ladies later on decided to eat at a local at a hawker center were they saw different iconic local dishes like some chili crab, hainanese chicken rice, yong tao foo, mie goreng, fish head curry, bak kut teh, kaya toasts, laksa and many more.

"Wow~ smells good.."

"Ah~"

"Mmm.. how can there be something so delicious in this world..." Zhen Zhu couldn't help but praise as she took a bite from the plum shrimp, sautéed with chile flakes served with a salad of oyster mushrooms, cucumber and corn. It was everything she wanted on a wednesday afternoon; fresh,vibrant and crunchy. With just enough spicy zink to warm her up.

"Hey,can you be a little mature?" Rui Zhe asked her with a strange expression.

"Mind your business is woman." Zhen Zhu respondent coldly. She had to admit that she sometimes hate how Rui Zhe acted. She was a bit much and loves teasing others at inappropriate times. She makes bad jokes too!

"I was just teasing you." Rui Zhe said, looking dumbfounded.

Rui Zhe's shocking face made the other ladies laugh at her for her silliness. Even Zhen Zhu herself couldn't resist letting out a laugh too. It's good to tease Rui Zhe and piss her off. After all, it's nothing compared to the kind of embarrassment she faced yesterday morning.

"Hahaha, whatever." Zhen Zhu kept laughing as she looked at Rui Zhe who was now glaring at her.

'She's laughing at me in front of so many people!!! And with such arrogant look on her face too!' Rui Zhe thought in her mind as she looked at her merrily friend.

Rui Zhe gritted her teeth silently and said, "You're getting on my nerves!"

"Oh really? Bite me!" Zhen Zhu shrugged with her tongue sticking out."

"You!!!" Rui Zhe shouted as she clenched her fists.

"Ouch," Zhen Zhu muttered. The others giggled and Katherine spoke up,

"Please don't shout."

"Tell her to stop barking, my ears hurt." Zhen Zhu spoke with a frown on her face.

"What did you just say?" Rui Zhe quirked her brow in question. A vein could be seen popping out on her forehead. Her face turned livid and she got so angry.

The two of them then banter with each other so that Jie Liang, Katherine and Su Ying could only watch from the sideline with a helpless face.

...

They saw beautiful scenery and ate delicious foods. And the sun set before they knew it.

By the time the night descended, Zhen Zhu and her friends made it safely back to their suite.

_ _ _ _ _ _

WORD MEANINGS

[1]- "Singapura" – derived from the Malay words "Singa" for Lion and "Pura" for city. That's why Singapore is called 'The Lion City'.