We just boarded down the plane and making our way to the Arrival Hall.  But I used the free computer terminal and internet here at Changi Airport, first.

See you later!

     In a few hours, I will be flying to Singapore!  It'll be my third time there, but the first time for my mom and sis.  I am super apprehensive right now because all I could think of is the cost that I will have to spend for the three of us.  We are also travelling with my friend. 

     So, my plan is to just go to Singapore and to Malacca.  My friend's plan is to shop, shop and shop.  Well, it's the Singapore sale, so what can I expect.  However, I don't think I could shop, even for a little.  I'm kinda strapped for cash considering that I'll be spending for three.

     Well, at least, our hotel, the Festive Hotel, is already pre-paid, and it comes with 2 tickets to Universal Studios and 2 tickets to Voyage La Vie.  I will only need to buy an extra ticket to Universal for myself.  So I think that'll keep my family busy for at least a day.  I don't plan on bringing them to the tourists attractions around Singapore but perhaps we could all go to the Marina Bay Sands at night.  Besides, our hotel is in Sentosa, so there's a lot to do in the island alone.

     Then on Sunday, we'll go to Malacca and spend the night there.  I found a coach service that stops a mere two minutes on foot from the hotel I booked, the Courtyard@Hereen.  It's organized by Luxury Tours and Travel and the departure point in Singapore is at the Concorde Hotel in Orchard Road.  And, if we take the MRT, we'll alight at Dhouby Ghout  Station and walk a mere 500 meters to reach the Hotel.  Going back to Singapore, we'll be taking the 707 Express.

     

     The first you'd notice is probably the wooden platform up ahead with a small train track for loading cargo.  There's a wooden crate-like carriages for visitors to hop on for taking pictures.  These are the ones the miners used to transport cargo. To the right is a mountain with ragged edges and to the left is an amazing view of the mountains and of the town.  Up ahead, you can see a foot bridge and the Teapot Mountain, and of course, the Museum.

     
     I was surprised to see a lot of young people, teenage kids, loitering around the area waiting.  I think they're on a vacation of some sorts and they seem to be classmates or relatives from the US or something.  Like a school trip?  Anyway, they were waiting for the Gold Panning Experience to start, too.

This is the ticket counter.  

The gold panning experience is conducted on the topmost floor.

You can see one of the guides going down from the gold panning floor.

      Then it was time for our gold panning experience.  We were led to the uppermost floor and were asked to pick a seat.  The seat was wooden, the ones used when washing clothes by hand.  And in front of the seats were two separate concrete boxes with brown water.  There were at lest 3 or 4 instructors or guides for the gold panning experience, but the instructions were in Chinese.  I don't understand Chinese, but luckily, the large group of teenage kids some of their chaperones had a translator with them, so I listened to their translator for directions!  So lucky!  Also, one of the guides helped me in gold panning because she knew I don't speak Chinese, so she gave me particular importance.  Yay!

1.  Dip the small plate into the water; mix the water and the particles then throw away the rocks back into the water. 

2.  Repeat the dipping and the throwing of rocks until you have no more rocks in your plate.

3.  Fill the plate with water, and swirl the plate around until only the lightest particles remain in the center.  Throw the water and the sand out.

4.  Repeat the step until you can see the gold specks and there's only a little of the sand left.

5.  Carefully transfer the sand and the gold specks from the plate to the small bottle.

6.  Go to the faucet and fill the bottle with clean water until the water becomes clear.  Cap it off.

7.  Test if you got a lot of gold specks (lucky) or not.  Swirl the contents of the bottle until the sand settles on the bottom.  Lift the bottle towards the light and squeal when you see the gold specks settled on the bottom of the bottle.

     If I was not alone, I would have explored the area more.  There are a lot to see at the Gold Ecological Park.  There was one place I really wanted to go to, the Shinto Shrine, but I didn't know where it was.  It was only now that I realized that it's just some 600 meters away from the Gold Ecological Museum, and only after I noticed in one of my photos the top structure of a Shinto Shrine.  Oh well, even if I had  known, I'd probably not go there because I checked the stone stairs leading to the Shinto shrine but I thought that it was off limits because there were metal posts and there were no people climbing the steps.  Besides, I was alone and I am clumsy.  If I slip and fall down the stairs, no one would know, unless someone goes to the shrine.

See the arrow?  That's the Shinto Shrine.

It's 600m from the stairs.

A miner's lunch in this eatery.

It was still closed but it opened by lunchtime.

Find the Teapot Mountain.

The marker says its 4000 m away. 

Guess what this is.