ECP Parkland Green to Stadium - Nature walk trail

One of my favourite track for nature walk is taking a walk between Parkland Green [ECP] and Stadium.. it is around 6km and one can finish the walk between 65 min to 80min.

Good thing about the starting point is one can have morning coffee at Cheers or Starbucks... the serene view at 7am is so mesmerising and sound of waves encourages your spirits..

on the left hand side, you can see the ocean while walking... it goes on till you reach the Tunnel near Tanjong Rhu. then the walk becomes little view less with some narrow terrain. then, it joins the backside of the Marina Bay golf place and you can listen the chirping sound of birds...

You can now see Bay East Gardens visitor center.... you can refresh with water and use the rest rooms and connect again to a T Point... now, you will have to decide to either go rite or left.... right will take you to Stadium area and the left will take you to Marina Barrage through Gardens by the Bay, East.

I like Stadium side... simply bcoz, you can add another 2 KM walk if you have energy around the stadium side. sometimes, you get lovely view of sun rise above the Stadium...  

and then finally you get to see the dragon boats and hear the rhythemic counting noises... or the lovely view of the surroundings and an excellent wind.

If you end up taking left, then these are the view of Marina Bay Sands... from the east side.

There are some good eateries at Kallang wave mall.. but nothing at Marina Barrage. you might have to go near Raffles to get some food. 

One can add another 1.5 KM by climbing Marina Barrage up and down. It has a good view too. 

Enjoy walking !!!

Rooftop pool at Hotel Jen, Orchard Gateway

None of my friends or colleagues mentioned anything about the Rooftop pool of Hotel Jen. I was pleasantly surprised when my Aussie friend showed me the pic during her stay.

Then, i asked for help to see it once before she returns as it is meant only for hotel guests.. but we couldn't do it due to the busy site seeing schedule... I finally managed to spend 10 min before the check out....

To my surprise it was big.. 47 meter long...  and seats along other side... with a bar counter...

The location / view is outstanding.. right above the Somerset 313 ... one can see Orchard, Raffles and Marina Bay Sands...

It turned out to be a good experience. Soon, I will do a staycation to explore more about Hotel Jen.
If someone is spending 200$ rent per day, I think, it is better to choose such a happening location.

Dong Pho, Saigon, District 3

When the local friends recommended Dong Pho of District 3., I didn't presume much. Let us hit the place tonite was my only reaction. Little did I expect the heavenly taste of food. 

My friend ordered some prawn and noodles. I opted for 5 course vegetarian dinner set with a simple belief that I can taste authentic Vietnamese food in one shot.  http://www.dongphorestaurant.com/

Fresh banana bud salad was the first item. It had crisp banana and tasty noodles mixed with some vegetables. Surprise for me was more from fragrance and the ideal quantity of food. 

Second item was assorted steamed dumplings ... they were wrapped under leaves and had different sauce. I have to take advice to find out which dumplings will go better with which sauce !!! 

Third item was Hue Style Pancake... stuffed with lot of vegetables and accompanied by some cucumber... this felt heavy finally. By this time, my friend was convinced that vegetarian spread was much tastier than non veg food. means, my portion was getting stolen !!!! 

Fourth item was vermicelli in sweet sour soup - this tasted like rasam for me or was that due to the coriander leaves floating at top ? 

and finally some dessert... out of the 4 varieties they served, best item was the one which was made from pandan and corn.... tasted out of world.... 

This was the best ever vegetarian food I have tasted outside of my comfort or Indian food options... and I would highly recommend the tourists of Saigon to go and try Dong Pho. It is not very far from the city centre or the opera house. The price of vegetarian dinner was around 400,000 VND or 23.50 SGD