spunktitud3

Musings on Travel, Fashion & Fun


Leave a comment

Set Sail with the Royal Albatross

Royal Albatross
When I feel like I need to take a little break and doing something special without the hassle of leaving the country, I love taking to the seas. Feeling the sea breeze on my face and relishing the carefreeness of the open sea never fails to rejuvenate me. This time, I went on a sunset cruise on a special luxury tall ship named the Royal Albatross, which has its fame in The Dark Knight as Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne’s private yatch.

Royal Albatross
Docked alongside the Adventure Cove Waterpark at Resorts World Sentosa, it is a sight to behold, especially when it has all its 22 sails down. The sails and rigging were designed by master rigger Jim Barry, who also designed the ships featured in Pirates Of The Caribbean.

Royal Albatross
The Royal Albatross offers a 2.5-hour Sunset Sail cruise every Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. They also have additional cruises on festive days such as Christmas, New Year’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Mother’s Day. Of course, you can also hire the entire yatch, which has a maximum capacity of 130 people, on a private charter if you have something special to celebrate.

Royal Albatross
Getting on board the Royal Albatross

Royal Albatross
Guests were already excited and making selfies before the start of the cruise.

Royal Albatross
Relaxing on the open deck while waiting to set sail

Royal Albatross
Watching the crew getting ready to start the ship is pretty interesting. If you are brave enough, you can upgrade your cruise ticket to take the helm with the captain for 15 minutes.

Royal Albatross
You can also fulfill your dream of being sailor (or pirate!) for a day on a Mast Climb. The ship’s 22 sails are all manually operated by over 200 ropes, and you get to climb on one of them, ascending 21 metres abover the ship deck where you can get a great view of Sentosa island.

Royal Albatross
Time to get the party started!

Royal Albatross
Spotted Princess Anne’s note of appreciation to the owner for hosting her and her 2 local charities. If it is good enough for a princess, it is definitely good enough for me :)

Royal Albatross
The luxurious air-conditioned Grand Salon on the middle deck where guests can relax and have their dinner. Definitely a winner for a romantic night out or cosy gathering with friends.

Royal Albatross
Little bar by the side. All the wood carvings were handcrafted by the crew during their free time.

Royal Albatross
For an overnight charter, the yatch has 5 on-suite cabins which can take 10 guests.

Royal Albatross
The spacious 40 square-metres Owner’s Cabin is the largest cabin.

Royal Albatross
It comes with an oversized shower.

Royal Albatross
One of the four smaller cabins. Looks cosy enough for a good night’s rest, if you are not out on the open deck taking in the beauty of the starry night skies.

Royal Albatross
Each sunset cruise comes with a complimentary welcome drink.

Royal Albatross
We had ours on the upper deck while waiting for a glorious sunset.

Royal Albatross
The skies didn’t disappoint. And thank God for good weather.

Royal Albatross
Going the extra mile to ensure guests get to keep the best memories. We need more people like him.

Royal Albatross
As night falls, the ship is lit by more than 60,000 LED lights, forming a warm ambience for guests to chillax on the upper deck.

Royal Albatross
Buffet-style dinner, which is included in the cruise price, is served on the restaurant-grade galley.

Royal Albatross
The menu was diverse to suit most palates.

Royal Albatross
If you are lucky, you can catch a mini fireworks display on your way back to shore, courtesy of the nearby Universal Studios Singapore.

Royal Albatross
With less than 100 working tall ships left in the world, you come to appreciate the passion and effort that went into restoring the Royal Albatross to its current glory, and sailing it more than 15,000km from North America to Singapore. It is definitely a special experience to be on this beauty, and it does not need to be a special day for one to set sail with her.

Get more details about the Royal Albatross here.


1 Comment

Gold Coast: A tick off the bucket list – Skydiving!

Skydiving in Gold Coast
I don’t even dare to take the rides at theme parks, so I don’t know how I found the courage for this impulse purchase – a skydive! My travel partner has been wanting to skydive for a long time, but everytime he was booked to do one, it rained. So he was understandly excited when he saw skydiving being one of the suggested activities in hotel guide at Halcyon House. Fate has it that Mauro, the hotel’s charismatic General Manager, was just as enthusiastic about skydiving, and promptly booked us for a skydive with Gold Coast Skydive.

Skydiving in Gold Coast
Fear didn’t strike me until the moment they suited me up and got on the plane.
Me: Is this the height we gonna jump?
My tandem partner Tom: Nope, this is only 3,000 feet, and we are going to jump at 12,000 feet. This is only a quarter of the height we gonna jump.
At that moment, I was praying real hard. What da f*** did I just get myself into, I said to myself.

The scariest moment of my life came when we started to jump one by one. There was no turning back.


Skydiving in Gold Coast
I SURVIVED! Gosh, I am so proud of myself LOL.
Skydiving in Gold Coast
The freefall was quite cool, and I felt like Superman. Tom was awesome and uber experienced, and made it more fun.
Skydiving in Gold Coast
Taking a moment to enjoy the scenery from above. I got to control the parachute for a while, though I got a little dizzy from the spinning when you pulled only on one side.
Skydiving in Gold Coast
My first thought when I landed on the beach: “I’m hungry.” Good, I am back to normal LOL. The parting humor at the skydive centre left a smile on my face. No doubt this would be an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. I am SO happy I checked this off my bucket list! :)
Skydiving in Gold Coast


Leave a comment

Night Festival Singapore 2017: Convolutions by EZ3kiel

Night Festival 2017 - Convolutions by EZ3kiel

The Singapore Night Festival returns for its 10th at the Bras Basah-Bugis precinct with a spectacular light projection, art performances and installations, and complimentary museum entry till midnight. The festival is spread amongst five zones – National Museum, Armenian Street, Cathay Green, Singapore Management University and Singapore Art Museum. New for this year, you can also go on a festival bike trail with bicycles borrowed from the National Museum.

This particular light mapping art installation on the facade of the National Museum by Frenchman Yann Nguema wowed many at the festival opening. It was one of the best light projections I have seen in Singapore. Titled Convolutions, the projection will be on for all nine days of the Night Festival. This particular piece was adapted from the artist’s iconic piece titled Evolutions that was show on Cathedral St Jean in Lyon, France, as part of the Fete des Lumieres (Festival of Lights), the world’s oldest and grandest light festival, last year. New elements added to the showpiece include a lion.

Night Festival Singapore 2017 takes places from 18 till 26 Aug, with most performances happening on 24-26 Aug (looking forward to Globe by Close-Act Theatre).

Night Festival 2017 - Convolutions by EZ3kiel

Night Festival 2017 - Convolutions by EZ3kiel

Otterly Cute

Leave a comment

Otters FeedingWas on my morning walk when I caught sight of a family of otters feeding on a huge fish – the little rascals had stolen a fish from the nearby fishing pond and dragged it to the adjacent river to for their feast. I have heard them stealing koi from ponds too, that must be their equivalent of fine dining lol. They are pretty noisy eaters!

Myanmar – Balloons over Bagan

Leave a comment

Balloons over Bagan