Universal Studios Japan 2018

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Hellooooo! It’s been a really long time since I last blogged and I’m determined to finish up our Japan 2018 travelogue before we head off for our next trip!

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We spent the second leg of our trip in Osaka, and no trip to Osaka is complete without visiting Universal Studios Japan! Well, I guess it only applies if you like visiting theme parks!

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We started our day bright and early, so the kids were chirpy and also thrilled to be able to interact with the various mascots in USJ!

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We got our admission tickets via Voyagin, which was easy and hassle-free. All we had to do was just scan the QR codes and we could walk through the gantry! Prices are also very competitive, and Voyagin is verified by over 50000 positive reviews.

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Look at those cute Minion popcorn buckets!

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The hubs and I also purchased fast passes to enjoy rides such as Hollywood Dream, The Flying Dinosaur, Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey, and JAWS. Without the passes, I doubt we could go for all of these rides! The waiting times for the normal queue are insane! At least one hour and could even go up to more than 3 hours!

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We spent most of our time in Wonderland as this park of USJ is catered for young children. However, minimisschewy did not meet the minimum height requirement for most of the rides.

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The minion buns looked cute but did not taste so good.

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If you are a Harry Potter fan like us, you would be in awe upon stepping into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I reckon it looks even more mesmerizing at night.

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Our second (first was in London) time having Butterbeer! YUMS!

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Let’s make a butterbeer moustache and say cheeeeese! Or should we say
Wingardium Leviosa?

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Even the washroom is so cool! I swear I heard Moaning Myrtle but I couldn’t find her anywhere..

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Sumptious dinner at The Three Broomsticks! And spot that butterbeer again!

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What an unforgettable dinner at USJ, in the nice cool weather with Hogwarts Castle as the beautiful backdrop.

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Going to Japan soon? Follow our updates on our Japan 2018 trip or read our popular Japan trip itinerary!

How the Right Furniture Can Help Your Kids Perform Better

First, congratulations on having kids. The hard part is over, what’s left is to make sure your kids don’t stub their toes into every single chair and table in your house. Instead of making the living or adult areas restricted, you can consider safer, stylish, and convenient furniture options that can make it easy to setup your furniture according to convenience, safety, color, and material. The more kid-friendly the furniture the more productive your children can be, doing homework or practicing a hobby on the right furniture can be a whole different experience than the one done on boring adult furniture. A lot of parents may not notice the relationship between the right furniture and the potential of their children, we don’t blame them, it does seem a bit odd at first.

We’ll help you understand the link between the right furniture and your child’s potential.

Ergonomic Desks

The most important thing in a desk that your child uses is providing a balanced and upright sitting position, the wrong desk height can easily make your child slouch. A simple issue like the height of the desk can make your kid lose concentration easily hurt their back, and make them feel immobilized. With adjustable kids table and chairs, your children will be able to sit in a healthy position, allowed to move freely, and feel concentrated. Some parents frown upon fidgeting, although there’s a healthy amount of fidgeting that can only mean a child being a child. Making your child sit for long durations of times can make more damage compared to letting them fidget a little bit.

A Kid-Friendly Sofa

You can’t stop your kids from having fun and causing some innocent mishaps to your furniture, but you can stop your furniture from becoming something that kills their productivity or even hurt them. Sofas are usually the center of living rooms, which means that your children spend a fair amount of time on them. Having a family-friendly sofa means that your children won’t feel restricted in movement or feel too bad for spilling something on them. If you’re not ready to buy expensive wool-blend or denim microfabrics, you can always opt for buying protective slipcovers, you may be trading your sofa’s aesthetics for safety, but it will sure allow the kids to be move freely around it and be more productive.

Recreating a Comfortable Classroom in Home

A lot of schools have great, intuitive, and comfortable classrooms, but some don’t. Whether your child is going to a good school or not yet, you can create a comfortable classroom to make them ready to study and help them remember what they took in school. Make sure the room is full of colors, ergonomic, and comfortable chairs that help them focus and perform better in homework or reading.

No one said raising a child was going to be easy, but it doesn’t have to be boring. Making sure their home is safe and helps them perform better in whatever they’d like to do; children spend a lot of time at home, especially the younger ones. When you buy new furniture, always keep in mind how it’s going to affect your children and if it will help them perform better.

How Parents Can Get a Hassle Free Loan Approval

Many parents need to provide for education as well as tuition expenses for their children. The problem is that educational costs are going through the roof. That is why; there is no other option for a parent, but to opt for a loan. The loan approval is highly dependent on the credit score which parents have. If their credit score is not proper, it is difficult to get the loan.

Many parents think that because they do not have a high credit score, they have no option to get a loan. However, there are a few choices which they have when it comes to getting loans with bad credit. We will discuss a couple of such options below.

1. Payday loans:

Payday loans are short-term loans which most of the salaried employees can quickly get. The merchants who disburse the payday loans do not take the credit score into account. It is one of the very few financial products whose approval/disapproval does not depend on the credit score.

If you’re planning to apply for a payday loan, it is a good idea to apply it through the merchant website. It will save you a lot of money and time. Many merchants are providing online payday loans for bad credit. You have to fill the application, and most likely, you will get a reply within 48 hours. The disposal of the loan amount is equally quick, and you can get it within 3 to 4 working days.

The advantage of payday loans is that you have to pay them in 1 or 2 installments. As long as you do so, the interest is on the lower side. All you need to do is to submit proof of your salary, and you’re good to go. When looking for hassle-free loan approval, payday loans are one of the best options for you.

How to get a payday loan?

You can get the loan in 4 simple steps.

1. You have to visit the Turbo Payday Loans website and select the amount of money which you need to borrow.

2. You have to enter your residential state.

3. You have to submit your personal details in the form.

4. Now submit the form and wait for the merchant to call you back.

In total, it will just take you 10 minutes to go through the entire process. Applying for payday loans is not a difficult task. The merchant will take over after that and let you know about the approval and the disbursal.

2. Parent PLUS loan:

Parent PLUS loan is a federal grant which parents can apply to pay the college costs of their undergraduate students. The procedure to apply for such loans is pretty simple.

How to apply for the Parent PLUS loan?

1. You have to fill out the FAFSA application

2. You need to fulfill the eligibility criteria of being a biological parent and should not have defaulted student loans before.

3. The College cost/fees will determine the amount of money which you can borrow.

4. You have to choose the amount of the loan which you need. The maximum amount can be the entire college cost. You have to also look at the monthly payments which you need to pay before selecting the amount which you need to borrow.

5. You have to submit your personal details in the parent plus loan application through a Gov website. Depending on the college which you have chosen, the institution might ask for some additional information before approving your loan.

The advantage of Parent PLUS loans is that you can get the approval more easily. It does not have stringent requirements when it comes to credit score. Moreover, you can complete the loan application online which will ensure that you can get the loan in a shorter time.

It is easy to meet the criteria for the parent plus loan and to get the credit in a short time.

So, if you’re looking for a loan and do not have the perfect credit score, these are the two options which you have. With the help of these loan options, it is easy for you to get the loan irrespective of your credit score. It is time to fulfill your financial obligations regardless of your credit score. You can easily use any of the above options to get the loan in a short period.

Regain That Youthful Skin with These 4 Ways

Having the perfect skin is quite a challenging task. You more often than not get stuck trying out different skin care routines, and then fail in most. It doesn’t help if you have demanding skin types like oily skin or acne-prone skin. Still, many people neglect taking care of their skin and don’t even take it into consideration, which results in them looking years older than they actually are. If you want to maintain a youthful looking skin, then it’s an effort you’ll have to make.

These are four ways you can regain that youthful skin of yours, because it’s never too late.

Stay away from the sun

While the sun is a necessary source of vitamin D, it’s also the number one cause of skin cancer. Most people aren’t aware of that fact and as a result spend too much time in the sun. Long hours of exposure to the sun can have catastrophic effects on your skin and would cause it to deteriorate at a rate faster than normal. That is why the sunblock is your best friend. If you want to maintain a youthful looking skin, apply sun screen whenever you’re leaving the house in the morning, even if you don’t plan on sunbathing before work.

Beauty products

There are natural tips and hacks to keep your skin looking young and healthy, but that’s not all there is to it. You need to have a regular skin care routine if you want to maintain that young look. This one you’ll need trial and error for. Keep trying out different products till you can reach the perfect formula for your skin type. Buy facial creams and moisturizers from your pharmacy and Buy Authentic Dermal Fillers Online. You need a collection of products to take care of your skin.

Food and water

Believe it or not, drinking water is probably the most important tip you can have in your skin care routine. You need to drink 3-4 liters of water per day to ensure your body has enough water intake to maintain its normal cycle and to keep your skin looking young and wrinkle free. Food also plays a major part in the skin condition. You need a healthy, balanced diet full of vitamins, proteins, minerals, and so much more. The type of food you eat can make a lot of difference in how your skin looks –– high fat food and sugar can have a negative effect on the skin condition.

Sleep

Yes, sleep is crucial when it comes to looking young. Forget the exhaustion and the strained brain; lack of sleep can cause your skin to deteriorate at a fast rate. The average adult needs a minimum of 6-8 hours of sleep per night. Make sure to get as much sleep if you want your skin to look fresh and healthy.

If taking care of your skin is important to you, then you need to inform yourself on how to do such a thing. Read beauty blogs about what skin care routine to follow and keep an eye out for new products that could help the skin look young and fresh. Also get to know the natural requirements your body needs in order to maintain young looking skin, from food to water and other ingredients. Learn about the different array of cosmetics that could do your skin harm or good, because you’ll need to shop accordingly.

Advice for Making Your Relationship Work

It is no secret that relationships are not easy and even if you have been married for many years there are sure to be challenging days. Relationships require a lot of work from both parties no matter how long you have been together and it can be particularly challenging to handle difficulties when you have kids too. Here are a few tips for making a relationship work which will hopefully help.

Communication

Communication is the key to success for all relationships. If there are things that are bothering you then it can be easy to bottle these feelings up, but this is not healthy and they may surface in unhelpful ways. Instead, you should make sure that you are both open and honest with each other so that you can work through any problems that you are having. If communication has broken down, couples therapy can be helpful for improving your relationship and working through issues.

Independence

Although every couple should spend quality time together, it is also important that you are both able to be independent and have your own lives as otherwise there will be issues of dependency which can be problematic in any kind of relationship. This means that you should both allow time away from each other – this could include socializing with friends, exercising or simply spending some time by yourself.

Date Nights

As mentioned, it is also essential that you plan time where the two of you can enjoy one another’s company. A regular date night is a great idea and a good opportunity to get out and do something special – going to new places and trying new things is important for any relationship.

What to do if it Doesn’t Work Out

Unfortunately, sometimes a relationship does not work out even after many years of marriage and if you have kids. If you have tried couples therapy and everything that you can to salvage the relationship but it is clear that it is not going to work then as a last resort you should speak to reputable divorce lawyers . Importantly, you need to make sure that the kids come first in this situation and that you try to establish a healthy co-parenting strategy.

Relationships are not like they are in the movies and they require hard work in order to make them work. Hopefully, this information will help you to build a healthy and happy relationship that is able to withstand any difficulties that you may encounter down the line.

Travel Around the World with These 5 Practical Tips

Have you been feeling an urge to visit a few countries? Traveling around the world will give you a chance to see exciting things, meet beautiful people, and experience different cultures. There’s no valid reason why you shouldn’t get a passport and travel abroad.

Some people allow fear and procrastination to deter their plans for visiting other countries. If you are facing the same dilemma, you can overcome these obstacles by taking action. Like everything in life, taking steps towards your goals will help you reach them.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be wealthy to be a candidate for international travel. With proper planning, you can visit any country of your choice. In this article, we will look at five practical tips that can help you travel around the world. If you apply them properly, you will of course for a lifetime adventure.

1. Exercise Patience

It may sound weird, but exercising patience will help you enjoy your travels. It’s imperative for you to remember that some things will happen that are beyond your control. We cannot control all the circumstances that surface in our life.

If you get annoyed easily, you are bound to be miserable while traveling. Do you really want to experience this?

Let’s say that an ATM is out of money. Hey, it happens all the time. Don’t take it personally. Simply take it in stride while you walk or drive to another one. It’s just that simple!

Exercising patience will also keep your stress level under control. You don’t need to be stressed out while vacationing. As you can see, keeping your cool will pay big dividends.

2. Carry Extra Cash

There’s an old saying, “Cash is king!” This is especially true when it comes to traveling around the world. Carrying plastic is fine, but you may run into a situation where you will need paper currency.

It’s not unusual for international travelers to face an emergency that requires cash. For instance, you may need a ride back to your hotel. Many local drivers in foreign countries only accept paper money from tourists. Let’s pretend that you have your bank cards, but you are short on cash. What would you do? You would really be in a tough situation.

What would you do if you lost your wallet or misplaced your purse? Without money at your disposal, your grand trip will turn out to be an epic failure. Carrying extra cash will help you get through this situation. So, make sure you keep extra cash on you. Place some in your socks, in your shoes, or sew a few bills behind a patch in your bag. There’s nothing like having extra money on hand.

3. Meet the Locals

You may be tempted to focus on forming a bond with fellow travelers, but you should also make an attempt at getting acquainted with the locals. Conversing with the locals will help you to learn more about the country. They will also be more than happy to point you in the right direction if you are looking for a great restaurant, a cozy bar, or a hot nightclub.

Many people are under the impression that the language barrier will make it difficult for them to communicate with the natives. Nothing could be further from the truth! It’s vital for you to know that Basic English is spoken around the world.

Meeting the locals is one of the best things you can do during your travels. There’s nothing like meeting intriguing people and learning new ideas. You will be forming new friendships that could last a lifetime.

4. Have an Adventurous Spirit

Besides getting away from the daily pressures of life, traveling around the globe can help you become a well-rounded person. However, you must have an adventurous spirit if you expect to get the most out of your travels.

It would be a huge mistake for you to hold back while you are in another country. This is the ideal time for you to try new things. You will have the perfect opportunity to try new cuisines, new attire, and foreign customs. These experiences will stimulate your mind and spirit.

Having an adventurous spirit also means that you will not turn down a chance to visit some of the most beautiful locations in the world. According to https://santiagoways.com/en, global traveling will give you a chance to take part in many fun outdoor activities. You can see historical sites during a guided group tour, test your nerves on a jet ski, or play volleyball on the beach. As you are starting to see, traveling around the globe offers many wonderful benefits that are too hard for you to turn down.

5. Get Travel Insurance

The excitement of traveling around the world can distract us from taking safeguards that will protect us. Some of us don’t think that we could get sick, get robbed, or get injured while traveling. Unfortunately, these things can happen to us. This is the main reason why we must take proper precautions before heading abroad.

An experienced travel expert will not hesitate to tell you that you need to get travel insurance. Travel insurance will cover you if someone steals your one of your expensive items. It will also cover you if you have a medical emergency. One of a traveller’s greatest fears is having to manage unexpected trip delays. In this case, travel insurance trip delay claims can be made if you have travel insurance on hand.

There are many travel insurance companies offering their services these days. Simply pick up your phone and contact at least ten reputable travel insurance companies. Shopping around will help you get the best deal.

A global traveling is one of the best things that life has to offer. You don’t need to be a millionaire to see some of the most beautiful cities in the world. It’s not shocking to see people making a modest salary having the time of their life in popular locations like Brazil, Paris, and Camino De Santiago.

A passport and a reasonably priced travel package are your keys to the world. Taking heed to the five practical traveling tips within this article will help you enjoy your international voyages. Just make sure you have fun!

Is Keto Diet Really Effective

A Keto diet is the latest craze diet among celebrities; it promises weight loss without having to sacrifice your daily bacon. The diet involves a high amount of fat, moderate protein and few carbs. With this diet, you won’t even need a fruit on the table, and within a few months, you are promised to lose weight loss significantly. If you adhere to the diet, the Keto diet proponents claim that you will have a boosted energy more mental clarity among other benefits. The question is, is this diet really effective?

How Keto Diet works

Keto proponents claim that after cutting down the carbs that you consume and filling your diet with fats, you are entering into Ketosis state. This is when your body breaks down dietary and stored fats into Ketones. Three primary Ketones are made as soon as the fatty acids are broken down, these include the acetoacetate, the beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHB) and acetone. With these ketones, your fat burning system now relies on the fat and not the sugar, for energy and this is the goal of the Keto diet. In other words, when your body becomes efficient at using the ketone bodies, as fuel, it burns more fats ultimately losing weight.

Foods included in Keto Diet

As noted, the Keto diet reduces carbohydrates containing foods such as the cereals, pasta, starchy vegetables, rice, couscous, and legumes. Instead, you are encouraged to consume high-fat food, like the fatty meats, butter, nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado and other fatty foods. Basically, a standard Keto diet will comprise around 30% protein, more than 60% fats and 10% carbohydrates. So, for a 2000 calorie diet, this will contain 165 grams of fats, 75 grams of proteins and 40 grams of carbohydrate. You will find many versions of a keto diet, but all ban carb-rich foods. PureFit Keto is comprised of rice flour, Gelatin, Magnesium Stearate, Caffeine Anhydrous, and BHB blends, but all in all the total fat content is higher than protein and carbohydrates in its ingredients.

Is it effective?

Yes, but achieving true ketosis is not as easier as you may think; it requires discipline and persistence. This does not mean it is not achievable, a number of those who have used the diet, have claimed to lose an average of 22 pounds after two cycles of the diet. A report by Public Health collaboration, one of the most prominent UK non-profit organization demonstrates the Keto diet is not only effective in weight loss but also beneficial in other health outcomes. There are different versions of Keto diets including a supplement that aid in ketosis, but you still need to pair it with the low carbohydrates diet otherwise it won’t be as effective as you would want it to.

Evidence indicates that a high-fat diet, low carbohydrates and moderate protein is effective for weight loss and other health benefits. Nevertheless, to get the most out of this diet, it is important to stay physically active. Take it easier at the early ketosis period, and then choose an idea workout that can boost our energy further.

Refinancing Home Loan Singapore: A Simple Definition

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Your home is probably the most important investment you’ll ever make, and many people need a loan to pay for their home. But if you find yourself paying more than 2% interest on your home loan, then it might be time to find a lower interest rate.

To refinance your loan, it could mean changing your bank or signing up for a new package deal with your current bank. If you choose to do the latter, that is considered repricing. Though repricing means you do not pay new legal fees nor need a reevaluation of the property, it doesn’t mean that it’s cheaper than refinancing. Refinancing Home Loan Singapore brokers are more competitive than banks to provide homeowners with the lowest rates possible.

Who can refinance?

Basically anyone needing a loan. Outstanding loans of $500,000 or over are better to refinance than reprice.

You can refinance if you meet the following conditions:

1. Ended a bank’s lock-in period

You’re obliged to stay paying the rate you signed up for during this period if there is a lock-in duration. Start searching around for new, lower packages some months before ending your current deal.

2. Ended a bank’s claw-back period

Banks used to pay subsidies such as fire insurance or valuation, and banks would try to get that back when you try to break free. It has legal implications. Generally, claw-backs, since 2012, have been paid by the owner and not the lender. Yet, check to see if your current lender has a claw-back stipulation because you could wind up paying claw-backs to the old lender and subsidies to the new lender.

3. Finding other banks or companies with a better interest rate

At the time, you’re bound to come up with another bank or broker with a lower interest rate.

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When should you refinance?

There are peak times when refinancing is a smart move. Usually, you will find low rates during the first two years of a loan from a bank, yet starting after that, loan hikes begin to happen and this is the time to make your move. An online search will show you what packages are out there and suitable for you. The whole idea is to find a cheaper rate, so you should be looking for at least at 0.5% difference between your current rate and the new one. If you have an outstanding loan, this will make a substantial difference in what you pay.

Loan tenure

It’s the monthly payments of a loan that is often the load on people. While you might have been comfortable with payments, you could lose a steady income for any reason over-night and stay that way for some time without a good income to pay the loan comfortably. Here, refinancing is helpful where you could extend the tenure for more years. While this means extra interest increasing the overall cost, it is a lower monthly payment.

If your loan interest rate was fine at one point, it might not be anymore. But you can find other options and better rates with home loan brokers and put your mind at ease.

What to do on a weekend without children

Your children are the best thing in life, they bring joy and make you happy. However, it’s often difficult to reconcile family life, professional life and marriage or couple, all at the same time. That’s why we think it’s good from time to time to take a break from everything and have a weekend to focus on ourselves. Are you so used to being with children that you can’t think of what to do alone? Here are some ideas.

Get out of the city. You don’t need to go very far, just stay away to see things in perspective. Find a good hotel and indulge yourself. Singapore hotels offer many amenities, you can find from the cheapest options to the most comfortable ones. And how about going to a spa? Your body needs to relax from everyday life and you’ll surely relish it very much. Besides, your skin will look great after that.

Read a book. Let’s be honest, since the children were born, your reading time has been dedicated to them. You deserve to read more than just children’s stories and fairy tales, but at the end of the day you feel so exhausted that you are not able to do anything for yourself. Now you have the moment. Look for that book you’ve been wanting to read for a long time and make the most of it! The same thing you can do with a movie, what happened to the horror films that you liked so much? Now you can take them up again.

Go for a walk. Singapore is full of places to visit and it’s always a good time to do it. Gardens by the Bay has become a major tourist attraction in the Asian country. This spectacular park is part of the policies to make a city within a garden. All this with the purpose of improving the quality of life by surrounding itself with plants and fauna. The large greenhouses attract attention, with their incredible biodiversity, and the giant artificial trees covered with vegetation, from which the Skyway OCBC starts. One of those places worth getting lost.

And if you still don’t know what to do on your weekend without children, you can also make couple plans. A romantic dinner or a getaway for two may be what you both need to leave the stress behind. Everything is possible!

How to have a glamourous staycation in Singapore

Photo by Someformofhuman / CC BY 3.0

As Dorothy in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ once said, “There is no place like home”. And for me, Singapore is my home, and there certainly is no place like it. It has it all—great people, incredible architecture and, of course, wonderful food. You don’t always have to venture far from home to enjoy a fantastic, short break, and Singapore is an ideal place to do just that.

If you are looking for a luxurious staycation, then Singapore will not disappoint. There are lots of incredible hotels and other accommodations to choose from. One of the most popular choices is the sumptuous Marina Bay. Why not take a dip in the impeccably-designed infinity pool located on the 57th floor, where you can swim whilst feeling like you are on top of the world? There are some incredible buildings in Singapore to admire during your staycation, like Parkview Square, which was a design collaboration between Singapore’s DP Architects and James Adams Design of the USA. This building has a real Art Deco vibe and is also home to a great gin bar that stocks hundreds of rare or limited edition gins.

If you enjoy shopping, you are unlikely to return home emptyhanded, thanks to the vast variety of shops in Singapore. Whether you favour independent, quirky outlets where you can find the most adorable vintage items or prefer luxury designer labels, there is really something for every discerning taste. You may need to pop into the likes of Orchard Road to pick up an additional Louis Vuitton suitcase to take it all home!

Eating is a huge part of a staycation in Singapore, and if you adore street food, a visit to the Balestier Road is an absolute must. If you want to indulge your sweet tooth, then check out Janice Wong’s 2am:dessertbar, where you can enjoy delightful dishes like a praline chocolate poprocks cake—amazing!

If you are looking for a great night out, you could enjoy a cruise on the water underneath the stars. Or if you prefer to keep your feet firmly on the ground, why not head back to the Marina Bay where you can take advantage of over 500 gaming tables and over 1600 slot machines? One of the games you can expect to play in the casino is Texas Hold’em, which has become one of the world’s most popular poker modalities. Attaining a good technique is key, so you might want to familiarise yourself with Texas Hold’em rules to have the best possible five-card hand.

From day all the way through the night, you can expect your time in Singapore to be action-packed and full of fun. Whether you are on a romantic break away with your beau or spending time with your most fabulous friends, Singapore will provide you with a break that you are unlikely to forget. Why not make some brand-new memories and visit one of the world’s most exciting summer destinations?