10 min read

One night stay at the PARKROYAL Collection Marina Bay. Here’s what I packed: 1 set of sleepwear, 1 shirt, face wash, retainers, a notebook, pen, charger, Hydroflask, my favourite Canon 80D with 10-18mm lens and Joby Gorrillapod. 

This was only the second time my family went on a staycation. Our virgin trip was a few months back when we had to rent this place along Purvis Street (behind National Library) while our house was being renovated. It was one of those duplex apartments that were converted from the old traditional Peranakan shophouse by the Heritage Collection. 10/10 stay there.

Anyways, back to our latest stay. 

The first thing I noticed when I stepped inside: this massive 21-storey open atrium (naturally lit by a skylight) that led to its lobby. Standing there, I felt so tiny despite being in an enclosed space. The lobby, unusually located on the fourth floor, was in fact, strategically designed with a narrow passage that overlooked its exquisite dining area en route to its front desk. A luxury experience like this that you get even before checking into your room has got to be specially curated by the architects and designers.

At times I wonder, what do you do on a staycation?

Do I go out and pretend to be a tourist?

Did staycations even exist before the COVID-19 era? 

The answer to some of my questions came quite instantly when watching the rest of my family members crash on the bed and do absolutely nothing for the next few hours. Sometimes, people just need to rest. A deserved break. I guess the holiday feeling doesn’t come from being overseas, but simply by being away from home and reality. 

Our ice and cutlery from room service never came but who could blame the staff. The hotel was HUGE. And that wrapped up my Tuesday night (early) Father’s Day retreat. 

Wednesday night at work from 6pm – 1am made me realise that I really am not built for the night. Everything just seems better in the day: Camera works better in natural light, I am more alert in the day, I am not scared of the day. Nothing good ever happens after 1am anyways and the only reason why I would be up so late is because I have not achieved what I planned at the start of the day. But this was one of those nights I spent preparing for a massive seasonal sale the following day.

Fast forward to Saturday night and my family decided to visit me on my last day of work. And waited for me along Orchard Road after shift ended with bags of clothes they just bought and smiles through their masks. It was one of those moments where everything aligned so nicely not only for that day but the entire week: found my water bottle at a bus depot lost and found on Monday, a five-star staycation on Tuesday, offered on-campus accommodation on Tuesday too, last day of work on Saturday and got to see everyone so happy for an entire week. My family, friends and me.

Sometimes I get too carried away with big dreams that I forget to celebrate these good moments. No doubt a blog is helping me capture these moments in words but sometimes there are things that even words fail to capture. Because like The Little Prince shared, the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart. 

And that sums up my week-long Father’s Day celebration. Was my dad happy? It was hard to tell from the photos but I am one hundred percent sure he is. He has been and will continue being the person I want to impress most in everything I do. Funny story over the years is that despite my long full name (because it’s my name then his name), I will always try to fully squeeze it on my certificates and plaques so that his name would be on it too. That way he kind of gets recognised for my acheivements too.


Can’t wait for this week to come. Hopefully I would’ve drawn enough to upload a stopmotion of the drawing I’ve been working on. Now that Singapore is going to lift some of its Covid restrictions, hopefully I can meet some friends while at it. Also, there was this Nandos lucky draw where they would invite two guests for a VIP table with on-the-house meals and so, I kept my phone with me just in case I get the call. No call. But nonetheless, it is going to be a great week.

Thanks for reading my third post for this blog.


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