Singapore 2015, Day 4

Our fourth day in Singapore also happened to be H's birthday! She is a big Peanuts fan, so we decided to celebrate at Charlie Brown Cafe at Cathay Cineleisure in Orchard Road.

From Charlie Brown Cafe, we decided to visit Haji Lane upon the suggestion (persuasion) of a friend who was based in Singapore. With our bags in tow, we took the train and walked to the Kampong Glam neighborhood where Haji Lane was situated.

Haji Lane has a Cubao X/hipster vibe. It is a street lined with shophouses turned into boutiques that sell clothes, trinkets, accessories, etc. There are also cafes and bars that draw big crowds especially at night.

Four days in Singapore were definitely not enough! We didn't have time to visit Gardens by the Bay, MacRitchie Reservoir Park, Chinatown, Little India, Joo Chiat, etc. I swear to come back to Singapore soon.

Final thought: As we were touring Singapore, I felt a tinge of envy at the level of discipline and efficiency that the country has, and I wondered if I would ever see my own country achieve that level of progress during my lifetime. I love my country, I really do, but after just four days in Singapore, I couldn't help but feel frustrated that the Philippines remains stricken with poverty compounded by systemic corruption and apathy or cynicism from its own citizens. Can we ever be like Singapore? Where should we start?

25-28 April 2015

Singapore 2015, Day 3 - Universal Studios Singapore

H's cousin knew someone who worked in Universal Studios Singapore, so we scored discounted tickets! Originally priced at SGD 74, we got ours at SGD 40. :)

To get to Sentosa, one must take the North East Line to Harbourfront Station, enter Vivo City, go up to the third floor, and ride the monorail (SGD 3) to Sentosa Island.

Upon reaching Sentosa, go straight and turn right once you reach Chili's, where a giant revolving globe with the word Universal will greet you:

The best ride we went on!

Battlestar Galactica was closed when we went... not that I would ride it anyway.

The Philippines' very own Streetboys!

There were so many tourists inside but the waiting time for the rides did not take long. The rides we enjoyed best were the Transformers and Revenge of the Mummy. For the latter, they had lockers where you can leave your stuff for free for the first 15 minutes.

Universal Studios was so much fun! There were rides and performances that both children and adults would enjoy. Walking around the massive park left us tired, but we really had a good time.

25-28 April 2015

Singapore 2015, Day 2 - Legoland Malaysia

Legoland Malaysia is located in Johor Bahru, around 1 hour and 15 minutes from the Singapore Flyer. We bought tickets to the theme park online and availed of two-way coach transfers from AsiaTravel for a hassle-free trip across the Malaysian border, and we paid SGD 80 (PHP 2,700) for everything. We went to the Singapore Flyer which was the pick-up point of the tour.

The trip to Legoland took about an hour and a half. We had to alight the bus and get our passports stamped at the Singapore border as we left the country and at the Malaysian border as we entered Malaysia.

First and foremost, let me just say that Legoland is for children. Haha. The most exciting ride was probably the roller coaster because each car only had four seats, but the ride itself was pretty short. The park was huge though, and different sections of the park had different themes.

The restaurants inside the park accepted both Singapore dollars and Malaysian ringgit (MYR), but the conversion was SGD 1 to MYR 1 so it wasn't a good deal since outside the park, SGD 1 equals MYR 2.80. Luckily we had already exchanged pesos to ringgit before we left the Philippines so we availed of a good conversion rate. A plate of nasi lemak cost MYR 20, a bottle of mineral water cost MYR 3, and souvenirs cost MYR 25 upwards.

Legoland Hotel

There was a Star Wars exhibit when we went!

One area of the park was called Miniland. It had miniature displays of famous landmarks in different Asian countries built using Lego bricks.

Bolinao, Pangasinan

Thailand

The Angkor Wat Complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia

We rode the choo choo train!

The trip back to Singapore took longer than usual because of the long lines at the Malaysian immigration, which reminded me of our own immigration system. It was a long day, and we were exhausted by the time we returned to Fragrance Hotel. On our way back to the hotel, we passed by Marina Bay Sands and Helix Bridge.

25-28 April 2015

Singapore 2015, Day 1

According to a recent article by BBC, Singapore remains the world's most expensive city to live in. The exchange rate when we visited Singapore back in April was PHP 33 to SGD 1, so we really had to save up for our four-day trip. We booked our flights in December, when Cebu Pacific had a seat sale that saw international flights at 50% off, and our tickets cost around PHP 7,850 each. An early booking also gave us four months to look for the best value-for-money hotel we could find.

Fragrance Hotels (http://www.fragrancehotel.com/) is a chain of budget hotels located in different areas in Singapore. Their cheapest hotel was located in Geylang, the country's red light district, so we immediately eliminated that area from our options. After analyzing the cost, the location, and the reviews of their different hotels--which meant constantly switching between Agoda and TripAdvisor--we chose to stay at Fragrance Hotel Oasis, located along Balestier Road. We booked through Agoda, and our stay for three nights cost PHP 6,807.23. Fragrance Hotel Oasis was also conveniently located beside a hawker center, so there were plenty of cheap food nearby. One full meal cost around SGD 4 to SGD 10.

Upon arriving at Changi Airport, we bought EZ link cards at SGD 12 each--the card was worth SGD 5, and the value in the ticket was SGD 7. The EZ link cards are similar to our LRT/MRT stored value cards. We loaded our cards with an additional SGD 10 to cover our four-day stay. Their train system was pretty easy to follow; they had maps and signs so tourists wouldn't get lost. I also did research on their bus lines (https://www.sbstransit.com.sg/) since we had to take a bus from the nearest train station to get to Fragrance Hotel Oasis. We alighted about four bus stops early, so we had to walk for fifteen minutes to find the hotel. Rookie mistakes. :P

Our first day was spent at the Merlion Park and Makansutra Gluttons Bay where there were A LOT of tourists. It was a Saturday, after all. While walking, we passed by these massive buildings with amazing architecture. We also got to ride a double-decker bus, holy cow!

 

My initial observations of Singapore were that their roads were wide, there was no traffic nor pollution, everything looked well-maintained, the streets were clean despite occasional litter, their transportation system was efficient and there were no delays. Nakakainggit.

25-28 April 2015