Being a TV junkie, I’ve seen travel shows about Singapore. They featured Singapore’s city skylines, food meccas, the MTR, and other interesting places to visit. I could watch T.V. all day but there's nothing like getting out there in the sun and walk with your own two feet. No doubt, Singapore made it to my bucket list. Mr. DQ and a friend got a good airfare deal from Cebu Pacific so here we go Singapore!
This time, I got better at packing my things into one giant hand bag and a mailman bag for a 4-day trip – believe me this was a miracle. Our flight was about 4 AM in the morning of mid July, but we had to be there at around 230 AM. A 20 min taxi ride from Binondo Plaza took us to NAIA Terminal 3 that cost around Php 220.00. We did not have check-in baggage, but we need to make sure that we had ample time to line up for paying travel tax (Php 1620.000/pax) and terminal fee of (Php 550.00/pax). Yup, it pays to travel. No visas needed for a 4-day trip to Singapore, please check with your embassy or airline regarding your travel tax and visa requirements.
Making an itinerary draft for our first Singapore trip was not hard because useful information is really available online. We were able to find places to visit and researched how to get to where we want to be. Some might say that planning everything down kills the very purpose of traveling. Well, why not use the advantage of technology if it is already out there for everybody. We may not be in Singapore for a business trip, but having more than a piece of foldable map made our trip manageable and efficient.
This Singapore trip is the longest flight that I've been to. For 4 hours, I was juggling between being awake, slightly awake and knocked out on my seat with my eye pad on – yes eye pad for people who can't sleep with day light or who just need something soft to cover their eyes. I'm the type of person who could sleep anywhere comfy, so no issue for me as long as it is quiet and cool. Poor Mr DQ, the seats were not that friendly for a person over 6 foot tall; his knees have no space to move around and his sleeping habit is the opposite of mine. And so we decided that we will never avail of an low-cost carrier again for flights that lasts for more than 2 hours because we are getting old and need more decent rest on-flight.
Cebu Pacific does not include in-flight meal but you can bring packed food (Note: Drinks are not allowed beyond the waiting area entrance). NAIA 3 does not have a drinking station inside the waiting area but they have stores that sell beverages. Imagine the delight of people who pass from purchasing food or beverages from the airport when we found this local drinking station at Changi airport, Singapore.
Changi Airport Drinking Station
Changi Airport Immigration
I dread passing through immigration after getting off the plane, specially when I saw about a battalion of people lined up into about 6 queues in Changi Airport. Nevertheless, it was quite a breeze. I did not get to a point when I needed to stretch my legs from standing too long. In fact, a foreign couple in front of us gave way because they were still looking for their passports in their backpacks. There is free wi-fi at the airport. I know that some might have security issues from free wi-fi, but this is very helpful for letting your loved ones know that you've reached Changi Airport, Singapore and you're okay at once. Next time, I'll try to avail Singtel's $7 for 7 days of 1GB data plan. Sweet! I cannot finish 1GB of data plan within a month's time myself back in Manila. See Singtel data plans here. You can also check out other data plans from M1 here and Starhub here.
Upon reaching Singapore's Changi airport, we went to the ground floor area where MTR tickets are sold. Please be guided that Singapore has SGD 10 worth ride-all-you-can MTR card for only SGD 15, it is good for 3 days. Unlimited rides for 3 days, not bad for tourists eh? We took a the MTR ride from the Changi airport to Chinatown station. No personal reason why we stayed in Chinatown, but I admit that I felt a little more at home in Chinatown and Singapore in general because it is predominantly populated by Asians. We were supposed to stay at Becoolen Hotel in Singapore, but we chose Santa Grand Hotel Chinatown instead to avoid noises from MTR station construction.
Chinatown, Singapore
From Singapore's underground subway, Chinatown station emerges at the center of the busy Pagoda street. The last few steps from the subway to the outside world was a bit enchanting. I felt like Harry Potter going through the brick wall to reach platform 9 ¾, or Julia Robert's version of evil queen from Snow White who emerged from the mirror to the other dimension of a lake towards her burrow hahaha. It was not Chinese New Year season, but the Chinese lanterns and the energy of the surroundings greets you with a splash of excitement. If you check the map, it might seem a long walk from the Chinatown station to Santa Grand Hotel, Chinatown. See link below to read more about Santa Grand Hotel Chinatown.
We were an hour early from the 10AM check-in time but the hotel attendee admitted us. Off we go to the Chinatown station, next stop was Harbour Front Station. We grabbed a quick lunch at Texas Chicken – Vivo City, Harbour Front Walk before hopping to Sentosa Express. DQ had to load up some energy for a day's touring. It was Sjora Day – Refreshing! More about Texas Chicken in the link below. The station is found at the top floor of Vivo City, each round trip ride costs SGD 4.00. See other transportation options to Sentosa Island here.
Sentosa Express, going to Sentosa
After lunch, Mr DQ and I were went to the third floor of Vivo City, looking for Sentosa Express. Look what we found outside the mall: a beach? The top deck of Vivo City houses a water park known as the Vivo City Sky Park that is free for all, yes for FREE! Vivo City’s Sky Park was selected as one of the best water parks and play areas in Singapore, as reviewed in this article. People are free to splash their way around, children can go crazy over a shallow pool of water. The water level is safe for children to play with; children will be children, it is still advisable to keep an eye on them of course. It was about lunch time, the only children that we saw were these students who were eagerly practicing their dance steps in the tune of “Gangnam style” - I flew all the way to Singapore only to have LSS (last song syndrome) triggered again haha. What a clever idea! The water might have dissipated some stress and hotness while practicing.
Vivo City Sky Park
Warning for batophobics (people who fear heights), Sentosa Express shuttles are air suspended via monorail. If you are taking the express, try not to look down and focus on the other passengers and the view of Singapore outside, you’ll never notice anyways since the shuttle was moving as smooth as the MTR trains. After getting off the express, I tried to carry the world over my shoulders by posting with Universal Studio's iconic globe replica for a photo op.
Next stop was the Marine Life Park to visit S.E.A. Aquarium. When we entered the park, I was already wondering why the place looked like a museum. The displays include the silk route from places like Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Oman, India, etc., wherein in each country of destination have displays that were traded to the rest of the world. They could have just laid it out in a giant aquarium, with creatures of the sea, but they did not. Transitioning the audience from one sensation to the other made it truly special and presented a well thought out entertainment. I took quick pictures while walking through the silk route displays, we were too anxious to experience the park further. I've always had an affinity to zoos and alike, You could only imagine how I wandered giddily deeper into the S.E.A. Aquarium like a kid in a playground. Due to diminished energy from the earlier flight, Mr. DQ and I rested awhile and just enjoyed our time in front of Asia's largest viewing panel at the S.E.A. Aquarium. More about S.E. Aquarium on my next post.
It was hard to let go and leave the S.E.A. Aquarium park, but we needed to get going to Night Safari. We took an MTR ride from Sentosa Island back to Harbour Front, then to Marsiling station. We took a bus ride via bus 927 from Choa Chu Kang bus interchange. I love the very idea of a Night Safari park that opens at night time. I was really looking forward to this trip because it's my first time to be in an actual safari and at night time too. It may sound a little creepy, but it was really an extraordinary experience. Singapore's night safari was a leveled up zoo at so many aspects. Note to parents and children: Children must try to be as quiet as possible, as our tour guide reminded us for the nth time. There was this local kid who was so engrossed and stimulated by his surroundings. See what I mean, even a local kid is still enjoying his time at the Night Safari. Also, try to go when the weather is dry so that you could maximize the trip. Mr. DQ and I took small walks that were out of the main tour road after the tour. I would recommend the satay in Ulu ulu restaurant. View more about my Night Safari trip in the link below.
We took our bus ride back, but we did not make to the last ride from Dhoby Ghout red line to purple line. At the time that we reached Dhoby Ghout, the redline last trip to Chinatown already left. The country has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, getting lost may not be that horrifying. In fact, we got lost after MTR station closed down on us and we tried to find our way back to our hotel by looking at bus route maps. We did not feel a sense of panic, only worries that were quickly calmed by the charm of the night city. I took some still city photos and enjoyed the calmness of the night. Somewhere nearby was party music, people were still up on a Friday night. We were exhausted and the systematically bus route maps did not make sense. We missed the bus, so we wandered while we waited for an unhired taxi to pass by. Take note that taxis have loaded/unloaded sign on top to let people know their availability. This means that some taxis may initially travel without a passenger and might be on his way to fetch one.
To cap off the day, I was walking like a drunk person in Chinatown; I tripped while trying to take a step up to an uneven sidestreet. Somehow, my right foot maneuvered on top of a closed road drainage that was below the uneven sidestreet and I landed on my left palm. Yes, I must have been too confident of the Singaporean infrastructures that I let down my guards. It was fortunate that I was wearing a pair of soft flip-flops that twisted with my fall. The thong was dislocated from the base of the flip-flop, a giant hole was found between my right toe and the second. Those flip-flops and sudden jolt of adrenalin have probably saved my leg from possible internal injury and our first Singapore trip. Gashes stung on both knees because I was wearing shorts when I got injured, but we laughed so hard to a point that we were tearful out of humor. It's a good thing that a convenient store was nearby, they had alcohol but did not have gauze or band-aids. The funny thing was that I brought band-aids thinking that my friends might need one just like in our previous trip in CDO. Who knew that I had 6th sense?
Day one done, flip-flops gone... literally.
Link to Texas Chicken
Link to S.E.A. Aquarium
Keywords: Singapore, Chinatown, S.E.A. Aquarium, Vivo City, Night Safari
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