26 - DIY Travel: SG & KL

So before I start all technical regarding this trip, let me share with you how this idea came about. Two years ago, Lea and I planned to go overseas together--- we're pursuing some serious friendship goals here. Traveling overseas with a bff is one of the many items in my life's bucketlist. We already booked our tickets, however we were not able to push through the trip because of my mom's passing resulting to me transferring to a new job. Anyway, all hope's not lost and finally on December 1st this year, we rode the plane to Singapura and it definitely is one of the best vacay trips I've ever had!

Here's how we prepared for it:

1) SEAT SALE. It is advantageous to have a bff who's on the lookout for Cebu Pacific's seat sales which sell like hotcakes. I have Lea to thank over and over again for being patient when booking despite the usual system and page errors. And of course, for being the abangers that she is. Yup, persistence is the key! We got our tickets for P10,404.80 which is inclusive of15 kilos baggage allowance from PH to SG; and from KL to PH.

Cost per person: P5,202.40

2) HOTEL BOOKING. There were only two things that we considered when we were looking for a hotel.

First, the location. After reading a few online articles and conversing with friends who have been to SG, we decided that Bugis is the place for us. It is a shopping district, plus it's near the train station.

Second, the cost. We were thinking about booking a hostel and be the backpackers that we aspire (but fail) to be; but had to reconsider because of the shared comfort room. Anyway, a fancy room is not something you need if you're out wandering around the city most of the time. We ended up booking a Family Room at V Hotel Bencoolen (by the time we booked, Lea's cousin - Kenneth - decided to join us - thus the family room). We got it for P13,866.84 for two nights.

Cost per person: P4,622.28 for two nights (i.e P2,311.14 per night)

3) FOREIGN EXCHANGE. The next thing to do is to convert your PHP to SGD. Now, how much will you be needing? This depends as to which destinations would you like to go to. I made our itinerary two days before the flight so we could budget how much we would be needing. Anyway, there's a summary at the bottom part of this entry for your reference. Moving forward, I exchanged my PHP in the airport for 300 SGD (exchange rate is P35.90) and 100 USD. Surprisingly, the rates in the airport are better than forex shops outside.

Now for the story:

SG is around 4hours away from MNL. Terminal Fee is P1,620.

DAY 1

6:00 PM - Arrival at Changi Airport. We took a cab going to the hotel due to the baggages (cost is SGD26). MRT is cheaper (roughly around 1-2 SGD per trip) but oh well. If you do not have train passes, you could get them in the airport.

Note that cab rates in SG vary depending on the date and time of service. Took a photo of the rates and surcharges fyr:

7:00 PM - Check-in at V-Hotel Bencoolen. We were planning to go to the Midnight Safari but decided against it since we were dead tired. We had dinner at the food avenue near the hotel and tried this legit hainanese chicken:

SGD 10.80 - rice, mixed of hainanese and grilled chicken, soup, lemonade and veggies

After dinner, since we do not want to waste away our first night here, we studied the railway system and visited the iconic merlion.

in awe of the railway system here in SG. Wish we could do the same in the Phil!

iconic

The nearest station in Bugis is Bras Basah. You can take the orange line to Dhoby Gaut, transfer to the red line going to Marina South Pier and alight at Raffles Place to visit the merlion and the marina bay view.

Singapura

After the mandatory picture-taking to these tourist spots, we went back to the hotel and roamed around Bugis to check out the street food. We tried kaya balls and tarts. Then we grabbed coffee at the nearest Starbucks store.

Starbucks Coffee is more expensive in SG vs in PH.
Tall Christmas Edition Frappe costs SGD 7.80 (around P280 PHP if converted)

DAY 2

Being kiddos at heart, we decided to spend the whole day at Universal Studios! The theme park opens at 10:00 AM. Be sure to be there before 9:00 AM if you want to have a solo picture taken in front of the globe.

A day isn't enough to fully experience everything the theme park has to offer, so if you're going to visit the place for just one day, here's  a list of the rides/shows that you shouldn't miss:

1. Transformers
2. Revenge of the Mummy
3. Lights, Camera, Action hosted by Steven Spielberg
4. Street Entertainment: The Rockafellas
5. Battle Star Galactica
6. Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure
7. Shrek 4D Adventure


This is how the day went:
We rode a taxi going here from the hotel (34SGD). But you may opt to get to the studio through train/bus. Also, only a few resto were open at 9:00. We chose Texas. Here's the menu:

If you're celebrating your birthday at USS (like meeee), you may drop by the customer care office near the entrance. They give freebies to birthday kiddos, you just have to show them your passport as proof of your birth date!

Free popcorn, stickers & minion keychain for the birthday girl!

and discount coupons too!

Here are a few photos:

The Mummy!

Food inside the park is kinda expensive, btw. Got this corndog + coke for 8SGD. Bottled water costs 6.50SGD (vs 2.40SGD at 7-11).

!Don't forget to bring with you slippers + extra clothes!

Then, we had my birthday dinner at RamenPlay:

Yum

The park was closing so we decided to go home. There's a bus at the basement of RWSentosa that gives free rides up to Vivo City. From Vivo City you may ride the train back to the hotel, or get a taxi.

We capped the day off in our hotel room with goodies from Breadtalk SG:

Cheers to 25 years of life.

xxx will post Day 3 & 4 soon xxx