Singapore is just a bus ride from Kuala Lumpur and some Malaysians go to Singapore as if they were just going to Tagaytay. I always delayed possible visits to Singapore because I always told myself there'll be another time to go anyway. Buti na lang at nagpa-delay ako!
I've always wanted to go to Singapore because:
1.) I have a cousin there and inaanaks
2.) I want to cover as much of Southeast Asia as I can while I'm working in KL
So when I bought my cheap Air Asia ticket to Johor Bahru then crossed the border via 2 bus rides into Singapore (which was a major road trip for a first-timer), I was delighted to know that it was the first day of The Great Singapore Sale. Panalo! I'm not much of a shopper but, boy, the sale really made a whole lot of difference!
GENERAL RUNDOWN MUNA. My trip wasn't so turista-ish actually. In my Lonely Planet Guide to Singapore, I only visited 2 important places to visit in their list. Walang kwentanf turista diba. I didn't even go to the Merlion, Chinatown, Little India, Singapore Zoo or Sentosa! Haha. My trip was more of a relaxing weekend trip spent mostly with my cousin's family and two little devils in the form of a nephew and a niece.
FIRST DAY. Major road trip from Johor. I'm taxi averse so I refused to take the convenient airport taxi and decided to take two bus rides past immigration and the border towards the nearest MRT station in Sing. Rode an insanely long MRT ride to my cousin's place. Since they were still at work when I got there, I decided to hit Orchard Road right away.
Public transport in Singapore is bloody amazing. The bus and MRT go practically everywhere anyway so it's not hard to go around the place. Totally loved Orchard Road. I loved it so much, I walked its entire length twice. Haha! And that covers three MRT stations! First day pa lang ng Sale 'nun pero ang dami ng tao.
At night my cousin and his family brought me to the Espalanade area at tumambay at kumain.
SECOND DAY. Woke up late. Had brunch with college friends Nicole and Nikki at VivoCity by the harbour and stayed there until late in the afternoon.
I've always wanted to go to Singapore because:
1.) I have a cousin there and inaanaks
2.) I want to cover as much of Southeast Asia as I can while I'm working in KL
So when I bought my cheap Air Asia ticket to Johor Bahru then crossed the border via 2 bus rides into Singapore (which was a major road trip for a first-timer), I was delighted to know that it was the first day of The Great Singapore Sale. Panalo! I'm not much of a shopper but, boy, the sale really made a whole lot of difference!
GENERAL RUNDOWN MUNA. My trip wasn't so turista-ish actually. In my Lonely Planet Guide to Singapore, I only visited 2 important places to visit in their list. Walang kwentanf turista diba. I didn't even go to the Merlion, Chinatown, Little India, Singapore Zoo or Sentosa! Haha. My trip was more of a relaxing weekend trip spent mostly with my cousin's family and two little devils in the form of a nephew and a niece.
FIRST DAY. Major road trip from Johor. I'm taxi averse so I refused to take the convenient airport taxi and decided to take two bus rides past immigration and the border towards the nearest MRT station in Sing. Rode an insanely long MRT ride to my cousin's place. Since they were still at work when I got there, I decided to hit Orchard Road right away.
Public transport in Singapore is bloody amazing. The bus and MRT go practically everywhere anyway so it's not hard to go around the place. Totally loved Orchard Road. I loved it so much, I walked its entire length twice. Haha! And that covers three MRT stations! First day pa lang ng Sale 'nun pero ang dami ng tao.
At night my cousin and his family brought me to the Espalanade area at tumambay at kumain.
SECOND DAY. Woke up late. Had brunch with college friends Nicole and Nikki at VivoCity by the harbour and stayed there until late in the afternoon.
At left is Nikki who's taking up her Ph.D at NUS and at right is Nicole who's taking her internship with P&G. Former and future SC presidents, anyone?
The shopping starts! Syempre nasa mall na rin ako so might as well diba?
I was supposed to go to Sentosa but I decided not to na lang since umulan and my cousin didn't feel well. So the logical decision was to continue my shopping back at Orchard Road! Hahaha! Ubos pera 'to!
The shopping starts! Syempre nasa mall na rin ako so might as well diba?
I was supposed to go to Sentosa but I decided not to na lang since umulan and my cousin didn't feel well. So the logical decision was to continue my shopping back at Orchard Road! Hahaha! Ubos pera 'to!
Since there are a dozen malls on the street I really didn't know where to start. What I did was to follow the mad crowd and saw where most of them were going. Thus, I found myself buying stuff at Takashimaya and at Paragon. Gosh, ang wild talaga ng Sale. We're talking half the price or more on everything! In Vince's words, naloka ako. Buti na lang I got tired na from all the walking kung hindi I might have spent a whole lot more. I bought more stuff in one day that I ever did in my entire 9-month stay in KL! Crazy!
That's my reflection at the train with all my shopping bags. I'm so kuripot, kahit ang bigat ng dala ko, I still didn't want to take a cab! Haha! Ang labo.
THIRD DAY. Woke up late, again. Definitely not tourist-like. Heard mass in morning then went straight to East Coast park for some more tambay moments. I finally saw a beach! Woohoo! Even if it didn't look so nice, I was glad enough to walk on beach sand!
The beach! Must do yoga, naturally. The Peacock Pose. I can finally do it! Toes should be pointed though.
THIRD DAY. Woke up late, again. Definitely not tourist-like. Heard mass in morning then went straight to East Coast park for some more tambay moments. I finally saw a beach! Woohoo! Even if it didn't look so nice, I was glad enough to walk on beach sand!
The beach! Must do yoga, naturally. The Peacock Pose. I can finally do it! Toes should be pointed though.
By the way, for some reason I really liked this park. I have no idea why. At night I met up with my flatmate's sister and had dinner at Clark Quay.
A turista shot.
Highlight of that night was taking that G-max Ultimate Bungy thing where they strap you down then shoot you straight up into the air in a "0 to 200 km per hour blast to 60 meters in 2 seconds experiencing a 5G thrill". How could I not go right? Totally worth the expensive ticket.
Well that's it. I went back to KL the next morning. Sigh. I'm definitely going back to Singapore. Hopefully I get to see more of it though. Feeling ko kasi the city still has so much more to offer (for sure!). It was also the start of the Singapore Arts Festival but I never saw any of the shows since most of it would be in June pa. The Sale and the Festival runs until July so I think now, as in NOW, is the best time to visit Singapore.
Next stop in my regional quest?
Laos? Cambodia? Indonesia? Woohoo! Thank you for budget airlines. Abangan!
Highlight of that night was taking that G-max Ultimate Bungy thing where they strap you down then shoot you straight up into the air in a "0 to 200 km per hour blast to 60 meters in 2 seconds experiencing a 5G thrill". How could I not go right? Totally worth the expensive ticket.
Well that's it. I went back to KL the next morning. Sigh. I'm definitely going back to Singapore. Hopefully I get to see more of it though. Feeling ko kasi the city still has so much more to offer (for sure!). It was also the start of the Singapore Arts Festival but I never saw any of the shows since most of it would be in June pa. The Sale and the Festival runs until July so I think now, as in NOW, is the best time to visit Singapore.
Next stop in my regional quest?
Laos? Cambodia? Indonesia? Woohoo! Thank you for budget airlines. Abangan!
1 comment:
This is great info to know.
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