Singapore City, Singapore 2009

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DAY 1

This was my first time in Singapore. And of course, it the trip was made better because of the friends I am with. Anyway, here's some of the highlights of our singapore trip.

We arrived from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia via Air Asia in Changi Airport. We got our tickets for only P800 due to advanced booking (we waited for the discount from Air Asia website). FYI, only Tiger Airways and Cebu pacific uses Changi Budget Terminal. All other airlines land in Changi International Airport.





Upon arrival in changi, we were delighted to know that they have internet kiosks which are for free. The thing is, it will log out automatically after 15 mins.

There are various ways to go to the city from changi airport. You may opt to ride the taxi or take the train to your destination. In our case, we took the train from changi airport to Bugis station where our hotel, South East Asia hotel is situated.

Just get to the SMRT changi airport and you will encounter these rows of ticket machines.


The personnel are very helpful in teaching you how to use these machines. Just press your destination from the map and the machine will give you the price of the trip which will then be your queue to insert the bill or the coin. Note that these machine are also capable of giving change so no worries if you have a large amount of bill.

How to get to Bugis Station from Changi Airport
1. Secure an SMRT ticket from the ticketing machines in the airport.
2. Get off @ Tanah Mera Station.
3. Transfer to the adjacent train which is bound for Joo Koon.
4. Get off when you get to Bugis station.

Here are the pictures of South East Asia hotel:





South East asia hotel is just a walk away from Bugis village. It would be harder for you if you have larger and bulkier luggages since you need to pass the insides of Bugis village then some pavements and stores.

How to get to South East asia hotel
1. Get off @ bugis station
2. Walk inside the bugis village until you reach the exit on the other end.
3. Cross the street (Queen st.)
4. Walk until you reach the warrior samurai statue and the Bencoleen building.
5. Proceed to your left and when you get to the statue of the golden buddha similar to the picture below, you have reached South East Asia hotel.




After we have settled our things in the hotel, we didn't waste time so we proceeded to Sentosa. You may opt to purchase the Singapore Tourist Pass card (SGD18) if you are willing to tour singapore after sentosa. This card is your ride all you can ticket across all buses and trains in singapore (except for the sentosa line). In our case, since we only planned to tour sentosa on our first day, we won't be able to utilize the tourist pass very well.

The nearby eatery where my friends grabbed something to eat. They said it was good.



How to get from Bugis hotel to Sentosa
1. Purchase your tickets from the ticket machines nearby.
2. Take the train from Bugis station to Outram Park.
3. Get off when you reach outram park and head to the train bound for Harbourcity.
4. Exit the SMRT terminal and go inside the Vivocity mall.
5. Go to the third floor of the establishment. There is a nearby Food Republic where you can grab something to bite before proceeding to sentosa. Take note that food in sentosa is ridiculously expensive. A hotdog costs SGD4.95 (PHP 148.50)
6. Buy your Sentosa ticket from the vending machine and ride the sentosa express.

Here's some pictures of the inside of SMRT terminal




Upon arrival in Vivocity, we were amazed to see a National Geographic store inside the mall and explored a bit.





Here's the nearby Food Republic on the third floor of the Vivocity mall.


Being a tourist, i didn't know what to order so I went around and found this stall making noodles. Being a curious person that I am, i tried this dish. The verdict?? I never wanted to eat here again. The noddles made me puke. There was a mixture of some sauces that I was not familiar. Even the smell was bad. I had my indonesian friend tried it and she didn't like it. Too bad because the price of this dish was SGD5.00 (Php150) which was definitely expensive for my taste.


Here's some picture overlooking the sentosa express.
Universal studio is being constructed.


Upon our descent in Beach Station in sentosa:




We also had a chance to check out some of the attractions in Imbiah Lookout.


I highly recommend the songs of the sea. It may be a little expensive for SGD10 (PHP300) but it was definitely worth it. It really capped the whole sentosa experience.




And this ended our first day in Singapore.

DAY 2

We purchased the Singapore Tourist Pass for SGD18 since we have an packed adventure that day.

First stop we went to Chinese Garden.








After Chinese Garden we proceeded to Mustafa Center to buy some cheap perfumes. Note that there are certain ummm "aroma" here that sensitive people might not be happy about. To fully enjoy mustafa center, head here during afternoon where the sun is at the lowest and the place is not that hot. Chances are, during the hottest time, the sweats "aroma" will definitely grab your attention.

We were able to scout some perfume prices and we were delighted. Perfumes are definitely cheaper here. Cool water for women in 100ml here are priced at SGD 38 (PHP1140).

Here are some of the pictures of their beautiful MRT terminals, I thought I was actually inside Changi Airport.



After our experience in Mustafa, we hit the Orchard road via the North east line (Farrer Park station) then transferred to North South Line (Orchard Road). We went to Takashimaya to grab some Nama chocolates as Pasalubong. However, since South East Asia Hotel doesn't offer refrigerator in the rooms, we didn't have any choice but to skip purchasing one. Too bad!! But we did score some mixed nuts inside the grocery store of takashimaya.


Last stop was the Esplanade and the Merlion Park.


Going to Esplanade was a bit easy since City Hall was already connected to it via City Link mall. All you need to do is get off @ city hall station and just walk your way to Esplanade inside the city link mall.



That was our last day in Singapore.

Our flight via Jetstar was scheduled to leave at 6:30 in the morning so to be able to catch the plane, we took the taxi from Bugis hotel to Changi at around 4:00 am. Taxi ride took us about 30 minutes and we paid SGD30. But if SMRT were open at that time, we would have taken the train which will be more inexpensive.

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Comments

[susie s]

Susie from eastern8.com
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[chuzzle]

question on SEA hotel
thanks for this!!! In SEA hotel, do they ask for your payment upon check-in or check-out??

[xtineg]

SEA Hotel
During our time, they always wanted for you to pay right away (one night in advance). On the second day, you need to pay for the second night and so on. I'm not sure though if its still the procedure.