We arrived at the KTMB (Keratapi Tanah Melayu Berhad) Tanjong Pagar station in Singapore at around 7:30 am, where this was also our point of entry from Johor Bahru in Malaysia. From the KTMB station, we took a long walk to MRT Tanjong Pagar station, purchased EZ-Link adult tickets, and dropped off to Bugis station where the nearest MRT station from our hotel is. Just outside Bugis station is Bugis Junction, a lifestyle complex along Bugis Street. From there, we took one last short walk to Park View Hotel along Beach Road.
 |
| Border between Johor Bahru and Singapore |
 |
| MRT Tanjong Pagar station |
 |
| Mall beside Bugis Junction |
We arrived at our hotel as early as 9:30 am, a little too early for the 12 noon check-in. We were informed at the reception that our room would be available by 11:30 am. So we left our luggage there for a while and went out to go to nearby Suntec City and Marina Square. Commuters were already allowed to enter for passage although their retail stores were still closed and just preparing to open.
It was almost 11 am and we were lucky to spot Long John Silver’s which had opened early. We were so hungry and wanted to have brunch there. When we approached the crew, he spoke to us in Tagalog and told us that their only available food yet was their breakfast menu, and we would have to wait 20 minutes or so if we ordered from their regular menu. I so wanted their salmon meal so I was willing to wait. While waiting for our orders and since we were the only customers around, we had chats with him about his life as an OFW in Singapore. And when our food finally arrived, we were offered complimentary fries!
We were finally energized after our brunch so we started walking back to our hotel, passing through Marina Square and Suntec City again to which their retail stores were finally open. We took photos at the world’s largest fountain called Fountain of Wealth where you can make a wish.
 |
| Salmon & grilled fish |
We were finally energized after our brunch so we started walking back to our hotel, passing through Marina Square and Suntec City again to which their retail stores were finally open. We took photos at the world’s largest fountain called Fountain of Wealth where you can make a wish.
 |
| Around Marina Square |
 |
| Inside Suntec City Mall |
 |
| Fountain of Wealth |
Back to our hotel, our room was finally available so we finally took a shower for the day. Then off we walked to Marina Bay, still conveniently passing through Suntec City and Marina Square, and then to Raffles Link towards Esplanade Theatres on the Bay.
 |
| Esplanade Theatres on the Bay |
From Esplanade, we walked along Esplanade Drive towards the Merlion. During this time, the Marina Bay Sands and the Helix Bridge which opened in 2010 were still under construction. I really need to go back to Singapore!
 |
| The Merlion |
We walked the whole length of Merlion Park until we reached MRT Raffles station across and then walked towards the People of the River Sculptures. We realized that we should have had a short cut instead by crossing the street right from the Merlion. Oh well.
 |
| People of the River sculptures |
As we continued our walking tour, we crossed Cavenagh bridge towards Asian Civilizations Museum, Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, The Arts Museum, Supreme Court and Parliament Houses, and then Raffles' Landing Site.
 |
| Cavenagh Bridge |
 |
| Asian Civilizations Museum |
 |
| From left: Old Supreme Court, Raffles Landing Site |
We stopped at a Singapore River Cruise docking area to buy water, and met two Filipinos working there. They gave us credit for walking all the way from our hotel passing through all the landmarks despite the extreme heat. We didn’t have any umbrella because it was confiscated at the Clark airport. While we were resting there they shared with us their stories as OFW’s in Singapore.
After a few minutes of footrest, we resumed our walking marathon and went off to Clarke Quay, a popular nightlife complex. It was still mid-afternoon so most of the bars and restaurants were still closed. Even the G-MAX reverse bungy was still closed when we got there.
After walking around Clarke Quay, we got to the Clarke Quay MRT station and took off to Ang Mo Kio station where Ang Mo Kio Hub (AMK) is. From there, we took SBS bus 138 to Singapore Zoo for the (World's First) Night Safari. This was the last stop of the bus.
 |
| Around Clarke Quay |
 |
| G-MAX Reverse Bungy in Clarke Quay |
After walking around Clarke Quay, we got to the Clarke Quay MRT station and took off to Ang Mo Kio station where Ang Mo Kio Hub (AMK) is. From there, we took SBS bus 138 to Singapore Zoo for the (World's First) Night Safari. This was the last stop of the bus.
 |
| Ang Mo Kio Hub |
Day 1, Part 2: Night Safari
We arrived at the Night Safari a few minutes before it would open. We presented our proof of online ticket purchase to the ticket counter in exchange for our entrance tickets. The staffs in the reception were all Filipinos as well. One of them took photos for Pol and I around the entrance of the zoo while waiting for the park to open.
 |
| Part of the entrance of Night Safari |
Upon our entrance to the park, we had a very satisfying dinner first. I had my favorite Hainanese chicken rice meal.
 |
| Hainanese chicken and roast duck |
We started our adventure in the park with the Creatures of the Night Show. It featured nocturnal animals like a wolf howling, a civet sniffing hidden food, a binturong (Palawan bearcat) crossing a long branch exactly above us, a hyena, a fishing cat, a boa constrictor that was secretly kept right under our seat, a loitering raccoon, and a garbage-sorting otter. The seats we chose were the best spots!
 |
| From top: A civet sniffing for food, a boa constrictor hidden under our seats |
After the show, we went for a tram ride around the wild. We passed by a lot of animals, with some notable ones for me like the capybaras (world’s largest rodents), Chawang the Asian bull elephant, and the tapirs. It was hard to take nice photos because flash photography is of course prohibited, and our camera was really bad at night shots.
 |
| A tapir |
The last and longest part of our adventure was the series of walking trails which were Forest Giants Trail, Leopard Trail, and Fishing Cat Trail. A personal favorite I had seen was the flying squirrel found in the bat room with no trainers present. They kept on climbing and flying to the next post, back and forth just right above us for our amusement.
 |
| A flying squirrel |
After finishing the trails, our sore tired feet finally forced us to go back to our hotel. We took the same SBS bus 138 to AMK, took the Ang Mo Kio MRT and got off to Bugis station. Bugis Village was very much alive at night but we were too tired to stay awake. We walked back to our hotel and immediately dozed off. Our itinerary for the next whole day would be for Sentosa.
Day 2: Sentosa
We woke up at 7 am and had buffet breakfast in our hotel. Again, we walked to MRT Bugis station and alighted at HarbourFront station for VivoCity where we purchased Sentosa passes.
Within VivoCity is the Sentosa Express monorail to Imbiah Station. Along the way in our monorail ride, there were still a lot of developments under construction like resorts, hotels, and the Universal Studios which opened in 2010.
Within VivoCity is the Sentosa Express monorail to Imbiah Station. Along the way in our monorail ride, there were still a lot of developments under construction like resorts, hotels, and the Universal Studios which opened in 2010.
 |
| View of VivoCity from the Sentosa Express monorail |
 |
| View of the rest of Sentosa Island under construction |
We dropped off to Imbiah Station and kicked off with the attraction called “The Merlion” which featured a lucky coin, a mini museum, a film showing of the Merlion and the legend of Singapore, a climb to the Merlion's head and tail, and a free gift from the souvenir shop courtesy of our lucky coin fed to the Merlion machine's mouth, and the Merlion Walk.
 |
| The Merlion at Sentosa |
 |
| From left, clockwise: Merlion's mouth, view from the Merlion's mouth, view from the Merlion's head, Merlion Walk |
The end of Merlion Walk led us to Beach Station, and we took the free tram to the man-made beaches. We hopped off at Palawan Beach and crossed the bridge towards their so-called 'Southernmost Point of Asia Continent'.
We got on a tram again and got off to Siloso Beach. There was a beach party bar similar to MTV Grind that was under construction during that time, called Wave House.
 |
| Southernmost tip of Asia at the Palawan Beach |
We got on a tram again and got off to Siloso Beach. There was a beach party bar similar to MTV Grind that was under construction during that time, called Wave House.
 |
| Siloso Beach |
We went back to to Mount Imbiah and went up the Tiger Sky Tower which was said to enable one to view Malaysia, Indonesia, and the rest of Singapore at a 360-degree angle.
 |
| Tiger Sky Tower, views from the tower |
Finally before having lunch, we headed to the 4D Cineblast theater to watch a show called "Pirates".
 |
| In 4D glasses |
We had lunch at The Arches Restaurant and ordered seafood hor fun, cream of mushroom soup, and a beefy dish.
 |
| Our lunch at The Arches |
 |
| The menu |
After lunch, we continued our adventure and found ourselves walking the Nature Discovery trail towards a forest-like place and found Imbiah Falls. It was nothing special during that time.
We took a tram to Palawan Beach again for Animal and Bird Encounter.
After the show, we took another tram back to Beach Station for the Go-Green Segway Eco Ride. We enjoyed our segway for as long as we could in the track.
We decided to be more adventurous by trying the Luge & Skyride. We had to ride the Skyride before getting to the Luge track.
 |
| From top: Pol and two macaws, a pig-tailed macaque |
After the show, we took another tram back to Beach Station for the Go-Green Segway Eco Ride. We enjoyed our segway for as long as we could in the track.
 |
| Segway ride |
We decided to be more adventurous by trying the Luge & Skyride. We had to ride the Skyride before getting to the Luge track.
 |
| Luge & Skyride |
The night was falling and it was time for Songs of the Sea. This was our last hurrah before we finally leave the island. Songs of the Sea is a story told in music (English, Malay, Indian and Chinese songs), waterscapes, colorful lights, fire itself and fireworks.
 |
| Songs of the Sea |
We took the Sentosa Express back to VivoCity and then the MRT to Bugis station after the tiring but fun Sentosa day. We had dinner at MOS Burger in Bugis Junction and ordered Yakiniku Rice Burger, MOS Cheeseburger, fries, garlic n' lemon mussels, and iced coffee. Yummies!
 |
| From top: Yakiniku rice burger, garlic n' lemon mussels |
We savored our last night walk at Tan Quee Lan Street on our way back to the hotel.
 |
| Tan Quee Lan Street |
Day 3: Last shots before departure to Manila
Our schedule for this day was not as tight as the last two days where we tortured our feet, so we indulged in our last day of having buffet breakfast in our hotel. We had noodles, eggs, bacon, ham, chicken sausage, samosa & fries, bread & butter, milk & cereal.
 |
| Our last breakfast |
Pol was also going to meet on that day his former colleague Billy who now works in Singapore, so while we were waiting we shopped for doggie treats for our Spetz in Carrefour at Suntec City Mall.
 |
| Pasalubong shopping for Spetz! |
We met up with Billy during his lunch break, and he treated us to lunch at JustAcia. As usual, I had my salmon rice meal. The unlimited ice cream and drinks were very welcome treats!
 |
| Thanks Billy for the JustAcia treat! |
We had to part ways with Billy after having lunch but we would visit his family later at their apartment in Tampines. Meanwhile, we went walking around from Suntec and found ourselves visitng the War Memorial Park, St. Andrew's Cathedral, and Fort Canning Park. I particularly wanted to see Fort Canning because that was the venue for the Singapore concert of Nine Inch Nails. I'd say, our Fort Santiago is way more beautiful. Click here to see my flashback of Nine Inch Nails' concert in Manila!
 |
| War Memorial Park |
 |
| St. Andrew's Cathedral |
 |
| Fort Canning Park |
\ |
| Nine Inch Nails concert poster |
We used our extra time to buy souvenirs and food for pasalubong. We took the MRT Dhoby Ghaut train and got off to Chinatown.
After our souvenir shopping, we took the MRT back to our hotel to claim our luggage, then took the MRT again to Tampines. From Tampines bus terminal, we took Bus 29 to Tampines Avenue 9 to visit Billy's family. They served us beef and spicy crab for dinner!
We had a nice time listening to their stories in Singapore and sharing with them stories from the Philippines, but we had to go because our flight would be in just a couple of hours. We took a short taxi ride from Tampines Avenue 9 to Terminal 2 of Changi Airport.
Our overall stay in Singapore made us feel like we were just in the Philippines because of many Filipinos living and working there. It's also another reason why we are looking forward to going back there with our families so we could show them around. Now that I'm having a baby, I would have a reason to go to Universal Studios five years from now. I also can't wait to shop at Sephora in Marina Bay Sands. There's always something new in SG!
No comments:
Post a Comment