Singapore Trip: Sentosa Island

Going to Sentosa Island had never been difficult for us though it made our travel a bit longer than usual. Since Sentosa Boardwalk has already opened on the 30th of January, a couple of weeks before our arrival, I encouraged hubby to go to Sentosa by foot. The heat of the sun wasn’t a problem at all because the Boardwalk is covered with fiber glass. Aside from that, using the travellator would make your walk to Sentosa faster than what you thought.

travellator at Sentosa Boarwalk

along Sentosa Boardwalk

Sentosa Boardwalk

at Sentosa

 

Entry to Sentosa Boardwalk costs $1 using EZ link card for quick access. Well, it is much cheaper than taking the train at Vivo City for $3. We were not able to explore that much the Boardwalk because of the scorching heat of the sun. Like what I always say, there is always a next time. But when?! Lol! The first attraction that we had seen was the Universal Studios. USS ticket for adults costs $66 on weekdays and $72 on weekends while kids age 3-12 can get a ticket for $48 on weekdays and $52 on weekends.

 

entrance to USS

USS globe

Candy Tree of Candylicious

Candy bucket of Candylicious

got it?!

The Thinker

Merlion Park

Flower Garden at Imbiah Lookout

Skyline, $12/pax

 

How did we go back to Vivo City? Taking the train to Vivo City was our only option for we had to go back again (for the 3rd time) to the Fountain of Wealth before our flight. We took the train at Little Imbiah Station. Geee, it was free! Teehee! )

 

Tips:

• Go to Sentosa by walking through the boardwalk for $1 only. (ez link card)

• Use the train in going back to Vivo City, free of charge.

• Best time to get around Sentosa is 4pm.

• Water in the drinking fountain is drinkable.
  

 

 

Singapore Trip: Sands Skypark

Marina Bay Sands was the latest tourist attraction in Singapore. It is the only hotel with three towers interconnected by a 1 hectare sky terrace, popularly known as the Sands Skypark. The skypark has the widest elevated swimming pool in the world that has an overlooking view of the city. Whoa!

aerial view of the skypark from designboom.com

Upon learning that the Sands Skypark has an observation deck that tourists can visit, I made it a point that hubby and I wouldn’t miss it. The day hubby had seen the Marina Bay Sands, he was too excited when he learned that we’ll be going to its sky terrace on our last day in Singapore. Since the Sands Skypark opens at 10:00 am, we decided to go there early. From Suntec City, we walked back to Promenade MRT Station and headed to Raffles Avenue. The Sands Skypark is located at the back of the mall but crossing the street is not possible. We had to get inside the mall, went to the basement and turned left to reach the hotel as well as the ticketing office only to find out that the observation deck in the infinity pool area was not accessible to the public due to a private function being held that time. The Marina Bay Sands Hotel would be having their grand opening later in the evening, an event that shouldn’t be missed. Too bad for us because we would be flying back to Manila at 6:00 pm. :’( The idea of re-scheduling our flight came to our mind but we had decided to take the opportunity since we were already there. Each ticket costs $20 but we were able to get it at $18 for becoming a Premier Advantage member of the Sands Skypark. Registration is free. All you have to do is to show your passport and fill-out a membership form.

The wooden floor of  sky terrace

view of the infinity pool

skyscrapers in the city

breathtaking view

Marina Barrage

see the Esplanade Theater?

see the flyer?

We had also seen the on-going construction at the MBS, the Gardens by the B ay which will be another tourist attraction in the area. It consists of three unique waterfront gardens which are Bay South, Bay East and Bay Central. The Bay South, being the largest among the three, aims to showcase the best of tropical horticulture and garden artistry. Conservatories, supertrees, horticultural themed gardens, flower market and main event space are the attractions that will definitely fascinate everyone.

Gar dens by the Bay

Conservatories: Flower Dome & Cloud Forest

Supertrees, tree-like structures

 

We’ll definitely go back at the Marina Bay Sands not as tourists but as guests of course so that we can experience swimming on top of the building while enjoying the astounding beauty of the city.

 

A big THANK YOU once again to my hubby for his wonderful photos. <wink>

 

Singapore Trip: Fountain of Wealth

Going to Suntec City to see the largest fountain in the world was included in our itinerary but it seemed that luck was not with us every time we visit the place! Booo! Out of desperation, we kept on coming back just to see the water flowing from the fountain. We were there on our last day at 9:00 am only to find out that the fountain opens at 10:00 am. Another booo! Waiting was not on our mind that time because we shouldn’t miss going to MBS Skypark which also opens at 10:00 am. Since the place is quite close to Suntec City, we decided to come back after our Skypark visit. The time we went back to Suntec City, it was already opened. And the fountain was so nice with water flowing from its ring.

 

Fountain of Wealth

Water from the ring top

 

The Fountain of Wealth is located within the commercial complex of  Suntec City. The base of the fountain can be found at the lower ground of the complex where main basement restaurant area lies on its base perimeter. Visitors are allowed to walk around the middle fountain or the inner fountain that can be found at the center of the fountain’s base for good luck and good fortune.

 

Must-do steps

The inner fountain

Closer look of the inner fountain

 

When hubby learned that we can make a wish from the fountain, he hoped that we could come back after 2:00 pm. Since we would be going to Sentosa after that, I made sure that going back to Fountain of Wealth could be squeezed in before our flight in the afternoon. And we were so lucky for we had enough time to spare for our next visit at the fountain. We were able to walk around the inner fountain together with other tourists and whispered our wishes. What did we wish for?! Revelation will be done as soon as wishes granted!

 

Notes:

• Fountain of Wealth opens at 10:00 am and closes at 10:00 pm.

• Visitors are allowed to walk around the inner circle at 2:00 pm onwards.

• Koi Garden is within the area, visit the place to see different kinds of Koi.

 

 

 

 

 

Singapore Trip: Henderson Waves

Henderson Waves is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore, with the height of 120 ft, that is now becoming an outing spot for many people because of its unique shape and amazing beauty. Another architectural wonder in Singapore, if I may say. We had been to this place through a friend’s recommendation (my sister’s friend, Cris). Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to mention how to get there that’s why I kept on googling around but found no exact directions.

Henderson Waves

Since we had no idea how to get there, hubby and decided to go there by foot. It took us half an hour on reaching the place. Whew! Not that bad! The bridge is really beautiful with its giant wave structures. You wouldn’t even feel that your walking on a bridge that connects Mt. Faber Park and Telok Blangah Hill Park. If you don’t feel like going to those parks, you can stay on the bridge and enjoy the beautiful view around you or just sit there while having a bite.

From Telok Blangah Hill Park

the bridge lighted by LED at night

couples dating on the bridge

wooden floor of the bridge

the view of the city

Bus Stop to Harbour Front or Vivo City

 

 

Best time to go there:

• Morning: between 6:00-8:00 am. Enjoy the fresh and cool air.

• Evening: between 7:00-11:30 pm. Enjoy the beauty of the bridge lighted with LED.

 

How to get there:

• By Bus:
  From Vivo City, exit the main road and walk to bus stop 14121 then take Bus 131 or 145. Alight at the 4th stop along Henderson Road. Cross the street and take the staircase up to Telok Blangah Hill. Go up until you see the big signage of the bridge.
• By Car:
  Parking is available at Mount Faber Carpark D (17 lots) and Telok Blangah Hill Park Carpark 1 (17 lots) & Carpark 2 (total 39 lots)

****Thanks to my hubby for the wonderful photos he took.

Singapore Trip: Istana Park, Fort Canning Park & MICA Building

From Little India, we took the train in going to Dhoby Ghaut Station. We had seen some malls which some tourists usually visit for photo-ops and not for shopping purposes. Why we went to Orchard Road? Hmmm… I was looking for the ice cream vendor to buy ice cream of course! Thinking that it was such  a waste of time in going to Orchard Road for we had not seen even his shadow, we dragged ourselves and started to find our way to MICA Building. Little did we know that we would find beautiful places along the road…

 

Heritage Park

Istana Park

Giraffe Bar & Restaurant

Festival Arch at Istana Park

Care to sit and relax?

Fort Canning Park

Clark Quay across Fort Canning Park

Colorful windows of MICA Building

MICA Building in Hill Street

The Big Bang

 

 

Singapore Trip: Little India

Little India is considered as one of the most genuine districts in Singapore. Most of the people that you can see in this place are the locals, the Indians. Their culture can also be seen here…

 

Mustafa Centre

Our first stop was at Mustafa Center. This place is open for 24 hours and you can find affordable items here. Well, cheaper than other stores. Bottled waters in 1.5L are really cheap here. At the guesthouse, it’s $3 but at Mustafa Center, the cheapest is 90 sen. But the Robitussin I bought here was a different story… hehehe. It was sooo pricey! Ooops, there is also a Money Changer at Mustafa Centre. You can find it on the left side of the building, next to a restaurant.If you get hungry, there are many restaurants where you can dine but most of them are Indian restaurants. Since hubby and I were not that adventurous when it comes to food, we opted to look for something that we can never go wrong. Lol! From Mustafa Center, we just walk straight and headed to Sri Veerama Kaliamman Temple which was built in 1881 fro the Hindu Goddess, Kali. A few meters away was the Little India Arcade Center where shophouses can be found that sell souvenir items. Because we were so hungry at that time, we headed to Tekka Market and bought food at the food center. Foods are delicious and affordable too! The Little India MRT Station can be found at the back side of the Market.

Sri Veerama Kaliamman Temple

Kali ripping out the insides of her victims

Thai-Muslim Restaurant

 

Little India Arcade

 

Tekka Market Food Centre

Where we bought food for lunch

 

Sweet & Sour Pork Rice, $4 (yummy!)

Crispy Noodle, $4 (yummy!)

 

 

Singapore Trip: City Tour

Free breakfast was available at the guesthouse from 7:30am-10:30am. Thank goodness we were able to wake up 30 minutes before it ended. Lol! We started our walking tour for the second day at 11:00am. On our way to Little India, we had seen a lot of interesting things and been to some places not known to many.

 

Merchants @ the Pitt Street

 

Way of drying clothes in Singapore

 

Our Lady of Lourdes @ the Queen Street

 

Altar inside the church

 

The Thieve’s Market @ the Ban San Street

 

 

 

Little India

The first establishment that we had seen in Little India was the Mustafa Center where we bought some items like 1.5L water – 90 sen, 6 pcs of orange – $2 and my cough medicine, robitussin – $10! (ouch!) From there, we went to Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple then to Little Arcade Mall and ended our tour to Tekka Market.

 

 

Istana Park, Fort Canning Park & MICA Building

Fort Canning area is so huge. On our way to MICA Building, we had seen some of the parks in the area. Istana Park was a small park located down the hill while Fort Canning Park was so big that we decided not to visit for we have to climb some steps to get into the park. We past through Clark Quay and had a glimpse of G-max Bungee. Funan Mall was around the area which we visited for some gadgets.

 

 

Chinatown

Since we haven’t tried riding a double-decker bus, hubby and I waited for it at the bus stop in going to Chinatown. It wasn’t that long for it only took us around 5 minutes in reaching the place.  There were so many tourists busy looking for souvenirs that they can buy at Pagoda Street. At the end of the street, we found Sri Mariamman Temple. A few blocks away from that temple was Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, a big temple open for public.

 

 

Henderson Waves

We took the train from Chinatown in going to Harbour Front. From there, we looked for the way to reach Hendersons Waves. It was a big mistake of mine not to make a research on how to get to that place by bus. Too bad! We ended up walking for 30 minutes just to get there! @_@ The view of the city from the bridge was magnificent! Not only that, the bridge was also beautiful! A unique bridge where you can have some place to relax. No wonder there were some couples smooching at the area as we walk through the bridge. Farrer Park can be found on the other side of the bridge.

 

 

 

Singapore Trip: Marina Bay Sands, Helix Bridge & Merlion Park

Making our itineraries for our Singapore tour was made easier by the map I downloaded on the net. Using this map helped us a lot! If you hate getting lost, try to use this map as you visit Singapore.

Finding the guesthouse, Cozy Corner Guesthouse, was the worst part. My bad! I didn’t print the location map of the guesthouse, all I can remember was… it’s near Lian Seah Street, only to find out that I was wrong! Well, as we were looking for the guesthouse in Lian Seah Street, we tried to ask around about the place but it seemed nobody knew where it was. 20 minutes was wasted and we were about to lose hope when we met this local who was very eager to help us though he didn’t know the place. He asked us if  we knew the contact number of the place. Thanks to my hubby for he saw the contact number of the guesthouse on the printed email I was holding. I wasn’t aware of that… too late for me to notice! hehehehe… What he did was he took his cellphone from his pocket, dialed the numbers, had a short talk with person on the other line and handed me his phone. Wow! That was so generous of him, huh! After asking the lady on how to reach their place, I gave the phone back to Mr. Tao (that was his name) for I did not understand  what the lady had told me, not even a single word! I had to blame their accent and for speaking so fast (speaking like Chinese)! Mr. Tao then told us the exact location of the place, near a cafe. Of course, we were so grateful for the effort made by a stranger! Many thanks Mr. Tao!

 

 

When we reached the guesthouse, we started to unpack our things and changed our clothes then had some rest for a while. Since it was already past ten in the evening, we can no longer go to Hendersons Waves. After recharging ourselves, we started to walk around the city. From our place, we walked to Suntec City and checked Fountain of Wealth, which at that time has no water at all. Then, we took the underpass at Esplanade MRT Station and headed to Raffles Avenue. We were so delighted of the views that we can we see from where we were standing.

 

 

Marina Bay Sands

 

Fullerton Bay

 

Singapore Flyer

 

 

After an hour, hubby and I decided to walk straight from where we were. We were not expecting to see the way to Marina Bay Sands Mall through Helix Bridge. The beauty of the bridge was captivating, state of the art indeed! Not only that, we were able to get inside the mall! It has so many high-end shops that would really burn a hole in your pocket if you would splurge! MBS shopping mall would be open 24/7… There is also a casino, the place for money haters! Since there were no buses on sight at that time, it was 4:00am then, we decided to walk our way to the guesthouse. How was it? FUN and SAFE!

 

 

 

Helix Bridge

View of Marina Bay Sands from Helix Bridge

 

At the Marina Bay Sands Shopping Mall

Interior of Marina Bay Sands Shopping Mall

 

The “Mister”  at the Marina Bay Sands Park

 

Little Merlion

(Big Merlion was under repair due to lightning struck)

 

View of MBS and The Flyer at the boardwalk near Merlion Park

 

 

 

How to get to Helix Bridge and Marina Bay Sands:

By train: Get-off at Esplanade MRT Station and head to Raffles Avenue  Exit. (look for the signs and follow it). Walk straight to Youth Olympic Park then turn right. The Helix Bridge is connected to the Marina Bay Sands Shopping Mall.

By foot: From Suntec City Mall, take the underpass at Esplanade MRT Station then head to Raffles Avenue  Exit. Walk straight to Youth Olympic Park then turn right to go to Helix Bridge and MBS. Note: The mall is just across Raffles Avenue however crossing the street is not possible for there are no pedestrian lanes in the area.

 

 

How to Get to Merlion Park from Marina Bay Sands:

Exit to Marina Bay City Gallery from the Marina Bay Sands Shopping mall, walk straight to Falag Pond then turn right. Continue your walk to the boardwalk, turn right to Fullerton Heritage and head to One Fullerton Hotel. You’ll see the Big Merlion at the back of the hotel, facing the bay.

 

 

 

What I Love About Singapore?

1. No garbage or litter on the street, even on the waterways.

2. Less number of people who smoke.

3. No security guards at malls and cops on the street.

4. Everyone waits for the red light before crossing the street.

5. Air is so fresh and not polluted.

6. Safe to go home at night.

7. Trains are efficient and so fast.

8. Locals are helpful.

 

 

 

 

KL Tower

After touring around the twin towers, we headed to KL Tower by foot. I think, 10-15 minutes of walking.   From the basement  where we got our tickets, we took the mall entrance/exit.  Turned left and walked our way to Jalan P. Ramlee until we reached Jalan Sultan Ismail (where KL monorail line can be found). We crossed the street, went straight ahead then turned right to Jalan Puncak. From there, the tall tower of Menara can be seen. The old man at the gate told us to sit while waiting for the free shuttle. If you get thirsty, you can get softdrinks for RM2 for there is a vending machine at the waiting area.

How to get there from Raja Chulan LRT Station: Walk straight to Jalan Tengah (left side) then cross Jalan P. Ramlee and turn left. Menara tower’s gate is located at Jalan Puncak, the first street that you can see on your right side.

The ticket for you to go to the observation deck is only RM8. Tickets can be bought at the ground level where shops and stores can also be found. We decided not to go to the deck… Actually, I was wondering until now the reason why I didn’t. Darn! We’ll, there is always next time .

Going To Kuala Lumpur By Bus From Singapore

There are many ways on how to reach Kuala Lumpur from Singapore. You can take the plane, train, coach or bus in getting there. For budget travelers like us, we opted to take the Bus 170 to Johor Bahru then take another bus to Kuala Lumpur. That is the cheapest way to go to Kuala Lumpur however alighting at Singapore and Malaysia checkpoints are needed. Prepare your passports as well as travel documents like plane tickets and hotel reservations for assessment of immigration officers.

Upon arrival at Changgi Airport Terminal 2 and as soon as we got our baggage, we headed to the right side where escalators leading to the MRT can be found. I bought 2 EZ Link Cards which cost $12 per card. It has a $7 stored value that you can use for trains and buses while the remaining $5 is the cost of the card which is non-refundable. To make sure that we’ll not run out of card loads, I paid additional $10 (minimum) per card for the top-up.

EZ link card, $12

We took the train to Tanah Merah, alighted the train and waited for another train to Joo Koon (EW Line). BUGIS Station is where we supposed to alight but we almost didn’t. Thanks to the Indian guy sitting right next to me who said “You go to Bugis right? It’s Bugis.” Since there was no time to argue, we just followed him as he alighted the train. To our surprise, he’s right! We’re at Bugis station. After thanking him, we wondered how did he know that we’ll be going to Bugis. Well, he was the guy at Tana Merah station, seated near the map that we we were looking at. Maybe he overheard me telling hubby that we’ll be alighting at Bugis station. Wow, he’s such a nice guy. Thank you sir!

From Bugis MRT Station, take the Victoria Street exit. As soon as you reach that street, go to your right side and and walk straight to Arab Street, next to Opir Street. Turn left and walk around for 5-10 minutes until you see the Queen Street. Landmark is Cambridge Institute. Turn right towards to the terminal. That is the right way in reaching the terminal, on our case, it took us 30 minutes finding the right way! My bad! Thanks to my hubby who was very patient and understanding to my shortcomings! ♥o♥ In finding our way to Queen Street, we accidentally met the same guy who helped us at the MRT! Was he a stalker?! Hahah! He gave us the direction and saved us from the SECOND time. He’s such an angel! Thanks Mr. Kamma! (Not sure if I spelled his name correctly. xoxo)

Queen Street

Singapore-Johor Bahru Bus & Taxi Terminal

Waiting Area for Bus 170

There are taxis and buses that you can take in going to Johor Bahru but taking the former would burn a hole in your pocket. The cheapest option is taking SBS 170 for it only cost $1.88 using your EZ link card and $2.10 using cash but be ready for having many stops. The last SBS 170 departs the terminal at 12:30am. It is the cheapest way to KL because at Larkin Bus Terminal, you would spend ringgit in buying tickets. But if you were in a hurry, I would suggest to take the Causeway Link for $2.50 per ticket for it only has a fewer stops compared to Bus 170. Or you can wait for the SBS 170 at Kranji MRT Station.

Causeway Link Bus (CW)

SBS 170 Red Plate

I was expecting for a long queue because it was a Saturday but to my surprise, we were the only passengers waiting for Bus 170 at that time. After 10 minutes of waiting, we were able to ride the bus followed by three other passengers. We tapped our EZ link card at the bus entrance before heading to the seats. That was COOL!

ez link card reader

Then, the long journey begun… We were too anxious if we were riding the right bus and heading to the right place. To make sure, I asked a local seated in front of us if the bus would be going to Johor Bahru. He answered “YES”. It was getting late then, since we had no dinner before leaving for JB, we could eat a horse! We were saved by the cupcakes and conjac jellies which I bought at Puregold the day before we left for our trip. It took us around 1 1/2 hours before we reach Woodlands Immigration. We had to tap the ez link card upon alighting the bus then we made our way to the immigration.

Note: Taking of photographs at the checkpoints is prohibited. You’ll commit a crime if you do so.

WOODLANDS CHECKPOINT

Prepare your passport with the departure card (small part left by the immigration officer in the airport). Aside from that, you can also have in hand the plane tickets and reservation forms. As you exit the immigration, go to your left, take the escalator in going down and proceed to the bus stop. Queue on the lane for BUS 170. Remember to tap your card again as you get on the bus.  If you paid through cash, keep your ticket and show it every time you get-on the bus. It would only take 15-20 minutes to reach the next stop, Johor Bahru Checkpoint. You have to get-off the bus again, go up and have your documents checked by the immigration officers.

JOHOR BAHRU CHECKPOINT

Before you queue and give your passport to the immigration officer, go to your right side and fill-out a form, Malaysia departure form. There’s an officer at that counter who you can ask for some help on what to write on some parts of the form. After filing it up, queue and give your passport as well as the filled-out form to the IO. Once your passport is stamped, go to your left side again, take the escalator in going down and wait for Bus 170 at the bus stop located at the ground level, left side. Tip: You can ask the IO or the police officers the way to the bus stop.

LARKIN BUS TERMINAL

According to Transnasional’s website, their last departure to Kuala Lumpur at Larkin is at 12 midnight. Well, we left Johor Bahru Checkpoint at around 12:45. I was panicking that time and desperately hoping that we can still go to KL at past midnight for I cannot allow us to wait until morning at Larkin with no idea of what might happen. God is so good for we were able to find a bus going to KL. Since the bus was leaving at 1:30am, we bought something to eat inside the terminal. There’s a Mcdonalds open for 24 hours but we opted to look for a cheaper alternative. Lol! After having our “snacks”, we ordered for hot milo and cold tea then told the Hindu guy that we’ll had it as take-out. He then asked us “Take-away sir?”…. we were not sure if he said it incorrectly but hubby answered back, “Yes, take-away.” And we were happy to had those drinks as “take-away” because we were able to experience Malaysia from there…

hot milo (1RM) and cold tea (1RM)  for take-away

Super Ekspres Bus to Kuala Lumpur, RM33 per ticket

Larkin Bus Terminal, Johor Bahru Johor

Traveling in a foreign land for long hours most especially at night stopped me from sleeping. I tried to be awake as far as I can but due to tiredness I fell asleep for an hour. In going to Kuala Lumpur you’ll see many trees along the way. I wonder if there were people living there. 10 minutes prior to our arrival to Bukit Jalil, I was awake. The driver was telling all the passengers to get off the bus. As far as I know, Bukit Jalil terminal has counters and buses but when I checked the place, it has none. When I asked him if it’s really Bukit Jalil, he said yes. Out of confusion, the other passengers got-off the bus. The Indian driver cannot converse well in English that’s why many of us decided to leave and find the way ourselves. After a few minutes of observing the area, I noticed that there was a huge dome-like place across us. Hubby and I went to the place and found out that it was a MRT terminal, Bukit Jalil  terminal. Since it would open at 6am, we waited for 30 minutes outside with other passengers. We met some Filipinos (OFWs) working in Singapore, who would be going to KL  (they were not familiar with the place they would go) for a religious group seminar. They decided to take the teksi and leave the terminal. Finally, as soon as the terminal was opened, we bought two tickets to Hang Tuah interchange and from there we transferred to another train to Bukit Bintang.

Bukit Jalil MRT Terminal

Train Station Opens at 6:00 am

Bukit Bintang Station

Note: Bukit Jalil Bus Terminal is already closed as of March 01 however Bandar Tasik Selatan Integrated Transport Terminal (BTS ITT) started their operation. It is located next to the existing Bandar Tasik Selatan LRT Station (Star LRT), the Stesen Komuter KTM Bandar Tasik Selatan and Express Rail Link (ERL) KLIA Transit Station. Download the KL train route map here.