Singapore (Thread 23)

[oolong]

I have been to SG thrice.  The first time was in 2009, “it was love at first land” and I loved Songs of the Sea.  USS was still under construction.  Second time was in 2011, to work but have decided to go home after a month that I got a job.  It was December and Christmas decorations along Orchard Road was beautiful but I was not able to appreciate it because I was really home sick! Hehe

My third time was this year, as a birthday gift to myself, to travel solo for the first time and to check if I can still pass thru PH IO given that my last travel abroad was in SG and I’ve worked there.  Thinking that I might get offloaded, I didn’t  tell people except my close friends that I am spending my VL in SG.  But luckily I got in but was the last person to board on the plane.   Anyways, here was my IT:

Arrival
Hanggang Budget Terminal lang ako noon kaya heavy pictorial sa Changi Airport.

Day 2
USS -Pictorial lang outside (Galactica was under maintenance and it’s just me and a friend, figured it would be more fun if our other girl friends are with us, so 2015 maybe)
MBS / Orchard Road / Merlion / Esplanade / Lunch at MBS (Gerry’s Grill) / Dinner at Marché – Yummy!!! / Coffee with SG friends

Day 3
SG Botanical Garden / Orchard Road (again) / Mustafa / Lunch at McDonald’s / Dinner at Makansutra

Day 4
Gardens by the Bay / Mustafa (again) / Bugis / Sentosa-Songs of the Sea / Lunch at McDonald’s / Dinner at Vivo City / Flight back to PH

I had fun watching people who tried Ifly in Sentosa and visited some temples and Catholic churches.  Got only 3 weeks to prepare for the trip so I was on a tight budget and opted for tourist spots in which I will not be spending so much or any and since I postponed USS, I was able to buy more pasalubong and some stuffs on sale at Cotton On.

[tamarind26]

We'll be spending Christmas and New Year in Sg. Sama ko si mama and my 10 month old baby. Baka may mga mommies in Sg who can suggest where to buy Enfapro A+. Yan kasi milk ni baby and nagpahanap ako kay hubby (barely a month pa siya in Sg), Enframil lang yung nakita niya, wala daw Enfapro A+. Also, are there prams for rent in Sg? We're planning to rent nalang sana since 3 weeks lang kami and very bulky yung stroller ni baby dalhin. Hope some mommies can help.

[traveldelight]

Update for everybody: there is a Christmas promotion for Universal Studios Singapore. Every adult ticket purchased comes with a free Universal Studios Singapore water bottle that you can use to refill soda drinks with at any F&B outlet inside Universal Studios. Each refill is only $2. A cup of drinks cost $3.80-$13.90

[GirlCrush]

tamarind26, check Singapore stroller rental at FB. There are some malls also that has stroller rental service at their concierge but this is on a first come, first serve basis..

[yapeegurl]

tamarind26, unfortunately walang prams for rent dito. Baka kung meron man, hassle pa to pickup the pram and return them. But you may try. Meron kami stroller dito pero hindi fully narerecline. I can lend them to you (for free of course ) pero baka hindi comfy baby mo. You might want to check Quicksmart Stroller. Inside Universal Studios and sa Zoo lang meron.

RE: Enfapro A+ baka meron sa Fairprice, Giant, Guardian, Watson, Cold Storage? If wala baka pwuede niya try sa mga small shops sa baba ng HDB or baka sa palengke grocery.

[ilovetigger]

I will be going to SG this January with my parents and BF. My budget is limited so I am looking for budget-friendly hotels. However, based on my readings here and research the cheapest are the fragrance hotels but are located in the red-light district. Parang ayaw ko naman na first time naming mag SG and dun ko dalhin parents ko. Pero for those who stayed there, okay lang ba if dun kami? Preferred ko sana is sa orchard para malapit sa lahat at medyo rated GP ang area. Hehe. Naisip ko naman, what if mag hostel kami ng BF ko and parents ko na lang ang mag hotel?

If you can give suggestions I would really appreciate it. 2N/3D lang naman kami.

Thanks in advance!

[little_princess]

is it really nice to go to gardens by the bay? my siblings ae parang mah about it kasi.

also, anybody been to the new river safari?

[tamarind26]

Thanks Sis GirlCrush for the reco & for the nice offer Sis Yapeegurl. Hubby said he will check the malls you've suggested. Sana may stock sila ng Enfapro A+ and he will also check baka meron ding murang pram na umbrella type. Daming preps talaga pag travelling with baby. Senior citizen na kasi si mama kaya mahirap din magdala ng maraming gamit.

[ficklemind]

@ilovetigger have you checked South East Asia Hotel, Value Hotel, YMCA affordable hotels but not in Geylang naman. Some hostels have private rooms din naman check mo din.

@little_princess my friends were in River Safari last weekend. Hinde pa daw complete lahat ng attractions. Sabi sa news magopen na yung boat ride ( Amazon slow boat ride) by Dec 2013.
Yung Giant Pandas, 1 is super shy daw. Hinde nila siya nakita although may camera naman daw dun to see ano ginagawa  nung panda sa loob.

re: Gardens by the bay - once pa lang ako nakapunta dun, maganda naman but mah din hehe ewan ko maybe wala ako. Night time pala ako nagpunta nun so no idea baka if mas maganda sa araw but hinde ko kaya ang Init 

[traveldelight]

Gardens by the bay: Yes, the lights are really beautiful at night. There's a free sound and light show called Garden Rhapsody every night. Be sure to catch it.

River Safari: Yes, the new boat ride is going to open in mid-late Dec. Any of you are planning to go?

is it really nice to go to gardens by the bay? my siblings ae parang mah about it kasi.

also, anybody been to the new river safari?

[GirlCrush]

little_princess, I discourage going to Gardens by the Bay specially now that it's monsoon season here already. It's been rainy and cloudy for more than a week already...

[little_princess]

thanks for the tip! we'll prolly skip Gardens by the Bay then and just go to River Safari.

We've been to SG before and just going to see the new attractions and favorites -
USS
Sentosa Island
Night Safari
River Safari

Anything we missed? Also, can you suggest ok places to eat, not necessarily expensive places.

And can we just stick to shopping at Orchard?

[yapeegurl]

RE: Gardens by the Bay, pinaka gusto ko yung Cloud Dome nila kasi misty/malamig ang effect inside the dome. Hindi kasi masyado mahilig sa flowers and sa photography kaya mabilisang ikot lang ginawa ko. Although there were some peculiar flowers that really caught my eye.

^SG Flyer? Pero skip mo na lang ito. Feeling ko sayang money hehe

[GirlCrush]

^^Everything is basically along Orchard road so you'll be fine just by shopping there...

[littlemissbiatch]

Open na daw yung Amazon River Quest sa River Safari! Pero up to 2hrs daw yung waiting time sabi sa website.

I've been there twice, nung closed pa yung ride, and I enjoyed it naman (much more so than yung SEA Aquarium which I find overrated). And yes, super mahiyain yung isang panda, hindi ko siya nakita both times. Parang mas masigla yung pandas sa HK. Yung polar bear sa zoo, pwede din makita from River Safari paminsan (if mag-decide siya mag-swimming, kasi yun lang yung kita sa window).

[swiTsuplada]

Just came back from SG with my family. Disaster yung last day kasi naiwan kami ng plane, aabot kami ng check-in time if not for the delay of the connecting train ride from Tanah Merah to Changi (more than 30mins. stuck sa station). Umulan pa ng Sunday while we're at USS. So far, masaya naman.

Question lang, how do I register pur EZlink cards if tourist kami at walang NRIC?

Thanks!

[xtine]

^Sis, what do you mean by registration of EZlink?

[pinksuman]

Long time haven't posted here. Was so busy!

tamarind26
may enfapro A+ dito. that's the milk of my kid before =)
http://www.fairprice.com.sg/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10051&storeId=90001&productId=422176&langId=-1&categoryId=16451&parent_category_rn=16451&top_category=10057

ilovetigger
you may try fragrance hotel at hong kong street. lapit lang sya sa clark quay mrt and the famous bak kwa restaurant "song fa"
http://www.fragrancehotel.com/hotel/details/name/fragrance-hotel-riverside/id/112/n/1/type/online
my new married couple friends tried this place and ok naman sya.

little_princess
shopping - bugis area, plaza sg, vivo city, orchard stretch and recently i've been to anchorpoint mall (outlet mall). and dami kong nabili. hehe
daming sales ngayon from make-up cosmetics etc at mga warehouse sale pa. their goes my $$$$$ =)

food - makansutra and any food court that has long queues. geylang is still the best. I eat my crabs there once a month specially my now favourite buttered crab. Normally 2 crabs with 4 rice and soup yata mga SGD70 =)

swiTsuplada
are you pertaining to this? http://www.ezlinkactivate.com.sg/faqs/activate-faqs/
it states here that you cannot register without a NRIC and you cannot use a passport number too.

enjoy sa mga bakasyonista. super ganda na ng orchard and bring umbrella always. ulan din ditto araw araw pero aaraw din. take lots of vitamin c too!

[swiTsuplada]

^Sis, what do you mean by registration of EZlink?

Just in case kasi mawala at least mare-recover ko 'yung balance if registered sana.

@pinksuman: ganun ba? Hmm, wala palang total ownership ng card ang tourist. Nagde-deactivate ba 'to pag di nagamit?

[pinksuman]

swiTsuplada
I didn't know that you can recover the balance if mawala. Actually bakit naman mawawala? Normally typical Singaporean will just top up $10 minimum. At hindi yan mawawala because the ez link card is as big as your credit cards. Sensitive sya sa scanning which means kahit nasa loob sya ng wallet mo na nasa loob ng bag basta itapat mo lang sa scanner eh gagana yun
ako nga yung atm card ko is my ez link too all in one card so that I will never forget and less cards sa wallet. Itinatapat ko lang yung wallet ko sa scanner then ok na bihira lang naman hindi gumana so that's the only time I take it out from my wallet and scan it.

I don't know if yung tourist ez link may expiration or something. Just check the website siguro that I have given you or google it.

But I do believe if you buy a normal or standard ezlink card na topable then sa tingin ko hindi sya ma dedeactivate because the last time my dad gave his ez link to me na not been used for 2 years na yata and it still works