Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Travel Report: Touring Singapore via The MRT

Good morning dearies!!!! Did you miss me?  Of course not!  I just blogged yesterday! *teehee*

I am super  excited to share yesterday's happening as I'm quite proud of myself for surviving this trip with a huge smile even though we've gone through a couple of boo-boos.  I'll tell you the story while I'm still hyper!!!  Yes, drinking a cup of green tea with Jasmine!  So good!

Since we do not have an itinerary (quite shocking considering how OC I am),  Mr. AMW and myself have decided to go for a "city tour" meaning, we'll just go wherever our foot can bring us to!  We planned to purchase a Tourist MRT Card which is available in 1-day to 3-days unlimited MRT and Public Bus ride. (I want to thank Bee by the way for all the needed information about Singapore on our first night) :)

Back to the story, we went down to Dhoby Ghaut Station and we were up to go to Chinatown station to purchase our tourist pass.  The thing though, we saw a travel agency booth and checked out their packages for city tours.  We were then offered the "Hop On Hop Off" tour bus for SGD24.00 + 10% off and it sounded like a great idea so we bought tickets right away together with our Universal Studios entrance tickets.  

That's were the misadventures began!  *lol*  


We were advised to wait at the Dhoby Ghaut Bus Station or whatever bus station that's nearest the Plaza Singapura (which was Dhoby Ghaut Bus Station!).  I, of course, asked directions just to make sure I'm waiting on the right bus stop and we were told it was the right one by 2 random people!  We were there a bit early as the bus arrives every 30 minutes but I don't mind the waiting, I'd rather be early than late right?  Who would want to miss the bus?


Of course we  missed the bus!  Why would I share this story if everything went smooth as silk? :P  *laughs*

We saw the Hippo bus passed right us and we have to walk all the way back to the travel agent just to check again if we got the right station.  She even gave us the "bus station number" (thank you Singapore for having this!) and we went back to go to the next station after the first one.  Definitely NOT Dhoby Ghaut Bus Station which she originally advised, but its okay :) People make mistakes so there we go waiting for another 30 minutes for the bus to arrive.
I gave the bus station number a double and triple check and I was a bit excited again as I'm sure we'll be taking the cute bus anytime soon.  

There goes another bus and I ended up waving my hand with tickets frantically and the bus driver went "NO NO" with a hand gesture.  

???????????? *blank look that went :O*

Missed the 2nd bus and I'm a million percent sure its not my fault anymore!  *lol*  Shaking our heads back to the travel agent, I asked for refund and she even said: " The bus driver did not stop?  WHY?"  Girl!  You tell me! But anyways, she originally told me there's no refund allowed but thank goodness she understood me when I said: "Please! We've wasted an hour of our Singapore Lifetime so let's just finish this as I want my tour to start now!"  *pouts*  hahahah it worked!  

So yeah, went back to the original plan, took an MRT ride to Chinatown and purchased the 3 days Tourist Pass for SGD34.00 (SGD10.00 refundable).

*I should have done this earlier and not get swayed with cute buses* :P

After purchasing the ticket, we got out of Chinatown Station and I went: "YAY!  Nikki Tourist is finally back!" :P  

We had our late lunch at a random restaurant located at the Chinatown.  We passed by the area quickly as I have nothing much to shop there.  I kinda missed our Chinatown back home when I saw this place!  I hope ours can be this organized :)


And guess who welcomed me in Chinatown???  Gosh! They are following me EVERYWHERE! :P


After lunch and a bit of walking, we hopped on the station again and headed to Little India...

I did not plan to do anything at Little India.  BUT guess what?  We ended up eating there... again!  We gave their Chicken Kabab and Naan a try and it was wonderful!  We ate with our bare hands and I have to thank our Filipino Culture as it wasn't that hard! :)  Well, the food was hot though so it burns my fingers a bit but the food tastes delicious so it's all good! :)

*pats myself at the back for being so random!* :D
 

After Little India, we zoomed out to Orchard Station and went out at the ION Orchard mall.  The first makeup counter I saw was Bobbi Brown and I went there right away to have a quick price check!  Prices back home and here are the same so I've decided to shop in Manila instead :)  

There's also a very posh looking Chanel store that sells Chanel skincare and makeup.

After looking around, we found ourselves at the basement...what's inside the basement??? *lol* FOOD!!!! There we had a  bit of snacks...AGAIN! :P  Hey, we walked quite a lot so give us a break! :P


Hopped on MRT again and we went to Raffles Place for the Merlion Park.  Once we got out of the Raffles Place station, we were a bit confused on where to go as there's a lot of constructions going on.  Thanks to the lovely locals for helping us with directions!  We walked passed  The Fullerton Hotel, which was a super lovely structured hotel by the way...


Walked a bit more and saw the "Parliament of Singapore".  Okay, at least I know we're on the right track!

There you are Merlion!
I've been looking everywhere for you!

 Sorry, I can't help but do this pose! :P
Well, I got thirsty looking for her!

Saw a super LOVELY couple by the way looking at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  I wonder where they're from? :P

I suggested we just relax there and enjoy the breeze for sunset and wait for night time before we jump in the Singapore River Experience.  We bought a ticket worth SGD17.00 (approx Php595.00) per head.

I have to pat myself on the back for this great idea as  we were able to enjoy Singapore both day and night.  The view is totally different on day time and night time and don't ask me for my preference as I enjoyed both!  Both views were awesome!!!


Check out the beauty of Singapore as we cruised around for 40 minutes!
Esplanade, Theaters on the Bay

Various Buildings (mostly banks)
 The Fullerton Hotel
gorgeous to look at both day and night
 Riverside Point
Located at Clarke Quay

Singapore Flyer
A giant observation ferris wheel.
Each capsule can hold up to 25 people!  WOW right?

Back to my favorite Merlion at Night
don't worry, no more drinking of water shot :P
Looking back at what we did, it may sound crazy but it's do-able!  We did not stay at one place for a long  time but we did not rush as well!  What we planned to do is just hop on different stops and get the "feel" or "vibe" of each place.  Which area got our attention the most, we took down notes and will return on Wednesday!  I'm off to Sentosa Island today!

I love the power of unlimited MRT and bus rides!  Everything seems to be easier and I don't have to worry on buying tickets,  getting off the wrong station or going out at the wrong exit, the need to have lots of coins and  getting back my MRT card deposit every time I purchase a single journey ticket! 

Hope I did not bore you with my 2nd day adventure in Singapore! :)
Keep smilin'
Stay happy!


23 comments :

  1. I showed my hubby this post! Ive been to SG tons of time already to visit him but never got the chance to do a REAL tour.

    >_< jealous much! haha

    :*

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  2. haha! doable indeed! that's what i did last week! don't you dare miss LUGE in Sentosa! one ride is not enough promise!!! ang saya talaga! :) enjoy dear! :)

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  3. great to know you and hubby are having a great time even with all the craziness of travelling mishaps lol!

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  4. I love Chinatown! I bought lots of trinkets ; )

    xoxo
    MrsMartinez

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  5. i miss singapore! i once rode the bus on the wrong side of the road and ended up going around the entire city :P

    "I'm giving away a giant shopper, shoes and chocolates from Paisley Clothing! Visit my blog to enter. Good Luck!"

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  6. hehehe this makes me miss sg na talaga ^_^ great pix ♥

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  7. hahaha I heard ION Orchard basement and am now wondering how much food you had there! :P you're most welcome sweetie, good to know you're having a good time so far! :D don't forget to use the map for entry discounts too yeah!

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  8. The pictures are beautiful, thanks for sharing. Have a great time!

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  9. What an amazing tour! Thanks for sharing!

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  10. You found the Merlion! I'm yet to see it despite the several times I've been to Singapore *pouts*
    Seems like you're having a fab time! It's the mishaps that make the trip interesting ;)

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  11. WOW!! The pictures are AMAZING!! Ugh, I can imagine how frustrating waiting for the bus can be. Glad you had fun touring though! :)

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  12. @K ganyan talaga, when you are traveling back and forth to a certain country, you tend to not do all those tourist-y stuff! :)

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  13. @Lush Angel na miss ko na ang LUGE! LOL kasi sinabi mong wag i miss eh! JOKE too tired na ako when i arrived the area for Luge :) I was aiming for zipline :( pero close!

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  14. @MereMakeupManiac yeah, we just laughed about it na lang ganyan talaga :D

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  15. @*MrsMartinez* hahahah ako naman I spend most of the money on touristy stuff na lang like entrance on something or whatever adventure we can try :D

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  16. @Marge you can always come back and you know that :)

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  17. @beetrice girl !i tried the milk shake already together with Happy Lemon! can you imagine how much explosion I've been causing my tummy lol thanks dear for all your help!!!! I downloaded the subway map and it helps a whole bunch! mwa

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  18. @gio thanks to Mr. AMW for those shots :)

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  19. @Connie De Alwis I know! i've always thought the Merlion was "in your face" and you can see it at once, it took us some time! lol

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  20. @Tao yes, I definitely had fun! :) Thanks!

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  21. The Fullerton Hotel daw used to be SG's post office.. sabi nung tour guide. hehe! we should have done this kaysa magbayad for the city tour. 3 hours lang ata, suuuper madalian lang. hindi namin masyado na enjoy each place.. :( hindi tuloy namin nalapitan si Merlion, pano sa experience namin, 8 minutes lang kailangan na bumalik sa bus

    *jealous! ~_~

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