Travel Report: Touring The Rest of the City via MRT

Good morning everyone!  I am going back to Manila today and I'm already missing Singapore.. a  lot!  The city has so much to offer!  Yesterday was the last "full day" I have in the city and I was contemplating to go for Night Safari or tour the rest of the city.  I've decided to choose the latter because I want to know the city  more!  The animals can wait, who knows?  I can always come back!

I had a very good sleep as I'm really loving Hotel Innotel not only for its service but because the bed and pillows are perfect!  Not too soft nor too hard and I don't have problems sleeping!  (Can I bring home the bed???)

Back to the topic, because of the good sleep, I was energized and ready to spend the whole day of walking!

With Day 3 (last day) of our unlimited MRT Powers, we hopped on the train from Dhoby Ghaut Station and transferred to Green Line to visit Bugis.  

We got off Victoria Street where we saw Bugis Junction, the first glass covered shopping street in Singapore!  There you can also find the gorgeous Intercontinental Singapore Hotel themed just like the rest of the buildings nearby --- unique.

What to see at Bugis Junction?  Surprisingly, Korean cosmetics brand like...

Tony Moly

Etude House

My favorite Sasa store 
(carries various brands worldwide)

There are more like MAC, and other brands I'm not that familiar with.  If you ask me, due to conversion rates, I did not purchase much cosmetics as everything turned out a bit pricier here!

Aside from cosmetics, there are various shops for clothing and li'l knick knacks!  There are also some coffee shops and restaurants where most people meetup for business and pleasure.

After a couple of minutes of walking around the Bugis Junction, we exited the place and walked towards the Iluma.  Iluma is a snazzy mall with multimedia facade, we did not go in as I've read there are various dining options but I'm not yet hungry at that time....I don't want to be tempted that's why. :P

Then I saw Manila Street....

Too random!  *lol*

There were people looking at me when I did this pose..but who cares?  I'm proud!!! hahahha

The reason why we're not leaving Bugis is because of one spot that I'd love to see.  Obviously, I can't seem to find it yet as I ended up at Bugis Village!  I love getting into tourist spots when I am actually lost!  *laughs* 

Bugis Village is a shop that sells clothing, mobile phone accessories and food!  Reminded me of "Divisoria" back home.  I'm lucky as it's not as crowded..... yet.

Food stall!

It was lunch time but since we had late breakfast, we've decided not to go for lunch but enjoy street food!  We tried egg tart (which was surprisingly good), Cha Ye Egg and had a dollar worth of Sugarcane juice!  All AMW and Mr. AMW approved!

If you travel with me, you won't get lost as I also use my infamous power of asking directions!  Rather than walking far and getting lost, I'd rather ask first the moment I have a bit of uncertainty!  All the  people I asked help from are super friendly and helpful so I'm lucky enough to always find my way!

Nikki = BEST Travel Partner!  *lol*

Finally....found Kampong Glam!  This is the place I've been looking for!  Can I just say...EUREKA????

Kampong Glam is named after a type of eucalyptus tree, it started out as a village occupied by the Malay upper-class and it was assigned to the Malay and Arab communities in 1822 and part of it was set aside for the Sultan of Johor.  

No, I do  not have a tour guide with me at that time and no, I am not a smarty pants!  I got to read those details from the Tour Guide and I think the information is worth sharing!

I was right at Arab Street and got to be face to face with Sultan Mosque.  Amazing!  I haven't been "thisclose" to a mosque even back home! 

Sultan Mosque was originally built around 1826 by Sultan Hussein Sha of Johor, this building that I took a picture with was actually completed around 1928, still considered as Singapore's oldest and most important mosque.

It was around 2pm so the nearby eateries are quiet.  There are also shops selling handicrafts and ethnic products which are worth having a look at!  I am also impressed with how they restore old buildings by drawing graffiti to liven it up!

By this time, my tummy goes "growl growl grooowwwll...."

Late lunch time!  This time, I do not want to eat just anything as my days in Singapore are counted and I want to make the most of it!

Then I remembered reading about Hawker Hotspots and the nearest to Bugis Station would be the one located at Raffles Place.  I overheard an old lady asking direction for this Hawker place called "Lau Pa Sat" and according to tourist guide, you can't say you've been to Singapore unless you've been to Lau Pa Sat (also known as Ayer Market).  I got a bit challenged with the said statement so off we went to Raffles Place station again and went out again!  With just the use of instinct and my questioning skills, my heart almost burst when I saw the sign.... *Ace of Base "I saw the sign" song playing inside my head....*

I have never seen a food court this big!  They even separate the areas with street number.  (Street 1, street 2 and so on).   What I've decided to do is act like a manager! :P  Went for ocular inspection on all the stalls and took a mental note on the food I'd like to try.  That tactic works! :P

It's open air by the way so be ready to perspire while you eat!  The place is well ventilated with ceiling fans but humidity wins! *perspires*

We saw a nice Shanghai Xiao Long Bao place which of course, won Mr. AMW's heart!

 

Oooohh, something looks familiar!
Tapa King!

 

After the late lunch, we went out and continued walking around the Raffles Place.  

There we got a different view of the Marina Bay Sands during day time.  I never get tired looking at it!

The Esplanade and Merlion using zoom lens.

Still very pretty!

Then we went back to Orchard Road to have a look!  We haven't been out of ION Orchard Mall since our arrival so it's time to visit the "most visited spot" in Singapore.

Man, so crowded!!!

 Malls after malls after malls

High end shops and brands you can think of is right in this place!
We walked the whole Orchard Road strip, got tired and had Ben & Jerry's ice cream to save our day!

We headed back to the station nearest to our hotel not to go back but to have last minute shopping at Carrefour at Plaza Singapura.          

After 9:30pm, our legs gave up and we went back to the hotel!  

A lot of people wonder where I got my energy?  Well, I do get tired, seriously, I do have weak legs and walking used to give cramps and pains (I actually have them now).  But let me share to you a secret during travel to make most of my time.

Random seating!!!  And I mean ANYWHERE that's okay to sit!  It helps relaxes you even a bit and put you back on track!

 AMW randomly sitting at a huge place 

in "I don't know land" LOL

Have a wonderful day everyone!
Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Travel Report: Sentosa Island

Sentosa Island Day!

We planned to wake up early today to take a trip to Sentosa Island, as usual, Mr. AMW and myself are both owls so we prefer to sleep late and wake up late! 

We arrived Vivo City late morning (around 10am)....

And the smart girl in me went straight to a bread shop called Prima Deli and we purchased bread for "safety".  I don't want to get hungry inside the Universal Studios premise while lining up, well those are just crappy excuses, I just want food inside my bag!  Period! :P

Tip: The Smoked Sausage Sandwich tastes really good!  Go for that one!

We were both contemplating on taking the  cable car or monorail when a Filipino guy overheard us talk and asked if we're planning to go to Sentosa Island.  We said yes and he was super kind to advise us another way to go to Sentosa Island which not a lot of visitors knew about as it was just opened last month?  Or a couple of months ago.

He led us to the right direction and there we go standing at the exit of Vivo City and I can oversee Sentosa Island on the opposite side.  The walkway wasn't that long and they are covered so I don't mind taking a nice stroll as we're not in a hurry anyways.

It was drizzling the whole time...

To those who are scared of walking,do not worry as they have walkalator even a group of older people were walking along with us!

The walk  takes approximately 15 minutes with "photo-op" stopovers! :)  If you walk just right ahead, this may probably take around 10 minutes!

You get the see the Sentosa entrance and ticket booth and  for this lovely walk, you only get to pay SGD1.00 (approx Php34.00).

There you go Sentosa and Resorts World sign...still raining but who cares?  I'm not letting the rain ruin my day!

I'm glad I purchased our Universal Studios tickets early, though there are ticket booths everywhere, it was still nice just to go straight to the entrance and start the fun!

What I love about Universal Studios Singapore....covered walks!  It helps...a lot!!! Imagine how rain can ruin your fun day without an umbrella?  (We have umbrella with us but I don't like my umbrella wet) LOL!!!!  Just joking!

It was wonderful that we get to tour Universal Studios during the weekday, aside from cheaper tickets, the place isn't crowded! 

Look who I found!!!!  I love Gingerbread man!

I also met Frankenstein who strangled me but I ain't a weakling!  I have my "poking of the nose" strategy and he backed off a bit!  The guy who took our photos said: "Don't be too harsh on Frankie!" Hello??? He started it??? :P

So happy I met Kung Fu Panda's Po!  He's super charming!  He shakes his booty too!!!!

We hopped in a boat for Madagascar experience called "Madagascar Crate Adventure".  

Wonderful timing as we get the see the Shrek 4D Adventure right after.  This got to be one of my favorite adventure!  The crawling spiders on my legs felt real and icky!!! (Okay, I'm giving away too much info!) *zips mouth*

Fashion alert:  Plastic poncho is IN! :P

Still raining :(

The little adventurous girl in me wants to try "all the rides" and I started with the Enchanted Air Ways!  It's a smaller version of roller coaster and I originally thought it's a kiddie ride, during the ride, I went: "Why am I scared?  Whyyyyyyyy?" lol. 

I hopped on Canopy Flyer ride right after, it was super fun but I felt the ride could go longer?? Maybe 2 rounds or 3 rounds more??? hehehe

 

The best ride for me of all, Revenge of The Mummy.  You have to keep all your stuff inside a locker!  You get to put your things inside a nearby locker for free within 30 minutes.  And the good news?  The rain finally stopped.

With hungry stomach and just bread inside my stomach, I went "Let's do this now before we eat!".  We saved the best for last and went for the "Battle Star Gallactica" ride. 

I found myself screaming: "AAaahhhhhh!!!!" then screamed again: "Why...ammmm I the only one screaaaammmiinnggg?"  *laughs*  In fairness to us, we were seated right in front ok?? Its always scarier to be at the front and back side!

The ride was too short for me!  I want more!!!!  Though I got a bit dizzy after, it was all worth it!  I can finally eat! :P

We finished walking around the rest of the areas after a good late lunch at 4:00pm.  We took the monorail to explore the rest of Sentosa Island.

At Merlion, Imbiah Station, I was up for a  Megazip Adventure bit they are closed for renovation! *so sad*

 Saw 2 cute birds kissing!  

Both of you, are you even adults????? Let  me talk to your parents! tsk

We also stopped and relaxed at Siloso Beach and Palawan Beach :)  Didn't do much after as I was  starting to feel the earth's gravity...I'm finally feeling tired! :P

Well, I tried defying gravity by going to Orchard Road after to have dinner, but it was crazy crowded so we backed off and went back to Dhoby Ghaut to have dinner at the Plaza Singapura.  Walked around the area and saw the cutest character Kimmidoll!  Look, quite similar with my nail art!!! :)

I'll share to you guys my nail art tutorial once I get back! :)

The day was well spend I must say!  What's for tomorrow?  I am actually clueless! But will definitely make the most of it as I'm leaving Singapore soon! :(

Thanks for reading!  I'm glad you are enjoying this!  Thanks for being my diary!

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

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!