Singapore

After several days of begging, I was able to convince Marlon that we go out of the country for our 2nd year anniversary. Even if this is my third time in Singapore, I did not bother revisiting another place since Wicked is playing at Marina Bay Sands.

We booked our Singapore flights with Airphil Express. Everything went smoothly from checking in but we were inside the plane awaiting for take off for about an hour. I think this one is due to Manila Air Traffic. What I liked about the flights to Singapore with Airphil is that we already paid travel tax if booked over the phone (promo price is same with the one online), 15 kilos of free baggage and an option to add more for a minimal fee and the best thing was landing in Changi Terminal 2 even if its a budget airline.

We stayed with Marlon's aunt, Day Fem in Hougang. She got us EZ link cards so paying for our bus fares and MRT went smoothly for the whole trip. We had to top up 3 times though. We were going around that much.

This trip is different from the previous ones since we were there for Chinese New Year. Tip though, try not to go to Sentosa on CNY itself, it is very crowded. After we were at Vivo City for lunch and dropping by Singapore National Museum, we headed over at Makansutra Gluttons Bay (in Esplanade) for some dinner. Aftwerwards, we just checked out the lights at River Hongbao where in they displayed in different signs under the Chinese calendar in lantern format.

The next day, were at Labrador Park for some barbecue with Marlon's relatives. This was a great place to relax during the holidays. The park had wide areas for the playground and for lounging as well. You can reserve a barbecue pit online. There is also a section of the park where you can go fishing as well as a hiking trail. Getting here is easy, just take the Circle line to Labrador then the bus will take you inside the park.

Dining at hawkers is also a must try in Singapore. I'll post more of the food we had. We tried different dishes like fish soup, chicken rice, char kway teow, kaya toast and more. Food at hawker centers are also relatively cheap and yet these are still really good.

Being a shopaholic, Orchard road is a must stop for me since I had to get my stash from H&M. Marlon had his gadget day at Sim Lim square by getting his steel series gaming gear. For purchases over 100 SGD, don't forget to ask the merchant for the GST refund. Otherwise you can't get anything from the airport.

We also enjoyed our day at Marina Bay sands. All our pictures during Wicked day was on the phone only. We went back to MBS to get our MUFC gear. An alternative way to get to MBS from Clarke Quay is by taking the water taxi. We booked a one way trip with Hippo tours for 12 SGD. Its a different experience viewing the city from the river.

We did some last minute shopping at Yew Tee and Ang Mo Kio Hub as well as meeting with our friends too. 

Some tips while in Singapore--get an EZ link card, this is very convenient for buses, trains, cabs, 711, McDonalds and more. There are Hawker centers all over, try out the different dishes they offer, I assure you that you will find something you'll like and rave about. Purvis st. and Seah st. have a lot of places that offer exceptionally good chicken rice. These are located near Bugis or City Hall area. The money changer at the ground floor at Sim Lim square offer a good rate. Airport money changers also have good rates.