Singapore 2015 Photodiary: Budget Shopping, Gardens By The Bay & Going Home

Here's the last installment of my Singapore 2015 adventure! On our 4th day, we finally got the time to shop a little & enjoy the beauty that is Gardens by the Bay (my first time!). Our first stop was Anchorpoint mall at Alexandria road where the outlet stores of Giordano, Cotton On, Charles & Keith & Typo are found. Afterwards, we headed to Bugis for some more shopping! Since we are a big group, we decided to split, shop alone and just meet an hour later. Effective sha. Spent the rest of our day admiring flowers and green leafy things. Haha. Here are stories through photos starting with some outfit shots!

Singapore 2013: Airports & Beary Best Hostel

Hello I'm alive!!! Thank God we booked our SG-Manila flight Monday (19) or we would have been stranded too. 190+ cancelled flights today! Geez. This typhoon's a bitch. It was so hot and sunny in Singapore (plus no free wifi) that we learned of the deluge turning Manila into Waterworld (raise your hand if you watched the movie and the show in Universal Studios heh) the next day na. Flew via PALExpress and the ride was smoother than I expected it to be. Bongga lang. Anyway, before I proceed with my kwentos I just want to send warm virtual hugs to everyone out there who are directly or indirectly affected by the typhoon. Wishing and praying you're all safe and dry. Follow #rescueph and #reliefph if you need or want to give help. Bangon Pilipinas! And f*@k you greedy asshole self-serving politicians who amidst this crisis are nowhere to be found. Moving on!

I'm currently in Medical City looking after my Dad who's been here since forever. Kidding, 2 weeks ago lang. He contracted Pneumonia and they're putting him on hospital arrest to conduct more tests. Please pray for his speedy recovery. Thanks and love you all!He wasn't able to come with us in Singapore so shempre we felt kulang. But the trip was still one of my best though. Basta kasama family the best:) Photos and stories below starting with my airport outfit. Pardon the location naman jan lang matino lighting. Lels.
 

Jhajing Paris dress, Wrangler scarf, Ever New bag, Thrifted boots

Was in a hurry to get dressed so I just wore my Paris dress from Jhajing, again (eh ano naman hehe), and finally was able to make paandar in my 7-11 tights. Namiss ko magtights swear. Haha. Super comfy naman! You know I always go for comfy yet paandar airport outfits. Tip: Wear nice clothes for immigration! Yun lang. And always always bring a scarf! Love this new one I got from Wrangler. Super functional and chic. Love the material too super soft:) 

Photos!

with mommy and ate pila-pila for check-in

Booked 8 promo tickets via Pal Express (na dating Air Philippines). I think I booked 4 months ago pa when they had a buy 3 take 1 online promo. Round trip ticket was priced P4,700 per person.

Amazing race to the nearest (in this case, farthest!) ATM machine. Dear airport officials, please add more ATM machines at Terminal 2. The one inside was unavailable so we had to go out pa. They only had Allied bank (na sira din) and BPI (na mejo malayo). So hassle!!! So If you're departing from Terminal 2 it's best to bring cash na.  

Transfer to the aircraft

Was surprised that our plane was PAL talaga. I was expecting an Airphil jet eh. Nice!

my ever reliable Wrangler scarf

airplane food! sweet surprise din coz we didn't expect na may meal even if promo our ticket:) 

After 3 hours, hello Singapore!!!

our first shot in SG. as in paglabas agad ng plane. heh. with my tito, bro, mom, mich, ate and her hubby!

 of course inavail din namin the travellator. Sushal.

 

We arrived 12am so no more trains. We had to take a cab going to our hostel! Tip: Choose a flight that arrives before 12am so you could still ride the train. Cheaper! Also, choose a regular taxi lang. More expensive if you ride a Benz.

Upper Cross Street!

Waiting outside Beary Best Hostel! Love the location.

City of blinding lights. Tip: Wag magpakuha ng pic sa bulag. Blurred. Peace bro.

Booked an 8-bed dorm room months ago. They have a room with ensuite bathroom it was not available when I booked so common CR nalang. Super okay naman.:)

our small but cozy room

bunk beds!

The room was small bilang andaming beds but cozy. For P4,000 per person for 5 days stay worth it na! They have 4 bathrooms, 2 of which are exclusive for girls lang. They're well maintained and in our 4 nights stay I've never waited in line to use the shower or toilet. Lakas maka college dorm lang. Haha.  Only downside was that they failed to change the sheets so mejo amoy kulob na haha. I highly recommend this hostel if you're looking fir budget accommodation. They have 2 more branches but they're located along Pagoda St. na mejo maingay. More photos here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g294265-d3313204-Reviews-Beary_Best_by_a_Beary_Good_Hostel-Singapore.html.

That's it for now! Posting our Day 1 adventure later!:)

Why I heart SINGAPORE

We were only there for 4 days, but I have fallen in love with this country (or city? it's too small to be a country). I felt home! Here are the reasons why...

I love how their airport is connected to their mrt or train station. You can actually go on board without anyone looking at you wondering why you're carrying luggages. It's totally normal.













I love Changi airport. There are computers everywhere that anybody can use to surf the net or whatever. Everything is so organized. They have a huge waiting area. And there are restos inside which was
perfect coz i was sooo hungry when we got there.













Burger King is heaven!!! I'm not a fan of our local Burger King but I swear, 6sgd for one meal is totally worth it. The taste, serving and texture of the food is totally different from what we have here.















Taxi Rides are expensive. As in expensive. For just a short ride around the block as in literally short of 1 kilometer, our fare have gone up to 7SGD (that's P200+). Our fare from our hotel to the airport was 21SGD! Imagine traveling from Marikina to Cubao that's how near it is. BUT, all taxis there are so well-maintained, the drivers are very professional AND the inside doesn't smell of sewer, poop or dried saliva.. They also accept credit cards.:P














Our little hotel is just a 5 min. walk from Little India train station. So it is very convenient to go around and explore. I was told not to go near that place but it is actually not that scary. I have only searched for a place to stay in online and I'm super delighted as in more than delighted I found a nice and homey place like Hangout@Mt.Emily.:) Guna, the Indian receptionist, was soooo nice! Algene is very fond of her and that's rare! Haha. Anyway they gave us a room on the 5th floor WITH WINDOWS! It was not what I expected so it got us more excited. Haha. Most people who checked-in are backpackers from all over the globe. Everyone's so nice and friendly. Their rooftop is also amazing. In front of the hotel is the Mt. Emily park. It's so serene we didn't even mind the long walk down the train station. I could live here. Algene loved the place too, that too is rare.



* the lobby









* by the reception








* you have to walk to reach the hotel. Haha exercise.










*nextdoor condo









* our room!










*our bed! haha!









* algene's workplace haha









* Mt. Emily park. Our road to the train station haha.











* Little India train station









* chillin' at the rooftop. Our quiet place.:) We were also able to bond with an Aussie over cigarette. Haha.





I also love how people here patronize walking as a form of exercise. Haha. You can also stay out til the wee hours of the morning without worrying for your safety.


* down our hotel's street







* late night walk searching for a place to grab dinner. We ended up eating in a thai resto where the food is divine! The crews are all pinoy except for the chef. We ended up chatting with them while waiting for our food and while eating. Algene again loved them, which is again rare.


I love their MRT! It makes everything so accessible. Even their so-called provinces. And at the end of every train ride you get to refund 1sgd (or your so-called deposit). If you plan on making the train as your main source of transportation, collect lots of coins.



* all stations!








* they have this screen or tv in every station where you can see how much time you still have to wait 'til the train arrives, just like in our new LRT stations.







...to be continued later.