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Photo taken infront of Ate Marinel's Place,
Pipit Road Singapore |
It took 9 months to wait after I booked a flight to Singapore last November 2010. It never came to my mind that it will push through despite of doubts if I could go through it or not. But I'm wrong with my doubts for it has come to a reality. To be able to maximize our time soaring the country, I made a Travel Itinerary (If you only know, I made this Itinerary for almost 3 months. It's very difficult to do it) for each day with time frame and instructions on how to get to any part of Singapore's Best Visited Places like the Orchard, Sentosa, the Merlion Park, Singapore Zoo etc. I made thorough preparations to be able to meet our objectives. Our budget for the 6-day tour is almost P 25,000 or S$ 735.00 including the airfare. We exchanged our Philippine money to US Dollars.
Before my scheduled flight at 6:25 am of the 18th of August, I had experienced weeks of sleepless nights (especially the night of 17th, I only had a 1 hour of sleep) because of excitement (not too much). That time, Manang Arlene and Manang Marinel were talking on the phone about our trip. (kaya siguro hindi rin ako makatulog) I felt mixed emotions. I'm excited to see a place far away from the Philippines and at the same time nervous because we don't know what comes along. It's my first time to ride an airplane. (Ganun pala sumakay sa eroplano..parang sa bus ka lng, parang hindi rin gumagalaw...haha at may bako-bakong kalsada..i'm referring to the clouds pag may nadadaanan iyong craft...) It's my first time to undergo inspection at the Immigration. I experienced a lot of firsts. It's really my first time to travel. I did not even travel before to any part of Visayas or Mindanao. It's just inside Luzon.
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| with Ate Arlene in Edgefield Plains, Singapore |
AT THE NAIA TERMINAL 3, PHILIPPINES
We departed the Boarding House at 2:30 a.m.. 2 days before our flight, I made a Taxi Reservation via Basic Taxi and we paid P 600.00 going to NAIA. It's a really a good sign that everything will flow smoothly because the Taxi arrived exactly at 2:30 am in my boarding house. There we ride the taxi and while inside, I prayed very hard that everything that we'll be fine during our stay in Singapore.
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| Chinatown |
We arrived at the Airport in just 40 minutes. We were there very early at 3:10 a.m. Because it's our first time, we assured that we will not be late to our scheduled flight. That's better rather than cramming.
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| Aljunied Station, EW 9 (near our Hostel) |
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| Dario, me & Ate Marinel |
We entered the Departure Area right away. We paid first our Travel Tax amounting to P 1,620.00. That's too expensive if you know. It doesn't matter, we can afford it. (Haha!) After paying our Travel Tax, we directly went to our Airline Counter which is the Cebu Pacific Airlines. The lines are smooth and not that much crowded. We paid another fee, the terminal fee which costs P 750.00. There a lot of fees to pay. We readied our pockets & wallets just to enjoy the tour.
Anyway, we had already paid our round-trip ticket (very cheap promo fare which is P 4,700.00) last year. To see cheap flights, you should always watch out for promos in the internet. Cebu Pacific usually gives seat sales.
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| Macpherson Road |
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| Luggage |
Just to let you know, we did not encounter any delays and problems in clearing the immigration at the NAIA. All went very well. God is really Good.
We waited at the Departure Waiting area for more than an hour before our flight. At 5:55 am, we proceeded to the Boarding gates to ready ourselves to ride the aircraft. There you go, we were now in the Plane. Travel time between Manila to Singapore is 3 and a half hours. There is also no time difference between the Philippines and Singapore.
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| Block 92 Pipit Road, Singapore |
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| Singapore Dollars |
CHANGI AIRPORT BUDGET TERMINAL
We arrived at Changi Airport Exactly at 9:50 am. We clear immigration and it went very well also. Staff of the Passports Stamping Area seem like wants to eat anyone who will pass by. haha....Anyway, they're good people! They just don't know how to speak English very well.
Singapore's Budget Terminal is better that NAIA's Terminal 3. That's expected because Changi Airport is rated no. 1 for Best Airport in the World due to its facilities and services.
WELCOME TO SINGAPORE!
From the Changi Airport Budget Terminal, we exchange part of our US Dollars pocket money enough to pay our Hotel Accommodation at the Money Changer Area. There's a free shuttle bus parked outside the Arrival Hall. It leaves every 15 minutes. We ride the shuttle bus going to Terminal 2 because the MRT Changi Station is located there. Oh well very convenient. You don't have to take a cab/taxi to go to the city. We bought a stored-value EZ Link card at the MRT Station Counter for S$ 12.00. The EZ Link card is used to ride the train (SMRT) and the buses (SBS) even riding the cabs/taxis. I'm amazed on how it works. We just tap it. In the Philippines, we insert it. Don't you know that their trains are computer-driven and it runs very fast. It's like a bullet train. Almost all of their stations maybe 80% runs underground. It takes an hour to reach the farthest station. I'm sure you'll be amazed when I tell you that all parts of Singapore are reachable by train. People there rarely use the cab and the buses. There's no traffic on the streets. All corners are surrounded with CCTV/Surveillance Cameras. You'll be surprised then because no security guard will inspect your bags in entering the train. Just beware with the numerous cameras installed around. There are also few people walking around. Yeah you're right, all are busy with their work. You can't see jobless people there. I forgot to tell you that their driver's side (Drivers are called captains there) is on the right side. They are on the wrong side of the road..hehehe...They're under British colony before that's why. You cannot see also cables of electricity there. They were all built under ground. Telephone lines also were built under ground. Everything you see are all in place. How amazing!
INSIDE THE MRT
Singapore is a multi-cultural country. Inside the train you will see various kinds of people. You'll be surprised again if you hear noisy people. They are fellow Filipinos who work there. You also see there Chinese people, the Malays, Indonesians, Bangladesh people and many other races. Don't be surprised and don't cover your nose because Malays and Indonesians smell very bad. Their smells are alike. hahaha!..Again, don't cover your nose. It will offend them. Just sacrifice until you reach your destination. haha...Lastly, you don't have to worry being lost here. You will not lost. Their signages are very convenient and very easy to understand. (I have a train map actually which I printed at the Office.) You see the train map in all the stations. "Doors are closing"..."Next station..Aljunied"..hehehe. I miss these statements at the MRT. One thing more, passengers there maintain discipline in themselves. "WALANG TULAKAN" unlike in our country. When tapping the EZ Link card, balance of your money there will appear. A red light will appear if you have insufficient balance to travel. It also applies in the buses and taxis. HOW I MISS THIS KIND OF TRANSPORTATION!
WOW HOSTEL AT ALJUNIED
It's just 20 minutes away from the airport going to our Hostel at Aljunied. We took the train from the Changi Airport then we alighted at Tanah Merah Interchange. Then we take the train to Aljunied. It's the Green East West Line. We arrived at the Hostel by 12:00 noon. Finally, we really arrived at Singapore...
MEET MANANG MARINEL
We took a rest for a while for about 1 hour then we freshened up to meet Ate Marinel, our Neighbor and relative in my hometown Lagangilang Abra. We ride the MRT from Aljunied to Paya Lebar then change train at the Circle Line and we alighted at MacPherson Station. We walked for 5 minutes. I gave her the things she told me to bring through Ate Len. She's so great that she shouldered our Late Lunch at one of the Hawker Foods near them at Pipit Road (MacPherson MRT). Overwhelming Food, God! Thanks to Ate Marinel. After the lunch, we proceeded to their place which is a condo unit. Her "amo" was so very nice to us. She offered lots of Chinese Foods again and also gave us shirts, chocolates and a lot more. Her amo is really good and accommodating. Manang Marinel, you're so very lucky. We spent the whole afternoon there sharing stories. How I miss going there! We're almost going there everyday during our stay in Singapore.
MEET ATE ARLENE
At 6:00 pm, we left Ate Marinel and meet my elder sister, Ate Arlene at Edgelfield Plains. We ride the train again from MacPerson to Seranggon Interhange then we take the rain to Punggol. It will not end there, we will ride the LRT to Cove again. There we finally arrived at Manang Arlene's Place. We spent an hour there and gave her my pasalubong "Goldilocks Caramel Popcorn and the Polvoron and also 1 pack of Chichacorn". Manang Arlene served as pastries and root beer. Our stomach were fully loaded. It's our first day of food trip in Singapore...hahaha..-)
CHINATOWN, SINGAPORE
Untiringly, after meeting Ate Arlene, we headed to Chinatown. It's just one train from Punggol to Chinatown Station. We just roam around the place for almost 2 hours. Goods there were cheap in Singapore Standards. We have also our Chinatown in the Philippines. The only difference is that Chinatown in Singapore is very clean. You don't see any simple dirt scattered around. How I wish Philippines will be like that. (Asa pa ako!)
Now it's time to go back to our Hotel. We had a great day. We''re tired but we enjoyed everything so far! We took two trains in going home. One from Chinatown to Outram Park Station and another one from Outram Park to Aljunied Station. I forgot to tell you that 7 am is their sunrise and 7 pm their sunset. I was shocked at first waking up on the second day why7 am still dim. ahaha....Kakamiss ang Singapore!
Pls continnue reading my stories on 2nd day until going back to the Philippines at the 6th day. Thank you!
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Changi Airport Budget Terminal
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