Half Day Tour the Singaporean Way

How else can you enjoy Singapore without worrying on where to go and how to go there but by joining a paid tour. For two days we joined a paid half day tour which brought us to the tourist destinations in Singapore.

In my opinion, this is the easiest way to tour Singapore. In a way this can also be one of the ways to save when in Singapore. That statement is only applicable for those who doesn't know their way around SG. For some people who doesn't know how to read the map and doesn't want to walk and ask people for directions their only option is to ride a cab which is expensive in SG.

Singapore-lah!

It was our first family trip to Singapore. Unfortunately, my eldest sister did not go with us because she went there a month before we did.

Our flight was the first flight out of Manila via Philippine Airlines. The flight was at 6:15 am and we arrived in Singapore after a 3 hour flight at around 9:15 am. Our flight landed at Changi Airport Terminal 2. After picking up our luggage we then went to the taxi/cab lane. Please note that the maximum passenger that a cab can accommodate is only 4 persons, one person seating in front along-side with the driver and 3 at the back. They also have limousine taxis which charges double compared to the normal cabs.

We stayed at Melville Park condominium which is a bit near to Simei MRT station with my Mom's friend.

There are four ways to tour Singapore. First, riding the MRT. If you will ride the MRT most of the time then I would advise you to buy a MRT card, but if you will not use it often then you can just buy when your going to use it and get the $1 refund after use. Second is riding the bus. Tourists, like us did not have a hard time riding their buses. All we had to do was to take note of the bus number going to our destination and the bus number so that we'll get home. If in anyway that you have missed your supposedly dropped off, you can just stay on the bus and it will stop on the bus terminal where all other buses will stop. From there you can just ride another bus. Third, is riding a cab. Of course this option will put a whole in your pockets or at least it depends on your budget. The only advantage in picking this option is that you will not get tired of walking and getting lost :) but then again you also won't be sure if the route taken is the short cut or the long cut. But always take note that when riding the cab just choose the normal kind of cabs since limousine cab has a different charge and if you will ask your cab driver to use the toll gates to avoid traffic, the toll fee will be added to your total cab fare rate. The last option is joining a tour. The only advantage for this option is that you'll never get lost and you'll be sure that whatever happens, the tour will end the time they say it will end on the itinerary. The only disadvantage is you don't control your time. Since it is a controlled tour the tour guide would always insist that you have to move on to the next stop.


For our first day, we toured the city by ourselves. We only needed our map and walking shoes/sandals and of course some cash.


Our first and only stop that day was the Singapore Botanical Garden. The park was open for everybody. It is open from 5:00 am up 12:00 mn and the good thing is that the admission is free. I saw a lot of Singaporeans both young and old exercising and doing yoga and a like.

I know I've mentioned that the entrance fee for the Botanical Garden is for free. However, there is a part of the Garden that has an entrance fee and that is the National Orchid Garden. The entrance fee for adults is $5.00 and $1.00 for students but you have to present your ID.

I would say that the entrance fee was worth it since the plants were really taken cared of and they regularly change the orchids displayed.

Hello Hong Kong!

The moment we got off the plane I can already feel how cold it was. Although some people might say that it was not that cold, for me it was. I'm the kind of person who would easily get cold especially when I finish my ice filled drink. It's as if the temparature of my drink was already transferred to my body.

Our trip in Hong Kong was only for a day. It was March and I was with my Mom and sister and when we got to Hong Kong, our cousin's wife picked us at the airport and toured us in the city. We went to the Hong Kong Park, rode the tallest escalator and did some shopping. During this time the "winter clothes" are on sale since by the end of March it will be hot and humid in Hong Kong and winter clothes won't be in use and would be kept at the back of everyone's closet again. But not all clothes on sale are only winter clothes.

During this trip, it was more of the shopping and sightseeing and familiarizing ourselves, myself to be more exact of the place. I was planning that time that during our future trip here I would go with my sisters (Koleen and Kaecy) and go to Disneyland which I believe they would really love and enjoy.

After a long day of walking, eating and shopping we rested for a while at our relative's place somewhere in Causeway Bay and headed to the airport for our flight via Philippine Airlines.


The bus ride from the city to the airport was about 45-60 minutes. I enjoyed the bus ride observing Hong Kong. I took some pictures of it's buildings, cars and even tunnels. Unlike in the Philippines wherein most people would prefer to live in houses rather than condominiums, in Hong Kong, that is not the case, most people live in condominiums.

Since it's an international flight, we always make sure that we will be at the airport 3 hours before our flight so that we will have ample time to clear the immigration, check in our luggages and time to roam around the airport. I forgot to mention earlier that I feel in love with Hong Kong's spacious airport. With their walkalators, trains and shops. They also have the Madamme Tusaad like musuem inside the airport (or I think it really is one). Their airport was big, spacious with high ceilings and with lots of shops and cafes. They even have Starbucks inside :)

Overall, Hong Kong is a country I would love to go back to escape the heat here in the Philippines. But I should always keep in mind that there are only specific months wherein Hong Kong has a cold temparature. During their summer, Hong Kong is just as hot in the Philippines and sometimes hotter.

Te Papa Mesuem

We were there when Te Papa had it's 10th year anniversary and there were a lot of free stuffs for that that! There was a free cake for all, guys acting as a starfish, free admission on some parts of the museum that would usually ask for an entrance fee and models painted with clothes on but thank God they were wearing their underwear.





For those people who loves to learn about the history of a certain country or place, museums are the right place for them and in this case, in Wellington, Te Papa is the right place for them.

Since I went to Te Papa with my relatives we had a lot of souvenirs with us. We didn't realize it until we went back to the car and showed to each other what we saw and what we got. The souvenirs we got was only paper based that we got from one part of the museums as seen below:


Each of the passport like souvenirs has a different profile. Complete with name, picture, what made them go to New Zealand, how they went to New Zealand and where in New Zealand they first arrived.

Something Stinks in Rotorua

When we were kids, my cousins and I would tease each other if we smell something like a rotten egg that one of us might have "unleashed" that smell. Obviously, no one would admit it until someone would walk out and go to the washroom. When we were nearing the town we smelled a strong stink of rotten eggs and we bagan teasing each other again but then it was known to all that Roturua has that kind of smell especially if you go near ant lake or a drain.

Rotorua is famous for it's thermal activity that causes the sulphur or odd smell in the air. But other than it's stinky smell Rotorua has a lot to offer.

We only stayed for a couple of hours here to have lunch, visit the sheeps, go to the Bath House-musuem, play with the sea gulls and to rest for a while.

Mount Victoria

Ever wonder where you can go to have a glimpse of the beautiful wellington?

So the picture above of the view doesn't give a justice to what you will see there. I was only using a point and shoot camera here and my hands are shaky because it was cold that night. I'll take a better picture when I go back there using a DSLR and a tripod.

The Mount Victoria famous tourist destination. It is approximately 196 metres in height but it is not that hard to climb. If you are going there with friends or loved once try chatting while going up the hill so that you're attention will somehow be preoccupied with what your talking about and not how many steps you've taken to reach the top.

When you reach the top of Mt Victoria you'll see the ferries sail into the harbour and the planes go in and out of the airport. You will also see all the buildings that Wellington has and one of those buildings is the Te Papa building.

Amazing Wellington

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and luckily that’s where my relatives live. So, this is a big big saving for us instead of staying at a hotel. But yeah, technically the reason why we went there was to spend some time with them. My mom, sister and I stayed at Daddy’s house (auncle; older brother of my mom) which is at Karori and sometimes we stay at my Tito Inag ot Tita Lil's house.

Commuting in Wellington is easy. When no one was available to drive us around the city, we take the bus to go to the city and take the bus again going home or someone would usually pick us at wherever we were. Riding the bus is cheap and it's as easy as one, two, three.

The museum has a total of six floors and an outside like park. It is huge and nice. Each part is full of surprises and is detailed. I must say that it was worth the visit plus it’s free so we did not spend a single penny.

The garden also has a duck pond which has a lot of pigeons in front of it when we went there.

I’m not even sure how long we were there but we saw a playground with a huge slide. So, me and my cousins played on the playground for a while.

BOTANIC GARDEN AND WELLINGTON CABLE CAR

Be sure to wear flats or sneakers when going here. The Botanic Garden is twenty six (26) hectares of unique landscape with beautiful flowers and huge old trees.

• One: Take note of the bus number you have to get on
• Two: Have enough change to pay for the bus
• Three: Get off the right bus stop

But if you don't want to ride the bus you can always opt to take a cab. Walking also works but from where we stayed going to the city or to the malls, it is still advisable to take the bus. Going there walking might take forever. Haha. But we do walk a lot going to the mini mart, school of my cousin to pick him up and to buy fish and chips. Hmmmm... Yummy!

There are a lot of places to go to in Wellington. Parks, Museums, Malls, Pools and so on.

TE PAPA

Te Papa is one of the popular museum in Wellington and is one of a must-go-to places in Wellington. It is open every day of the year, including public holidays from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm and 10:00 am and 9:00 pm on Thursdays. The entrance is fee but there are some exhibits and activities inside that charge an entrance fee. The museum is a large place that helps you discover new things from the unique natural environment, Maori culture, dynamic heritage and fascinating history of New Zealand.

At the top of the hill or garden (I don't know what to call it) is the cable car. That's our ride going to the city. It is one of Wellinton's oldest and most popular tourist attraction. One way ride costs $3.00 and a round trip is $6.00. When riding the cable never forget to look at the window to view the beautiful land of Wellington.

After riding the cable car we went to the mall to do a little shopping. Unlike in Manila, the malls closes at around 4:00-5:00 pm. So we always go to the mall around lunch time up to closing time.

THE PARLIAMENT BUILDING

The Parliament Building is also known as The Beehive Building. It is a ten-story building is shaped like an actual beehive. It is where the office of the Prime Minister is and the other cabinet members. It is located at the corner of Molesworth Street and Lambton Quay in Wellington. Given that the office of the Prime Minister is in Wellington, it is already given that the Prime Minister also lives in Wellington. Surprisingly, the house of the Minister is just within the area where "normal" people lives. There is no special treatment for him. He has to follow the rules like everyone else especially traffic rules and speed limits. I believe that he also does not have a super duper strict security for him.

I promise to be back in New Zealand someday. I'm just not sure when but I promise to be back :)

Summer in New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western and was said to be the last lands to be settled by humans due to its remoteness.

(view from the plane)

Together with my mom, grandmother and elder sister we went to New Zealand to spend a one month vacation and to attend my cousin’s wedding. But before we were able to go to New Zealand we have to apply for a visa to enter. For information regarding who needs and does not need a visa you can click here and for some who wants to know the requirement you can click here.

The trip to New Zealand was rather long. We had one connecting flight from Hong Kong then a 10 hour flight going to New Zealand – Auckland, then another plane ride going to Wellington because that is where we are going to stay.

We rode Philippine Airlines going to Hong Kong Airport then Air New Zealand going to Auckland and Wellington.

(my boarding passes)

Since the flight going to New Zealand was super long (including the wait for the connecting flight) I was looking forward for the plane food. It was on the so-so side. We also had another meal during the flight from HK to Auckland. It just that I forgot to take a picture since I just woke up. I can't remember what we exactly had for the Auckland - Wellington flight but I was sure I had an OJ and chips plus their exclusive candies. :)

For best deals on tickets, always remember to book your flights in advance and check all possible airlines offering flights to your destination. Will post some more pictures of our NZ trip.

My Bucket List

1. Travel to PARIS!
2. Travel alone.
3. Run a 3k.
4. Run a 5k.
5. Witness a solar eclipse.
6. Ride a gondola in Venice.
7. Learn to ski in New Zealand.
8. Travel to Jakarta
9. Go skydiving
10. Get Engaged with the man I love.
11. Get married.
12. Become a parent.
13. Start a successful small business. (in process)
14. Learn to drive.
15. Go to Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.
16. Ride an elephant
17. See the Monalisa.
18. Attend Loy Krathong, the sky lantern festival in Thailand.
19. Set foot on each of the seven continents. Because it is said that only when someone has reached all seven then that's the only time you can truly call yourself a world traveler.
20. Go on safari.
21. Learn to play golf.
22. Dive with a whale shark.
23. Publish articles about your travels online (in process)
24. Learn another language.
25. Learn to play the piano.
26. Photograph an endangered species
27. Learn how to make a national dish
28. Attend a music festival in another country
29. Learn to surf.
30. Go parasailing in Acapulco.
31. Learn sign language.
32. Cross a country using only public transportation. See a country the way most of its people do: from the window of a bus, train, or ferry.
33. Stand at the North or South Pole
34. Meet the Dalai Lama.
35. Walk on fire.
36. Save someone's life.
37. Test drive a Ferrari.
38. Go shopping at Rodeo Drive.
39. Go on a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon.
40. Go Bungee Jumping.
41. Go Zorbing in New Zealand.
42. Eat gumbo in New Orleans.
43. Climb up the Statute of Liberty.
44. Visit all 50 states of the United States.
45. Live in a foreign country for three months.
46. Go to Bali
47. Read all of Agatha Christie's mystery novels.
48. Fire a pistol.
49. Be at Time's Square for on New Year's Eve.
50. Go whale-watching.
51. Visit the Vatican in Rome.
52. Go to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam.
53. Visit the Acropolis in Greece.
54. Go on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
55. Ride a camel in the Sahara desert.
56. Watch the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.
57. Go to Las Vegas.
58. See the Iguassu Falls.
59. Go to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC.
60. Visit the Great Wall of China.
61. See Mount Rushmore.
62. Have a street named after you.
63. Be in a commercial.
64. Go to Disney World.
65. Be an extra in a movie.
66. Go on a cruise.
67. Swim in the largest swimming pool in the world, off the coast of Chile.
68. Re-learn how to play chess.
69. Learn to play poker.
70. Learn to juggle.
71. Learn to draw.
72. Solve a Rubik's Cube.
73. Take up gourmet cooking.
74. Sail around the world.
75. Become a wine connoisseur.
76. Restore a classic car.
77. Be known as the best in the world in something.
78. Discover what makes you truly happy.
79. Spend a week in silence.
80. Get an MBA.
81. Make the front page of the newspaper.
82. Donate blood.
83. Sell your original artwork to a stranger.
84. Become an art collector.
85. Start a blog.
86. See a koala bear.
87. Own a dog.
88. Go bird watching in Costa Rica.
89. Touch a dolphin.
90. Go to the Super Bowl.
91. Ride a motorcycle.
92. Visit every capital city in Europe
93. Travel to half of the countries that consists Southeast Asia (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam)
94. Travel to half of the countries that consists East Asia (China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau)
95. Travel to Japan
96. Own a Million Pesos
97. Hold the Stanley Cup.
98. Participate in La Tomatina (a giant street food fight near Valencia, Spain).
99. Experience weightlessness.
100. Have my dream wedding

Love for Travel

I'm not sure how young I was when I first ride a plane. I think I was almost a year old. My parents can't remember when it was but they also think it was before or after I turned one but not more than one.

Below are pictures of me and my family while on board.

my sister, me and our dad

our mom, me and my sister (this is a not so cute picture. haha)

As a family we travel a lot. May it be by land, air or water. We would almost always have a weekend get away out of town just so that we would spend the weekends together. My dad was strict about having weekends especially Sunday as a family day wherein as much as possible we should not go anywhere or schedule anything with friends.

It was through my parents that I learned to love travelling. It is my stress reliever. Some of my friends would tell me that I spend to much travelling (other than shopping :) ). Then when I would ask them if they would like to go on a vacation with me they would always say that going out of the country is too expensive or would eat too much from their savings. So I make sure that in every trip I make whoever I'm with we would enjoy ourselves but it won't cost us an arm and a leg or at least spend within the budget I gave them.

Going back, the reason why me family travel a lot is because my parents wants to enjoy life while their young and while they can go anywhere they want. It is them who made me realize that it won't matter how much money you have and how hard you have worked if you can't enjoy it. So while you can never miss the opportunity to travel.