Finally, I was able to travel outside Philippines and Abu Dhabi, but
this time it was for a leisure trip.
This was my first leisure trip, so I was very excited and at the same
time anxious. Being a first time tourist, I felt a little naïve (hahaha), but I
do believe we all feel the same, isn’t it?
We booked in Fragrance Hotel
in Geylang using booking.com. In booking.com you could find best deals in
hotels around the globe plus you can book and reserve without hassle (with free
cancellation on most of their hotel relationships).
As this was my first leisure trip, I asked some colleagues and friends
of the best place to visit and research about it.
Here are the lists of places we visited and things we did while we were in
Singapore that hopefully will assist you in planning your stay in this country.
1. Visit
the Suntec City. Suntec city is
one of Singapore’s largest malls and an exciting shopping destination nestled
in the heart of the bustling Marina Bay precinct. It was designed with emphasis on Chinese geomancy (feng shui). The
five buildings and the convention center are arranged so that they look like a
left hand when viewed aerially. In the center lies the Fountain of Wealth which
appears like a golden ring in the palm of the hand. As the fountain is made of
bronze, it is believed that the balance of metal and water paves the way for
success.
After arriving at
Suntec City we went directly to Singapore
Hippo & Duck Tours. We asked one of our “Kabayan” (fellow Filipina) of
the best packages in order to explore and experience the finest of Singapore
for 2 days. She recommended their All-in-1 touring pass. For 2 full days at the
price of SGD 69, this pass offers 14
attractions and tours close to the price of just the 2 most popular themed
tours i.e. Singapore Flyer and the unique Singapore DUCKtours. The Singapore
Pass also gives you access to the unique HiPPO multi-modal touring system. You
also get free admission to 4 other ticketed museums, including Chinatown
Heritage Centre, Asian Civilization Museum, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
Philatelic Museum.
Opening Hours
(Suntec City) : 10:00am to 10:00pm (daily)
Location :
3 Temasek
Boulevard, Singapore
Opening Hours
(Hippo & Duck tours): 10:00am
to 06:30pm (daily)
Location :
#01-330 Suntec Shopping Mall
2. Singapore
Flyer. It is a giant
observation wheel situated on the southeast tip of the Marina Centre reclaimed
land. It reaches 42 stories high, with a total height of 165 m (541 ft), making
it the tallest Ferris wheel in the world until 2013 (High Roller, Las Vegas
Nevada, world’s tallest Ferris Wheel since 2014). It comprises a 150 m (492 ft.) diameter wheel,
built over a three-story terminal building which houses shops, bars and
restaurants, and offers broad views of the city centre and beyond to about 45
km (28 mi), including the Indonesian islands of Batamand Bintan, as well as Johor,
Malaysia. Each of the 28 air-conditioned capsules is capable of holding 28
passengers, and a complete rotation of the wheel takes approximately 30
minutes.
Since it was already night time, we
were unable to see some sights of Indonesia or Malaysia, so I think it is
better to ride it before sunset (seeing the sight as well as the city lights).
Opening Hours : 08:30am to 10:30pm (daily)
Ticket prices
(without a package) : Adult Ticket SGD33
Senior Ticket SGD24 (Above 60 yrs. old)
Child Ticket SGD21 (3 to 12 years old)
Location : Marina Bay
3. Hippo
River Cruise. In this cruise, we
explored areas in Marina Bay. There was a live commentary on board giving
information on the places we were passing by. Some of the popular places we saw
were the Clarke Quay, Boat Quay,
Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore Flyer and Merlion Park.
The Clarke Quay is one of
the city's trendiest nightspots with a variety of restaurants, wine bars,
entertainment spots and retail outlets. The Boat Quay which is situated along the Singapore River and
distinguished by conserved shop houses, Boat Quay is the place to visit for
entertainment & dining. We also witness the magnificence of the
“durian-inspired” architectural icon, Esplanade
- Theatres on the Bay with its distinctive twin shells, which houses
world-class performance spaces. And the Merlion Park home to Singapore's tourism icon, the Merlion.
4. Merlion
Park. After finishing the Hippo River Cruise, we decided
to visit the Merlion Park. In this park we were able to see up-close the popular tourism icon of Singapore, the Merlion. The Merlion is
a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, used as a
mascot and national personification of Singapore. Its name combines
"mer" meaning the sea and "lion". In this area, we also had
a view of the Fullerton Hotel, Esplanade – Theaters on the bay, Singapore Flyer
along the bay.
5. Visit
the Universal Studios in Resorts World Sentosa. On
our second day we visited the Universal Studios in Sentosa Island. It was such
an amazing experience to see/ride the attractions that I could only see in
movies/films. There were 7 zones and each zones offers unique
attractions/rides. Zones include Hollywood, New
York, Sci-fi City, Ancient Egypt, The Lost World, Far Far Away & Madagascar.
We were able to ride most of the top rides and see the best attractions on each
zone.
Opening Hours & days: 10:00am
to 7:00pm (Sunday to Friday)
10:00am
to 08:00pm (Saturday)
Entrance Tickets: SGD74 one day pass (Adult, aged 13
to 59)
SGD54
one day pass (Child, aged 4 to 12)
SGD36 one day pass (Senior, aged 60 & above)
Please also read “A fun-filled day in Universal Studios” for a more detailed experience.
6. Ride
the Original Ducktours. It is an hour long land and sea adventure on a
remodeled WWII amphibious Vietnamese war craft, brings you up close to
Singapore's famous skyline, historical landmarks and gorgeous bay view. In this
tour, we passed by the Singapore Flyer
(which we have seen so many times) by land and from there the duck tour began
on sea. While on the Singapore River, our tour guide tells the history of each
tourist spots (I didn’t pay that much attention as the machine was very loud
and we were busy taking pictures). We went to Marina Bay and passed by The Esplanade, Merlion Park, Asian
Civilization Museum, Chinatown Heritage Centre, Singapore Art Museum and City
Hall, Boat Quay, Fullerton Hotel etc. Most of them were already seen
by us. But it was nice to see them again. So if you only have a limited time to
visit Singapore, Singapore Ducktour
is the best place to go.
7. Buy
cheap souvenir items in Chinatown. In our last day,
we would like to buy souvenir items to give away to our family and friends. Our
guide in the Ducktours was kind enough to lead/guide us to the cheap souvenir
shops and that is in Chinatown. We rode the City
Sightseeing bus (an hour tour). We saw some new places such as Civic
District, Orchard Road, Botanic Gardens, Little India, Chinatown & more
along the City & Heritage routes. We hopped out at the Chinatown. Sure
enough, we found cheap souvenirs much cheaper than the one near tourist spots.
There you go. I hope that I have given you an idea on how to plan your anticipated
visit in Singapore.
A friendly reminder, chewing gum is ban in this country so you better
not to take/eat chewing while staying in this place or you will be fined.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in
all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” – 2 Thessalonians
5:16-18
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