Singapore 2012 (October 12-15, 2012)

We arrived Singapore from Kuala Lumpur past 3 o’clock in the afternoon.  Since Air Asia uses Changi Airport’s Terminal 1, we used an air bridge which was convenient.  We went straight to the immigration counters and it was such a breeze since all counters were manned.  The best thing about Changi is that all terminals are connected via monorail.  Passengers ride the monorail for free going to Terminal 2, were the city train is located.  From the airport we reached our hotel in just about 15 minutes. 

Terminal 1 Arrivals Hall

Kinetic Rain at Changi Terminal 1

We stayed at Fragrance hotel Sunflower located in Lorong 10, Geylang District.  This is where you can find many budget hotels.  Although located in the red light district, it was safe walking even at night time.  There are lots of eateries along Geylang Road and you can also find several 7 eleven stores.  Hotels are 10 to 15 minutes walk to the nearby MRT Stations.  We chose the Aljunied Station because it is more enjoyable walking that way.  Also, there are food kiosks within the station where we can eat delicious nasi lemak at an affordable price.

Bathroom amenities at Fragrance Hotel Sunflower

Complimentary water and coffee

After some rest, we decided to see Bugis Street Market at night.  Here, we found reasonably priced items.  I did not imagine that there are good bargains in Singapore which is known to be an expensive city.  I enjoyed shopping and already bought some souvenir items here even it’s just our first day.  After our shopping spree, we decided to return to our hotel.

We met our friend who works and live in Singapore after we ate dinner in Geylang.  She lent us her extra EZ link cards that we can use for transportation, this tap card can be pre-loaded with a minimum of SGD10.00 and can be used on all MRT, Public Buses, Taxis, and even on stores like 7 eleven and McDonald’s.  She’ll also join us tomorrow in Universal Studios so we set the time and meeting place. 

Day 2, woke up early to prepare and went straight to Aljunied MRT Station.  We had our breakfast at the station while waiting for our friend.  When she came, we went straight to Sentosa.  We already bought our USS (Universal Studios Singapore)  tickets online so we just have to go straight to the entrance and tap the barcode  on the turnstile upon entry.   

I was just very happy being in USS! Haha...

The first attraction we saw was The Transformers.  This 4D ride will make you feel being part of the movie.  It was so thrilling and exciting.  Although waiting time was more than 15 minutes, the area was air-conditioned and the place looked like you are inside the military secret headquarters. 

Our next stop is The Mummy.  This one was my favorite.  It is a roller coaster in complete darkness.  There were scenes from the movie, with special effect like a real fire.  After that extreme ride, we decided to have our lunch at Mel’s Drive-in.  This is actually a replica from the hit movie Back To The Future.  Food here are expensive but we had no choice since we are inside the park.  However, you may opt to eat outside and have your hand stamped at the exit for re-entry.  The servings are huge so I can say it’s worth the money. 

My Lunch at USS.  SGD13.80

A Huge Burger

It was a whole day of fun at the park.  We enjoyed every ride and attraction we went to.  Like Battle Star Galactica, 2 high speed roller coasters, one that flips and the other just a conventional one, The Shrek 4D movie, Lights Camera Action – this one shows how special effects are done in movies.  We also tried some of the simpler rides, but just before the park closes, we again tried The Mummy and The Transformers!

The park closed at 7:00PM so we had to go back to our hotel to rest.  Upon returning, we had our dinner and packed all our things because we will be transferring to another hotel on the next day, this time, Fragrance Hotel Sapphire.  This one is just adjacent to our hotel so we just have to cross the street.  The reason we had to book separate hotels in Singapore was due to the availability of rooms.

Day 3, checked-out early and left our luggage at our next hotel.  This time we toured the city.  First stop was at Lau Pa Sat.  This place is known for the food choices.  Here, you can find Malay, Chinese, Indonesian, and even Filipino cuisines.  We had our brunch and walked our way to Marina Bay.  We took photos from every picture perfect corners.  Of course it would not be complete if we do not visit the famous Merlion statue.  We also walked our way to the esplanade and then to Suntec City to see the Fountain of Wealth, the world’s largest fountain.  From here, we took the MRT going to orchard road.  We were so hungry so we looked for a place we can eat.  We saw a tourist desk and ask which the nearest mall with a food court is.  She gave us 2 options and found ourselves in a mall where there were so many Filipinos.  Lots of Filipino Food available.   

Before going back, we went to a supermarket to buy water and some chocolates.  I bought some Yakult here because it is bigger than in Manila.  Some friends actually told me to buy them here.  Because of that, I got a very heavy baggage.

That night, we went to our friend’s house in Bedok, Singapore for dinner.  They prepared Pizza and Pasta for us and on our way back to the hotel, we brought some with us.  It was already midnight when we left so we had to take the last bus going to Bedok Station, however the last bus going to our hotel already left, good thing all bus schedules can be tracked through phone via WAP.  We found a bus that will cross Geylang Road.  But when we went down the bus, we are at Lorong 60, our hotel is at Lorong 10,so that means a long walk!  Good thing there was a taxi which brought us to our hotel for less than SGD6.00.  I used my EZ link card to pay for the fare since we are leaving tomorrow and we had to consume everything.  We had a good night sleep upon returning to our room.

On our last day, we had to wake up early to return the tap cards to our friend.  She’ll be waiting at Aljunied station before going to work.  Before returning the cards, we had to consume it buy buying some stuff from 7 eleven.  There were no taxis available when we checked out from our hotel, we had to walk our way to Aljunied MRT Station with our heavy luggage.  Upon arriving at the airport, we checked-in our bags and proceeded to our boarding gate.  At Changi Airport, each boarding gate has its own scanner, and waiting area, so there are no huge crowds.  There is a free drinking water and a free internet, however it is limited to opening emails only, we cannot open any social networking sites.

Our plane came and departed on time.  We landed at Kuala Lumpur LCC Terminal on time and walked our way to our hotel. To view my Kuala Lumpur journey, please click here.

Singapore is a vibrant city and a progressive country.  I’d love to visit it again so next year, it’ll be my first stop.

Kuala Lumpur 2012 (October 10-12/October 15-16, 2012)

Another Southeast Asian Destination via Air Asia!  This booking has been waiting for 1 year and a month, but it’s definitely worth the wait.  We got this fare for an incredible amount of 1,425 Pesos each person for a roundtrip ticket.  Since the ticket did not cost that much, we were able to add meals, pick a seat of our choice, and add huge baggage allowances within a year before our flights, it’s like an installment basis, haha.  And since we also booked a 7 day stay, we decided to also book a flight going to Singapore which cost 600 Pesos one way, then we’ll just take a bus or train going back to Kuala Lumpur since return flight will cost more because of higher airport taxes in Singapore, but later on we decided to book a plane ticket back to Malaysia to save time.  It may cost higher than our roundtrip CRK-KUL flight but definitely the best rate since we only paid for Singapore airport taxes and surcharges since it was a zero fare flight.

Now let’s see how my Kuala Lumpur Adventure went.  I was with two other friends during this trip.  Since its Air Asia, we had to use Clark International Airport.  Our flight was scheduled to leave at 11:05 in the morning of October 10, 2012 so we reserved a seat at Philtranco by calling them.  We waited at the pick-up station in SM Megamall Building A.  The bus came at exactly 7:00AM and our seats were reserved.  We reached Clark a few minutes before check-in gates open so we still had time to have light snacks.  Our check-in was fine and immigration clearance took less than ten minutes.  We only waited for around 30 minutes before boarding time. 

Our flight left on time and reached Kuala Lumpur on schedule.  We enjoyed our pre-booked meals onboard the plane.  We arrived at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), this terminal is just a big plain building, nothing fancy since it’s a budget terminal.  Passengers have to walk their way to the terminal building upon alighting the aircraft.  We no longer had to fill-out immigration cards since Malaysia captures finger prints at the immigration counters; however my fingerprint were no longer scanned maybe to save time because another batch of passengers arrived at the immigration line.  It took us around 15 minutes to clear the immigration. We went straight to the baggage claim area but there were no more sign of our flights from the carousel area and our bags were all lined up on the floor to give way for the baggage of an incoming flight.  We had a hard time finding our bags. Before leaving the terminal building, I went to the tune talk booth to claim my SIM card which I also purchased online for only 70 Pesos (RM5) pre-loaded with RM5.  The airport is located in Sepang, an hour and a half away from Kuala Lumpur city center.  We had to take the skybus which will bring us to KL Sentral for only RM9 (RM7.70 if purchased online via AirAsia). 

Pre-booked meal - Chicken Rice

KLIA- LCC Terminal Arrivals

KL Sentral is where several train systems in Kuala Lumpur interconnects.  Our hotel is located in Maluri district in Kuala Lumpur, so we had to take the sky train to Masjid Jamek Station and connect via the Ampang line to Maluri Station.   Our hotel is a 10 minute walk from the station, but it took us more time finding the hotel so we had to ask the locals.

We stayed at D’ Garden Hotel due to its cheap price via agoda.com.  Our hotel room is worth 1,531 Pesos for a 3D/2N stay for 2 persons and comes with a free buffet style breakfast.  Although it is composed only of breads, pastries, and cakes, there is always a different type of Pancit every day which is enough to fill one’s tummy.  Our room was small but it is clean, the hot shower works and the water pressure is fine.  There is no cabinet but there is a clothes hanger.  There is a small TV in the room and a pair of drinking glasses and a pitcher which you can refill outside the room.  There are distilled drinking water stations in every hallways of the hotel.  Being near the elevator added to our convenience.

We were about to tour Batu caves the night we arrived because we plan to spend the next days entirely in Genting Highlands.  Upon reaching the mall near our hotel, we decided to take-out some snacks from McDonald’s before we take the train just across the highway.  Unfortunately, when we were about to exit the mall, the rain poured hard.  We were forced to dine-in while waiting for the rain to stop.  We knew that we can never make it to Batu caves so we just decided to explore the mall and I was able to buy a complete set of Doraemon stuffed characters.  It isn’t cheap but I can’t find such anywhere so I grabbed the opportunity.

My latest Doraemon Collection

On our way back, we saw a small eatery a few blocks from our hotel.  We had a hard time because no one speaks English; we were being passed from person to person, until this girl from the kitchen came to us and helped us understand the menu.  She barely speaks English but she understood us.  We took away the food and decided to eat it in our hotel room, to our surprise, the serving was huge and it tasted so good.  After that delicious meal, we decided to rest for tomorrows activities.

Delicious Nasi Lemak

Forgot the name of this dish, spicy fried rice wrapped in egg.

Day 2, we woke up early, took a bath and packed everything we needed in this day’s journey.   We headed to the restaurant area to have our free breakfast.   After a filled tummy, we walked our way to the LRT station.  We alighted at Bandaraya station and transferred to KTM commuter train which will take us to Batu caves.  The last station is literally beside the attraction so it was really convenient.  We saw huge statues of Buddhist gods, monkeys roam around the area so I kept a good watch on my belongings because some monkeys are so playful, they might take something from you.  But their monkeys were so well behaved.  To get to the caves, you have to take 272 steps on your way up to the mountain.  It was so tiring but it was nice reaching the top.

My first breakfast in KL

A Giant Buddhist Statue

The 272 steps going to Batu Caves

Inside the Cave.

The view from the 272nd step.

We took the 11:30AM train back to KL Sentral and had our lunch there. We also booked for a 2:00PM bus to Genting Highlands.  Our ticket included the Genting Skyway, the tallest and longest cable car in Southeast Asia.  One way costs RM 10.30.  The bus took us way up high to the Genting skyway terminal, and the cable car took us way higher.  We felt the cool air upon climbing Genting highlands which is literally at the peak of the mountain.  Clouds are forming right below us and beside the hotel buildings.  The travel was so exciting!

Got my tickets to Genting Highlands

The Skyway Terminal

A view from the tallest cable car in SE Asia.

Just imagine how high we are.

There are two theme parks at the highland, indoor and outdoor, we bought a ride all you can ticket for both parks for only RM66.00.  We only had almost 2 hours left before the outdoor theme park closes at 6:00PM so we decided to maximize our time outdoor.  The rides were thrilling and fun, however, we were not able to try everything because the park already closed.  So off we go to the indoor theme park.  This one is open until midnight, but rides were limited, most of which are designed for children.  There is a snow world but it is not included in our tickets, there is a separate fee for the attraction, so we just set it aside.   Night falls and we had to go back down to catch the last bus going to KL Sentral.  The night cable car ride was still thrilling.  Upon reaching the skyway bus terminal, we were surprised to know that the last bus going to KL Sentral had departed.  We were offered a taxi ride but we refused because we know that it will cost us a huge amount.  We went to the ticket booth which was already closed at that time, to ask for other alternatives.  They told us that the last bus to depart is bound for Gombak, I looked at my KL train map and found out that there is a LRT station in Gombak connected to KL Sentral.  However, they said that the booking is full for that bus but we can still wait as chance passengers since sometimes tourist opt to stay overnight in Genting.  We were relieved when the passengers boarded the bus and there were extra seats, as chance passengers, we were seated apart from each other.  Upon reaching Gombak, we were very happy to find out that the bus stop is actually beside the LRT station. 

The Outdoor Theme Park

I actually liked this one, so I tried it twice!

A high speed coaster at the Indoor Theme Park.

We bought tickets going to KL Sentral but later decided to alight at KLCC station to take a peak at the Petronas Towers.  The station is right beside the buildings so it is an easy walk to its picture perfect area.  There is also a musical fountain right in front of the towers.  After a very tiring day, we decided to take a cab going back to our hotel.  After dinner, we packed our things as we are heading for Singapore tomorrow.

The Petronas Twin Towers at Night

Day 3, freshen up a bit and went down for our breakfast.  We went back to our room to take a shower and prepare for check-out.  Double checked everything and had a final nap.  We checked-out early to make our way back to the airport.  Upon reaching LCC Terminal, we checked-in our luggage and decided to eat our lunch before proceeding to the boarding gate.  We were chatting so long until I remembered that we still have to clear the immigration, so we hurried to the immigration counter.  Luckily, there we no long lines and we reached the boarding gate a few minutes before boarding.

Breakfast Time again!

The Sepang Race Circuit

Details of my Singapore Trip can be found here.

October 15, 2012.  Upon returning from Singapore, we checked-in at Tune Hotels LCCT.  We chose to stay at this airport hotel because we have an early morning flight back to the Philippines on the next day.  After some rest, we went to the sky bus terminal and went to KL Sentral.  From there we went to Plaza Rakyat Station and had our late lunch at a nearby mall.  Here, we bought some local chocolates and other souvenir items such as t-shirts.  Walking our way back to the LRT station, we found out that we are at the end of China Town.  We walked our way to the street and buy some food for take-out.  Passing the Bus station, we saw massage chairs for only RM1.00.  It was a quick relief to our stress.  Upon reaching our hotel, we ate out take-away dinner inside our room.

Toiletries Package from Tune Hotels

KL Tower

On our last day, we woke up early and checked-out at 4:00AM.  Instead of walking, we took the shuttle to the departure hall for only RM1.00 per person.  Immigration counters are located inside the small boarding gate where we were assigned.  We had to stand in line and were only allowed to pass the immigration counters after the airline’s boarding time, so after the gates were opened, we all rushed towards our plane.  It was such a weird procedure; we didn’t even have the time to sit down while waiting for boarding.

Our flight departed on time.  Good thing we have a pre-booked meal because we had no time for breakfast while at the airport because of the weird boarding procedure they did.  We landed at Clark International Airport on a sunny morning.  It was a breeze clearing the immigration.  At the arrivals section, we saw a free shuttle to Resorts World Manila, which is beside the Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport.  We decided to take the free shuttle as it will save us a lot.  The bus left Clark at 11:30AM and we reached Resorts World Manila at 1:30PM.  We went straight to the Taxi Terminal and we reached home for only 150 Pesos.  If we took the Philtranco Bus to Megamall it will cost us 400 Pesos per person and we still have to take a taxi afterwards.  So the free shuttle saved us almost a thousand Pesos.

I thought it will take some time before I can come back to Kuala Lumpur, but when my Macau Flight in January 2013 with my Mom was cancelled, I decided to bring her to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur instead.  So in a few months time, I’ll be back there again.  See you real soon, Kuala Lumpur!