“We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.” – John Hope Franklin

We started traveling together in 2017. Our first wanderlust together was in Saigon, Vietnam and Siem Reap, Cambodia. We see to it that at least yearly we go outside the Philippines. That is our family goals while still alive and very much kicking. The joy and exposure that we gained are fulfilling and gainful in many ways. As I always make known to my friends and acquaintances, I don’t want to die to leave an estate or resources, but rather a collection of flashback memories that it won’t dismiss from the mind and the smile that gives you excellent health benefits.  Besides, when smiling, you are more attractive.

One of my goals alone is to travel the world until I reach 60 years old. I don’t want to be flying when I am already a senior citizen, what I wanted to do at that age is stay in a province and be a farmer with my dogs. I’m trying my best to pursue that dreams of mine, besides I still have 13 years more to accomplish everything.

Our journey in Singapore was in January 2018; I haven’t got the chance to published immediately due to some reasons. This is the only travel I have that I haven’t booked on a travel agency. Everything is a do-it-yourself. DIY travels are quite stressful, but when you are after of learning something new, this is the best catch!

First Day

At the airport, I was trying to locate the convenience store which I have purchased, a 4G with data useful for seven days.

While strolling, someone from the immigration caught my attention and said, I was not allowed to go beyond, it’s a restricted area.  I just thought there is another entrance towards Cheers Convenience Store.  I saw the store already but, the entry is outside, after immigration thing.  I rented out also a wheelchair for my Mom while still here in the Philippines to be picked up at the airport.

When I have something to verify, I leave my companions in a comfortable area before doing things so they won’t run down.  Finally,  I got my sim and the wheelchair. Since it was nearly minutes before the rush hour, I  just took a taxi going to our hotel the “Fragrance Hotel,” adjacent to Bugis Junction. I booked our hotel directly on their website.

Our room is teensy-weensy and no ventilation. If you are claustrophobic, this hotel is not for you.  The reason I booked this hotel aside from penny-wise, it is in public interest (near to MRT), we won’t stay in a hotel the whole day anyway, we were there to explore. All we need is a spot to hibernate at night and to replenish.

We arrived early, so we just left our baggage at the counter while waiting for their check-in time at 14:00.  We went straight to Bugis Junction to have our lunch.

After spending some time along Bugis Junction, we went to Marina Square (taxi) to pick up the tickets that I booked online on Duck Tour and Gardens By The Bay through Klook Travel.

Captain Explorer Duck Tour

Captain Explorer duck tour is an amphibious transport with a tourist guide who mark out every spot that we passed through. The tour starts at Marina Square to Marina Bay, Marina Barrage, Marina Bay Sands, Gardens on the Bay, Bay South, Singapore River, Merlion, Helix Bridge, Floating Stadium, Marina Bay Financial Center, and the tour ends at Singapore Flyer or Marina Square.  After 45 min on a Captain Explorer, we went straight to Gardens By The Bay through Funvee Hopper.

Gardens by the Bay

Gardens by the Bay have a lot of attractions, and some of these are the following: Flower Dome, Cloud Forest, OCBC Skyway, and Supertree Grove.

The Flower Dome

The Cloud Forest

Supertree Groove

OCBC Skyway

We ended our night and dinner at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

Second Day

Ended up with a bus, we dropped by in Vivo City to have our breakfast and at the same time to pick our tickets to Sentosa for a whole day pass plus 3 activities: Sea Aquarium plus Royal Albatross, Wings of Time, and Sentosa Express Ticket.  We consumed our entire day in Universal Studios and Sentosa.

Sea Aquarium

Royal Albatross is supposed to be a sunset cruise with dinner. Unfortunately, it rained the whole day, so this package is not that spine-tingling.

Wings of Time

Wings of time is an outdoor night show.  It is a combination of a fireworks display, musical, and laser lights.  Too bad, it was cat-and-dog weather, but still, the show must go on.  Showtimes are 19:40 and 18:40 daily.

                              you can watch my live video on this link                           

Sentosa Express

Sentosa Express monorail makes the following stops:

Sentosa Station (Vivo Shopping Mall)

Waterfront Station (Resorts World and Universal Studios)
> Adventure Cove Waterpark
> Crane Dance
> Dolphin Island
> Lake of Dreams
> Royal Albatross
> Sea Aquarium
> The Maritime Experiential Museum
> Trick Eye Museum

Imbiah Station
> Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom
> Images of Singapore Live
> Madame Tussauds
> Mega Adventure Park
> Sentosa 4D AdventureLand
> Sentosa Merlion
> Sentosa Nature Discovery
> Singapore Cable Car Sky Network
> Skyline Luge Sentosa
> Tiger Sky Tower

Beach Station
> Wings of Time
> Siloso Beach
> Fort Siloso
> Fort Siloso Skywalk
> Go Green Cycle
> Ifly
> Ola Beach Club
> Wave House Sentosa

AJ Hackett Sentosa
> Palawan Beach
> Animal Bird and Encounters
> Kidzania
> Mosh!
> Palawan Pirate Ship
> Southernmost Point of Continental Asia
> Go Green Segway

Those are the activities and attractions that can be found inside Sentosa.  A day is not enough if you want to try all the events and extravagant.  We end our night in Vivo City for our dinner and a grab car back to our hotel.

Third Day

On our third day, we went early to Botanic Gardens of Singapore. You can check the link for a separate blog. After Botanic Gardens, we ride on a  bus to Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. I have included this activity for my Dad for he loves everything about history and museum.

What a damp day, but sad to say we have to go back home.  Before going home, we Filipinos are fond of souvenirs.  We must end our day by buying things to be brought home from Mustafa Center.  This center has a wide range of items to choose from compared to the night market in Bugis Street.  Besides, I love the quality of their T-Shirts which I bought for personal use.

Finally, on our fourth day, this is it, whether we like it or not, home is calling us. 

It was quite an irksome day finding for directions, but it’s all worth it.  I have downloaded a Singapore Map on App Store which was very helpful especially what number of buses to hitch and the name of a bus stop to alight.  I was mixed-up a bit, but in the end, I managed to bring my companions to our destinations.  It is indeed a beautiful journey!

Thank you for reading, until next time 😉