This year, my fiance was planning to propose to me and thought why not do it in Singapore. Since he booked 7 days there, I anticipated that we will be visiting more places in Singapore than the usual touristy area.
Day1: Fly to Singapore via Cebu Pacific Air and Scoot.
He flew with a friend to SG via Cebu Pacific Air, I flew via Scoot. I loved how comfortable and easy boarding was with Scoot and how they were keen on flying on time. That day we flew in late because of air traffic in Manila.
We checked in at Moni Gallery Hostel. This hostel had a rating of 6.5 out of 10 starts in several booking sites. It was our first time staying in a hostel and so we were accustomed to sharing rooms. We had to move into a private room with higher costs but still lower than staying in hotels. Bathrooms are in need of scrubbing. Since we had a very limited budget, we decided to maximize our stay. Breakfast is free. You can use hair blower and iron for clothes. Drinking water is available and they have an al fresco dining area at the back. If you read about rats in other booking sites, yes there were rats in the street at the back of the hostel but not in the hostel itself or the bedrooms so you're safe. The hostel is near Boon Keng Station and is a short bus ride to the Singapore downtown trail. Use google maps to check which buses go to the downtown and walk your way around the heart of SG.
Day 2: Visit Chinatown and a friend.
We woke up late because we were able to sleep at 3 am. The guys fetched me from the airport at around 2.30am . (I flew in from Manila via Scoot at 10pm). We went to Chinatown to check on the most affordable souvenirs. We found keychains selling at 42pieces for 10 SGD. We promised to go back there before we leave SG.
My meat noodles is 5SGD
We got so tired walking around the Chinatown during midday that we decided to head back to the hostel and sleep first and meet with a friend in the evening.
6pm we met with a friend at the downtown area. Went around Bugis street where we found merchandises which sell a lot cheaper in Chinatown. Then we rod the bus and went to Ang mo kio. We went to a park and stayed some time there to chat. Thereafter we went to Kembangan via bus to eat at Mac's Hawkerant. Food is delish. I tried a rose petal juice served there. We took away our leftover food which we were able to consume until we were about to leave SG.
Day 3. We decided to take the double decker bus. It was an experience new to us. I felt a bit dizzy at first looking at the street from the upper deck. We visited the Immaculate Conception Parish near Hougang.
View from the double decker bus
You will be walking around a lot in SG so wear comfy clothes and shoes.
Thereafter we visited Fort Canning and saw their outdoor escalator at SMU. We also tried entering the Singapore museum but we forgot our passports. SGD Museum Entrance 15 SGD plus bring your passport.
We hopped on the bus again to go back to the hostel to sleep after being so tired due to afternoon heat.
By 6pm we are out again to see the Merlion and Marina Bay.
Day 4: Visit Sentosa
We took the MRT to Harbor Front and dropped off at Vivo City. Then we transferred to the Sentosa Express. Price: SGD 4. That is the cost of 2 way trip via express. We were not able to ride anything there due to our limited budget. But we just walked around and see parts of Sentosa. We went to the Palawan beach and reached the southernmost part of Continental Asia. We may have missed on the other attractions of Sentosa, but reaching that southernmost part of Continental Asia is a milestone for me. #TheBestThingsAreFREE.
We went back again to the hostel to sleep while waiting for our companion who rode the cable car and visited Madame Tussaud's in SG. When he got back to the hostel, we prepared to visit the Gardens by the Bay. But we were not able to go there because we met with a friend who invited us to eat at the Makasutra's at Gluttons Bay. We were able to catch a glimpse of another side of the Marina Bay.
Day 5: Proposal and shopping.
So the fiance was able to find several beautiful place to do his proposal but because he missed those opportunities he decided to bring me again to the Marina bay in the morning. It was terribly hot when he knelt and popped the question. I said yes. The ring was also of smaller size. This proposal project of my fiance had lots of challenges but at the end of the day, we still got engaged. I realized that even if there are several things pushing us away from this moment: super limited funds going here that I thought of not going, having to move to a private room with a significant fee in a hostel which is still expensive for us, and frustrations because of unmet expectations while travelling, when God wants to bring something to fruition, He sends help. We got engaged and our hearts are thankful for the people who helped us in SG whom God sent.
Thereafter we went to Singapore Expo to show our friend the venue of the 2016 SFC Icon. Then we rushed to our shopping in Chinatown because one of us has a flight to Manila in the evening. (I really would love to go back to Manila because it is so expensive to stay but my flight is in 3 days more so I had to make do with what is available and be thankful for the opportunity to stay longer.)
After sending our friend off in Changi, we decided to explore the world's number 1 airport. We have read that Changi has lots of photo worthy spots but they may be beyond the immigration counter. We content ourselves with those available at the airport. We rode the airport express, watched the water sculpture at terminal 1, and walked around the airports. A friend met with us and treated us to dinner. I had beef noodles which is a bit spicy. We also tried the toasted croissant dessert with green tea at Ya Kun Kaya Toast (SGD 2 each). My fiance tried the Slide at Terminal 3 twice. You can get a ticket to ride the slide for every 10 dollars single receipt purchase at Changi. Simply exchange your receipt with a ticket at the information booth. We stayed in the airport for more than 3 hours and we never got bored. We rode the train to go to Serangoon where we can catch the purple line. But when we arrived at Serangoon, the last train going to Harbor Front has departed and we had to ride the bus. Our batteries are no longer working and we had no way to go back to the hostel via bus. I had a brilliant idea of checking the bus routes of those going to our stop and saw a bus going to Boon Keng. We rode it and alighted at the station but it was never familiar to us. It is hard to recognize buildings in the evening haha. We walked several blocks until we crossed a bridge. When we turn left and go back to where we come from, we will be going to Boon Keng. When we turn right, we will be going to Upper Boon Keng. In the end we decided to take a taxi to bring us to our destination 2 kilometers away. It may only be 2 kilometers away but being out in SG at 1 am with our batteries drained and no clue as to where we should go, an 8SGD expense on the taxi is acceptable to our already struggling resources haha.
Day 6. We went back to Hougang to visit an office in the morning. We rode the buses and realized that it is more affordable and relax taking the bus instead of the train. We also walked some beautiful neighborhoods near Highland Road and visited the Immaculate Conception Church for the second time to give thanks.
In the late afternoon we went back to Marina Bay Sands Shoppes and finally found the access to Gardens by the bay. The first time I read the map available at the information counter at the ground floor of Shoppes, my mind was occupied with guessing where and when will my fiance pop the question (haha I guessed he had plans) that I was so distracted while looking for the bridgeway to the gardens. Finally today, we found it and stayed until the light show at 8pm.
Day 7. Whole day train trip.
We chose to top up our MRT Cards and went to the trains and visit other areas of Singapore which are not in the tourist catalogs. We want to be immersed in Singapore. We took the green line to Joo Koon and rode the train to Tuas Link. SG is a beautiful and organized city-state and whatever you see in the touristy areas, on how organized their living spaces and gardens are, it is the same in any other part of the city. We wanted to drop off at the Chinese Garden but because it was raining hard that day, we content ourselves with sightseeing from the train. We also saw the Singapore Polytechnic University at Dover Station, and the Nanyang Technological University Campuses. From the green line we rode the red line to visit Woodlands, had our late lunch/dinner, and went grocery shopping at Fair Price. We realized then that the prices of the drinks and other knick knacks are much cheaper in Fair Price than in the stores near our hostel where my fiance bought some stuff we need. Since we still have time,we rode the purple line to Punggol and tried to ride the gray line LRT.
We went back to the hostel more than 12 hours from when we started our train trip. We enjoyed sitting at the open spaces near the Punggol MRT station and realized that there is a sense of uniformity and organization in all of SG.
Day 8. Move out, check in, and flight home.
We checked out of the hostel at 12nn, after having our breakfast. We rode the taxi to the airport and weighed our baggages first. We left our baggage at the airport for 20SGD. Thereafter we rode the bus from Changi to Pasir Ris to visit the Divine Mercy Catholic Church. We had lunch at their community food court before heading back to the airport to check in and fly. Scoot flew on time while Cebu Pacific got delayed for 2 hours.
