Singapore 2020

My first trip outside the country

Despite all of the COVID-19 problems, we still decided to continue our plan from last year to visit Singapore to be with my family and also a post wedding anniversary celebration for me and my wife.

We stayed at my brother's condominium during our 5-day stay in Singapore and it helped us a lot since we do not need to book and stay in hotels during our stay. Big thanks to my brother Raymond and his wife Iya for accommodating us and helping us with everything from booking the tickets, food, itinerary and more.

Day 1

Our flight is at 5:40 PM via Jetstar Asia. It will be me, my wife Enie, my son Jerrick, my youngest brother Clet and her girlfriend Tin who will be traveling together.

There is a point-to-point bus terminal near our place from Robinsons Sta. Rosa to the airport and we decided to go to the airport early to avoid the traffic. Fortunately, we arrived early because there is no traffic at all because classes are suspended because of the virus.

We had our lunch at Jollibee Terminal 1 and had our snack at Starbucks before boarding the plane.

We arrived at Changi Airport around 9:30 PM and the airport is very big and nice.

While waiting for my brother Raymond who will be picking us up, I went to the money changer to exchange my money to Singaporean Dollars which we will be using for our 5-day stay in Singapore.

We also watched the light show and took photos behind the word's largest indoor waterfall which can be found in the Jewel Changi Airport.

Day 2

For today, we will be riding the Singapore's famous Cable Car, visit Madam Tussauds and Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom in Sentosa.

Riding the train here in Singapore is very smooth and easy. Very clean, fast and organized compared to our MRT/LRT here in Manila.

After a few stops and walk, we arrived in the Harbourfront Tower where the famous Singapore Cable Car is located.

Amazing view from the top as you can see the beauty of Singapore from above.

Our next stop is...

Madam Tussauds

Madam Tussauds is one of the famous tourist attraction in Singapore. It was opened year 2014. It is a wax museum which features famous celebrities, leaders and musicians.

Madam Tussauds is also known for it's Marvel 4d experience.

Photos and videos are not allowed at first, real guides and actors interacts with us. It's also an educational tour about the history of Singapore.

Our next stop is at the Butterly Park and Insect Kingdom which is a few walk away.

Butterfly Park

A park full of butterflies flying around and colorful insects as it's main attraction. The staff also explains and teaches tourist information about the insects and butterflies.

On the other side of the park is an area where you can see and interact with birds and a big Iguana.

*Shoutout also to the friendly staffs who assisted us even though it's already closing time

We rest for a bit outside the park and ate Pizza before going back to VivoCity to check some toys and also to rest again.

Our last stop is Chinatown for our dinner and to buy souvenirs.

Souvenirs are cheaper here (10 pieces for $10 for keychains) and more stuff. 

Dessert is also delicious.

Chinatown is usually a crowded spot but there are only few people around because of the virus.

Day 3

We plan to swim early in the morning but we overslept because we are so tired from the previous day of our tour. My son still wanted to swim for a few minutes even if it's already 11 AM.

Our itinerary for today is visiting Marina Sands Mall, Gardens by the Bay and the famous Merlion statue.

It's a sunny day and since we still feel a little tired, we decided to ride the bus to the train station and also to experience riding the bus in Singapore.

After several stations in the MRT, we arrived at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, compared with VivoCity, the stores here are bigger and top brands here are available like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and more.

There is also an indoor Canal inside where you can ride a boat just like the one in Venice Grand Canal Mall in Taguig.

Undecided where to eat, we settled in the classy food court of the mall. 

The mall is very classy and spacious. Fast WiFi is also free for guest.  Unfortunately, we wasn't able to check the mall because we still need to visit Gardens at the Bay and more spots.

Gardens by the Bay

A large (as in) nature par and also one of the best tourist spot in Singapore because of it's scenery and the touch of nature.

Floating Eggs is one of the seven interactive exhibits in the Gardens by the Bay. It also lights in different color in the evening.

We did stroll around and walked to the Supertree Grove to rest while waiting for the first light show schedule at 7:45 PM. The light show is also free.

I also have my heavy tripod and my DSLR inside my bag because I wanted to take long exposure photos once the light show started. I was able to take good photos as well today using my DLSR and phone.

After the light show, we walked towards to the Merlion to take photos again and enjoy the view.

Our last activity for the day is one bus (2 stops) away to have dinner at Makansutra Gluttons Bay where different cuisines and drinks are available for an affordable prize (except for the glass of beer which cost $6.50). 

It was a very long day for us and our legs are complaining but we are all happy as we are able to do a lot of things, ate a lot of good food and visit the amazing spots.

Day 4

For our fourth day, we will be visiting S.E.A. Aquarium and Universal Studios Singapore.

S.E.A. Aquarium

Around 800 sea species can be seen in this theme park. It's like walking under the ocean and viewing different types of fish in the large aquarium like Dolphins, Sharks and more.

There is also an area where guest can rest, sit and eat while viewing the largest aquarium that I have ever seen.

I wasn't able to get good photos in the S.E.A. Aquarium because it's a little bit dark inside but the experience is nice. We also had our photos taken and bought a printed copy which is a little expensive amounting $50 per copy (1,800 pesos).

Universal Studios Singapore

We didn't maximized our USS visit because (again) of the COVID-19 issue, the theme park will close early at 5 PM and it's already 2:30 PM so we only had 2 and a half hour to roam around and enjoy the rides.

Only experienced Transformers, The Mummy without any lines except for  The Battlestar Galactica Roller Coaster where we waited for maybe around 30 minutes.

After 'The Mummy' we went to 'Far, Far Away Castle' to watch the Shrek 4D and there's a lot of people this time mostly kids who wanted to watch the last show before the theme park closes.

One of the reason as well while I would like to push our trip here in Singapore is because my youngest brother Clet, plans to propose to his long time girlfriend Tin, in front of the Far, Far Away Castle.

We took photos of each family in front of the castle and the last one will be Clet and Tin. The plan is he will kneel after taking the photo and ask Tin to marry him.

Mission accomplish for my brother's proposal. After a few more photo-ops, we went to buy some souvenirs in the USS shop and had an early dinner at Malaysian's Food Street.

Our last stop for the day is at the Beach Station where we experienced the Skyride and the Luge.

Skyride

Luge

We also bought the three printed photos for $20 (720 pesos) as souvenir

Day 5

Tomorrow morning will be our flight back to Manila at 10 in the morning. So for today, we will be going to Changi City Point to have lunch and to check the outlet stores and also to buy items that we will bring back to the Philippines.

Changi City Point is near the Airport, unfortunately we wasn't able to go back to the Jewel Changi Airport to check the place and shops due to lack of time and budget.

We had our lunch at 'Real Thai' and had some affordable but delicious Thai food.

After lunch, we checked the different outlets in the mall like Converse, Adidas, Puma and Nike.

There are tons of good stuff to buy but our baggage and budget is our concern. 

I was able to get some good items at Nike for my kid and for myself at Nike. Total is $208 (7,500 pesos).

We also bought some items (mostly Chocolates) at the Value Dollar store.

I am still looking for a good Milk Tea cafe but there are only few shops at Changi City Point and we ended buying at LiHo.

I also decided to take a few snaps of the neighbourhood of my brother on our way home. It's really clean and peaceful here.

That ends our activity for the day. 

Day 6

Our flight was moved from 1 AM to 10 AM. We left my brother's place around 8:45 AM and arrived 30 minutes before our flight. There are no traffic and only a few passengers in the airport that day.

Only 25 passengers on board from Singapore to Manila and few people as well in the Manila Airport because of the COVID-19.

We thank God for a safe flight and an unforgettable trip at Singapore together with my family. Will definitely gonna miss the place and hoping to come back soon and do other activities and discover Singapore more.

Here's a short clip of our trip in Singapore

Photos taken using Nikon D750, Huawei Nova 5T and GoPro Hero4 Silver