Got to travel to Singapore! What is great about Singapore is that most locals speak either chinese or english. Which is great for me because I know chinese and english. The country is very clean and you can see greens like trees and plants everywhere. Singaporeans are very nice and I don't feel any discrimination. They have wide variety of food, shopping areas and entertainment. They have convenient public transportation. So it's very easy to be a tourist in Singapore. The following below are some of the sights and experiences I encountered while staying at Singapore for a week.
Choosing our Hotel
There are many hotels in Singapore and you should know that they are all expensive. So if you're on a budget you can check-in at Hotel Grand Central like we did. It's a 3-star hotel and we enjoyed staying there. They have nice and clean rooms, friendly reception and free breakfast buffet. The best thing about Hotel Grand Central is that it's conveniently located Cavenagh Road which is near Orchard Road. There are lots of malls and shops in the area which is a must when choosing a hotel. It's also very near to Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, that has access to all MRT lines. Overall, it's clean, affordable and the location is great for tourists. That's good enough for me.
Food in Singapore
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| Food Republic at Vivo City |
All I can say about the food in Singapore is that its a bit expensive. The cheapest dish I ate was in a Food Court, costing around S$4. Maybe it's not expensive to others but comparing to Philippine currency, it's a bit expensive for food court food. But they do have quality food in Food Courts compare to ours. the good thing about their food court is that wherever food court you go, whether in a high end place like Ion Orchard or low end place like Mustafa, the prices seems to have a steady range of S$4-7. So I suggest if you want to eat low cost like me and have a clean and quality place to eat, have your meals in the food courts of malls.
Didn't had a chance to eat in a hawker center but I did eat a lot in Food Republic. Love the food there. And I love Chicken Rice! Very addicting and not to mention cheap.
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| Chicken Rice at ION's Food Opera |
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| Chicken Rice and Noodles at Sim Lim Square |
Getting around Singapore
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| MRT Dhoby Ghaut Station |
If you prefer to take the taxi, make sure to be in groups of 4. Because taxis in Singapore only carry a maximum of 4 passengers per car. Starting rate of a Taxi in Singapore is about S$2.5 - S$4 depending on how big and what kind of taxi it is. The old toyota taxis are the cheapest. They also charge you extra for certain hours of the day and for extra baggage.
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| Singapore MRT and LRT Map |
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| ION Shopping Mall |
If you plan to shop in Singapore, don't forget to read about the Tourist Tax Refund Program of Singapore Customs. Where you can get Tax refunds of items you purchased in Singapore.
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| Universal Studios Singapore |
Be sure to visit Universal Studios Singapore within Resorts World Sentosa. Although not all the attractions are open yet it is still a sure hit with any family or couples. I don't know when their soft opening will end but I'll sure to come back when it finally officially opens. Click here for my experience and snapshots of Universal Studios Singapore.
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| Resorts World Singapore Casino Entrance |
After Universal Studios, we walked around Resorts World. There are lot of attractions in the resort and most of them are free. Click here for my experience and snapshots of Resorts World Sentosa.
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| Sentosa and Merlion |
Love the beaches in Sentosa. Be sure to bring your swimming outfits when you visit sentosa. Aside from beautiful beaches the island also offers lots of entertainment for the family. We tried several attractions like the Ciniblast, Megazip and segway. Click here for my experience and snapshots of Sentosa Island.
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| Singapore Zoo Main Entrance |
I love animals so this is one of the places I really liked. Singapore zoo is huge and offers lots of exotic animals for your viewing. Click here for my experience and snapshots of Singapore Zoo.
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| View of Marina Bay Sands from Helix Bridge |
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| Cebu Pacific Airplane at Singapore Budget Terminal |
Check out my actual Singapore Itinerary I prepared before going to this trip.
3 comments:
Dear sir,
I thank you for your recommendations for the trip. It is was very usefull, especially the itenerary!
However, I must caution people from taking the Grand Central Hotel...The hotel is very old, smelly, noisy and dirty. the breakfast was served in an old smelly lounge and was very crowded and the food was terrible. most rooms are above a fussy road, which make them completely unusable, and the other rooms does not have an AC remote, which makes them practically freezing and inhabitable!
In conclusion, even though this hotel is relatively cheap and at a good location, there are better alternatives by far!
Thanks for the comment. Sad that you had a bad experience there. Although I can't say I experienced all the things you said. Did we get the same room? Ours were 2 interconnecting family rooms. When we were there the rooms were clean and quiet. The lounge was not smelly and was not that crowded.
Although the AC is really a problem since it can't be adjusted. I remember waking up because of the freezing cold.
Grand central still has one of the best locations in terms of access to Singapore's main tourist destinations. But yes there are other alternatives. I'll try a different hotel next time I go to SG..:)
hi i agree and commend you for sharing your sg experience. For those planning to go please avoid hotel 81 dickson. Poor service and room lacks amenities like ref and sidetable. Poor housekeeping.
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