Monday, August 21, 2017

Just Chillin' at the Singapore Zoo

One of the highlights of our Singapore Trip was a trip to the zoo! We spent a few good hours here and though it was tiring (because of the heat) It was sure a fun way to spend a day. We only managed to get inside the zoo, No River Safari and No Night Safari as we have other plans. 


Again, the tickets to the Singapore Zoo was cheaper because we bought it in advance from KLOOK


The ticket to get inside the zoo is claimed from a kiosk in the Ticketing Center near the souvenir shop. You just need to scan your printed copy and the kiosk will dispense you a Singapore Zoo one day pass! Its really easy. The ticket for Klook also comes with a free TRAM ride. 


There are also Shows for each section of the zoo, so watch out for it and relax for a few good 15 minutes each show as you watch the animals showcase their talents! We particularly enjoyed the Elephant's and the Sea Lion show. It was really very entertaining. 


Also, there was this section about dinosaurs. it was a good spot too, Loved how we are able to take photos of the Dinosaurs. =) looked very real too, can take you by surprise coz they are mechanically operated. so sometimes they will move without you anticipating for it. hehe 


There are monkeys too, they are just in the trees! I mean, you can basically get near them and take a photo up close, like the one below and surprisingly they are just in that particular tree... 




Monday, August 14, 2017

Back Packer's Inn - Singapore (Travelling on a budget)

If you are on a tight budget, but still want to travel - You shouldn't be scratching Singapore off your list! There are many ways on how you can travel to this expensive city, enjoy and have a decent place to stay! I will share our experience with one of the Backpacker's hostels in Singapore here. 


Our was a booking done a week before our travel date. My friend was supposed to take us in but there are some unforeseen circumstances so I had to book for me and my friend going to SG. I tried BOOKING.COM and as for our experience in this hotel, it sure was quite pleasant overall. 

Total Spent for 5 Nights in this hotel was only Php3,150 for each person. Yes, that is 5 nights! It was safe, we leave our things in the locker and come back (luckily) that none of our things left in the bed was touched by anyone else or was missing. IF you are travelling with at least 2 or 3 of your friends, you can get one section to your self... so its pretty much "private" to some extent ;) 

Pros: 
It is cheap! 
The location is easy to find
The location is close to almost all Singapore attractions (except the zoo) :P 
The location is minutes away from Chinatown center! Hawkers and shopping place
The location is minutes away from the train station/s 
The place is clean
They have free water. Buy a bottle of water from convenient stores and then bring it home, refill in the dorm. ;) 
They have Wifi
Lockers that can fit your "travel light luggage"
Ironing, Washing of Clothes available
Foods / Restaurants nearby is cheap > go to Chinatown Complex or Chinatown Food Street! there is no need to get inside the restaurants! They will only charge you with service fees, etc. 

Cons:
Its noisy at night since there are Bars at the ground floor of the building
Shared Bathroom (have to wait for others to finish, be early) 
Privacy can be a bit of a problem especially if you are not used to sharing a room... 



Do not forget to bring your own adaptor, btw. But if you forget, you can head to the nearest supermarket in the Chinatown and buy yourself an adaptor so you can charge your devices. :P 

The receptionist was also easy to talk to, she speaks English well, and she's a Filipina so we did not have troubles chatting and asking questions from her... she also was helpful. :D 

There are also many other hostel in the area. I was also told that just another block from our place was the Beary Best Hotel. Its also dormitory style. a bit costly than the one we stayed in. 


Sunday, August 13, 2017

Universal Studios Singapore - One Fine Day!

Universal Studios in Singapore! It was yet another wonderful and Fun Place!!! The only thing that could stop you from enjoying all of the rides would be the heat. It always is kind of wonderful whenever we line up for a ride and then we would be in an air-conditioned holding area. :D 



We got our ticket for USS from Klook. It is usually much cheaper, plus when you go there, you get to go directly inside the park by presenting a printed copy. You also get to have a $5 discount when you dine in any of the restaurants inside. 



You have two options to get to the USS, One is via the tram, but us, we just walked from Promenade station via the Sentosa Board walk. It was about 15 Minutes - we did not pay for the Tram that would bring you directly to the Sentosa Station.  



We were there at 9AM and there was already a lot of people, taking their pose on the Universal Studios Globe. 

So our strategy was to walk straight to Transformers Ride and then go from there section by section. It was a Saturday, I expected more people since its the weekend, but we somehow got inside the transformer's ride and finished in about 15 minutes. It was really a quick one, got no time to think of where to go next ha ha. 



So in this Sci Fi section of Universal Studios, there is also the roller coaster (Battle Star Gallactica) - to which we passed because I can not ever try such a ride again, i will definitely throw up! 

New York Section: 

We also went inside this "ride" that says it will show you how stages are made! oh sounds interesting... the wait is long though. It is fun actually. The Lights, Camera Action! was fun - do not miss seeing how effects are made, there was a storm, a ship getting inside... a fire breaking out... artificial rains and so on. It's like you are in the movie itself. :D 


In the Ancient Egypt... we went to this specific ride, but we were asked to deposit our things and pay for a locker... =( so we kind of backed out... saw this ride next to it and so we went in...



It turned out to be kids ride, Treasure Hunters seemed like fun.... ah the wait for the ride is so much longer than our ride and it was just like sitting in a cart going around. okay, just some time to be able to sit down. hehe if you have not much time - don't fall for this ride! 

** When we finished all of the possible rides we like to try, we had our lunch and had a chat with a friend well he told us to try the mummy ride, and so what? we did not see this one. it turned out to be the one we said we won't try... It is Revenge of the Mummy Ride >>> Ah we put our things on a locker (free for the first 45 minutes) so yeah... then headed to the maze like line inside waiting for their turn. Scared of what ride it is, it said it has a backward motion so i dont think i can do this... 

Teehee! The fun was fun! actually. Glad we tried it... then after that ride, we went in for another ride!!! total of 3 mummy rides  - we never got to perfecting the photo of ourselves! :D 



In the Lost World Area, we tried the Jurassic Park Rapid's adventure and there was a warning about getting wet... we are at a theme park so what the heck, why pay more not to get wet. it you are to be wet, then so be it! It turned out we did not get wet that much, only our pants did from the thigh area. This is a fun ride! Not to be missed! It is a different feeling from the Jurassic Park ride in USJ (Universal Studios Japan). So don't buy the disposable raincoat! get wet if you must!  

Also, the canopy Flyer, where you seat and your feet dangling in the air as you are taken for a ride - it was not scary... it was rather a quick fun ride. You'd want to try it out once more. 



We were able to watch the Waterworld show in this area - show starts at 1 PM and it was past Noon, so we just went and waited for the show. Ah! it was really fun, its like watching a stage play... a movie coming into life. Their effects, and stunts are amazing. people falling from about 10 meters high to a pool! a bit scary for their safety but it was a good show!!! :D Do not miss this one and stay on the none Wet Zone to be sure, a lot of water being thrown out to the audience here!! 


The Far far away location was not that far away from the  Lost World area. So after watching the show, walking 5 minutes in extreme sun light, we just had to get inside and cool down - the Shrek 4 D Adventure was just at the right place at the right  time! So off we line up for this ride. It was in a theater set up - oh yeah 4D. This is for the kids, kind of felt a bit sleepy but maybe that is only because we were already tired of our previous adventures. :P Since another roller coaster - a small one was  next to it, so we might as well try it right? So we did. It was called enchanted airways. Yeah, it was a good ride alright.. but nothing much to rave about. 

Lastly, the Madagascar!!! off we ride the crate adventure. It was cool... it was alright.. cool inside the ride and you get a few sprinkles here and there. :D 


The boardwalk view at night: