Singapore Day 5: Gardens by the Bay, Satay by the Bay

Our last agenda for our Singapore trip is visiting Gardens by the Bay. Again, we got our tickets from Klook. Super duper helpful app if you're traveling! Tickets are separate for the Cloud Forest and Flower dome and each cost around ₱600-800.

There's a lot of walking involved in this visit so make sure to wear comfy clothes and shoes!

Cloud Forest

This man-made conservatory is conditioned to imitate the humidity and temperature levels of tropical mountain highlands creating a viable environment for lush vegetation and a variety of flowers!

This is truly an amazing place. Everything just puts you in awe. The waterfalls, the mist, the ferns and trees growing inside. Everything is magical.

Flower Dome

Singapore's Flower Dome is actually named as the largest glass greenhouse in the world as of 2015. You can find several gardens inside. There's an array of succulents, baobabs, olive groves, and a vast flower field too. 

When we visited the theme is still Chinese New Year so the place was full of lanterns, flower arcs, and other CNY things.

Satay by the Bay

After touring the two domes we decided to eat somewhere. There were a couple of restaurants at the Gardens complex but Jeckie was intrigued by Satay by the Bay. I wasn't up for some satay specifically but we still decided to follow the signs leading to it, in hopes of finding something good to eat.

Lo and behold, Satay by the Bay is actually a hawker. They could've added a description you know! It was a loooong long walk from the dome but who cares, we're hungry!

If this wasn't such a long way from the city center this would have been my favorite hawker instead of Lau Pa Sat.

Supertree Grove

By the time we finished eating, it was about time for the Garden Rhapsody lights and sound show. There are several supertrees planted around the Gardens but 12 of them can be found at Supertree Grove. The place is free to access since it's at one of the open areas, unless you want to walk at the OCBC Skyway to get up close and personal with the trees.

The trees are gorgeous. You can see them even if you're outside the Gardens but it's still a different experience looking at them up close. They're so mesmerizing.

Aaand that's it. You can probably say I was rushing to finish this entry because it's been long overdue, AND YOU'RE RIGHT. I wanted to get over my SG diary already because I know I'll forget about it soon! 

Nonethess, this was one of my favorite days. We were Manila bound the following day and it was great to cap off our trip by visiting one of the country's top landmarks. 

Related:

Singapore Day 1: Holiday Inn, Lau Pa Sat, and Marina Bay

Singapore Day 2: Old Airport Rd. Hawker, Jollibee, and the Gym!

Singapore Day 3: Bugis Junction, Central Perk, Lau Pa Sat again!

Singapore Day 4: Universal Studios

Singapore Day 5: Gardens by the Bay, Satay by the Bay

Singapore Day 4: Universal Studios

Our Day 4 in Singapore is all about touring Universal Studios! I've been here 2 years ago but only at the gate to take photos haha. Now I'm actually going in! We got our tickets from Klook for around around ₱2,700. Note that this doesn't include express pass and the Sentosa Station train ride from Vivo City Mall. 

Going to Universal Studios is super easy (as is going anywhere in SG lol), just navigate your way to Vivo City Mall either via bus or train then ride the Sentosa Express inside the mall going to Resorts World Sentosa. Go down at the first station and you can walk to Universal Studios entrance from there. If you got off at the wrong stop (like we did), don't worry because you can walk your way back to Universal Studios without having to ride the train again hehe. Once you're at the island everything's connected hehe.

What surprised me with the park is that it's actually smaller than expected. Enchanted Kingdom is so much bigger and has more rides. Not that it's disappointing, the rides at Universal are definitely much better.

I love that there are lockers available for rides where you're not allowed to bring your belongings. It's free for a certain amount of time and it's super high tech too! Some lockers require your fingerprint, and some require pin codes. It's so cool.

Rides we tried:

TRANSFORMERS The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle

Rode this twice because it was so good!

Battlestar Galactica: HUMAN vs. CYLON™

Jeckie was afraid to try this but I encouraged him anyway! We went for the Human side because it seemed less scary? We both loved it but the ride was too short, it was barely even a minute!

Revenge of the Mummy™

This is probably the one I got scared with the most mostly because it's a ride in the dark with unexpected dips! Mygaaahd! 

Puss In Boots’ Giant Journey

Ah this one's a bit boring, wouldn't recommend this for adults. Line was too long and the ride was okay at best. Good for kids but not for adults looking for a thrilling and a gut-wrenching experience.

Shows we watched:

Shrek 4-D Adventure

Another boring one. Basically a short 4-D film. Lines too long and the cinema is too packed. Maybe good for kids.

WaterWorld™

We were 15 mins late when the live show started but we still enjoyed it!

Yeah so I guess we didn't ride a lot! But at least we were able to cross out most of the good rides for adults. We were there for maybe 2 to 3 hours only but we definitely enjoyed every minute of it! We avoided wet rides because we didn't bring spare clothes. We were super amazed at how organized the rides are. The queue areas are so well designed and snaking through the lanes is an experience in itself. Definitely coming back!

Related:

Singapore Day 1: Holiday Inn, Lau Pa Sat, and Marina Bay

Singapore Day 2: Old Airport Rd. Hawker, Jollibee, and the Gym!

Singapore Day 3: Bugis Junction, Central Perk, Lau Pa Sat again!

Singapore Day 4: Universal Studios

Singapore Day 5: Gardens by the Bay, Satay by the Bay

Singapore Day 3: Bugis Junction, Central Perk, Lau Pa Sat again!

Today we planned on buying pasalubong, so where else should we be headed to?

Bugis Junction

Nothing has changed since the last time I went here. The place sells all kinds of pasalubong you would want to take home. From shirts, ref magnets, chocolates, and other items, this is pretty much a Greenhills of sorts. 

We chanced upon a dragon and lion parade while shopping. Seems like Chinese New Year celebration isn't over yet! In fact, it's Valentines week but we hardly felt love in the air lol, it's all lanterns and lions and dragons dancing around.

We ate at the food center where I we got Pho, Chicken wings, fries, and milk tea.

Central Perk

After roaming around Bugis, we took the bus to Central Mall well Central Perk is. I think it was a deliberate choice to put the Friends themed restaurant at this mall haha. We were only allowed to take pictures on certain areas because we weren't dining in.

Cute place!

Lau Pa Sat again!

After Central Perk we took the bus to Lau Pa Sat so eat dinner. It's become our favorite place haha. We ate Indian food (of course), and the ate there was kind enough to give use free pakoras because she learned we were from the Philippines! Our dinner didn't cost of $10, can you believe it. Sobrang sulit.

Parkroyale on Pickering

While walking to our bus stop we chanced upon this super gandang hotel woooow sobrang lush ng lumot or kung ano man yan. Love it!

Aaaaand there you go! Went back to the hotel tired, full, and looking forward to the next day!

Related:

Singapore Day 1: Holiday Inn, Lau Pa Sat, and Marina Bay

Singapore Day 2: Old Airport Rd. Hawker, Jollibee, and the Gym!

Singapore Day 3: Bugis Junction, Central Perk, Lau Pa Sat again!

Singapore Day 4: Universal Studios

Singapore Day 5: Gardens by the Bay, Satay by the Bay

Singapore Day 2: Old Airport Rd. Food Centre, Jollibee, and the Gym!

We didn't have anything touristy planned for our second day, being it's my exam day and I'm stressed enough as it is just thinking about it. The real reason we came to Singapore is to attend a recruitment roadshow where I was invited to take an exam, and attend a technical interview and assessment.

Today is the day I take the much anticipated exam. And what can I say, WHEW! I'm so glad it's over. Unlike other applicants where the exam will determine whether they get to the next stages or not, my case was different because I was being pooled for a more technical position. It means that apart from the exam results, I had to attend the interview and technical assessment scheduled 3 days after, before they can fully consider whether I'm a good fit for the post. 

Anyway, after the exam, Jeckie and I decided to visit a hawker nearby.

Nothing much on Old Airport Rd. Food Centre

I saw this being listed as one of the best hawkers in Singapore, but when we came there, we couldn't find anything we like to try. There's not much variety. Most of the stalls sell Chinese or Singaporean. Not a lot of Indian and Southeast Asian options. I wonder why the parking always looks packed.

And so we left.

Jollibee at Paya Lebar Square

We were getting hungry to so we decided to visit the closest Jollibee in our place. That would be at Paya Lebar Square, and so we took the bus going there.

Come dinner time, the line already snaked outside.

The verdict? They taste different. Just look at the chicken and spaghetti, they look so different from what we have here in the Philippines! Don't get me wrong, they're both super tasty. Even the Yum Burger we ordered tasted good, but it's nowhere near how our local favorites taste like. The Jollibee here tastes better for me, but it doesn't remind me of home. 

Gym time!

We managed to squeeze in some workout during the wee hours of the night. I don't really workout, but Jeckie has to because they have a Biggest Loser challenge going on at work and he can't afford to gain too much from this trip haha!

Aaaand, that's about it!

I told you there's not much about this day! Although you know, I've come to love riding the bus because of the scenery! ❤

Related:

Singapore Day 1: Holiday Inn, Lau Pa Sat, and Marina Bay

Singapore Day 2: Old Airport Rd. Hawker, Jollibee, and the Gym!

Singapore Day 3: Bugis Junction, Central Perk, Lau Pa Sat again!

Singapore Day 4: Universal Studios

Singapore Day 5: Gardens by the Bay, Satay by the Bay

Singpore Day 1: Holiday Inn, Lau Pa Sat, and Marina Bay

My husband and I spent 5 days in Singapore last week and here's how it went down!

Bye Manila, you won't be missed.

It was our first international trip together so we were sooo excited. We toured a lot, spent a lot on food, and made really good memories of the place! Singapore is insanely impressive. The technology, the infrastructure, the cleanliness and discipline definitely reminded us how much our own country sucked. Jeckie and I contemplated a lot about how stark the contrast is and what seems to be wrong with our motherland. Is corruption really to blame? Overpopulation? Lack of education? Urgh. Anyway. We arrived at Changi International airport on Saturday and spent the night at my cousin's house before moving to our hotel the next day. Was able to get to know my cousin-in-law better, and also got to play with my cutie patootie Filipino-French nephew!

It was so generous of them to let us stay for the night. I love love love their place, if I were to live in a condo for the rest of our lives I'd want something with a similar layout as theirs! Super airy!

Kyot

Our first legit Hainanese Chicken Rice experience

Before we left for our hotel, we ate lunch at a nearby food court. Jeckie and I ordered Hainanese Chicken rice, as is part of our food agenda, and we were blooooown away. It's so good. I didn't think we'd experience this kind of quality at a food court.

Checked in at Holiday Inn Express Singapore Katong

We checked in at the hotel around 3pm. I made a review of Holiday Inn Express Katong here. It's great and really sulit. I'm here saying we kindof splurged on this trip. Overall we spent almost ~₱70k on the six nights we stayed in SG. ₱21k for the flights, ₱25k for the hotel accommodation, the rest is for food, pasalubong, transportation, and amusement fees. No regrets!

Discovered Lau Pa Sat

Inside Lau Pa Sat aka Telok Ayer Market

Our agenda for Sunday is to commute to my exam venue, so I won't get lost tomorrow. After heading there and learning the directions, we explored the place and found Lau Pa Sat, a hawker in the middle of the CBD.

Outdoor seating for Satay feasts

IT WAS AWESOME. Probably my favorite hawker, at least among the ones we visited (Lau Pa Sat, Old Airport Rd, Albert Centre, and Satay by the Bay).

Delicious Indian food

We looked around and found so many food options. Singaporean, Chinese, Thai, Indian, and there's even Adobo Connection and Sisig Society for your Pinoy food cravings. But of course, we had to get Indian food! IT WAS SOOOOO FRKN GOOOOD! Definitely the best Chicken Tikka Masala I've had. The Naan bread was super soft, and the vegetable samosa is very flavorful.

We also discovered Thai Milk Tea, or Ice Teh Susu in Hawker menu. We don't usually drink Milk Tea, but grabe Loooord ano ba to and sarap ng Thai milk tea!!!!

First time to eat Satay. Sobrang havey!

We were curious about Satay so we tried 1 order (10 sticks for $7). The Satay stalls are situated outside the hawker along the street, and they serve chicken, beef, mutton, and prawn meat Satay. I thought it was gonna taste like your usual ihaw ihaw or barbecue pero LOOOOOORD ano nanaman toooo. Kakaiba sya. Ang sarap huhu. The sweet peanut sauce is perfect too. 

Got lost around Marina Bay

After eating we walked (aka got lost) around Marina Bay, effectively circling the entire area lol. No regrets though!

We passed through The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands...

... looked around the Louis Vuitton store, and also caught Spectra - A Light &Water Show. It's a free outdoor night event outside The Shoppes. We only learned about the show when we got lost in the mall. So, buti na lang! :D

I loved the music during the entire show. We got wet a bit so I would suggest to bring an umbrella next time haha. The show was culminated with a spectacular fireworks display.

While waiting at the bus stop we were greeted with another fireworks display! I thought this was pahabol from Spectra but I think it's from a different show? Grabe ang ganda ganda nyaaaaa! We were lucky we went here on a Sunday evening, we didn't think we'd be entertained the whole time! 

Gee, SG ❤

Related:

Singapore Day 1: Holiday Inn, Lau Pa Sat, and Marina Bay

Singapore Day 2: Old Airport Rd. Hawker, Jollibee, and the Gym!

Singapore Day 3: Bugis Junction, Central Perk, Lau Pa Sat again!

Singapore Day 4: Universal Studios

Singapore Day 5: Gardens by the Bay, Satay by the Bay