Year End Trip: Day 3 Malaysia Day 4 Strolling in Singapore

Day 3 is for my trip to Johor Bahru, Malaysia.  Johor Bahru is the southernmost part of West Malaysia. It's connected to Singapore via the Woodlands CIQ or the 2nd link in West Singapore.  I usually use the Woodland Bridge because it's nearer to my place.  I live in Northern Singapore :).

How to go to Johor Bahru and Legoland or Johor Premium Outlet
1.) Go to Kranji MRT
2.) Ride a bus.  Bus stops are right outside the exit of the MRT. There are several bus available but I choose to ride the Causeway Link because it's cheaper.  You can pay in SGD 0.80 or in MYR.  I usually pay in SGD because I have many spare coins.  The bus will bring you to JB Sentral.  You will have to go through the immigration twice.  One in Singapore and one in Malaysia.  Immigration lines can take 10-60mins depending on the number of people.  Woodlands to Johor Bahru is just around 10 mins driving.  Thanks to the immigration the whole process will take more than an hour.
3.) Once you're in Malaysia, you can now go to JB Sentral.  It is right before the City Square Mall.
4.) There are many buses there just google causewaylink bus for schedules.  Johor Premium Outlet is okay lah.  Legoland is a paradise for kids :).

Tips: I usually do my weekend grocery shopping in Malaysia because it is cheaper there.  My cousin lives in Johor Bahru so it's really easy for me to transport my groceries from Johor to Singapore because he owns a car.  Chewing Gums are legal in Malaysia so everytime I go to Malaysia I see to it that I have at least a pack of chewing gum.  Lastly, watching a movie in Malaysia is way cheaper than Singapore.  In Singapore, a movie will cost you 10 SGD = 25MYR.  While in Malaysia, movie will cost you 10 MYR.  that's more than half of Singapore's price. :)

Going back, I went to Legoland together with my friend's families.  From JB Sentral to Legoland, the bus ride will be around 45-60 mins I think.

TBH Legoland was okay for me.  I really didn't like the whole theme park because I'm more of a thrill seeker.  I love riding roller coasters with world record haha.  Nevertheless, Legoland can be considered as a paradise for kids.  How I wish my parents brought me to Legoland when I was a kid.  This generation of Malaysian and Singaporean kids are lucky to have Legoland. 

Philippines Lego

Seen above is a lego version of one of the Philippines' city.  This part of Legoland made my visit worth it.  The rides were errrrr.

Day 4 - My boss invited me for lunch today.  As a former intern, I'm really really lucky to have them as my bosses.  I really learned a lot from them.  Work may be stressful but I actually enjoyed all the stress plus all the eating I did when I was an intern before.  My motto before was "I won't be in Singapore forever, might as well eat all I can eat".  Thanks to that saying I gained weight from 165 lbs to 190 lbs.  I didn't regret eating haha.  Anyway, I can lose it immediately.  I was back to 165lbs when I returned to Singapore a month after I left haha.

Above is my boss Kevin. He's a blogger. My other boss is Joanne who is in a vacation in Taiwan.  I wasn't able to see my Singaporean mother because of that.  Anyway, I went back 2 weeks later just to see her.  Kevin brought my to Xin Wang HK Cafe in Holland Village.  It's actually my first time in Holland Village so I really don't know the place.  Just like the old days, my boss Kevin made me eat a lot and I mean a lot.  Thanks for that!  I'll bring more food for you guys when I return.  Hopefully, Sharmain will be with me during my next visit.

After the lunch with Kevin, I decided to stroll in Sentosa just like the old days.  I have nothing to do so I decided to walk along Sentosa.  When entering Sentosa, I don't use the tram.  I usually walk to get in.  It's cheaper to walk than to take the tram.  Walking will only cost you 1 SGD while taking the tram will cost you 3 SGD.  You can use the tram going back to Vivo City whether you walk in or you used the tram.  I did what I usually do when I am bored in Singapore. I just walk around the whole island from the Universal Globe to Siloso Beach.  Sadly, Siloso Beach was closed because of their on going preparation for the new year's countdown.

Next stop would be Chinatown. Chinatown was my home last July 2012 when I visited Singapore for a summit.  It's actually one of my favorite spot.  You can buy cheap souvenirs here.  The other side of Chinatown has the same feel as Divisoria.  This side of Chinatown is better.  Maxwell Food Centre, the home of the best chicken house, is right at the end of this road.  You shouldn't miss it. :)  After eating my favorite Chicken Rice in Chinatown, I decided to go to my next destination.

Marina Bay is the home of the Merlion.  They say that you haven't been to Singapore if you don't have a photo with the Merlion.  If you're going to the Merlion you should alight in Raffles Place MRT and walk to the Merlion.  Marina Bay MRT is too far lah! If you are going to Gardens by the Bay, you should alight in Bayfront.  I chose to alight in Raffles Place then walked around Marina Bay then Gardens by the Bay.

It was a long day for me going from North Singapore to Holland Village to Sentosa to Chinatown to Marina Bay to North Singapore again.

Gah how I wish I'm with someone who's willing to come to Clarke Quay..........

Year End Trip Day 2 Singapore

I stayed in Singapore for more than 6months already so I don't have to be the typical tourist who will go to Marina Bay, Sentosa, Universal and so on.  I'm in Singapore to meet up with some of my friends, help my friends tour Singapore, and do what I usually do when I was living in the little red dot.

The view outside my Singapore Home

I woke up earlier than usual around 8am.  I have no itinerary in mind but I have to meet up with my friend Samantha after lunch.  Since I have nothing to do in Woodlands, I decided to kill some time in Orchard.

Orchard MRT

I usually go to Orchard whenever I miss the Philippines.  Lucky Plaza is located next to Orchard MRT.  You can find the best money changer in Singapore in Lucky Plaza. Trust me I lived there before. One of the money changer in Lucky Plaza has way better rates than the ones in Little India and Chinatown.

After about 3 hrs in Orchard, I went immediately to Marymount where my former office is located. I waited for Samantha and bought some food in my favorite Roti Prata House, Char Siew Roasted Pork Hawker, and Salted Caramel Ice Cream Shop.  There's no one in the office when we visited so I just left all my pasalubongs in their respective tables.  Luckily, Louise was there and chatted with us.  

After Bosch, I decided to go to City Hall MRT to meet up with Sina. She's a German co-intern of mine who I wasn't able t see during the last time I visited last July.  We talked for about one and a half hour then I proceeded to my old home in Sembawang.

Seen above is the usual snack I buy before I go home.  My former home was around 300-500m away from Sembawang MRT.  I walked around Sembawang before I decided to go back to Woodlands.  I walked around Causwaypoint Mall first before going back to our HDB flat.

This ends my 2nd day.

Year End Trip Report. Planning and Day 1: December 25, 2012 Clark & Singapore

It's summer already. I wasn't able to blog about my year end trip last December because of my busy schedule.  It's only now that I found some time to write my thoughts.  I actually have no plans of leaving the country once again before the end of 2012 because of the number of times i've been out of the country that year.  2012 is indeed the peak of my traveling.  Last 2012, I've been to Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and China.  I spent most of the year outside my home country.  Thanks to my 6 months internship in Singapore from January to June.  Despite my 6 months stay in Singapore, I still visited the country in July and December.

Planning of the Trip

It all started when my friend who is studying in the University of Sydney invited me to visit her in Sydney.  Another friend of mine who loves traveling decided to come as well.  I was actually not serious about going to Australia and spend the first day of 2013 there because of the higher cost of travelling.  January is considered a peak month in Australia.  A round trip ticket from Manila to Sydney will cost around 1500 USD.  That's really expensive for someone like me who uses budget airline most of the time. Anyway, thanks to my skills I was able to find way cheaper alternative than a direct flight from Manila to Sydney.  If you want to know how cheap it was, well let's just say my flights from Clark to Singapore to Sydney to Canberra to Sydney to Melbourne to Sydney to Gold Coast to Singapore to Manila were cheaper than a Manila to Sydney direct flight.  In addition, I would like to thank all my host Viroya Family (Singapore), my Friend Poppy (Sydney), Tita Aida Miranda (Melbourne), and my gradeschool classmate Valerie (Gold Coast).

The original plan was to visit Singapore, Malaysia, Sydney, Canberra, and Gold Coast.  Melbourne was a last minute addition.

Day 1: Clark, Philippines & Singapore
Day 2: Singapore - Orchard, Bosch, City Hall, Sembawang and Woodlands
Day 3: Johor Bahru, Malaysia - Legoland Malaysia & City Square Mall
Day 4: Singapore - Lunch with my Boss Kevin (Holland Village), Sentosa, Chinatown, Merlion Park, Gardens by the Bay
Day 5: Singapore - Meet Up with my blockmate (Marina Bay Cruise Centre), Somerset, Scape Flea Market, Meet Up with our Google Facilitator (Lau Pa Sat), Funan Digital Life Mall
Day 6:  Singapore - Bugis, La Salle College of Art, Little India, Vivo City, Orchard Road, Changi Airport
Day 7: Sydney, Australia - Circular Quay, New Year's Celebration
Day 8: Sydney, Australia - Opera House, Darling Harbour, St. Mary's Cathedral
Day 9: Sydney, Australia - Cogee Beach, Bondi Beach, and Les Miserables Movie
Day 10: Sydney, Australia - University of Sydney, Madamme Tussauds, SEA Wild Life Zoo
Day 11: Sydney, Australia - Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney Aquatic Centre, and Sydney Eye Tower
Day 12: Canberra, Australia - Australian Capital Tour, AIS
Day 13: Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver, Lygon St. St. Kilda Beach,  Flinder St.  Queen Victoria Market,  Roxburgh Park.
Day 14: Melbourne, Australia - Werribee Zoo, Werribee Mansion, Lygon St., Crown Casino
Day 15: Blue Mountains, Australia- Blue Mountains National Park, Katoomba, Three Sisters, and Blacktown
Day 16: Brisbane, Australia - Brisbane City Centre, South Bank, Kangaroo Point
Day 17: Gold Coast, Australia - MovieWorld, Surfer's Paradise
Day 18: New South Wales & Queensland - Byron Bay, Glow Worms Cave, Point Danger
Day 19: Gold Coast, Australia - Wet N Wild, SEA World Gold Coast, Kenzo's Birthday Party
Day 20:  Gold Coast, Australia - Dreamworld, Surfer's Paradise, Despedida
Day 21: Singapore - Junction8, Robert Bosch SEA Pte Ltd., and Two Chef Eating house
Day 22: I'm back to Manila!

Day 1 Dec. 25

My Dad dropped me in Megamall because the bus going to Clark Airport stops there.  I arrived in DMIA 3hrs before my flight to Singapore.  Clark Airport is not bad.  The second floor exceeded my expectation.  It's really awesome and new.  Everything's new.

Air Philippines on the otherhand is way better than Cebu Pacific and Air Asia in my opinion.  The leg room was more than enough.  They also give free drinks and snacks.

The flight arrived on time around 11pm.  I rushed to the immigration and got my luggage.  I immediately ran to the bus stop in Changi because I cannot afford to take a cab to Woodlands which is way up in Singapore.  A bus will only cost me 1.5 SGD while a cap will cost 30x the bus cost.  I'm very familiar with Singapore so I don't have a problem navigating.  I know where to alight and what to do.

I arrived around 12:30 am in Woodlands.  I'm glad my former landlady is still awake to open the door for me.  I settled down and slept immediately getting ready for my 2nd day.