Letter to Papa
11 May 2019
Pa, it has been almost 4 weeks since you’ve been gone. I’m now back to the daily grind in Singapore, the city where I’ve been living in for the past 14 years. 14 years, that’s how long I’ve been away from you. I didn’t ask you how you felt about me leaving our country to pursue better opportunity overseas. I hope you felt proud. Read More
How to Travel from Changi Airport to City
One of the most important questions that independent travelers like us need to answer before arriving in our destination is: How to get from airport to city?
Through this article, I hope to give you an overview of all the possible methods and estimated prices to get from Changi Airport to the city. Let’s cut the introduction short and go directly to the answers! Read More
All You Need to Know About Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) in Medan, Indonesia
If you’re searching for information about Kualanamu, my best bet is you’re already planning to visit Medan. So, I just want to tell you this: welcome to my hometown!
Here’s a little bit of introduction and history about Medan’s Airport. Before 2013, Medan’s old airport, Polonia, was located right at the heart of Medan. However, the old airport was too small to serve 7.5 million passengers annually (it was designed to handle 900k passengers only), hence the new airport.
Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) was opened in 2013 and it’s located about 24km or 37km from Medan, depending on whether you take the toll or normal road. The normal road is about 24km but the road is narrow and traffic jam is common. In this post, I’m going to write about facilities of the airport as well as travel tips from the perspective of someone who calls Medan her hometown. Read More
Wellness by Plaza Premium Lounge at KLIA2 International Departure
I searched Priority Pass website to see which lounges in KLIA2 accept the pass. The search gave me 4 results: all 4 of them are Plaza Premium Lounge in KLIA2. Wait, is there an error in the website? How is it possible that there are 4 Plaza Premium Lounges in KLIA2 alone?
It was 2.30am in the morning when we arrived at KLIA2. We had just alighted from the bus which we took from Johor Bahru Larkin Terminal. I had a solid 4-hour of sleep on the bus (which is not enough to be considered a good night’s sleep). Earlier, I had estimated that we’d arrive at KLIA around 4.30 to 5.30, but it turned out that the traffic was extremely smooth and the bus didn’t have many passengers to pick up. So, we arrived much earlier than we thought we would.
Our flight from KLIA2 to my hometown, Medan, was scheduled at 8.40am. There were 6 hours to kill at this airport, what do we do now? That’s when I decided to search online for lounges that accept Priority Pass. That’s when I got overwhelmed when PP’s website showed me there are 4 Plaza Premium Lounges in KLIA2. After patiently and meticulously reading each description, finally I saw the light. Read More
Getting Around Singapore – An Ultimate Guide
The transportation system in Singapore is one of the best in Southeast Asia in my opinion.
Why is it so? Firstly, it’s extensive. Almost all parts of Singapore can be accessed by public transportation. Secondly, it can be easily understood. The rules, routes, fares, schedules are set in stone, so you don’t need to worry about being scammed MOST of the time (I’m going to mention about situations where you could be ripped off in the Taxi section, though).
This article will show you EVERYTHING you need to know about how to travel with the various transportation modes in Singapore, including my personal tips.
A Guide to Zipping and Jumping at Mega Adventure Park Sentosa, Singapore
So, you’ve had enough of boring activities like swimming on Sentosa’s beach? Enter Mega Adventure Park.
Travelling should awake all your senses, pump your adrenaline and give you a memorable experience to remember for a long time, shouldn’t it? If you have the same view about travelling as me, then push all of your “Sentosa-must-do-things” to the bottom of your list and head to Mega Adventure Park first thing when you arrive at Sentosa.
As a long-time (over a decade) resident of Singapore, MegaZip has been on my radar for so many years. I felt a rush of adrenaline every time I saw people zipping past above me at Siloso Beach. I yearned to try it but the little voice in my head reminded me about that time I took 30 mins to calm myself before sliding down a terribly high water slide at Bali’s Waterboom.
After years of grueling arguments between my heart and my brain, the former eventually won. I took the brave steps to Sentosa last month to prove if my heart made the right decision. Read More
My Pursuit of Amex SIA KrisFlyer’s Welcome Bonus
Okay, so, I’m really late to the miles game.
I have no one to blame but me, honestly. 10 years ago, when I first got my credit card, I googled about travel hacking for Asia. After a few minutes of clicking next, I called it a day. “There’s no such thing as travel hacking in Asia,” I sighed. In the following years, I didn’t bother to search for that topic anymore because it simply doesn’t exist. Or so I thought.
Fast forward, these days there are tons of information on the internet about travel hacking in Singapore. I’ve been reading and learning about the miles game from Lionel and Aaron. My main strategy up to last year was to use Citibank PremierMiles Visa for all of my expenses and accumulate never-expire miles over the years.
In October 2018, I stumbled upon American Express SIA KrisFlyer promotion booth at one of the shopping malls in Singapore. The first thing they mentioned about the cards were the sign-up bonuses. “There aren’t many cards that offer miles as sign-up bonus in Singapore, that I can qualify for,” I told myself (months later, I found out I was wrong, but that’s another story).
I was intrigued. Then, I was obsessed. Then, I signed up.
From then, life was a rollercoaster, filled with curiosity, anxiety, hopelessness, joy, creativity and doing things I’d never had done otherwise.
Here’s my pursuit of American Express SIA KrisFlyer’s sign-up bonuses a.k.a how I earn these sign-up bonuses when Amex is not accepted by a lot of merchants in Singapore, and when I’m not a big spender.
8 Awesome Places in Singapore You Can Visit for Free (and You Should!)
I think it’s safe to say that Singapore is the most expensive country to live in Southeast Asia.
In general, the Southeast Asia region is pretty cheap compared to other regions, such as North Asia (where Japan and Korea are located at). Budget travellers are mostly attracted to Thailand because of its low living cost. Many would skip Singapore in a heartbeat.
As someone who have lived in the tiny red dot for over a decade, let me tell you the truth that you deserve to know: It is possible to travel Singapore on a budget. To convince you, I’ve come up with a list of 8 awesome places you SHOULD and COULD visit for free.
Should, because these places are so gorgeous you’ll thank God that you have made the right decision to come. Could, because the transportation system in the country is so extensive, it’ll cost you not more than $3 transport fare from wherever you are to these places.
Read More
24 Hours Itinerary in Phi Phi Islands
Is 24 hours in Koh Phi Phi enough? How big are Phi Phi Islands?
The answer to the first question: absolutely not, but it’s completely doable. By now, you could probably answer the second question, they’re big enough that one day is barely enough.
But, if you really really only have a day, like me and my hubby when we visited Phuket a couple months ago, here’s how we make the best of our 24 hours stay in Koh Phi Phi. Read More
Half-Day Snorkeling in Phi Phi Island
We had made the decision to visit Phi Phi Island without a tour because we wanted to spend a night at Phi Phi Island, and we succeeded. We even had the opportunity for sightseeing around Phi Phi Le with the cruise that we took to come to Phi Phi Island.
But here’s our next problem: we want to go snorkelling in Phi Phi Island but we only have half a day. Is it possible given that we arrive at the island about 11.30 am? How to snorkel with only half a day? How can we do it cheaply?
It was indeed a stressful situation that started the minute we landed on Phi Phi Don island. We figured, we had to quickly check-in our hotel and then run around, from one travel agent to another, to learn if there’s any snorkelling tour that still has slots on that day, and if we could make it. Read More
