Singapore Tourist Pass, EZ Link or Standard Ticket? Which One is Better?
To take public transportation in Singapore, you need either cash or card.
Paying by cash is rather inconvenient because you need to give the exact amount, otherwise no change will be given. Majority people use cards, but which card is better?
There are 3 cards that travellers can use in Singapore: Singapore Tourist Pass, EZ Link and Standard Ticket. Each has its own pros and cons, and each is suited for different types of travellers. In this post, I write about the details of each card, followed by situations when a certain card is more favourable than the other. Read More
Year 2018 in Review: A Year of Challenges and Opportunities
I’m always a latecomer to the party, aren’t I? Other people have started their reflections in December, but I still couldn’t make up my mind whether I should write a review post of my life in 2018.
Year 2018 is a real rollercoaster for me. My life went from great, to not so great, to nice, to bad, to amazing, to hell, to fabulous, to nightmare, to great again. I guess that’s how life goes, isn’t it? I almost didn’t want to write this post because I’m afraid if I write about all the hardships that I faced, this blog would turn into a complaint outlet.
At the same time, I want to show that my life is definitely not as picture-perfect as how my blog might portray. I want to paint an honest picture that everybody can relate to. Without further ado, let’s start. Read More
Best Singapore Prepaid SIM Card for Travellers in 2019
Who can live and travel without data SIM card? I CAN’T. SIM card is my second priority when I arrive in a new country, after local currency. Having a local SIM card with data gives me confidence and assurance that I can survive in a new country even if I don’t speak the language. So, I always include tips about buying local SIM card in all of my airport guides.
When my family and friends visit me in Singapore, they’re always asking me to help them buy SIM cards. Choosing the best Singapore SIM card is both easy and hard! Easy because there are only 3 major phone operators in Singapore, namely Singtel, M1 and StarHub. It’s hard because every operator offers so many different SIM cards with different features and validity, it’s so hard to choose what’s the most suitable card for you.
I’ve been there, I’ve had my share of headache when choosing a SIM card. In this post, I’ll do comparison and breakdown of each SIM card, then provide you with my recommendations! Let’s dive in! Read More
How to travel from Singapore to Johor Bahru by Bus (2019)
As someone who stays and works in Singapore, I have to admit that I am constantly looking for short getaways to neighboring countries. The nearest city from Singapore would be Johor Bahru, one of the major cities in Malaysia. You could travel from Singapore to Johor Bahru via public transport or by driving. The travel duration from Singapore to JB depends greatly on traffic condition. And nope, there is no flight between JB and SG. Some people, on rare occasion, do walk across the border. However, please do not walk because it is dangerous as there is no pedestrian footpath and the vehicles don’t give way to pedestrian.
In this post, I will write about how to go from Singapore to Johor Bahru by public bus. Do note if you pay bus fare by cash, please pay with exact money because no change will be given; you will then be given a ticket that you must keep throughout the journey until you reach your destination. If you don’t have exact cash and are taking CW buses, you can go to CW counter to buy the ticket instead of paying on the bus; the counters are usually available at every starting point of the buses’ routes.
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Visiting Phi Phi Island from Phuket Without a Tour
If you have time constraints, take a day tour to visit Phi Phi Island from Phuket. If you love to travel deep, skip the day tour; instead, take the ferry from Phuket to Phi Phi Island and stay at least a night on Phi Phi Don.
My hubby and I decided to stay a night on Phi Phi island on the second night of our Phuket trip because we want to see Phi Phi island up close. Our next step was to look for a ferry from Phuket to Phi Phi Island.
We searched online, and a bunch of websites came up. All of these websites show different ferry schedules from different companies and have links to book the ferry tickets in advance. However, we didn’t dare to book these online because: Read More
Visiting James Bond Island and Phang Nga Bay on a Day Tour from Phuket
“What are the places that you REALLY WANT to visit in Phuket?” I asked my hubby when we were planning for this trip to Phuket.
“James Bond Island and Maya Bay,” he said.
“Okay. Let’s go to James Bond Island on our first day. Then, Phi Phi Island (where Maya Bay is located at) the next day.” Read More
First Time in Patong
We spent so many hours looking for the perfect place to stay at in Phuket. Well, our definition of perfect involves the adjectives cheap and nice. And I think we found a gem.
To be honest, there are too many things I like about Phuket. First, its efficient transport and travel agent. Second, the huge varieties of food. And, the number of affordable hotels. There are literally hundreds of affordable hotels all around Phuket.
Since it was our first visit to Phuket, I wanted to stay at a busy location with plenty of amenities and crowd. I want to be able to walk safely at night along busy roads with countless cheap massage parlours.
It looks like Patong is the area that could fulfil my requirement. So, Patong it is! We booked Lub d Phuket Patong for our first 2 nights because of the many rave reviews. We told ourselves not to have any expectations. After all, it’s only SGD 50.9/night after tax. Read More
Where to See Christmas Decorations in Singapore 2018
‘Tis the season to be jolly!
Ho ho ho! It’s the time of the year when you hear Christmas carols everytime you go out to the shopping malls. It’s the time of the year when your Facebook and Instagram feeds are filled with Christmas trees and Christmas feast! It’s also probably the season you travel.
Speaking of travel, Singapore is a wonderful destination for Christmas. Every year, the country put up so many kinds of themed decorations all over the island, from Boon Lay in the west to Changi in the east, from Punggol in the north to Harbourfront in the south. Christmas is basically everywhere. And the decorations are different every year.
I wouldn’t bore you with a list of every single place to see Christmas light-up in Singapore. Instead, here’s a list of Christmas decorations that you don’t want to miss. Read More
3 Days Phuket Itinerary and Cost
“Let’s go to a place that we both haven’t been to before!”
There’s something magical when you visit a completely new place that your travel partner and you have not been to before. That’s what drives us to decide that Phuket should be our next destination. Well, I have been to Krabi and have done island hopping to Phi Phi islands 7 years ago, but I haven’t been to Phuket! This trip is a good opportunity for me to explore Phuket and re-visit Phi Phi Islands.
Thanks to a travel agent who helped us book our flight tickets, we arrived at Phuket at night (7.20 pm) on our first day and left Phuket early in the morning (9 am). Technically, this is a 5-days-4-nights trip, but we have only 3 full days to explore because our first and last days don’t count. Lesson learned: It’s better to spend a long time talking to a travel agent to find the best flight time than to agree to the suggested flight time because you feel bad about other people lining up behind you.
On a brighter note, we really enjoyed our 3 days in Phuket. We had Thai massage every night. We had a great day island hopping to James Bond and Phang Nga Bay where we got to do some cool things like visiting a cave and canoeing. We stayed a night in Phi Phi Don (I didn’t know it’s even possible). We saw Phi Phi from its highest point. We swam with fish and saw the plankton at night! We had a taste of Phuket Town, where the food is cheaper and the town is quieter. Read More
4D3N Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas: My First Time Cruising!
Why would someone pay money to go to a country by sea and spend 24 hours on the ship one-way, when you can just take a 1-hour flight to get there?
This question bothers me a lot when I was young and naive. Cruise vacation has never crossed my mind in my twenties. The young lady in me wanted to explore, explore, explore, and not sit still in a vehicle for days where there’s no network. But, as you get older, you get wiser, right? So, how did I end up on a Royal Caribbean vessel for 4 days 3 nights? Did I enjoy it? What are the highlights of this cruise? Having been to Penang often, what did I do at the port of call this time?
If you’re a cruise newbie who hasn’t taken a single cruise in your life, or you’re looking for snippets about Voyager of the Seas to justify whether it’s worth your hard-earned money, I will share my experience, written from a clueless newbie perspective. Mind you, I didn’t do a single research prior to the trip (I had long hours at work before the trip) thus I made plenty of mistakes that you should avoid! Read More
