It’s been years since the last time I visited Singapore. My first visit was my first foray into travelling outside the country and that experience has made an impact in my life. My first trip outside the country was memorable and exciting. It was my first time to travel all by myself and there are mixed feelings about it: happy (because I get to tick off one of my bucket list), excited (because it was my first tour outside the Philippines) and determined (because I wanted to prove that I can do it on my own). The trip was one of my proudest moment because I was able to experience and travel Singapore while I was still single and spent my hard-earned salary for the trip I’ve been coveting ever since I’ve graduated from college. My first trip abroad made me realized and learned a lot of things about life outside the Philippines and about myself.
For the longest time, hubby and I were planning to take a break outside the country. It was one of my goals this year to have at least spend some time off and take our first out of the country tour with our son. I also noted in my journal to spend special dates in abroad. Little did I know that all along, hubby was planning to buy our plane tickets and he chose Singapore. He knew I didn’t mind going back since there are still lots of new places of interest to check out and based on my never ending stories, I wanted to show them the beauty of Singapore. Plus, four years ago we planned to visit Singapore prior to having our son but the trip did not pushed through because I was on my way to give birth to our son so we cancelled the trip. Hubby chose the date to celebrate our son’s birthday and our anniversary (since he gave me the tickets after a week of our anniversary). When he paid the tickets for our trip, he asked me if I can plan for our itinerary, budget and accommodation when we fly to Singapore. I must admit the thought of going back again excites me since it was our first family trip outside the country. I was praying that our trip will be safe and hassle free(which our good Lord granted).I am thankful that prior to our trip that we have family and friends who prayed with us for our safe trip.
Months prior to our trip we were reading and researching places to visit and where to stay. I’ve been keeping in touch with my cousin and friends in Singapore if they could suggest new places to visit and affordable accommodation in Singapore. Before booking any tickets to attractions we wanted to see, I ensure that we choose an accommodation first. In addition, hubby and I challenged ourselves to save up more than the usual so that we would be able to tour and shop if we wanted a remembrance or any stuff that we can buy in Singapore. After securing our accommodation, we planned for our itinerary and we categorized it so that it would be easier for us to group and break down the places of what we wanted to see. Here is our planned itinerary:
First Day: City Tour
- Head up first to our accommodation
- Rest a little before heading up on our first order of the tour
- Secure our MRT/Bus passes
- Go to Marina Bay Sands / Gardens by the Bay / Esplanade / Helix Bridge
Second Day: Theme Park Tour
- Spend the whole day at Universal Studios Singapore / Walk in Sentosa Boardwalk / Stroll at Vivo City
- Meet my cousin at Vivo City for dinner and catch up
Third Day: Appreciating Arts and Culture / Museum Hopping
- Visit Singapore Arts Museum
- Visit National Museum of Singapore
- Visit Peranakan Museum
- Meet with my long-time friend and kababata for dinner and catch up
Fourth Day: Nature Trip
- Spend the whole day in Singapore Zoo
- Meet up with our church’s discipleship group mates /lead and dinner
Fifth Day: Shopping (my favorite part)
- Go to Chinatown, Orchard
- Visit IKEA store in Alexandra
- Drop by to our church discipleship group mates / lead in their flat in Bukit Gombak
In addition, I also listed down some of the activities we wanted to try while in Singapore:
- Food trip in famous hawker centers around Singapore
- Try the MRT and bus like a local
- Try living with a local in Singapore
- Shop at good stores
- Meet up with our friends who are based in Singapore
- Enjoy the scenery and appreciate the beauty of Singapore
- Ensure that our son had a blast on his first out of the country trip
- Try the one dollar ice cream
- Explore Changi Airport
Above is just the summary of our planned itinerary for Singapore. Detailed activities and our experiences will be featured in this blog for days to come.
Happy reading!
Ow, and below is just some of the teasers / snapshots of our Singapore Trip!
Sweet Mommy in High Heels 