[Travel Diary] Singapore Christmas Trip - A (not so) Romantic Date
I
feel bored having to spend Christmas in Jakarta.
Considering the budget and time availability, I decided to go to Singapore to
feel the Christmas atmosphere there!
I
knew that 3 days were too short, that is why I packed all of the activities.
Thus my schedule was kinda busy. So if any of you want to spend 3 days in Singapore
without missing a thing, here’s the things!
What
you will see in this article:
- My travel diary :p
- Tips for buying ticket including the prices.
- Tips for itinerary.
- Transportation information.
- Information about foods including the prices.
- Some useful travel tips.
Day
1
Universal
Studio Singapore
Romantic
Dinner At Caffe B Marina Bay Sands
Sands
Casino
Day
2
Jurong Bird
Park
Singapore Zoo
River
Safari Singapore
Night
Safari
Culinary:
Lau Pa
Sat Satay
Day
3
Culinary:
Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle
Shopping
at Orchard
Culinary:
Orchard Street
Ice Cream
Culinary:
Salted Egg Chicken Rice
Preparation
To
save time I decided to use one backpack only. Here are the list of items I
brought to Singapore
for 3 days trip. This list is suitable for you girls who want to travel in
compact but still want to look pretty.
- 6 pair of clothes (2 pair for spare only)
- 6 undies, 4 bras
- Curling iron
- 2 hair oils (for after showering)]
- 1 set of travel make up (for Travel Make-Up click here)
- 1 pair of shoes
- 1 pair of sunglass
- Camera
- Compact umbrella
- Basic medicine
- Convertible bag
And
that’s all! Note to be taken, brought lightweight clothes only and wear
waterproof shoes! I wore shoes from Grendha, a shoe brand for beach use. This
shoes is my favourite because it is made of soft rubber, water resistant
(remember, Singapore
in December is rainy season), really comfortable to wear, and can be wore
either for semi-formal or casual occasion.
I
use black leather convertible bag that can be changed from backpack to
beautiful bag. I wore it as a backpack when I went to places that has lots of
activities such as Universal Studio Singapore, and wore it as sling bag
when I went for Christmas eve dinner. Now you can say goodbye to packed
baggage! (You can buy it at ZARA)
Day
1
My
plan for Day 1 was to go to the Universal Studio Singapore (USS). I was taking
the early morning flight, at 6.15 A.M. and arrived at 9 A.M. Singapore time.
After I arrived I went to the hotel to put my baggage. The usual check in time
for hotel is at 2 P.M. So for you guys who want to arrive in the early morning
like me you can just put your baggage at the hotel (they usually have special
storage for baggage). My hotel is located at Dhoby Ghaut.You may love staying in
Dhoby Ghaut area because the access is wonderful.
After
the arrival I took MRT from Changi Airport MRT Station to Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station.
MRT is basically an underground fast train. You can buy ticket for each trip,
buy EZ-Link Card, or buy Tourist
Pass.
Tourist pass’ pricexxxx
Compared to tourist pass, It is
cheaper to buy E. You can count yoiur fare using this MRT app here or here via
apple. This app is my favpourite because it can be used offline and lightweight
(around 7 MB).
After
I dropped my baggage, I went to MRT station to go to the USS. You can access
USS Singapore via MRT
Harbour City
station, Vivo city mall 3rd floor. You will then have to take
monorail to the waterfront station. At arrival there is ticket booth to buy USS
ticket. If you buy ticket online, the price will be cheaper, or if you are
Indonesian citizen, buy your ticket at tiket.com because it cost WAY cheaper.
To
buy your ticket at tiket.com, you have to exchange your e-ticket at their
office, it is located at Setiabudi Jakarta. Or you can exchange it at Singapore. But
if you want to go to the USS at your fisrt arrival date, I recommended you to exchange
your ticket in Indonesia,
because tiket.com ticket booth at Singapore only open at 10 A.M. to 12
P.M.
USS
Singapore at Christmas is beautiful. There are Christmas decorations
everywhere, especially at night. The opening time is extended to 10:30 P.M.
There is fireworks, and Santa Village (truthfully the Santa Village is not that
great tho ^^).
The
USS at Christmas day is totally packed with visitors. When we wanted to go home
we had to queue for almost an hour just to get into the monorail heading to
vivo city. I don’t recommend family with small children to go to the USS at the
end of the year.
AND
after the trip to USS don’t forget to buy Garret popcorn, the majestic and
super tasty popcorn (I’m a sucker fot Garret). It cost you 5$ to buy the small
bag, and trust me it worth the price!!
After
USS, I went back to hotel to prepare for the Christmas Eve dinner at Caffe B.
Caffe B is an ‘Italian fine dining mix with Japanese twist’ restaurant located
at The Shoppes Marina Bay Sands Singapore. I made a
reservation to make sure I got the table (usually at Christmas Eve or Christmas
Day the restaurant is almost fully booked). They have a special menu for
Christmas but you are allowed to order ala carte. I choose this place because
it is close to the Casino, has a nice architecture, and not as expensicve as La
Brasserie. So for you girls who want to take a commerative beautiful and elegant
dinner photo with your boyfriend, you may consider Caffe B.
I
ordered Mushroom Soup, Japanese “Bolognese” (Pappardelle with Kobe Wagyu
“Bolognese” with red wine), Kobe Wagyu Cordon Bleu (Breaded “Kobe” Wagyu mixed with mozzarella served
with sautéed baby spinach and porcini mushroom topped with crispy parma ham),
and Italian Tiramisu Caffé B
Style for dessert.The
Cordon Bleu tastes great, it is my favourite from all of the dishes. The Mushroom
Soup gives a wonderful aroma, the Bolognese tastes good, and the Tiramisu is OK
(the tiramisu tastes kinda bitter).
After
dinner I went to Sands Casino. Sands Casino gives free entry for foreigner, you
just have to show them your passport. My first impression at this Casino is
that this place is different from casinos on movies. Most of the people here
doesn’t dressed up, some people only wear sandals and ordinary shirts. Because
I’m a newbie I tried to play baccarat, the easiest game at casino. There are
several minimum bets, ranging from SGD 25 onwards, I tried to play with SGD 25
bets. I bought 3 chips which prices SGD 75 in total and after severals bets I won
SGD 125$.
Day
2
I
bought ParkHopper Plus ticket, which includes 4-park admission (Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Zoo, River Safari, and
Night Safari), all tram rides, boat rides and the carousel ride. It is cheaper
than retail, and you will get discount if your buy it online.You can buy the
ticket here at SGD 79 per ticket.
My
itinerary was Jurong Bird Park –
Singapore Zoo – Singapore
River – Night Safari. Singapore
Zoo, River Safari, and Night Safari located next to each other thus it is wise
to go to the Jurong Bird Park first then followed by the rest. I choosed to go
to Singapore Zoo first because Singapore Zoo close earlier than River Safari.
Singapore Zoo close at 6 P.M. and River Safari close at 7 P.M.
MRT
To go to the Jurong
At Singapore zoo there is lots of cute
things to see, you can see here
At river safari, what strikes me
the most is the pandas
Another
note to take, because the River
Safari park close at 7 P.M.
it is wise to buy the 7.15 P.M. Night Safari. The time displayed at your ticket
isn’t the tram’s time. It is the time when you are allowed to enter the park
(whether it is the tram or the walking trails). At first I thought it was the
time for the tram admission, and I ended up waiting hours to enter the park.
And do remember the line at Night Safari at Christmas Day is terrific. At 8 P.M.
I already ququed to enter the park, but I get in at 8.45 P.M. just because the queue
line is horrible. Even the Creature of The Night Show is full so I didn’t get
the chance to see the show.
I
got home at 11 P.M, taking MRT to go to Lau
Pa Sat to hunt for satay. Lau Pa
Sat is located near Raffles Place MRT station. It is one of the most popular
food market in Singapore.
The stalls at Lau Pa Sat at my time of arrival are mostly
close but severals are open. I ordered 10 sticks of satay for SGD 14 and it was
delish (it is my favourite satay in Singapore!).
Day
3
Because
it is the last day I went for a leisure walk. I went to the Michelin-Starred
Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle. “Michelin
Star" is a hallmark of fine dining quality and restaurants around the
world. Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle is the first cheap street
food stall in Singapore
granted the star. They have two stall which both are located at Chinatown and you can either visit the stall located at Smith Street or at
the original one which is located at the Chinatown Food Complex.The nearest
station is China Town MRT Station. I visit the store at Smith Street because it provides Air
Conditioner therefore it is more comfortable.
We
have to queued for almost 45 moinutes to order because the line is packed. (ps:
one of the waiter there is Indonesian and after few talks he became really
friendly).
I
ordered Soya Sauce Chicken Rice, Soya Sauce Chicken Noodle, Char Siu, and vegetable.
All tasted great! But the best one would be the noodle and the Char Siu. It has
a rich flavour and smell.
For
dessert I went to orchard road, looking for street Ice Cream. You can’t miss
eating Orchard Road’s
street ice cream when you go to Singapore,
it tastes great and cheap (only SGD 1.2 each wow)!
After
a few stroll and shop around the road, I went to the Far East Plaza
looking for Salted Egg Chicken Rice. Salted Egg Chicken Rice is one of the food
you have to try because of its tastiness level ^^ The restaurant stall is
located at the top floor of the building.
I
went back to the airport at 5 P.M. because my return flight is at 8.30 P.M.
Overall
my trip in Singapore
is lovely and fun and I can’t wait for my next trip!
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