The most common question I received during my visit to the Philippines was: What do you usually do on weekends in Singapore? The answer is this. I take my camera out for a walk and I stalk people.
If you check my geo-tags history, it's pretty evident where I've been hanging out the most during weekends. I'm often in Little India because there's always something happening at every corner. It's also a good change in scenery and perspective from the weekday work bustle.
Click here to view the entire photoset on Flickr.
It's like a fuzzy dream. Not more than ten days ago, I was still in an isolated island in Palawan, having problems getting urgent requirements sent over the internet. (Read: 3G in the province sucks big time!) I almost thought it won't happen as I kept on facing a LOT of obstacles along the way, every single day. I won't bore you with every detail but I can tell you that it's been a long while since I prayed as much as I have during the past two weeks.
So, here I am now. I think most people still don't know where, or even the fact that I already left Palawan/Manila. Only a handful knew I was leaving, and because it was so all of a sudden too. To give you an idea of how sudden, I was still at Mckinley Hill until 5:30PM last Monday, running around getting my clearance signed because I just got back from Palawan and there was no other day left to do it. My flight was at 9:10PM.
Fast forward to the past week that just happened, here are photos from my phone all filtered using VSCO's T1.
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| Why is my polaroid not on that wall yet until now, Gap Year Hostel?? |
The place I found in the internet wasn't gonna be available until the weekend and I was going to arrive in Singapore at the wee hours so I booked accommodations at the only hostel I stay at whenever I travel to Singapore, the Gap Year Hostel.
I slept for a while until I got a call from my employer. I needed to show up in the office as soon as possible. This is when I actually debated if I should take a bath or hurriedly go to the office in whatever I was wearing. I didn't want to show up on my first day of work un-bathed so I showered in record time.
Around 4PM, my employer asked if I already had lunch. And that's only when I remembered the last time I ate was 5PM the day before when I half-ate the chicken McDo meal my friend, Len, gave me when I was having my clearance signed. "Lau Pa Sat is waiting for you, then!", said my employer.
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| It's a tradition: Chicken rice is ALWAYS the first and last meal |
Then, Santy reached out to me and asked me if I wanted a welcome dinner, to which I wholeheartedly said "Yes!"to.
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| Santy's Ma-Yey Treat. Thanks a lot, bud! Wine night soon! |
The next day, I had to start going to the client office. It was far from my hostel and I wanted to get there early so (first mistake) I took the taxi and (second mistake) it happened to be one of those luxury taxis. I can't even disclose here how much I spent on it. It is now filed under: stupidity expenses.
In the client office, there's a canteen that sells really inexpensive meals. This is also where I started having two or more viands for every meal. HOW CAN I NOT, WALKING AROUND MADE ME HUNGRY.
Now that I think about it, this is the longest I have gone without Jollibee, or any fast food for that matter. Jollibee was right outside my place in Taguig which is why instead of real food, I prefer just swinging by to grab burger steak. And when I was really hungry, I'd get Chickenjoy, too. This week, it has all been hawker and restaurant food c/o Santy.
One night while riding the bus, I was so busy chatting with my best friends on my phone that I actually missed my bus stop by 3 stops. I was so turned around that I kept going back and forth this part of town. Imagine me carrying a laptop bag with two laptops on one shoulder, and a heavy handbag on another, and all I could see was this football field. What a nightmare!
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| WHY AM I HERE??? |
I don't ever want to take a taxi again, unless it's an emergency. And because, I had an emergency (real emergency, as in I-can-get-deported-if-I-can't-get-it-together emergency. Uh-huh, it's always an intense and a colorful life for me!) Thankfully, there's a good alternative to taxis, the GrabCar. I went on an booked one. Tip: You can use promo code: GCGSS until the end of July for 3 rides with SGD 5 discount per ride.
Seeing my teammate's business trip posts made me miss Singapore and my trip, which I dubbed to be the best vacation I have had yet. This also made me realize that I still haven't posted about one of the most frequently asked questions about this trip-- Where did you stay in Singapore for 10 days?
You can view the cheapest rates of Gap Year Hostel here.
Being the good document-er that I was (and of course, I'm kidding), I was only able to take one photo of the common area. Using this photo as the reference, at its right will be the two computers that can be used by guests. Beside the computer desk is the big circle rattan couch, where it's so easy to doze off. In front of the couch is the reception area that's the first thing you will see when you enter the hostel.
Going back to the photo for reference, in front of this is where you will find the DIY breakfast set. It's not much of a breakfast, but it's pretty much the usual thing you'd get in Singapore hostels. I'm talking about coffee, bread, peanut butter and jam. There is also a fridge where they sell bottled water, canned juices and canned beers. I compared with convenience store prices and the hostel's was actually cheaper. At the left side of this picture is a bookshelf filled with an assortment of books, from travel guides to novels. I read on a review somewhere that some of these books were actually left or given by guests. Beside the bookshelf is a sofa set where the guests can do their socializing.
Since I know it might be hard to picture out everything I said, here's my best effort to show you the layout via MS Paint!
Rates
I stayed in a relatively low cost hostel, which is apparently situated in an area filled with other hostels. The Gap Year Hostel became my top choice mainly because of the price offered for what seemed to be a decent and clean hostel through pictures. Mostly, I paid 17 SGD/night and 19 SGD on some days (weekends). I've learned that it is cheaper to book your stay via Hostelworld rather than Agoda and other hotel booking sites. Heck, even the walk-in rates are more expensive! If I recall correctly, I think it's 22 SGD per night and 26 SGD for weekends.
I only booked four nights in advance and in order to book the rest of my stay, I had to book it online instead of just paying over the counter. The receptionist said there wasn't anything they can do about the price.
You can view the cheapest rates of Gap Year Hostel here.
Common Area
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| The Polaroid Tree made up of photos of Gap Year Hostel's customers. |
Going back to the photo for reference, in front of this is where you will find the DIY breakfast set. It's not much of a breakfast, but it's pretty much the usual thing you'd get in Singapore hostels. I'm talking about coffee, bread, peanut butter and jam. There is also a fridge where they sell bottled water, canned juices and canned beers. I compared with convenience store prices and the hostel's was actually cheaper. At the left side of this picture is a bookshelf filled with an assortment of books, from travel guides to novels. I read on a review somewhere that some of these books were actually left or given by guests. Beside the bookshelf is a sofa set where the guests can do their socializing.
Since I know it might be hard to picture out everything I said, here's my best effort to show you the layout via MS Paint!
(Dormitory room photos after the jump)
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| Candice Swanepoel peg, albeit not as sexy. Just you wait 'til Laboracay! |
I was able to wake up at 7AM but I had to move slow to accommodate my feet to the best comfort I can give it. I went out of the hostel around 11AM. It was raining. Good thing Singapore rains only last about an hour, then it stops. We had a theory that it may be cloud seeding. Haha I don't know if it holds true.
Anyway, I didn't want to walk half a kilometer to reach the nearest train station. Then I happily found out that there is a mere 10-second walk bus stop right outside. It costs a lot less too! I have taken Bus 145 every time since then.
We met at VivoCity to buy food and liquor and to catch the monorail to Siloso Beach. According to another friend, we should have gone to Tanjong beach (for the cute guys!!) but we were so relaxed and we didn't wanna walk any further.
We finished the bottle of martini but we didn't really get drunk nor got a buzz out of it. IDK. Beach Day was still very relaxing. And I am a beach person, so that's a plus.
Universal Studios Singapore and Stalking People-Watching
This is not a backpacking trip. So unlike our hostel-mates, for our second day in Singapore, naturally we went to USS. Uhm uhmm. I don't really know how to write about this day because we did what normal people do in theme parks--queue for the rides all day and enjoy.
Oh, we shared the Transformers ride with Isabel Oli and her family. She's so pretty in person! Sorry, no pics.
We also watched some shows.
We loved the Rockafellas. As people who could dance a bit, we liked the fact that dancers were able to get that much pull with people (not too many people gathered around for the singing trio act).
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| I should probably invest in a wide angle lens. These cropped shots do not look cute anymore. :( |
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| Medyo nabigla kami na naging wild bigla yung ride. Well, not really THAT wild. Haha. |
We also watched some shows.
We loved the Rockafellas. As people who could dance a bit, we liked the fact that dancers were able to get that much pull with people (not too many people gathered around for the singing trio act).
Also, the fairy godmother from the Shrek area was such a bitch. She practically shoved us away. ("DO NOT TOUCH ME! NO TOUCHING! STAY IN FRONT!") Was she just being in character?? And for the record, we weren't even touching her.We planned on sending USS management a complaint letter. Note to self: Send that letter. Get that girl fired!
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| Bitch, please! |
Spending Christmas or the December holidays away from my family has not been a strange thing for me. This is already the sixth year I've been away from home for the holidays but this is the first time that I have been the farthest. This is the first time I'm celebrating Christmas and New Year festivities in another country.
Manila--After celebrating Noche Buena in Cainta with some of my most awesome friends from high school, I dashed my way back to the condo at 3AM to get my baggage and headed to NAIA Terminal 1, which beeteedubz still does not look like an airport you'd want our foreign visitors to come through, but the restrooms look nicer than before.
We arrived at Singapore near noon but only got to leave the airport past 1PM because *drumroll* we wanted to exchange our money but we didn't ask around for directions/too oblivious from the signage. We trusted our instincts and it led us into having a tour of the Changi Airport terminals. Who gets lost while looking for money changers!! Haha the only consolation is that at least we got to see this:
Then, we finally checked in to our hostels, yes hostels with an 's' because we booked separate hostels for the prime reason that I didn't want to spend more cash for a bed I'll only sleep on at night. Most of the time, admittedly, I'm a cheapskate. Because hey, the price difference WILL add up especially in a trip like ours that has 10 days in it.
