Singapore on a Budget: Day 1

They say age is just a number, but who are they fooling? Turning 45 last January 24th, I'm finally feeling the pressure of not admitting my age to anyone who asks. It seems like good ol' Time is catching up on me, at least in my mind.


Anyway, maybe the Hubby had already anticipated this midlife crisis drama six months ago, so he thought of the most thoughtful birthday gift to ease this pain --waddayaknnow, it was a trip to Singapore for the two of us! He was able to book us in Cebu Pacific at a promo fare worth Php1,888 for a one-way trip. So our fare only cost us around Php8,000 total. A long time ago, one couldn't go on a trip abroad with this amount of money, but thanks to fair competition (and according to my father, Mr. Gokongwei's dream), it has now become affordable to Filipinos. But there are repercussions on riding on a budget though. More on that later.


Looking back at the number of trips we have had, I realized it was only now that we were able to travel without the Kiddos. Not that I was complaining before. Last year when he told me to go to Singapore just the two of us, I told him it would be more fun with the kids around, especially when our itinerary was Universal Studios and the Night Safari. Now that they have been there, and done that, we decided to have this much needed break alone (woot! woot!). And what a trip it turned out to be--surreal, dreamy, and yes, exhausting too.


Okay I take it back. My 45th was the best birthday weekend ever. I almost forgot I'm already ancient. Almost. Thanks, Dada!


Now, for my Singapore Journal...


January 21: Bacolod-Cebu


I took the first Cebu Pacific flight to Cebu. Then we went straight to Ayala to have a look around (what, I still need to say hi to my BFF shops there!). I had lunch at CYMA with the Hubby and the Daughter. Note: If it's your birthday month, go eat at CYMA. I was treated with a free dish of my choice (I got Chicken Couscous or inasal to us Pinoys), plus a surprise scoop of ice cream with a candle on top, served by three waiters singing "Happy birthday to you!" Sweeeet! My birthday celebration has already started.

Can't believe this was for FREE!


Our flight was at 7:55 p.m., so  I still had time to freshen up for the three-hour plane ride ahead of us.

Off to Mactan Cebu International Airport

My adorable scarf. Parang kumot lang!

Two weeks before this, I asked Issa to buy me a scarf for the trip. She bought me the most perfect travel scarf-- it has animal prints and it's about 10 meters long (haha! exagg). At first I thought I would be engulfed by it, but when I got into the plane, the scarf magically converted into a warm blanket for me. So I was able to snuggle under it and sleep in peace during the flight.




So let me tell you now why you should have second thoughts to book yourself in a Cebu Pacific flight. It's because the airport assigned to it is the Budget Terminal and not the main Changi Airport. For some passengers who don't care about airports (Is that why our own airport is old and unkempt?), it might not be a big deal to land at the Budget Terminal. But I've seen and fallen in love with the main Changi and my heart was aching to go back there again. Unfortunately, booked with Cebu Pacific, we couldn't go inside the waiting lounge of Changi. Sigh! 


Anyway, when we arrived at the Budget Terminal at around 11:30 p.m., we still had to walk for a good 5 minutes or so from the dock to the Immigration (no travellator, people!). The arrival area of the airport, though immaculately clean, looked like a warehouse. (Sad, sad face!)

Welcome to immaculate Singapore!
(Yes, Ben, this is the way to pack a light bag!)

We were already very tired so the Hubby decided to rent a car service going to the hotel. (There was supposed to be a free shuttle bus from the Budget Airport to the Main Changi, but the schedule was only up to 10:00 p.m.) Our driver, Mr. Victor, was gracious and polite, and engaged us in small talk about politics and economics. Imagine your driver having a clipped English accent and talking about sensible things! Ilurvett! (Car rental: SD45=Php1,575)

I could even see him smiling, even when I was only seeing the back of his head.

 After only about fifteen minutes, we arrived at the Swissotel, The Stamford. This was actually not our first choice. We were booked at the Grand Park Orchard way back in November, but we cancelled three days before our trip, when we realized it was Chinese New Year, and we might as well be near the Marina Bay area where the celebration of the New Year would be concentrated. We also found out that almost all malls would be closed on January 23 and 24, hence this hotel. And I think we made the right decision. There is a McDonald's and Starbucks just a few steps away from Stamford's lobby; the subway connecting all the lines is just an escalator below; and most importantly, the Raffles Mall and the CityLink Mall are also a few steps away. Yey!

Time check: 12:05 midnight

The room was inviting enough. But first, we were kind of famished since we didn't really have a decent meal in Cebu, so we ordered for room service. The Hubby ordered for, what else, Hainanese chicken rice. I wanted to try something local, but different this time, so I rang for a laksa, a curry-based broth with noodles, and lots of sea food. I didn't expect it would be this big bowl of spicy goodness. The taste kind of grew on me after a few slurps. (A bowl of laksa was SD25=Php875; Hainanese chicken rice was SD23=Php805)

Stamford was better than we expected. The room was huge. We were given a king-sized bed. There was a balcony to view the city (although we didn't get the harbour view, more expensive by a thousand pesos). The bathroom was clean and there was an ample supply of toilet accessories. We were informed that we could check out late at 4:00 p.m. And the hotel's location is conveniently located for light travelers like us. At SD240/night (Php7,920), it may not fall under the category of  a tight budget, but with all of these plus factors in mind, it was a reasonable price to be had.

Now for that much needed sleep. (To be continued)