SG Escapades - St. John's Island

First stop on my island hopping day trip was St. John's Island. This island was bigger than what I had expected. There were so many areas to explore! You could simply enjoy the waters near the jetty, roam back further into the island, or take a walk to Lazarus Island. We saw people lugging bags of things to the island in the ferry all ready to spend a day there. It was then that I stated to wander if my small backpack had enough "supplies". But back to the island. 

SG Escapades - Kusu Island

I only found out about Kusu Island a few months ago, and upon seeing photos of the place, I decided to make a day trip out of it and go island hopping. 

SG Escapades - Kampong Lorong Buangkok

On a self-imposed travel ban because I should be saving money to go to Europe - but I've since looked at air tickets twice in the past 2 weeks. In an attempt to fight the itch to travel, I decided to embark on a journey to explore places in Singapore that I've never been to.

First up on the list, Singapore's last kampung at Lorong Buangkok!

Winter Wonderland - Singapore Style

Visited Gardens by The Bay with a friend earlier in December to check out their Winter Wonderland. Since it's Christmas and all, I'm just going to post photos. 

Taken inside the flower dome where I absolutely loved the temperate - oh, and of course the decorations too. Please pardon the snowman spam. 

Gardens by the Bay, Tulipmania

Spent the day at Gardens by the Bay Tulipmania reminiscing about the good old days back in the Netherlands. It's sort of become a yearly tradition for my friend and I to go see tulips (which are my favourite flowers). 

Singapore Airshow 2014

Earlier in Feburary, I spent a day at the Singapore Airshow which is an annual event

It was my first time there and I was in awe at the displays! The Airshow is held annually for trade visitors and exhibitors. 2 days are reserved for the public and tickets are usually snapped up really quickly - especially for Saturday. 

Titans of The Past - Dinosaurs and Ice Age Mammals

A few weekends ago, I decided to hop on down to the Art Science Museum to delve back into prehistoric times. I get geeky sometimes and develop this need to learn about stuff. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find such an extensive collection of fossils and paintings. Yes paintings. Of which some astounded me. I found myself staring at works of art, as they seemed so surreal. 

This is home, truly.

As much as I love to travel, nothing beats coming home after a trip. Home is where my family is, my friends are, where the roads are familiar, and memories lurk around every street and turn.

Today is Singapore's birthday! So Happy National Day to us. As much as we complain about this tiny island, it's still awesome. Peace, stability, occasional great sights, and lots of gastronomic food.

:) 

S.E.A Aquarium, Singapore

I visited the S.E.A Aquarium at Resorts World Sentosa awhile back with my family. Having previously visited the aquarium in Ocean Park, I had high hopes for this one. Especially with all the hype that had gone on prior to its opening, and what was proclaimed to be host to the largest viewing platform. 

Hazy Days

It's really hazy here in Singapore right now. I feel as though I'm breathing in smoke. Been hiding out in aircon places.

Doesn't help that I'm still recovering from a cough. I hope the smog clears up or that it rains soon. Visibility is really bad. Even the buildings across the road (while still prominent as ever) look fuzzy.

And the real kick is, I'm off to Bintan over the weekend. I hope all is good over on that side. Yikes.

For current updates head on to the following link: http://www.nea.gov.sg/psi/

Trip Planning

I love planning trips. There's something so magical and exhilarating about planning your next destination and hunting down cheap hotel and flight deals.

There was this period of time after my exchange where I went through a withdrawal period and just randomly surfed travel sites in an attempt to find a good deal - even though I was in school and could not simply jet off to somewhere.

Anyhow, when planning a trip, I usually do the following:
1. Stare long and hard at my calendar trying to maximise my trip
2. Search skyscanner for cheap flights. And also check out a few of my favourite airlines to see if they have any offers. (I usually fly budget for short haul flights though.)
3. After coming flight dates, its time for booking.com, hostelword, hostelbookers and agoda.com to source for cheap, but yet good accommodation. Accommodation is so important in my opinion.
4. Search tripadvisor for must see places. Lonelyplanet works too.
5. Random google search to see what others have blogged about.

I also usually download wiki travel into my kindle for on the go information. Tripadvisor also has city guides which are really really useful!

Finally, I pre download the map into my phone because you don't need wifi for GPS. Works like a charm every time.

And to end off, here is a random photo that I took at Gardens by the Bay awhile back. 

Travelogue - Universal Studios Singapore, Singapore

I figured it was time that I wrote about this little island city that I reside in - the sunny island of Singapore. Singapore officially gained independence in 1965 after the world war, and a merger with Malaysia. Since then, the country has steadily developed over the years, and is now (i would say) fairly well-known globally.

While many may gripe about the cost of living, and lack of things to do in Singapore, at the end of the day, it's home. Home is where the heart is. Whenever I am overseas, I feel heartened when I hear someone with a Singaporean accent.

Anyways, as you may know, in the past few years, Singapore has built two integrated resorts, with Sentosa playing home to a Universal Studios theme park (USS). I have been to USS several times, and I love this place - despite its pricey entrance fee.