Wandering Solo in the Lion City – DAY 1

One of the things I would love to do now that I finally hit the 3-0 era of my life is to travel alone. I actually had some plans to go to Baguio all by myself for my 30th birthday but guess some things are just not meant to be. I was very sick during my birthday and I couldn’t even afford to walk comfortably so traveling alone was a no-no that time.

I could actually sulk at the thought of not being able to pursue that plan but I chose to believe that better things are coming if you’ll only wait.

And so I waited. But not long enough ’cause before the end of my birth month, Father God already blessed me with a privilege to travel all by myself to Singapore 

It was not really an “all alone by myself” kind of travel since I stayed with my bestfriend Char who’s living and working in Singapore and met some highschool friends and former colleague there. Char even toured me around Sentosa during my first day in Singapore.

I, however, consider this my first wandering solo adventure since this was the first time I rode an airplane without any family or friend with me and the very first time that I walked along unfamiliar streets alone.

My Singapore Adventures:

DAY 1

The last time I checked, Singapore was not actually on top of my “must-visit” countries since I always prefer countries with cool weather plus I’m being told time and again by people going there that the cost of living in Singapore is very high. I’m a huge fan of “payak na pamumuhay” while traveling so I used to think that I could not survive Singapore.

Good thing I welcomed the idea of experiencing the place first before I give off all judgments  against it. All thanks to Char who was thoughtful enough to invite me to Singapore to have my post-birthday celebration there and was even kind enough to offer me her place and treat me to some real tasty foods there 

friend for keeps 

My first day in Singapore was spent well with my dear bestfriend whom I haven’t seen for more than a year. She toured me along Sentosa, Esplanade, and even let me experience eating at Makasuntra.  I’m not a big fan of themed parks so I didn’t bother experiencing Universal Studios. Having a picture taken by its entrance is already enough for me 

Candy crush!

So happy to finally have a picture taken with Mr. Reese’s!

I also met with my sister’s friend Ladj who was sweet enough to give us our favorite Cadbury Peppermint and Bubbly chocolates 

A few walks along Sentosa and I finally had a view of their man-made Sentosa beach.

When we’re finally tired with walking along Sentosa, we decided to head back to the city. I find going around Singapore easy-breezy since you only have to ride the MRT to go to places you wanna go. You only need an EZ-LINK Card which only costs SGD12 with already SGD7 stored value in it. You only have to reload it (or they call it Top-Up) for only SGD10 once the stored value’s consumed.

How to go to Sentosa: 

Take the North-East line MRT rail system (Purple Line) or Circle Line MRT rail system (Orange Line), alight at HarbourFront Station. From there, you may take any of the following transportation:

Sentosa Express: Go to the 3rd level (Lobby L) of VivoCity shopping mall to transfer to Sentosa Express to enter the resort. Drop off at Waterfront Station.

(taken from RW Sentosa website)

Our next stop was the Esplanade. It is that durian-shaped building located alongside Marina Bay near the Singapore River. This is where concerts and other cultural activities are being held.

After walking along Esplanade, Char invited me to eat at Makasuntra Gluttons Bay. It’s located just a few walks outside Esplanade. It is a hawker station, which means there are a lot of food stalls you can find in the area which offers affordable meals. Price can go as low as SGD3 for a dish. The homemade iced tea is only priced at SGD1.60.

Char treated me to this sumptuous dinner 

Since we were feeling so full after that dinner, we decided to walk along the bay and had my picture taken near the famous Merlion statue. They say you’re never officially in Singapore if you don’t have a picture with this statue. So there, I’m officially in SG!

And with the Marina Bay Sands as my background,

Getting to Esplanade from Sentosa:

Ride the MRT train from Sentosa to Vivo City. Alight at Vivo City and then look for the MRT station. Take the Purple Line going to Punggol but you have to alight at Dhoby Ghaut station and take the Circle line (Yellow Line) and alight at Esplanade station. It’s easy to find the Esplanade – Theaters by the Bay from the Esplanade station since there are a lot of directions and signs you can find along the way.

It’s been a long, full of “first time” day which I enjoyed very much, all thanks to the provision and favors from Father God and the generosity of my dear friend Char