Getting to Bugis Street

Alrighty! You've probably heard of Bugis street as the one place teenagers go to for shopping and accessories buying. This place has improved a lot over the years especially by installing air conditioning!! 

But first, may I please emphasize that Singapore IMPORTS A LOT OF THINGS. Please don't be surprised if you're noticing clothes from your home country selling for a much higher price here in Bugis Street. Itzliddat. :/ So if you don't want to buy items made in China, made in Thailand, I don't recommend coming here, because a large number of shops sell these items!

Then again, I'm not complaining as a singaporean, there are good steals at Bugis Street, although I would avoid spending more than $20 for any single piece of clothing there..

Ok enough rambling, let's go!!!

Tap out of the station and you'll straight away see this sign.

Bugis street is not clearly mentioned, so just head right!

ah... our favourite guardian where everyone waits for everyone

After turning right, walk a little and then you'll see this are with two escalators again on your right. Take those escalators!

If you decide to go straight, you will see this instead, and this heads towards the basement of Bugis Junction the shopping mall. It's characterised by the staircase at the centre. 

You'll see the street after taking the escalators. Walk straight toward the nearest traffic light 

Cross the road, and you'll reach bugis street!

There is a side entrance to Bugis Street as well, on the left side facing Bugis+, another shopping mall

Some of the items sold here~

You'll find a number of nail parlors too

Haha hi luhan!

Do walk around and check out the items before buying them. But unless you're familiar with how the shops are organised, it can be really hard to go back to the shop where you found an item.

Try haggling and barganing a little once you see something you like, BUT do not bargain half price omigosh NO.

Asking for $2 off is quite common especially if you bought more than 1 item, but do it quietly at the counter and very likely the staff would give it to you. 

ALSO sometimes the third floor tends to sell their items more cheaply than the first 2 floors o.o 

Rough Price Guide (the max you should pay): 

Tote Bags $5

I Love SG shirts $10

Dresses $35

Cotton Shirts $10

Dressy Shirts $20

Caps $15

Most items are labelled with their prices, so that it really helpful!

There are some toilets within bugis street itself on the second and third floors.

If you're going back, go in the same direction as from how you came, and look out for this sign!

Enjoy shopping :]

and if you're hungry and looking for food, do head over to the top floors of Bugis+ for restaurants or to the food junction at Bugis Junction for local food!

3 tips : Changi Airport

Post will be updated with more and more pictures as I head to the airport :) 

1) Buy lots of branded stuff when you are flying back to your home country.

NO TAX LEH FANTASTIC BABY

But yeah really it's very cheap compared to if you bought something at Orchard Road. True you can utilise the tax refund system but it can be quite a hassle. Then again...the branches at the airport may not have the full range of items you would like to buy :/
There are shops inside like watsons if you need to buy travel essentials at the very last minute.

2) Find out where your boarding gate is

The gate you board may be very very very far and be up to 15 minutes away. You may think eh.... I can walk pretty fast.

But it's not a good idea if you were busy shopping and forgot the time, the screen now shows last call AND the place is very crowded such that you can't do your 2.4km run. 

So please, find out where you gate is and  NEVER ASSUME that it is in chronological order. Coz it isn't. 

I ever "kena" a gate 28... And it turned out to be the furthest possible... While gate 40 something was near the shopping areas. Sobs. I had to run -.- 

I know there are gate maps somewhere in airport that tells you where the gate is, so try to spot it and ensure you have ample time to walk there! Look out for the sky train also and see if it brings you to your gate. If it seems really crowded don't worry, the train can squeeze quite a lot of people as long as everyone is willing to make space!

And if you're there too early like we were... just have a seat.

3) Eat local food.

Okok fine if you really wanted to, you should have gone to Hong Lim Complex or some other food court, not exactly the airport. BUT SURPRISE  we do have a food court at terminal 3 basement!! And the food there is yummy :) head here if you really crave one more taste of your hokkien mee or char kuay teow.

Don't say I didn't warn you. Some stalls are... meh. Like this horrible japanese bento I ate before my korea trip. Ew.. Really horrendous. 

There are quite a number of restaurants both inside and outside the departure hall. I've tried a number of them...

Wang cafe isn't too bad. Prices are steeper surely but food tastes authentic.

Ruyi was a disappointment. Food tasted bleh to me and eating from paper cups and bowls makes it one rank lower than the other restaurants around.

Pasta de Waraku is pretty okay except you probably tasted better pasta elsewhere. 

Seafood Paradise is where you can have chilli crab and stuff BUT IT IS OH SO CROWDED please beware.

You can't go wrong with MACDONALDS :) or KFC. Or Burger King. Or 4 fingers (but long queue don't risk it)

That's all for now! I'll update with more tips when I think of them :) 

Getting to HabourFront station/Sentosa via MRT

To be honest, majority of the mrt stations are easy to navigate... Except the monster station known as DHOBY GHAUT. Urgh

I'll update with pictures soon!
But for now if you're coming from orchard, take the red line to dhoby ghaut station.

After alighting, travel one floor up and look out for where everyone is heading towards. You should be able to see a travellator/ flat escalator.

Go to the end, and you would notice 5 escalators, some going up some going down.

Head down, and then head toward the north east line (purple line) on your right.

On your far left would be the circle line (yellow line) that also goes to HabourFront. 
DO NOT TAKE THAT LINE because that goes one whole round. DO NOT TAKE IT.

If all else fails, just ask a friendly looking Singaporean :3

Once you head down the escalator toward the purple line, you can then board the train toward HabourFront, which is just 4 stops away.

And yay! You've arrived.

Now go up one level and head toward exit E if you're going to VivoCity or Sentosa

You'll see many signages telling you where to go to take the sky train or walk through the broadwalk!


Here's a map of the area near the station in case you need it... You'll always find these useful maps at any of the MRT stations, so make use of it!

Now it's time to make your way up to ground level.

Go up these escalators next to candy empire

See? the blue signs are all so obvious

Once you head to the ground floor, look out for another blue sign that says SENTOSA BROADWALK

Sorry picture here isn't so clear.

If not, head up another 2 floors to the top floor and you would find the sentosa express.

Again, lots of signages for you

And here we are!

To get in, use your ez-link card or go and buy a ticket from these ticketing machines.
Cost of entry is $4 per ride, regardless of which station in sentosa you alight at. I'll explain more about this below.

I was given a ticket coz I was staying at one of the hotels, so I had 3 days of free train rides on the sentosa express! 

These are the train stations on the Sentosa Express!

Sentosa Station is the one you would board at Vivocity

Waterfront Station is where Resort World Sentosa, the Casino and Universal Studios are at

Imbiah Station is where the Merlion is

Beach station is where the... beach is yup..

This is how the long broad walk looks like from the sentosa express train (which I forgot to take a picture of ><)

Tip

In my opinion, $4 for a ride is NOT worth it unless you are with a lot of heavy baggage and stuff.

Look at the picture below and you'll notice that walking that 500 metre long bridge may be a much cheaper option than taking the sentosa express.

And did you know, once you enter sentosa, YOU CAN TAKE THE SENTOSA EXPRESS FOR FREE. This $4 is only an entrance fee.

Therefore, I'd much rather walk 10 minutes and enter free (or pay $1 on a weekday) and then go up the waterfront station and take the sentosa express to whatever other station I may want to go to (like beach station).

And when you want to return to mainland Singapore, IT IS FREE TOO.

Hence I would take the sentosa express from beach station all the way to Sentosa Station and I wouldn't have to pay a cent. Yay~

Alright here are some pictures I took at the beach :D

PICTURES ARE MINE DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION Beware of red ants near the grassy patches *ouch* they bite really hard
And please slather on sunscreen REGARDLESS of whether you really want that tan or not. The UV rays are bad for you. I put SPF 50 and still got darker O_O ok can

If you're looking for a cheap and good restaurant option at the end of the day, I recommend Astons, a western food restaurant where prices of a set meal ranges from $6.50 to $44.90 with 2 side dishes and affordable drinks.
Astons is located on the ground level at RWS, at the same level where the big USS globe is. It can be a bit hard to find, so do look at the location maps all around before finding it

That's all for now, hope this is helpful!
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