Off to Singapore

This was the start of a very long day as we headed out to the airport at around 3:30am. On the way, we had breakfast at Jollibee... my second time there in 3 days already and my first breakfast meal. I wasn't sure what to order until I saw the sausage, egg and pandesal sandwich. It's basically the Filipino version of McDonald's Sausage Egg McMuffin w/ Cheese. It had a similar taste, but with the enhancement of pandesal.

By the time we finished breakfast and got on all of the ridiculous lines in the Philippines airport, we were already boarding the Tiger Airways flight to Singapore. It was my first time flying the budget airline and it's very different than the US ones. While JetBlue is cheap, it doesn't cut down on any of its services. In fact, it actually has more than many non-budget lines. Tiger Airways is truly budget. The plane is basic with no technology. There's no complimentary service at all... not even a free pack of nuts or drink. We were warned that the flight would be turbulent. While most airlines try to avoid turbulence, especially if known beforehand, Tiger Airways flies right through it. A good portion of the flight was rocky for a long period of time. I probably got 1 hour of sleep out of the 3 as I got through a movie and part of a TV episode.

We landed on time and were ready to proceed with the plan. The travel agent at Mandarin Vacations suggested we travel by train to the hotel to avoid a ~$40 airport limo fare. We first took a shuttle bus to Changi Airport, the main airport. From there, we caught the SMRT EW (East-West) line and got to Bugis (EW12) shortly. The first train we were on was relatively empty as they were mostly airport passengers. When we transferred, the next train was packed with rush hour commuters. At EW12 (stop names are logically numbered), we looked at the map and exited. Just a few blocks away, although it felt longer because of our luggage) was the Victoria Hotel.

Jerick stayed back to rest while the rest of us scouted the area near the hotel. We browsed some restaurants across the street and then came across Bugis Junction, a mall/marketplace/food court. We were pretty sure that our first meal would be in that area. We headed back to the hotel to get Jerick and I also had to figure out how to make phone calls.

Related: Changi Airport, SMRT, Victoria Hotel, Bugis Junction