Tales of A Commuter - Singapore Edition: Final Stage

10 Things I LOVE about Singapore:

1. The Transportation System
 ~ Organized, clean, and so easy to navigate around the city. It's not so jampacked as our buses and MRT here in Manila. The bus stops are carefully organized (as in not all buses stop at all stops, they have routes to follow and people know where to ride to get to their destinations) Unlike here where the buses stay at the stops until every little inch space have been occupied, the buses in SG leave the bus stops after the people hop on the bus even if it's not full. Oh, and they've no need for pesky conductors either. ^^

 Also, the idea of being able to use the EZLink pass in the MRT and in the bus is so conveniently cool!

2. It is a tourist-friendly country
 ~ There are maps, sign posts and directories everywhere. They say the city is so small you wouldn't get lost but if you're walking around the city all day and get lost right when you're tired and almost home, it's always good to have the map with you. It really makes things a lot easier.

3. My friends are there. Who needs a tour guide!?!
 ~ We didn't go with any tourist trips (duck tours, city sightseeing) but decided to do it all on our own instead. And we had our Singapore-OFW friends to guide us and accompany us to some of the sites in the city. Thanks Sherwin and Jen for coming with us to Sentosa and Night Safari! ^___^

4. There are LOTS of Japanese stuffs!
 ~ Unlike here in Manila where these things are limited, in SG you have the Kinokuniya bookstore for starters. Here you can buy Japanese idols' photobooks, see rows and rows of manga, fresh edition of Japanese magazines and loads of other stuffs. We also were able to buy some Bleach action figures (yes we have these at Comic Alley, but these ones were so much better in quality and cheaper too!)

5. It is a melting pot of different cultures
 ~ I love how everywhere you look you see different races and hear different languages all living in harmony together at the small city. naks! poetic!

6. You can make side comments without anyone understanding you.
 ~ alright, maybe some will understand but it was fun!

7. The penthouse where we stayed
 ~ It's not a five star hotel so it really is wayyyyy cheaper. At Php800 a night per person, with our own cable tv, FREE Wireless internet, clean bathroom with shower pa!, free breakfast, friendly hostess, living room, free use of kitchen utensils, ref, microwave and the feeling of staying at your own home, it's not bad really.

8. Changi Airport
 ~ Sugoi! This airport is so cool. *_*

9. You can actually get freebies in this expensive city
 ~ Like free Häagen-Dazs ice cream, free Singapore magnets, free maps haha!

10. It's not so different from Manila after all
 ~ Okay so the city cleanliness, disciplined denizens and transportation system are WAAAAAYYY better than ours, there are actually some things we have in common with Singapore. For starters, the locals are friendly and are willing to chat and help tourists. This one lady even pointed us to the bus stop where we can ride the bus to Bugis. Although we ended up riding the MRT instead (for some reason we couldn't see Bugis in the route) I believe we were just stupid instead of the lady tricking us. haha! Also, Singapore have organized and working pedestrian stop lights in the crossings which we were so excited about and religiously followed. But the locals - we see them crossing the streets anywhere, not following the pedestrian stops and crossing while it's Red and us looking foolishly at them. Something that so closely resembles us here in Pinas. Rogeena, Melvin and I even had our own jaywalking experience, when we let our OFW friends guide us towards the MRT station. We crossed just about anywhere and had a taxi angrily flashed us. Buti na lang walang mura kundi pinas na pinas na talaga ang feeling.