A Break
My apologies for the lull in post, I went to Singapore last week together with my family for a quick vacation. We bought tickets last December for a really good price, 2 adults and 1 infant for 3k plus pesos, Cebu – Davao – Singapore. Cebu Pacific had a 2 day Zero Fare promo last Dec. 25 and I grabbed the opportunity.
I have a couple of friends working in Singapore as well as brother-in-law. Singapore is in recession and layoffs are happening left and right, the government has also asked companies to prioritize citizens and permanent residents. There is also a last in first out rule in most companies where if a layoff or retrenchment will happen, the latest to get in the company will be the first ones out. Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are in the same recession boat, most are very dependent on the US and Europe and have very big manufacturing and export business.
Filipinos trying out their luck for a better paying job used to go to singapore for a couple of weeks and find work, with a very high success rate. Singapore immigration usually gives a 30 day social visit pass, Others also get a EPEC wherein one gets to stay in Singapore for a year and look for a job. However, with the recession, it is advisable to wait a while before taking this road.
Singapore is a great place to stay, a truly first class global metropolitan City. Public transportation like the MRT and Bus are clean and efficient. City streets are clean and safe. Malls are everywhere and global brands have presence there, attractions are abundant. What I like most is the Zoo and the Night Safari, as well as the fact that both have Ben and Jerrys, which also happens to be the first in Southeast Asia, really great ice cream, expensive but worth it.
Weather is the same here in the Philippines, a bit hot and humid but breezy. Nights come late, starts at 7:30 PM.
One of the drawbacks of Singapore is that it is a expensive City, compared with Hong Kong, it is 20 to 40 percent more expensive.
Attractions
What’s funny for our trip was that the Merlion Statue was recently hit by lightning and had to be fixed, so we could only see scaffoldings. But we did get to other attractions such as the Zoo, Night Safari, Singapore Flyer, Suntec City and the Fountain of Wealth, Esplanade, Vivo City, Mustafa, China town, Clarke Quay, Boat Quay and Sentosa Island.
At Singapore
As the public transport was efficient and the places of interest where either near each other or walking distance from MRT stations, we had no trouble going around. I did miss a couple of places I wanted to go but that just gives me a reason to go back.