Ambot ah! Travel Blog

A walking tour along the Singapore River was what I was most excited about. Singapore is one of those cities where its river has had a significant impact in its history and development into the mega city that it is today.

We would’ve already explored the area along the banks of the Singapore River if not for several mishaps, which offset our sightseeing plans. To keep up with our itinerary, we spent the whole day for a DIY photo walk along the banks of the Singapore River and old streets of nearby Chinatown.

We started from the City Hall MRT station and worked our way towards the Esplanade.

St. Andrew’s Cathedral

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We spent our second evening yet again at the Merlion Park. I earlier hoped to experience the Singapore Flyer or get a breathtaking view of the Singapore Skyline at night from the SkyPark of the Marina Bay Sands. Unfortunately, both were closed down for private functions because of the F1 night race.

As an alternative, we did a long walkathon from One Esplanade all the way to Marina Bay Sand and the Double Helix Bridge. It was very tiring to say the least but we were able to see a lot of interesting views along the way.

Fullerton Hotel

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I was excited to spend the day at Universal Studios Singapore. … so weird for me to look forward to visiting a theme park.

We took the MRT to the Harbourfront Station and walked to the ticket counters at the 3rd level of VivoCity Mall. Paid the admission fees of Sentosa Island, which included round trip tickets on the Sentosa Express monorail and transportation within the island itself.

Universal Studios Singapore located in Sentosa Island sits within the huge property of ResortsWorld Sentosa. I liked Universal Studios because it caters to a more matured market (unlike Disneyland). Pretty cool to have a theme park based on famous movies.

View of VivoCity from the Sentosa Monorial ride

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We left the hostel at a quarter before 6PM. I wanted to spend the sunset / dusk at Singapore’s most iconic landmark, the statue of the Merlion found at the mouth of the Singapore River.

Got off at the Raffles Place MRT Station and started walking towards the River. The first recognizable landmark we passed by was the historic Fullerton Hotel. There were a lot of luxury cars parked at the front. It was the F1 season (Fomula 1 Night Race) in Singapore.

Car junkies around the world flock to Singapore at this time. I’ve spent hours playing NFS and I admit it was kinda cool to have the game realized in a real megacity like Singapore. The streets around Marina Bay were blocked off because it was used as a race track for the night race. I can only imagine the thrill of speeding through skyscrapers and thousands of spectators.

Fullerton Hotel Singapore

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For our 5-day Singapore and Malaysia trip, we booked an outgoing flight from Clark instead of NAIA (Manila) International Airport.

Aside from the cheaper airfare, I was also interested to visit the Clark International Airport for the first time. The Clark Airport is the closest thing the Philippines has to a low cost carrier terminal, particularly because the it operates as the international hub of some budget airlines.

If the airfare was the same, flying out of Clark would definitely be more of an inconvenience taking into account the 3-hour drive from Manila and the negligible difference in airport fees.

Still, it was a great experience to transit through the Clark Airport. It was a glimpse into the future since the Clark Airport is being planned as the long term replacement of NAIA.

First view of the Clark International Airport

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It was finally the end of my 11-day Northern Luzon trip. The only remaining item in my itinerary was to take the bus from Baguio back to Manila.

I already had an idea of how to commute from Manila to Baguio. Somehow, I wasn’t able to find sufficient details online about the bus if coming from Baguio. I only found a lot of outdated web pages.

When I was finally in Baguio, I realized why there weren’t a lot of “Baguio to Manila” bus guides. There was no need for it. Commuting between Baguio and Manila was very convenient thanks to the excellent service of Victory Liner Bus company.

Victory Liner Bus Terminal in Baguio. Entrance at Utility Road. 

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It was the last day of not only my trip to Baguio but the whole 11-day Northern Luzon circuit tour.

After a short side trip to the Lion’s Head at Kennon Road, I wanted to visit the strawberry fields of La Trinidad along with a few must-visits along the way.

I was back in Baguio at around 1:20pm and was already very hungry. I read raves about the Bulalo at Balajadia Restaurant near the Slaughterhouse.

Decided to “beef up” before heading to La Trinidad, Benguet.

Steaming Bulalo at Balajadia Restaurant

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The gigantic Lion’s Head along Kennon Road is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Baguio.

It’s located at the outskirts of the city and is a popular stopover for quick photo souvenirs before entering the city proper area.

Getting to Lion’s Head would be easy for people traveling in private cars. Unfortunately for commuters, like me, it was a bit harder to do since the buses running between Baguio and Manila does not pass though Kennon Road. The buses use the Marcos Highway instead.

Lion’s Head situated along the famous winding curves of Kennon Road

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