DIY SG Trip for 2: The 179 SGD (500 AED) Challenge

Nearing our vacay, we encountered a few emergency expenses back home so our allotted budget was slashed to the basics. I knooow that it's imperative to have your emergency fund ready but whatodoyaniiiii hehehe... 

Anyway, good thing we had the major activities purchased months prior the trip so we just have to make do with the bare minimum. 

Ok, I'll be doing my budget breakdown for our based on my previously posted itinerary para masaya :) If you really have no choice but to stick to a budget like us OR you just want to try if you're able to do one and follow it religiously just to see if you can, then this one's for you! 

DIY SG Trip for 2: The 179 SGD (500 AED) Challenge aka ONE BIG FOODTRIP in SG

Day 1
7AM - Arrival in Changi Airport
8AM - Breakfast
9AM - Luggage check-in (Hotel 81 Gold - Geylang area near Aljunied MRT)
930 AM - Kallang Wave Mall (while waiting for hotel check-in at 2PM)
240 PM - Hotel check-in + rest
4PM - Ticket collection for Gardens by the Bay + OCBC Skyway at the Red Dot Design Museum
430 PM - Sightseeing at Marina Bay Sands, Esplanade, Merlion, Art Science Museum
8PM - Dinner at Hawker (Esplanade)

Budget Breakdown:

14.50 SGD - breakfast in Hawker, somewhere near Aljunied Station (2 Noodle bowls)
20 SGD - EZ link top up (our ez link cards were borrowed from my sister)
2.40 SGD - 2 ice cream with bread (near Esplanade)

2.50 SGD - water (7/11)
8 SGD - Starbucks 
3.10 SGD - Jollibean (Aljunied MRT Station)
10.90 SGD - Hawker (Esplanade)

Day 1 Total: 61.40 SGD

Day 2
1030 AM - Breakfast
1230 PM - Universal Studios Singapore

530 PM - Early dinner at Malaysian Food Street (just outside USS)

830 PM - Actual dinner at 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken - Orchard Gateway (free, courtesy of a friend in highschool)

10PM - Drinks at Little Saigon Clark Quay (free again HEHE)

1145 PM - race against time to the last train to Aljunied

Budget Breakdown:

7.00 SGD  Pork Ban Mian (2) (Food Cherry)
4 SGD - RWS8 (Bus) - 1 SGD/route/person
4 SGD - Corndog (USS)
17.00 SGD - Fried Rice (2) Malaysian Food Street 
3.50 SGD - Iced Milo
4.00 SGD - Iced Red Bean Kacang
3 SGD -  Jollibean
10 SGD - Extra top up (due to lost EZ link)

Day 2 Total: 52.50 SGD

Day 3
11AM - Breakfast at Bugis Junction (Let's Eat)

1130 AM - Shopping for souvenirs at Bugis Street
1230PM - Flower Dome

1PM - Cloud Forest

3PM - Gardens by The Bay + OCBC Skyway

430 PM - Marina Bay Sands Mall
6PM - Power nap
9PM - Souvenir pahabol at Bugis Street (Last train to Aljunied was early! OMG)
1030PM - Late dinner at Food Cherry (Pork Ban Mian)

Budget Breakdown:

9 SGD - Breakfast: Curry Rice with Chicken Cutlet (2) (Let's Eat Bugis Junction)
10 SGD - EZ link top up
20 SGD - souvenirs
7.00 SGD - Pork Ban Mian (2) (Food Cherry)

2.65 SGD - Rice Crisps
0.75 SGD - Water
2.75 SGD - Toblerone

Day 3 Total: 56.75 SGD

Day 4
7AM - Train to Changi Airport
812 AM - Self-service kiosk check-in and bag drop
10AM - Breakfast at McDo (you can use leftover load from Ezlink and NetFlashpay cards here!)
1255 PM - Flight to Manila

Budget Breakdown:

7.00 SGD McDo Big Breakfast Platter
4.20 SGD- Sausage Mcmuffin
3.50 SGD Coffee
- purchased with leftover load on EZ-Link/Netflash pay cards
12.00 SGD - Big Breakfast Platter with Hash Browns + Milo + Wrap


Day 4 Total: 12 SGD

Total EXPENSES: 178.02 SGD

Our major expenses which we paid beforehand were:

Accommodation: Hotel 81 Gold
20 Geylang Lorong 20
Rating: 3/5

The hotel was a 10-15 minute walk from Aljunied station. This is quite far from the downtown area but we chose this because at that time it was the most affordable, and on the same MRT line (green) as the airport express.
SGD POWER: 203.91 SGD (554.29 AED) for 3 nights 2 days

Activities:
Voyagin - Universal Studios Singapore - 134.82 SGD (366.48 AED) (2)
Klook - Gardens by the Bay + OCBC Skyway + Red Dot Museum Access - 156.95 AED (2)

Bangkok in Pictures

Shameless shopping

All for 250 THB!

#Turkey2017: Travel Budget & Itinerary

The blogs I was mostly following for my ideal itinerary all mentioned either a minimum of 5 or 8K AED per person so we were hesitant to go because it's almost the budget we're planning on for our grand European trip. However, after much research and colleague interviews, this is what we ended up spending in total for 2 for our 9 day Turkey odyssey:

Note: Not including the international and domestic air tickets and visa fees because we paid for all these in advance, along with 1 day of of accommodation free at The Cappadocia Hotel courtesy of my miles ^^ #creditcardperks #travelwisely #beprepared #prebookingislife. If air tickets and visa fee included, it will be a total of only 5,530.38 TL for 2 or 5,287.32 AED.

You can still reduce your own costs if you book your hotels in advance, and sign up for promo fares in budget carriers like Pegasus Airlines. Our domestic flights actually cost us only 29.99 TL each for Istanbul to Kayseri and Izmir to Istanbul per way versus booking them at the last minute for almost 200TL. And make sure to buy your air tickets ahead of time and apply for your visa at least 30 days prior to your stay to avoid rebooking fees. ^^

Also, we didn't do the hot balloon tour or paragliding because these kept getting cancelled due to bad weather. We mostly spent our money on entrance fees, food and souvenirs. Pero you know what, this is actually the first time we were able to follow our scheduled itinerary with the bus transfers and everything so sulit narin :) sooo proud of us both ~ we're really learning with each escapade on how to be more adventurous and how to use our strengths effectively (he's my navigator and I'm the planner)! Japan was a bust, Taiwan & El Nido were trial runs and now in Turkey - it's a success :) I love it!!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I patterned our itinerary on Lady's from Lady and her Sweet Escapes so the one I'll be sharing is much like hers, only customized for a 9 day trip:

Day 1: Dubai - Istanbul, Istanbul - Cappadocia

04:05 - Flight from Dubai to Istanbul via Pegasus Airlines
08:10 - Arrival in Sabiha Gokcen Airport
14:35 - Flight from Istanbul to Kayseri via Pegasus Airlines
15:50 - Arrival in Kayseri Airport
16:00 - Airport shuttle to The Cappadocia Hotel
20:00 - Early dinner in Urgup town center

- When I was booking our cave hotel (for free courtesy of my Dubai First miles) I didn't read up on exactly where our hotel was located. Turned out it was located in Urgup which was quite a distance from Goreme so we were unable to hike up to Sunset Point before our tour. Not bad though, because we were able to see their historical caves up close.

Day 2: Cappadocia Historical Tour + Bus to Pamukkale

Green Tour from Angelo's tours (arranged by The Cappadocia Hotel)

09:00 Hotel pick-up and check-out
17:30 Drop-off at bus station
18:00 Early dinner at Sadaf Restaurant
20:00 Night bus to Pamukkale

Day 3: Pamukkale!

05:00 Arrival in Pamukkale town
07:00 Check in at Bellamaritimo Hotel
08:00 Breakfast
09:00 Rest
13:00 Lunch
17:00 Pamukkale Natural Park (free)
20:00 Dinner

Day 4: Pamukkale + Heirapolis DIY Tour

07:00 Complimentary breakfast at Bellamaritimo Hotel
09:30 The Cotton Castle / Pamukkale
11:00 Exploring Heriapolis
19:00 Dinner

Day 5: Pamukkale - Selcuk

09:30 Breakfast
12:00 Hotel check-out
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Karahayit
16:45 Dolmus (minivan) to Izmir Bus station
20:00 Arrival at Selcuk and check in at Nicea Hotel
20:45 Dinner

- I was getting homesick by this time ^^ HAHA this was the longest tour I've been on.

Day 6: Selcuk DIY Walking Tour

08:00 Breakfast
10:00 Basilica of St John
11:00 Isabey Mosque
12:00 Temple of Artemis
14:00 Walk to Ephesus
16:30 shuttle to Selcuk center and early dinner
17:30 Rest
20:30 Selcuk market and train station

Day 7: Selcuk to Istanbul

05:30 Hotel check out
06:00 Train from Selcuk to Izmir Airport
11:15 flight to Istanbul
12:20 Arrival at Sabiha Gokcen Airport
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Airport shuttle to Taksim and Uber to Senatus Hotel
19:00 Whirling Dervish Show at Hodjapasha Cultural Center (70TL/person)
20:00 Dinner

Day 8: Old Sultanahmet Walking Tour

08:00 Complimentary breakfast at Senatus Hotel
10:00 Topkapi Palace
13:00 Sultanahmet Square
13:30 Istanbul Archaeological Museum
14:30 Hagia Irene
15:30 Hagia Sophia
16:00 Early dinner
17:00 Bosphorus Cruise (12TL/person)
20:30 back to Hotel

Day 9: Last Full day in Istanbul

10:30 Sultanahmet Square (again!)
11:00 Souvenir shopping
14:00 Uber to Taksim
14:30 Shuttle to Sabiha Gokcen Airport
21:30 Flight from Istanbul to Dubai via Pegasus Airlines

After 6 flight hours to Dubai, another 2 hours to Abu Dhabi and 1.45 more to Al Ain, I was back to work! Haggard bes! Running on caffeine! 

Oh well, hope you'll have fun in your trip as much as we did ~ No fighting with your travel buddy when homesickness strikes! HEHEHE

#Turkey2017: Istanbul

After what felt like a month, we're finally heading to Istanbul!

QUICK FACTS:

• Historically known as Constantinople, Istanbul is the most populous city in Turkey and the country's economic, cultural, and historic center. 
• Name was derived from the Medieval Greek phrase "εἰς τὴν Πόλιν" (pronounced [is tim ˈbolin]), which means "to the city" and is how Constantinople was referred to by the local Greeks.
• A transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosphorus strait (which separates Europe and Asia) between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Wikipedia

Since we'll be staying in Old Sultanahmet/ Fatih for our last 3 days, we knew we won't be using the trams, trains, etc. that much since everything was within walking distance. 

SAW Airport to Taksim: We took the Havabus which was just outside the airport exit. You can pay by cash (15TL/person) once you're onboard.

Taksim to Senatus Hotel - Special Class: There was an elaborate post about this from most of the blogs I read but since we were unable to buy an Istanbulkart after going to the bus stop to Sultanahmet, we just opted to go by Uber. UberXL has a discount for first-time users, just type in the promocode GMAP for 15TL off the standard fare. Ended up paying only 13TL (12.83 TL)  for a ride in a Mercedes-Benz Vito through crazy traffic.

You can also use rayshelc2ue to get discounts on your Uber ride!

Leather seats! CLAZZYYY

our cozy room in Senatus Hotel

I didn't want to waste our first day in the city just lounging in the hotel so I booked tickets to a whirling dervish ceremony in Hodjapasha Cultural Center. It's a mystical side of Islam that I really wanted to see and understand so I reserved our seats in advance and surprised the fiancee. Some might say that it's really boring but it's a religious ceremony, not a variety show.

After the ceremony, we ate simits again for dinner and walked in the square for a few minutes admiring the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. Seriously, I just can't get over my love for simits! Specially for simit with Nutella - omnomnommmm!

The square was really beautiful at night and with the weather, it's the perfect time to just lounge at the square and have a little tête-à-tête about everything and nothing.

For the following day, we prepared for another DIY walking tour: we started off at Topkapi Palace, where we bought our museum pass (see below) for 85TL per person. It's really a cost-efficient move since it will let you bypass lines and gives you free access to the following for 5 days:

• Hagia Sophia Museum
• Hagia Irene
• Topkapı Palace Museum and *Harem Apartments, 
• İstanbul Archaeological Museums, 
• İstanbul Mosaic Museum, 
• Museum of Turkish and İslamic Arts, 
• Museum for the History of Science and Technology in Islam, 
• Chora Museum, 
• Galata Mevlevi House Museum, 
• Yıldız Palace, 
• Rumeli Hisar Museum, 
• Fethiye Museum

We might be using it for a day only, but it makes perfect sense to just buy the pass because:

1) We can skip lines,

2) Separate access is worth more than the pass! For ex. Topkapi Palace + Harem access is 50 TL, Hagia Sophia for 40 TL, Hagia Irene 20TL and Istanbul Archaeological Museum 20TL, over-all is already 130TL and that's just only 4 out of the 12 sights. You can only use the pass once to enter but since you get discounts for some establishments as well on top of the above advantages, getting one is definitely a steal! It's definitely worth your liras if you wanna save time as well as money.

Here's the breakfast spread on our first official day, YAMEEEEH (#spotthesimit)

First on the itinerary was the Topkapi Palace (+Harem Apartments) which was so huge that it took like half of our day just to see everything!

But my favorite out of all was the Istanbul Archaeological Museum where for 20TL (if you don't have the museum pass), you can see priceless historical artifacts from ancient civilizations! My inner archaeologist was revived from her early demise (from our visits in Ephesus and Heriapolis in Pamukkale) just to die again here, in this haven of artifacts, antiquities and sarcophagi.

We were pretty much wiped out around 5, with the history and cultural overload, we stopped by Gülhane Park to rest before going to the Bosphorus bridge.

And there we saw a 1 hour Bosphorus Cruise Tour for only 12TL! Siyempre go agad kami! Barya! 12TL! Mayaman kami! Chos :P

Onboard, we waited for at least 45 minutes for the boat to fill-up pero ok na rin! Sulit and 

What a way to end a tiring but fun day :) cruising through the Bosphorus with the man you're about to spend the rest of your life with ❤ ang keeeesooo! Cheret! Pero honglomeeeg! You really have to bundle up because the wind will definitely get you shookt.