travel

Discovering Singapore’s Outlying Islands

December 24, 2011 by Bino 5 Comments

all aboard!

… and I’m not talking about Sentosa here. What most people don’t realize is that Singapore isn’t just made up of just one island (or two, if you count Sentosa). Believe it or not, this tiny city-state is actually made up of 63 islands — most of them being uninhabited! I had the chance to check out some of these islands last year with friends and it showed me yet another side of Singapore that I hadn’t known previously despite living here for several years.

A short ferry ride from the Marina South Pier via Island Cruise (SGD 15, roundtrip, inclusive of stops) transports one from the hustle and bustle of an ultramodern city to tiny, mythical tropical islands lined with lush palm trees and some of the best beaches in Singapore. The ferry ride took us to three of the more well-known southern islands (aside from Sentosa). First stop was the larger St. John’s Island – a great getaway for those planning for a swim and/or a picnic.

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Wink Hostel: Indulgence on a Budget in Singapore

December 18, 2011 by Bino 12 Comments

I often have friends asking me for recommended places to stay in Singapore. Although I am familiar with most of the hotels in the country, I’m not sure whether it’s a wise idea to rely on a local resident to provide this kind of advice (just kidding!). Seriously speaking, I think for now I do have one to recommend. I normally don’t write an entire entry about a hotel (in fact, I never have!) but I thought this particular one deserves a special mention. Also, if someone asks me again next time, I’ll have this to refer to.

I’ve stayed in all sorts of places. I’ve stayed in a hostel where all I got was a filthy bunk bed. I’ve stayed in one-of-a-kind boutique hotels and I have stayed in chain hotels. There’s one concept I haven’t tried though — that’s the capsule hotel which is found all over space-deprived Tokyo. If given the chance to go there next time, I would want to stay in one. When I found that Singapore recently opened a lodging that took inspiration from this concept, I knew I had to check it out.

exterior of wink hostel

The trendy and charming Wink Hostel in Singapore’s Chinatown has been open since October and I’ve known it for about just as long. Located just one block away from the Chinatown MRT station, the hostel is an easy 3 minute walk and is conveniently located right at the commercial area of Chinatown near the souvenir shops and restaurants, and about 8 minutes away from the bar district and Raffles Place (where I work!).

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Singapore Walking Tour: Why You Should Do It at Night

December 13, 2011 by Bino 14 Comments

For a country that has often been branded by its detractors as dull, Singapore’s nightscape is everything but. A world apart from the day, the same buildings which look neat but otherwise unremarkable against the sunlight turn into a homage of modern construction with an added layer of mystery, sleekness and futurism once the sun sets.

the amazing singapore skyline at blue hour… the building where I work is one of the buildings shown in this picture

As a (almost) local here, I witness this spectacle almost every night from where I work. Despite the sweltering heat, I sometimes prefer to walk above ground on my way home (rather than on the underpass) just to see this when I need a break from the masses of drone-like men and women making the commute home. The skyline looks even better during blue hour – that few minutes when the sun sets but just before it completely turns into night.

Many tourists do the standard walking tour of Singapore around this area, no doubt about it. But I find that barely anyone does it at night, which is a shame. The perfect time for a walking tour around the Civic Center / CBD area is actually at night. Not only is it cooler at this time, but everything appears sleeker than usual, even sultry. My suggested Downtown Singapore walking tour after the jump.

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7 Things to Watch Out For When Buying a Budget Airline Plane Ticket

December 11, 2011 by Bino 13 Comments

Since I usually buy budget airline tickets several months in advance, It has been a while since I bought one to anywhere. Did a couple of bookings this past week which led to some startling if not, annoying discoveries which seem to foretell an inevitable trend in the LCC segment of the airline industry.

by 713 Avenue | CC by SA 2.0

Generally, I find the booking systems of most LCC’s to be quite annoying – this stems from their tendency to pre-select add-ons by default in a way that is not so obvious to unsuspecting passengers. Previously, the pre-selection was only confined to travel insurance. Lately, I discovered that not only more and more of these add-ons are pre-selected, but also that some airlines have made it more tedious for passengers to unselect the pre-selected add-ons (probably in hopes that passengers won’t want to exert the extra effort of unselecting and just pay the extra dollars). Smells like an unethical way to make a quick buck to me, but in a highly volatile industry I suppose every cent counts.

At the end of the day, budget airlines can still offer a lot of value especially during seat sales and I suppose that for the majority of the target market, these are hassles that one should just take note of. Thought I’d share some tips on unspoken rules with regards to LCC bookings and how to avoid getting charged unnecessarily in the booking process. These are in my opinion, 7 things people should watch out for when buying a budget airline plane ticket.

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The Real Iran, Pt7: What Happens in Iran, Does Not Have to Stay in Iran!

December 7, 2011 by Bino 10 Comments

Prior to going to Tehran, I decided to leave the urban setting for a change and go to a small village more than one hour away from Kashan. This village is called Abyaneh and is considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in Iran. It is so old that the natives there speak an ancient variant of Persian which differs from what the rest of the Iranians speak and they wear clothes that don’t look out of place in the year 1200, or even year 1 AD.

the village – it took me a while to find this spot, but it was worth it

There are actually several ways to get to Abyaneh from Kashan. The most convenient way is to rent a car with driver for a daytrip which typically costs $30 to $35 depending on your bargaining skills for a vehicle that seats up to 4. I chose another route which was to go there via motorbike. I got the idea after wandering around the main road in Kashan, which was filled with automotive shops. I asked my hotel to source one for me and voila, it was there the next day! So off we went, relying mostly on the Maps application in my iPhone (an indispensable app by the way!). It was mostly a straight ride of about an hour or more. The roads in Iran are especially good, the only thing one had to worry about are the cars which have no regard for speed so a good way to navigate it on motorbike is to take the side road. Throughout the whole trip, I only had to turn once – in a junction where I passed by the not-so-hush-hush nuclear facility (yet again!). Sweet. Soon enough, I was out of the desert and into the mountainous area. The vegetation changed from barren to seasonal colors of yellow and red which coincided with autumn. It reminded me a lot of New Zealand.

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Puerto Princesa Underground River & Sabang Beach in Palawan

December 3, 2011 by Bino 3 Comments

On our last day in Palawan, we had to get up quite early in the morning to see the famous Puerto Princesa Underground River. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is said to be one of the highlights not just of Palawan but of the Philippines in general and at the time of my visit, it was gunning for a spot in the New7Wonders of Nature (which it eventually got).

the karst formations don’t look out of place in krabi (thailand) or halong bay (vietnam)

Although the Underground River is within the city’s boundaries, it is nevertheless quite far from the city center of Puerto Princesa. A drive of around 2 hours is required to get to Sabang Beach, where pump boats departing for the UNESCO site are located. Somewhere midway however, there is a great rest stop called “Buenavista Lookout” from which one can see a great vista of the surrounds.

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The Real Iran Pt6: Winter Wonderland, Embassy Raids & Nose Jobs in Tehran

December 1, 2011 by Bino 10 Comments

bustling and modern Tehran

I could be fooled for thinking that I was in some other place. North America. Maybe… No, it looked more like I was in Europe. Yes, definitely more European than American. The houses, they looked chic and expensive… and very western. It was un-Asian, if there ever was such a thing. There were maple trees all around me, with leaves withering into shades of red and brown. It was also freezing cold, and fresh snow was on the slippery ground. I couldn’t help it; the Christmas spirit came rushing in and I imagined I was Bing Crosby humming “White Christmas.” Very ironic thing to do, for I was very much in Iran. Humming Christmas carols in this, my last day in the Islamic State was surreal. I didn’t care even when the other passers-by heard me. It was my last day here and that was to be my excuse. After 9 days of traveling, I finally made my way to Tehran, the frenetic and often misunderstood capital of this equally misunderstood country. And what a great way to end my trip than with this winter scene.

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The Real Iran Pt5: Kashan! Kashan!

November 27, 2011 by Bino 5 Comments

kashan skyline – windcatchers and water reservoirs competing for attention

By this time, we entered the second half of our trip and continued our way up north. It was time to say goodbye to the amazing city of Esfahan and proceed to a little but popular city in between Esfahan and the capital, Tehran. We took the morning bus to this city which is called Kashan, passing by more desert and arid lands. Of note were the nuclear power plants we passed by near a small town called Natanz. The other passengers on the bus were quite keen on pointing it out to me when we passed by it.

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