I am Ulyssa Elaine - Travel, Food and Lifestyle Blogger

Sunday, February 12, 2017 No comments

I've been to Johor Bahru, Malaysia once with my cousins. But this time, I was with my sister and my mom. The same as last time, we just had a lunch there and travelled back to Singapore.

Without further ado, we travelled to Johor Malaysia on our 2nd day in Singapore (January 21, 2017). From our hotel, Southeast Asia Hotel, we walked going to Bugis MRT Station and travelled to Woodlands MRT Station. It took us an hour to get to Woodlands MRT Station.

Bugis MRT (Blue Line) → Newton (Blue Line) → Newton (Red Line) → Woodlands (Red Line)

From Woodlands MRT Station, take a walk going to Woodlands Bus Terminal. Take the bus SMRT #950. Eazy Link Card are widely accepted on this transportation. The route of the SMRT #950 is Woodland Bus Terminal - JB Bus Terminal and vice versa. The trip costs SGD$ 1.43.

This is not the right bus to go there. We just had some photo-ops.

After you reached the Singapore - Malaysia Border, there's a checkpoint. You have to get off the bus and present your passport to the immigration officers. The immigration officers will access your passport and (hopefully) stamp your passport to allow you to cross Malaysia. Taking photos inside the immigration counters are not allowed so we didn't have any photos on that area.

Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Hooray! We're now in Johor Bahru, Malaysia!

After we passed by the Malaysian Immigration, we proceeded to Johor Bahru City Square Mall.

After our lunch, we explored the mall and noticed that they were preparing for the upcoming Chinese New Year.

After exploring the mall, we transferred to another mall named Komtar JBCC. It is just beside Johor Bahru City Square Mall.

After that, we travelled back to Singapore and took again SMT Bus #950 to Woodlands Bus Terminal. Then took MRT from Woodlands Station to Bugis Station.

How about you? Have you experienced to travel from Singapore to Malaysia and vice versa? How was your experience?

Sunday, February 05, 2017 No comments

South East Asia Hotel is one of the oldest hotel in Singapore, established in 1953. It has been a choice of many because it's budget friendly, more spacious room (compared to others), comes with a free breakfast, very accessible by bus or MRT and also to shopping areas like Bugis Junction, Sim Lim Square and many more.

» Location «

The hotel is located in 190 Waterloo Street beside Kuan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple.

» Booking Procedure «

We can't find the hotel booking either in Agoda or Booking.com so we proceeded to the hotel's website: http://www.seahotel.com.sg/ and filled-up the reservation form using this link: http://www.seahotel.com.sg/Reservation/Reservation.aspx.

My cousin did all the booking procedures and email exchanges with them. We reserved for 3 nights there and payed for our first night. Here are the prices but it may vary based on hotel policies:

Standard room: SGD$ 100.00
Superior room: SGD$ 120.00
Triple room: SGD$ 130.00
Family room (4 adults): SGD$ 160.00

All rates are inclusive of government taxes. How cheap, right? Considering the high-cost of living in Singapore.

» Arrival «

We arrived at night time and the rooms were ready when we got there. We paid for our remaining balances and slept on our respective rooms.

» Facilities «

Don't expect everything from this hotel because it's a budget hotel.

» Rooms «

Here's the view of our room when we arrived. The room is a bit dark but we didn't mind because we just need a good bed to rest and a safe place to spend our nights.

Here's the view of our room after we went back to the hotel (the 2nd day). They offer daily housekeeping, which is great.

» Restaurant Area «

The restaurant area for the breakfast section is a bit small but we didn't bother it at all.

» Daily Breakfast «

Just choose between Vegetarian Buffet or Continental Breakfast. I chose the Continental Breakfast.

» My TripAdvisor Review «

» Info «

Hotel Classification: 3-star hotel
Address: 190 Waterloo Street Singapore 187965
Check-in from: 2:00 PM

Check-out until: 12:00 PM
TripAdvisor Rating: #259 of 319 hotels in Singapore by Traveller's Rank

» Overall «

It's a great stay if you're a budget traveller. But if you're in Singapore for a luxurious stay, this hotel is not for you.

How about? Have you been to Singapore? Where did you stay?

Monday, January 30, 2017 No comments

Last January 20 - 23, my family along with my relatives went to Singapore for a 4-day trip to celebrate my aunt's 60th birthday. I have been to Singapore three years ago with them also (except for my Mom and my sister) and the place is still familiar to me. At that time, I just relied our travel to my cousins because I was a first-timer and recently turned 21 at that time (such a baby). This time my Mom and my sister trusted and relied to me because my sister and I managed to travel alone to South Korea (without our parents). Thank you! :)

Moving forward, I want to share the apps that I used to survive on our 4-day SG trip.

Explore Singapore MRT (left), Google Maps (center), Uber (right)

1. Explore Singapore MRT map - The app was developed by Explore Metro and was recommended by Lonely Planet and CNN. The app has a street maps of every station and a route planner to check what stations to take and how many stations to get there.

What I love from the app is you can check if even in offline mode, which means without internet connection. How cool, right? Internet connection in SG is a bit pricey though. I have saved a few bucks without getting lost. :)

Got this screenshots from App Store:

You can download the app in App Store and Google Play.

2. Google Maps - The app was developed by Google Inc. I guess everyone is familiar with this app so I won't elaborate it more. If the app mentioned above helps to find the MRT routes, this app helps me to check the whole place (around the area stores, hotels, landmarks, etc.). It is very useful. :)

You can download the app in App Store and Google Play.

3. Uber - The app was developed by Uber Technologies, Inc. There's no need to wait for a taxi because with Uber, you can book a ride hassle-free.

Note: Uber in SG is a bit pricey compared in Manila but it's safe.

You can download the app in App Store and Google Play.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. I'm just sharing my experience with the apps.

How about you? Did you use any apps when you travelled here? Share your experience.

Sunday, January 29, 2017 No comments

Tuesday, January 17, 2017 No comments

Photo from http://holidaysuites.ph/

Holiday Suites Hotel and Resort Palawan is a modern and comfortable hotel to stay in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. It is just a 15-minute away from the airport and opposite of the city's shopping mall, Robinsons Mall Palawan.

I highly recommended this place because it's perfect for families. We stayed here for 3 days and 2 nights.

» The Rooms «

You have 3 options to choose from:

Superior Room - a 20 m²/215 ft² non-smoking and air-conditioned room with shower. You can choose either 2 single beds or 1 double bed.
Deluxe Room - a 24 m²/258 ft² non-smoking room and air-conditioned room with shower and city view. The bed comes with a double bed or a queen bed.
Family Room - a 28 m²/301 ft² non-smoking room and air-conditioned room with shower and city view. The bed comes with 2 double beds.

All rooms comes with free toiletries, towels, and free bottled water. The rooms also comes with a TV with cable channels. Wi-Fi is available in all rooms but unfortunately, the signal is not that strong. Anyways, we're in a vacation so we didn't mind it at all.

Note: I availed the family room and it's perfect for a family for 4.

» Amenities «

View at morning

View at night

Swimming Pool - Open daily from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm.
Function Hall - It's open to cater special events such as wedding receptions, birthday parties as well as seminars or conferences.
Recreation Area - They have a massage area as well as play area, for those who loves to enjoy table tennis, darts, and so on.

» Dining «

They have an in-house restaurant, which is open from 6:00 am to 2pm. My family really enjoyed our daily buffet breakfast.

» Service «

The front desk is open 24/7 to cater the guests' needs. What I love about them was they offered FREE roundtrip airport shuttle van. We just gave a tip to the driver for serving us patiently and excellently.

» My TripAdvisor Review «

“Very good location, cosy and affordable place to stay, friendly staff” - My TripAdvisor Review

» Info «

Website: http://www.holidaysuites.ph/

Address: North National Highway, Barangay San Manuel, Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island, Philippines

Check-in from: 2:00 PM

Check-out until: 12:00 PM
Contact Numbers: (048) 433-2526/ 0917 558 2990/ 0939 924 2756 / holidaysuitespalawan@gmail.com

Tripadvisor Rating: #4 Best Value of 50 hotels in Puerto Princesa

» Overall «

Our family really enjoyed our 3 days / 2 nights stay. We will definitely go back and stay here for our next Palawan trip soon.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I booked the accommodation via Agoda.com for only Php 5,033.14 or $100. What a great deal, right? The prices may vary depending on the season.