Sing - A - Pore

Saturday 7th June

We arrived in Singapore in the afternoon, and by travelling from the airport and into the hostel (the little red dot) we were in pain from carrying our heavy bags. Bought so much stuff in Manila and actually didn't throw anything out, as we planned to. 

We stayed in a 6 bed dorm for 21 SGD (90kr) each. The comfort and atmosphere was doubtless better than anywhere else we've stayed in a long time (except for Kristoffers lodge off course). The hostel was an improvement of our lifestyle in Asia. 

Singapore is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, along with the wealth comes a rich culture of a  multinational population. The city is so clean and nice, and definitely dosen't fit into any of the Asian standards. In Singapore you get fees for everything, like littering, smoking on the streets, spitting and a lot of other things. We really enjoyed being back in the more modern world again. 

We strolled around the streets of ramshackle litte India.. Even here the streets are clean. In Malaysia we avoided Indian areas, cause we couldn't stand the perverted way the Indian men looked at white people (women). In the more modern world they're actually not that disqusting... There was plenty of hawkers and food courts around, and we simply love the Indian curries - personally I'm a big fan of the masala tea too. We were astonished by the cheap prices for food, it came to only 2,5 SGD (10kr) for one of us. We didn't expect to find such cheap food in fancy and costly Singapore. We were a bit lazy at night and spend most of it on the hostel. 

Sunday 8th June 

Sightseeing day. The hostel had a discount deal, which included a open ticket to both a rivercruise and a ride in the Singapore flyer, for only 30 SGD (129kr) per person. 

We were blown away by the river cruise around  Marina Bay Sands, the fancy skyscrapers, the artscience museum and the coluorful bars and restaurants in Clarke Quay. We saw the most fancy Louis Vuitton store, located in the bay as a little island and is a luxury destination for rich travelers. 

We were impressed by the high tech city and the relaxed atmosphere. We walked the botanical gardens, ate at foodstolls and strolled around the affluent area of Orchard Road with countless shoppingmalls and costly stores. We found cheap sushi in one of the metro stations (Yup Erik have finally become a fan of sushi), and we decided to splash out and buy some wine to it. That was the first time we drank wine in a very long time. We got very constructive from the wine, and got a lot of practical stuff done during the night.

Appartments with acces to a green area

Artscience museum and Marina Bay Sands

Singapore skyscrapers

Artscience museum

Very excited for our stay there

Someone forgot to look in the mirror before they went out

Metro entrance on Orchard Road

Three of our favorite things: alcohol, sushi and each other

Monday 9th June

The day was dedicated to Marina Bay Sands Hotel- the large boat on top of three buildings, with the world-known infinity pool, facing Marina Bay and Singapore skyscrapers. I booked a room there for our last night in South East Asia. I'm not gonna tell you the price, but 422 SD (1814kr), is a lot of money. 

We were on 47th floor with view over the gardens by the bay, and the harbour. The hotel is massive and also houses a casino and loads of top-end shops and restaurants. 

We brought some sushi and wine with us (from the cheap end of the city), and then we were selfsufficient for the day. In the best teenage manner we hided the wine in our bag and sneaked it into the pool area, poured it into plastic cups underneath the table and then enjoyed the fantastic view over the pool and the city from 57th floor. To actually be there, was incredible and fantastic. The pool was just as huge as everything else on the hotel. We got one of those 'once in a life time experiences' there, and it was worth the money. 

At night we strolled around the huge malls and watched the water-light show in the bay.

View from our room

Infinity pool

Tuesday 10th June

Unfortunately breakfast wasn't included in the price.. That would be another 30 SD (129kr) each. 

We didn't bother too much since we knew we could get delicious food at the food stalls, around the city later. Had another enjoyable swim in the pool before we checked out from our luxury. 

We were flying out from Singapore at nighttime, so we had the whole day to explore more of the city. 

We used our ticket to the Singapore flyer, which currently holds the title as the world's largest observation deck. The ride took about 30 min, and offered great views over most of the city and the South China Sea. 

We decided to visit the club, bar and restaurant strip, Clarke Quay, again.. We placed ourselves in a costly restaurant where we enjoyed a Singapore Sling drink - a must-do in Singapore! Then we headed north to little India, to try their famous cuisine again. We got meals for only 4,70 SD (18kr) for both of us. 

Late afternoon we took the metro to the airport and spend most of the night out there. It was time to hit the civilized world again... And arriving in Sydney the next morning was almost like being home again..!!

Sunrise

Panorama view

Loaded backpack

The massive lobby

Singapore flyer

Marina Bay

Clarke Quay

Chilly Singapore Sling

Singapore video

Boracay, Apo Reef & Manila - Philippines

Friday 30th May

I got up 5.15 and enjoyed the famous and outstanding white beach for a morning jog. Already at this time there was people on the picture-perfect beach - either sunrise junkies, drunk people on their way home or joggers like me. It was a beautiful morning - and the beach is without a doubt just as white and breathtaking as all the guidebooks shows.
I used my alone time afterwards to search for a new place to stay. There was countless opportunities, and it was hard to choose, but eventually I made up my mind. M & E guesthouse won!
It's located in station 3, the cheap and so-called old part of White Beach. It provided what we needed - brilliant wifi connection, aircon, fridge and a nice little porch. We payed a little extra for our luxury, and in trade we got our blog uploaded. We were also lucky to have time to enjoy the beach and the dazzling sun. Boracay is for sure a dream destination... Off cause there's many tourists, but the beach is 3 km long, and it didn't get crowded at any point.


White Beach ín the early morning hours

White Beach

Saturday 31st May

We walked to Lapuz Lapuz beach on the other side of the island, quite far actually, and only to discover that it was all private property with fancy resorts and rich people. Definitely not a place for us! The bright side was that we saw a big part of Boracay on our stroll there, the darkside was, it was smoking hot and we didn't get to a beach before we were back at White Beach again.
That beach is one of the most stunning we have seen - no wonder it's Philippines biggest tourist spot. We spend our last night together with Tom & Verity, and a big family pizza.
Unfortunately I didn't feel good, had some stomach problems, so they left our place early and we never got to try the Boracay rum. That's a good excuse for coming back!

The kite surfing side of Boracay

Tom & Erik enjoying themselves

Sunday 1st June

Felt a little guttered to leave Boracay already, could have spend some more time there - unfortunately Erik had other plans for us.
He arranged a liveaboard trip to Apo Reef which was leaving on the 4th, but we had to be there the 3rd. Against my will we left with a ferry towards Mindoro island.
The ferry was delayed so when we arrived in Roxas, it was already dark. Our plan was to travel down to Bulalacao, but we got met by some problems at the pier of Roxas. The van drivers was trying to rip us off, there was something suspicious about the prices they told us, it was almost double the price as other people in the vans had payed for the same distance. Frankly it was penny we were talking about, but just didn't want to pay extra, just because we're foreigners.
Some guys in trikes told us we could get a van from the busstation in the city and they offered to drive us there. We told them we wouldn't pay for the trike, if we got to the busstation and there wasn't any vans leaving anyway... Then a few of them got mad cause they realized they couldn't play that trick on us - but we got even more mad at them.
They knew there wasn't any vans at this time of the day, but off cause they would drive us into town to earn some money! Well, that's not how it works with two stubborn experienced backpackers!
None of these guys deserved any of our money. We decided to walk into town and find a place to sleep for the night. Quickly we discovered it was a far walk and since there was no streetlights it was a bit dangerous to walk on the mainstreet.
Some local ladies outside their house was helpfull and organized a trike for us, and we payed a reasonable price (30 pesos = 3,5kr) to get into the little ghost town. We got a room at a spooky little hotel, looked like it was taken out from a horror movie.
We had to be careful where we stepped, cause nails was sticking up from the floor and there was small holes everywhere aswell, the walls was water damaged with dark odd pictures on, the toilet facilities was nasty, disqusting and only with a bucket to shower in, but for the price of 300 pesos (36 kr) you cant expect a lot.
As a matter of fact the owner was really kind, welcomed us with a smile and nicely showed us to our room. We were forced to eat pizza for the second night in a row, it was the only restaurant open at this time.. Actually they were closing at 8 pm and we got there 2-3 min before.. Just in time to order one of the great looking pizzas on the pictures, in reality it wasn't that great - but it served it's purpose.


Ferry to Mindoro

Monday 2nd June

We slept as babies in the poor room with the fieldmatresses. In daylight in was much easier to find a van, without being ripped off.
The trip to San Jose only took two hours, it felt a lot longer due to the packed van and the minimum space. Well it was easy to find a hotel in San Jose, not that there's many of them, but we were lucky to get dropped off at the right place.
We spend some hours on the dirty beach outside the town.. Definitely nothing like Boracay. We were far away from any tourist spots, and we were an interesting sight as we were laying there on the beach. A trike full of young filipinoes were watching us, and a girl came and took a selfie, with us in the background.
As we were just trying to kill time in the town later, and we both needed a haitcut we went into a hairdresser. The guy there didn't get what I was on about, so he cut my hair totally short, just the same lenght as when we left DK.. I got so angry, and depressed at the same time. My hair was so uneven and the style was nothing like I told him. Neighter did they understand how Erik wanted his haircut.. After a little verbal fight we left the store, both with half done haircuts - and not paying them a single pesos for their bad custumer service.
It was sad that this guy ruined my hair in just 2 minutes - I was crying inside. We found a decent barbershop on the other side of the street for Erik, where he got the haircut and the shave he wanted. I found a ladyboy who cut my hair even in both sides, but I still have a lot of uneven hair! So depressing!

The ghost hotel in Roxas

Who's talking about a window.. I can only see teddy bears 

Public beach in San Jose

At the barbershop

Jollybee, and a sad girl with too short hair...

Tuesday 3rd June

We left towards Apo Reef Club, the company that arranged the liveaboard. Felt like a nomad, and the next 4 days was a little confusing, since we only had one day each place we stayed... Not exactly how I planned our last months in the Philippines to be, but for once in his lifetime Erik got it his way.. Haha.!
The night at the resort was included in the price, and was a necessity to go diving, since we were leaving early next morning and there wasn't any other accomodation around. Luckily Erik managed to get a discount on the room. We brought our own dinner - cup noodles... So when the others were eating from the nice smelling buffet, we gave our priority to cheap beers and cup noodles in the bar instead.

Our roommate at the Apo reef resort

Erik found this little fellow in the men's CR (comfort room)

Beach at the resort

Apo reef club

Wednesday 4th June

We were 10 divers - 6 Chinese and 4 Europeans. The plan was to do some amazing diving around Apo reef, which is known for big stuff, like sharks, mantas, barracudas etc. It was 1 night - 2 days, and up to 8 dives. The boat was everything but clean and comfortable.
The price we payed was pretty much the same as the other liveaboards we've been on, but the quality was seriously bad. The floor was dirty and yet not cleaned from the last time they used the boat, we didn't get our own cabin, but should all sleep together on the upper deck, the bedsheets were dirty and not changed either. They served us corned beef for breakfast, the only dry area was the dining area, where two hard benches on each side of the table was provided for our "comfort".
We were both exaggerated disappointed about everything on board. It made us angry at the "nice" swiss guy, running Apo Reef Club... Frankly he had ripped us off - that bastard!
We had only payed for 5 dives, and we didn't plan to do more than that. Didn't want to put more money, than we had already did, into his business. We skipped the first dive, a macrodive around a wreck. We did some snorkeling and saw the wreck from above instead. Were really happy about this decision, since the dive seemed really boring, and only on 9 meters dept.
We did the 3 following dives... They were great, but we weren't out of control of happiness. Had expected to see more big stuff.. Saw white tip reef sharks far away, schools of barracudas and two eagle rays. We know that the divecompany can't control what happens under water, but we just had mixed feelings about this whole experience.. It was overpriced and disappointing - from our point of view.
We dived at same divesite twice, eventhough there's like 16 different around the reef. We had a terrible divemaster, which didn't make the situation any better. We tried to look at the bright side of life, and make the best out of it, but it was unfortunately very difficult.

The live aboard boat

Views from the light house at Apo reef island

The beautiful people

Thursday 5th June

Sunrise (and sunset) dives are our favorites, and we love waking up and go diving straight away... It's an awesome way to start a new day.
On the sandy bottom we woke up a sleeping white tip shark - or in fact it was the camera flash from one of the Chinese that woke it up. We visited a area with countless triggerfish... They were massive and they looked so cool by the fast way they move around. Honestly I wasn't a big fan of that part of the dive, since they are so territorial and agressive in their nesting season, but our divemaster (another than the day before) assured us that it would be okay to pass the area. None of us got attacked, so he was right.
We just had two dives this day, we had to respect the rules about decompression sickness - and it has to be at least 18 hours since your last dive, when you're flying. We were flying the next morning, so we couldn't even do another dive, not even if we wanted to. We worked on the blog, while the others did the last two dives.
When we got back to the resort, the owner Michael sensed that we weren't satisfied with the trip, so he tried to be gentle and offer us a free ride back to San jose, in a open jeepney loaded with dive tanks, and actually also a free beer for our journey. It gave us more mixed feelings, cause it was a nice gesture but it couldn't compete with the terrible boat, the bad food and the general bad service level on the boat.
To our surprise the jeepney stopped at a resort and picked up 15 big asians, who all carried their body weight in luggage. So our free ride literally became a pain in the arse. It was officially our last bustrip in Asia, and that was worth thinking about. We checked in at Sikatuna hotel in San Jose again, and ate our poor cup noodles. Both looking forward to be leaving Asia.

Relaxing on the outtriggers of the boat

Not the worst sunset we've seen 

Apo Reef Liveaboard 

Friday 6th June

Left San Jose with a trike to the airport. We were looking forward to visit Kristoffers "lodge" in Manila again. Unfortunately he wouldn't be home during the weekend, but he let us borrow his appartment for the night. So generous of him - feel like we owe him the world after what he have done for us!
Nestor (K's private driver) picked us up in Manila airport, brought us to K's condo and we shortly catched up with Kristoffer, before he left towards the airport.
We used the day on finally getting our blog updated, catched up with friends, did our last shopping before leaving the redicolious low price country and splashed out and ate at peoples palace for lunch (the thai restaurant Kristoffer introduced us to last time we visited).
Kris had sat us up with his good friend, Mandy, who we met one time before, and she took us out for dinner and drinks at night. It's unbelievable how privileged we felt. Mandy had her own driver as well, he picked us up, and waited around till we were done having fun.  So we didn't need to worry about anything with transport - or money, because Mandy insisted to pay for the whole evening! 

Their drivers have a great job compared to Filipino standards, but they're actually not expensive. Kristoffer driver cost him around 10000 pesos (1200kr) a month. Who wouldn't do that a home, if that was the price. Off course you need to provide them a car to drive in as well, and the fuel, but still - it's a good deal. The bar/restaurant we went to, had a service level and a food quality that we're definitely not used to as backpackers. We enjoyed every second of our last night in the Philippines, and Mandy was just as friendly and easy going as Kristoffer.
At midnight it was time to go home. Mandy had to work the next day and we were leaving to Singapore early in the morning. By the way, Mandy also arranged for us, that her driver would pick us up in the morning, and drive us to the airport - we couldn't be more happy. 

We had some filippino pesos left - and during the day we hadn't had time for our well-needed massage, so Erik got this clever idea about calling a homeservice massage company (Kristoffer had recommended it). It was almost 2 am before they arrived, and we got the best massage ever. It was fantastic to lay in bed and go to sleep straight after 1 hour fullbody massage. It was an absolutely outstanding experience.. And again who wouldn't do that, if the price was just 600 pesos = 72 kr for two. Living in a country like this speaks more and more to us! We just need to find a way to make money! Simply love the Phillipines!

Last night in Manila - clean clothes, blog and repacking everything

 

 The Philippines video