I love how it’s easy to walk around Singapore! We crossed a nice bridge called the Helix Bridge (it’s even more beautiful at night) that leads straight to Marina Bay Sands and has awesome spots where you can take photos of the skyline and surrounding landmarks. You can see the Merlion Park right across.
My fiance Jessie and I went to Singapore a few months ago—our first trip out of the country and his first visit to the Lion City. While I’ve been to Singapore a couple of times before, once for work and another time with family, I still can’t claim I’m a complete expert in navigating the city-state, no matter how easy that is.
As with most countries I visit, the first thing I do is grab a map from the airport. This has usually been my primary way of navigating any city. But thanks to technology, this has become more of a habit, a ritual, rather than a necessity. Because now, for as long as there’s WiFi or I’m on roaming, I can use mobile apps like Google Maps to find where I need to go and look for places to eat, grab a drink, and shop.
There are several Kopi Tiam branches around Singapore. It’s similar to our food court, where you can grab affordable meals from kiosks that sell different cuisine: of course you have to try Singapore’s Hainanese Chicken Rice; there’s Malaysian, Chinese, Indian, vegetarian, etc. If you want to save, just dine at a Kopi Tiam instead of fancy restaurants when in Singapore. It’s easy to find them on Google Maps.
And just as we now have more affordable options for airlines and accommodations, we also have more reasonable roaming rates, whether you’re on Globe Postpaid or Prepaid. Read on for the latest Globe Telecom roaming promos and how this has helped me and Jessie navigate Singapore and share our experiences on social media in real-time—as you can see throughout this post.
I’ve been to the Singapore Flyer once before with my parents, and while it does give a spectacular view of Singapore, you can get almost the same view from one of the many rooftop bars and restaurants around the city, including Marina Bay Sands right across the Helix Bridge that we already planned to visit that night, so we skipped riding the Singapore Flyer (and the steep fee). Taking a selfie with it in the background is free, though!
I love how Globe’s telco partner in Singapore, SingTel, had signal wherever we went—be it in super crowded Universal Studios, high up on the ship-shaped roof deck of Marina Bay Sands, and pretty much every nook and cranny of Singapore that we visited in our short trip. And can I just say the internet is super fast? Ang saya mag-post!
Gardens By The Bay is a must-visit! We found the entrance fees to the two observatories (the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest) too expensive, but we did pay SG $8 to go up to the Skyway, a narrow path suspended high above the ground, connecting these beautiful Supertrees. Exploring the many areas and attractions is for free, so go on ahead and spend an entire morning or afternoon there. The driver of the van who picked us up from the airport also recommended visiting it at night, when the whole place is lit up beautifully, but we had better plans for the evening.
Roaming options have long been available in the market, yet some offers remain too pricy, especially for travelers who are on a tight budget. Finally, travelers now have a more affordable roaming service as Globe introduces the new Easy Roam 149, with its unlimited data roaming good for five days. It is the only roaming offer that is easy on the pocket as it is paid in installment over a period of 12 months for just P149/month on a Globe myLifestyle postpaid plan. For the same 12-month period, customers get five days’ worth of data roaming that can either be consumed on a single trip or on multiple overseas trips.
To subscribe, simply visit any Globe store, call the Globe hotline, or visit this link. Once successfully enrolled, you will be allowed to use your 5-day unlimited data roaming allocation once abroad. You just need to turn on your mobile and data roaming to receive the unlimited data roaming allocation from Globe Telecom’s preferred roaming partner. Enrollment period to Easy Roam 149 is available until December 31, 2016.
Ideal for budget-savvy jet-setters, Easy Roam 149 allows you to maximize your travel experience through hassle-free connectivity in over 120 countries around the world. You can easily share the excitement to loved ones back home, or simply post your trip highlights on social media as we did. Unused roaming days out of the five can simply be used for the next trip as long as it is within the same 12-month period. But, should you exceed five days of data roaming, the regular rate of P599 for unlimited 24-hour data roaming will apply.
Ever notice how here in Manila, when there are too many people in one place, it’s hard to send messages, call, or post anything on social media? When we were at Universal Studios Singapore, my mobile internet was really fast, and I could post the photo above before we even went inside the must-visit theme park, and the photo below right when we got inside. It’s packed on weekends, naturally, so you may want to try visiting on a weekday, but you’ll miss the parade.
Those on prepaid also have their own Globe Prepaid Roam Surf promos. With its extensive range of offers, Globe Prepaid Roam Surf allows Filipino travelers to stay connected with the data roaming promo that fits them best. Prepaid customers can now choose from app-based, bulk data, or unlimited data roaming packs depending on their needs and budget.
For as low as P199/day, you can enjoy the full features of Roam Viber, including sending and receiving of chat messages, photos, stickers, voice and video messages with location sharing. Video and voice calling are also enabled, making it easier to communicate with those at home and abroad.
Here’s another tourist spot in Singapore where everyone converges for photos. We took lots of silly pics (including the typical ones where we try to “catch” the splash in our mouths or our hands, haha), but only for our personal consumption. We used my Globe iPhone for photos, so I just sent all the photos to Jessie through Viber and Facebook Messenger immediately after.
Roam Facebook is a great choice for digital-savvy travelers for only P299/day. Post status updates, upload photos, or better yet, take a Facebook Live video as the action happens. This is even more sulit thanks to the bundled access to Facebook Messenger and all its in-app features, such as exchanging of chat messages, videos, photos, stickers, maps, even voice and video calls.
Jessie & I were very clear about what we wanted to do when in Singapore: eat, drink in the coolest bars, and check out their night scene. Of course this includes trying the original Singapore Sling from Raffles Hotel (it tastes just like your average Singapore Sling, although we bought into the novelty of trying it where it was invented, at Long Bar, which has hosted everyone from US presidents and royals to the biggest pop stars and athletes), as well as checking out the bars and clubs at Clarke Quay, which remains Singapore’s popular night spot. We Googled our way to these spots.
Roam Surf 50 and 80MB packs, on the other hand, give you the flexibility of using data any way you want it. From Googling directions and hailing a ride to taking Snapchats and Instagram Stories, you will be able to search and share online without having to worry about going over budget.
We had to wait a while and keep ordering Singapore Sling and bar chow to hold this spot at Ce La Vi, Marina Bay Sands’ rooftop bar, but it was worth it for this view: just look at the beautiful, glistening Singapore evening skyline!
Globe Prepaid Roam Surf gets even better with discounted rates the longer the usage. Heavy data users get more savings by subscribing to an unlimited data roaming pack for either three or five days. Roam Surf 3-days is only P1,499 that comes out to be around P500/day, while Roam Surf 5-days is P2,299 or about P460/day.
To register to any of the Globe Prepaid Roam Surf promos, dial *143# and choose Roaming & Int’l. This offer is now available in over 80 countries around the world.