Hotel Review ~ Amara Hotel Singapore

I have chosen Amara Hotel specifically for its location.  I wanted to stay within walking distance from Chinatown.

We arrive at the hotel at 12nn, which was 2 hours earlier than regular check-in time.  

I appreciate that reception was kind enough to have our rooms available and ready for a complimentary early check-in.  So we got our key cards and headed to straight to our room at the Executive floor to freshen up before touring officially starting our Day 1 agenda.

Room size (32sqm) was adequate for our need.  It was just me an my husband so we really don't need much  space. 

The room came with a handy phone with internet connection that can use touring Singapore, free mini bar (replenished daily) and espresso machine.  

My husband approves ~ Yup, comfortable!

Bathroom is good sized, with separate bath tub and shower area.  They were quite generous with the toiletries as well.

I love that the towels were new and nicely washed.

They have a working table for business travelers.  My husband brought his computer as he was expecting an important Skype meeting.  

Look what Amara got me :P   

I finished the whole thing (oh the calories) as my husband napped.

 

The view from our room.

Our package also allowed us access to the Executive  Lounge ~ with complimentary breakfast, tea time (2-4pm) and nightly cocktails (6-8pm).

Just in time for "Tea Time"...

VERDICT

1. Location is perfect.  It is connected to 100AM (where a Don Don Donki store is located) with Tanjong Pagar market across the street and plenty of food options within walking  distance.  It is also easily accessible by bus (bus stop a few meters away, MRT via Tanjong Pagar Station - 400 meters and Chinatown Station 1km, taxi is also easy to hail).
2. Check in and Check out was fast and easy, though I was surprised we were not ushered to a lounge check-in
3. Lounge staff were very nice and I really felt really welcomed, however, food at the Executive Lounge lacks imagination, it was just okay (I was expecting a more flavorful flair). Sadly breakfast was the same for our 3 days stay.
4. Our room was a bit dated, but was comfortable.  It was clean and we slept soundly so I have nothing to complain.
5. The pool was under construction so we never got to use nor check it out.  I learned that they hotel was undergoing refurbishment, so that's good! 

Given so many hotel options in Singapore, it is tough to say, if I would want to stay here again, unless we need to stay somewhere near Chinatown again.   Our 3 nights was acceptable though I felt the hotel can do so much more.   

For inquiries please check their website: 

Amara Hotel Singapore.

165 Tanjong Pagar Road,

Singapore 088539​
​​Tel: +65 6879 2555
Email: singapore@amarahotels.com

Our Singapore DuckTour Experience

Kids and walking really doesn't fit well together. 


I figured it would take a lot of walking if we insisted in touring the Singapore Marina area on foot, and so decided a tour onboard an open tour bus and the river cruise. However, due to limited time, I thought it is brilliant to do a Wacky Duck Tour instead.


The Original (with live commentary) Singapore Duck Tour takes you on a Singapore Heritage Tour by Land and Sea on onboard a DUCK, which is actually a remodeled WWII amphibious Vietnamese war craft

I booked a combo tour, through Asiatravel, which included: a ride on the Singapore Flyer; a DUCKtour and tickets to the Gardens by the Bay twin conservatories. 

The entire package costs SGD70 for adults and SGD55 for children. 

The tour boards by the Singapore Flyer tourist center and

lasts for about 60 minutes.

Hubby and I got to see most of Singapore's famous attractions without the trouble of dragging and forcing the kids around the city.

The land adventure included sights of Esplanade, the Historic Civic District and the Suntec City.  This is followed by the harbor tour view of Marina Bay, Merlion, Art Science Museum, Skypark and Gardens by the Bay Domes.


VERDICT

I think nothing beats walking, if you are yearning for a more authentic Singapore experience.  However, if you have children around, your next best bet is a Ducktour that combines both land and sea tours.


TIPS

• The chairs near the commentator may get wet, as the duck makes a huge splash as it enters the water.  It was fun to watch my kids giggle in laughter as they moved away from the "danger zone". 
• Remember to reserve seats though phone, especially if you intend to ride on a weekend or a holiday.  I have seen a couple, turned away since the tour is full and they have not made reservations.

Check out the Duck Tour webpage for additional details.

Festive Hotel - Resorts World Singapore

Hotels inside Sentosa are really expensive, if not for a credit card promotion, which included a 2 nights stay in Festive Hotel's Family Deluxe Room, inclusive of multiple attractions tickets for 2 adults in: SEA Aquarium, Universal Studio and Adventure Cove - staying in a Sentosa Hotel would not have been included in our Singapore adventure.

I booked via Agoda using my MasterCard and used earned reward points from my previous Agoda hotel bookings.  The entire package is less than P20,000 total.

Breakfast was not included in our package though, but no worries since there are numerous restaurants in the adjoining Forum Mall and nearby Malaysian Foodstreet.

Festive Hotel is connected to the USS Theme Park through the Festive Walk and Forum.  It is still about 5-10 minutes walk to and from USS, but a lot convenient than staying outside the Resort's World complex.  

The room was huge with a king size bed, loft bed and sofa bed, that can comfortably sleep 5 pax.  The hotel provided enough linens and pillow.


Room was clean enough (since my dust allergy was not triggered), although it has seen better days and would soon need renovation. 


There is a bath tub, but I find it quite high for the average Asian.  You would need to use steps to climb in and out the tub, which could be slippery when wet.  You have to be extra cautious, especially of the kids to avoid accidents.

There is also no bidet, which saddened by husband. Bidet sprayer happens to be one of his hotel requirements.

But that was okay, as the view compensated for the missing bidet....

Our room opens up to balcony, with a pool view and a glimpse of the USS park at the back ground.


VERDICT
Would like to try other hotels in Sentosa next time.  I have heard about Movenpick, which is cleaner and newer than Festive.  Would consider staying here again, but only if on promotion.


TIPS:

1. Entry via taxi is free for hotel guests, just show a proof of your hotel confirmation (SMS or print out).
2. Ask for the special children toiletries pack upon booking.
3. Request for Sentosa Espress Pass tickets.  This would give you free access to the Sentosa Express to and from Harbourfront Station.
4. Standard Hotel Check-in at Festive Hotel is 3pm, but you may leave you luggage at the hotel concierge before exploring Sentosa Island.   
5. Festive has a pool, but the Hard Rock Pool is much nicer.  Hotel guests may use the Hard Rock Pool, just by showing their Hotel Key card.
6. For convenience, you may opt for the hotel limousine for transfers outside Resorts World.  As the taxi bay, was located near the Forum Mall (5-10minutes walk from Festive, through Festive Walk), we decided on a limousine transfer to the airport which cost us about SGD55 (regular taxi, on a non-peak hour from Resorts World would cost approximately SGD22-25).  The limousine transfer was more expensive obviously, but so convenient, considering regular taxi going outside Resorts World is difficult to get especially during rush hour.  With 4 pieces of full luggage, excluding backpacks and 2 EXTREMELY (we've been walking across Singapore for 8 days straight  now) kids in tow ~ a hotel limousine was a welcome luxury.

For Festive Hotel bookings and inquiries, please visit the Resorts World Singapore website:  FESTIVE HOTEL


You may also check out, the rest of our Singapore-Malaysia trip here:

Day 1 - Singapore City
Day 2 and 3 - LEGOLAND Malaysia
Day 4 - Jurong Bird Park and Science Center
Day 5 - Singapore Zoo (with breakfast with the Orangutans)
Day 6 - Sentosa Island
Day 7 - Universal Studio Singapore
Day 8 - SEA Aquarium and Vivo City

Legoland Malaysia (A Dream come true for Lego Fans)

Legoland Malaysia is a dream come true for Lego lovers and fanatics. The park is located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia's southern most city.  It is actually closer to Singapore than Kuala Lumpur, hence the suggested point of entry is via Singapore. 


The Park is divided in 6 major zones. These are (counter-clockwise): 

1. Lego City is where you can find most of the kiddie rides and attractions.  

• Lego Rescue Academy*. The boys love this family firemen role-play competion with other families.  My boys did all the work, as I cheer them on.  Of course, we WON!!!

• Lego City Airport. My son piloted a plane while I co-pilot.

  

• Boating School*.  The boats were quite difficult to navigate.  My eldest was very good at it, while my husband and youngest struggled a bit...

My serious boat captain.

• The Driving School* was one of my boys' favorite attractions.  My youngest was quite proud to drive his first Lego car and get his own Lego driver's license after (He wore it the entire duration of our Singapore-Malaysia vacation. Yup, even in USS - check out his USS picture with his Papa here).  

• Junior Driving School for toddlers (pass).

• The Shipyard is a playground for younger children (pass).

• The LEGOLAND Express* is a mini train that goes around the park.  It is a good and easy way to tour the park, while resting your tired feet.

2. Land of Adventure takes you to:

• Lost Kingdom Adventure* is a ride to an Egyptian-themed landscape on board a jungle vehicle, while armed with laser blaster.  Your goal: to shoot enemy mummies and tomb creatures.

• Beetle Bounce (pass)

• Dino Island* is a river raft jump ride similar to Enchanted Kingdom's Jungle Log Jump (pass)

• Pharaoh's Revenge is a play gym for small children (pass) 

3. Imagination is a place for Lego fans creative minds. Here guests can bring their imaginings to life. 

• Kid Power Tower you pull yourself up to get a vista of the park (tiring - pass).

• Observation Tower is actually an observation deck, that gives you a 360 degrees view of the park.

• Lego Studio** is a LEGOLAND's theatre showing Lego movies with 4D features.  If you have time suggest you watch all the movies.  Click here for the latest schedule - Lego Studio Shows.

• Duplo Play Town is an interactive playground for small children (pass)

• Duplo Express is a mini train for much smaller children (pass).

4. Lego Kindgoms is a legend and myths themed zone. 

• Forestmen's Hideout is a play gym for school age children (pass). 

• Dragon Apprentice* is mini roller coaster ride for school age children.

Courtesy of LEGOLAND Malaysia webpage.

• Royal Joust is a medieval contest on a Lego horse.  Boys particularly loved riding the Lego horses all dressed up in medieval outfit. 

• Merlin Challenge is a high speed carousel (pass).

• The Dragon is Dragon Apprentice's mommy.  It is a huge roller coaster for thrill seekers. None of my boys wanted to ride with me after the Dragon Apprentice experience (pass). 

5. Lego Technic has action packed rides and exciting workshops for older children.  

• Technic Twister you spin the wheel to control your ride (pass)

• AQUAZONE is a wave surf type of ride, where viewers can water bomb riders (pass - not cool, unless you want to get wet)

• Project X* is an 18 meters high crazy ride. I so wanted to ride this one, but you know about the Dragon Apprentice experience already, so I would no longer elaborate (pass).

• Lego Star Wars Miniland* is the latest of Legoland's attractions.   The park has recreated various scenes from the Star Wars  movie.  On display are about 2000+ well known Star Wars models  and iconic scenes.

6. Mini Land* is the center piece of  the LEGOLAND theme park.  We were awestruck to learn it took LEGOLAND Master Builders three years and 30 Million Lego Bricks to recreate some of Asia's best known landmarks. 

We so Love LEGOLAND where everything is Awesome!

Please check LEGOLAND Malaysia website on how to get there, pricing and latest promotions -
LEGOLAND MALAYSIA WEBSITE.

Must see attractions and rides are in "*", meanwhile we did not ride attractions labelled "pass".

Feel free to ask me questions about LEGOLAND Malaysia, I would be happy to help.

SINGAPORE DAY 8 (SEA Aquarium)

Day 8.  Our last day in Singapore is a visit to the South East Asia Aquarium (more popularly known as SEA Aquarium).

Your journey begins with a tour of Asian maritime heritage at the Maritime Experiential Museum.

 

The SEA Aquarium is home to over 100,000 marine animals of over 800 species, across 49 different habitats.  

 

 

My boys were so enthralled with the multitude of marine animals present in the park. 

 

 

SEA Aquarium has 6 major attractions:

• Maritime Experiential Museum
• Typhoon Theatre
• Shipwreck Habitat
• Ocean Gallery
• Ocean Dome
• Shark Seas

 

My family's favorite attraction was the Ocean Dome. The Ocean Dome gives guests a 180 degrees vista of the Open Ocean habitat through the largest underwater acrylic dome 9m in diameter.

 

 

 

 

My boys occupied a window nook at the Ocean Dome and spent time admiring the marine animals.

 

 

VISITORS INFORMATION

(As of  December 2014)

(Operating Hours: 10am to 7pm)

 

Ticket Type: One Day Pass - Adult SGD38 / Child SGD28

 

The SEA Aquarium One Day Pass allows admission into Typhoon Theatre except weekends and during holidays.  An additional SGD5 will be charged during these dates.

 

SEA Aquarium is located in Resorts World Sentosa.

 

  

From the SEA Aquarium we went to Vivo Mall via the Sentosa Express, for lunch and last minute "pasalubong" shopping. 

 

 

 

 

Lunch was at Food Republic.   

 

Meals were cheaper here than inside Resorts World. Total food bill for all these was less than SGD20. 

 

 

 

Check out the rest of our Singapore-Malaysia escapade here:

Day 1 - Singapore City
Day 2 and 3 - LEGOLAND Malaysia
Day 4 - Jurong Bird Park and Science Center
Day 5 - Singapore Zoo (with breakfast with the Orangutans)
Day 6 - Sentosa Island
Day 7 - Universal Studio Singapore 
Day 8 - SEA Aquarium and Vivo City

 

 

 

SINGAPORE DAY 6 (SENTOSA)

We deposited our baggage at Festive Hotel, before we began touring Sentosa.

A day in Sentosa is not enough to go visit it's multitude of attractions.  There were really just so many to choose from.  

We decided to buy the Sentosa 1 Day Pass online via the Sentosa website and hoped we can get the most out of the ticket cost by visiting as much attractions as we can.

The Sentosa 1 Day Pass allows you one time access 20 attractions.

Our Sentosa itinerary:

• 10am - Trick Eye Museum. My boys love this one and we had so much fun posing and interacting with the exhibits.  
• 12am - Lunch at Malaysian Food Street. Located right next to the Trick Eye Museum. It is actually a food court. There are plenty of food options with prices not far from the ones outside Sentosa.

We took the Sentosa Express from Waterfront Station to reach the Imbiah Station for the next agenda.

• 1pm - Images of Singapore Live (IOSL).  Entering IOSL was like being transported back to Singapore's history.  Unlike regular exhibits, IOSL employs actors playing parts in Singapore's historic past.  It was very entertaining and highly recommended.  It is just unfortunate, cameras were not allowed inside.
• 2pm - Madame Tussaud Wax Museum. Right next to the IOSL is the Madame Tussaud Wax Museum.  We have been to the Madame Tussaud in HK, SG's was not very different, save for a boat ride which unfortunately was under maintenance when we visited.  If you have been to any of the other Madame Tussaud Museums, you may give this one a skip.  
• 330pm - 4D AdventureLand (Journey 2, Desperados, Extreme Log Ride and Green Lantern).  If you are running short of time, you can just do the Journey 2 and skip the rest of the shows.   
• 430pm- Skyline Luge Sentosa. This was the most fun, which also happens to have the longest queue.  Going down the slope was exciting, though the boys enjoyed going up better.   

Went back to Festive Hotel via the Sentosa Express to freshen up.

• 730pm - Dinner at Ruyi at the Forum

We again took the Sentosa Express from the Water Front Station and alighted at the Beach Station. 

• 840pm - Wings of Time is a wonderful and unique show. Unfortunately for us it started raining and we weren't able to finish it (Note: Wings of Time is an open air seating.  If weather is bad, please bring ponchos and umbrella).

What we have missed, which were part of the Day Pass Package (the boys were too tired):

• Tiger Sky Tower -  It was supposedly part of my planned itinerary, but the boys were not up to it.  The ride up, will give you a 360 degrees view of the Sentosa Island.  A sunset ride would have been splendid.
• Fort Siloso - I figured the boys will be too tired to roam around.
• Port of Lost World -  We have been to Legoland Waterpark previously and there is a pool at Festive, so a miss to another waterpark attraction is forgivable.  

TIPS:

• To Get or Not to Get a Tour Package? 
• Suggest you decide first what attractions you want to see.  There are numerous travel agencies offering combo tickets for discounted prices. We decided to get ours from Sentosa online for convenience sake.
• Do the math and compute if you would be able to maximize the day pass/package cost. 
• Note as well that doing more than 4 attractions might mean rushing through the activities. 
• Entrance to Sentosa via taxi is free if you are booked in any of Sentosa Hotels.  Just present an SMS or a print out copy of your hotel booking.
• Upon check-in request for a Sentosa Express pass.  This would allow you to enter and leave Sentosa without having to pay for Sentosa Express tickets.
• Singapore weather is fairly predictable.  It rains almost daily in the afternoon, although this only lasts for 1-2 hours.  December has the most downpour.  Do not let the weather eat out your vacation so come prepared for anything. 
• wear comfortable shoes, which is okay to get wet.
• bring umbrella to shield
• bring ponchos (light/plastic raincoats)
• face towel

DAY 6 - Simply amazing! 

Check out the rest of our Singapore-Malaysia escapade here:

Day 1 - Singapore City
Day 2 and 3 - LEGOLAND Malaysia
Day 4 - Jurong Bird Park and Science Center
Day 5 - Singapore Zoo (with breakfast with the Orangutans)
Day 6 - Sentosa Island
Day 7 - Universal Studio Singapore 
Day 8 - SEA Aquarium and Vivo City



SINGAPORE DAY 5 (Singapore Zoo)

Warning:  This place is huge.  It is so expansive, a day is not enough to get the most out of Singapore Zoo.

Note: If zoos are in your itinerary, I suggest getting park hopper tickets online via the Singapore Zoo website for purchase discounts. We saved the confirmation vouchers on our phone, which we used to enter the zoo.  The ticket came with unlimited tram ride.

• 8am -We left the hotel early via taxi (SGD25) for the 9am Breakfast with the Orangutans at Ah Meng Restaurant (Note: If you intend to avail of the Breakfast with the Orangutan, please reserve online. Payments are made direct at the restaurant prior to seating). 
• 9am - Arrived at the Singapore Zoo and hurried to Ah Meng.  (Note: It is still about 2-3 minutes walk from the main entrance, so please come early to avoid rushing).

We skipped lunch and instead had ice cream at Ben and Jerry's.

• 4pm - Left the zoo and went back to base to rest our tired feet.
• 6pm - Pizza Hut, Lucky Plaza for Christmas Dinner. Lucky Plaza is short 5-8 minutes walk from our hotel. 
• 7pm - The boys retired early and left me at Lucky Plaza for last minute "pasalubong" shopping.  Our Day 6 to 8 will be at Sentosa and I doubt I would be able to get my shopping done from there.

Good buys at Lucky Plaza:

• nail cutter key chains - 6 pcs for SGD10
• t-shirt - from SGD12 per piece (very good material)
• paper fan - 3pcs for SGD10
• assorted pens - 3 sets (5 per set) for SGD10
• chocolates (Chocolates are surprisingly cheap here at Lucky Plaza. No they are not fake.). 

For Giordano items, the deals were best at the airport.  They have buy 1, take 1 promo, while we were there.

Missed due to traffic and difficulty of getting transfers:

• China Town was part of the original itinerary, but I had to drop due to difficulty in getting a taxi. We would have taken a bus or the MRT, but we did not get EZlink pass as we didn't consider MRT or public bus transportation (Maxwell Hawker Center, Buddah Tooth Relic, Sri Mariammam Temple, China Town Heritage Center). 

Promise to self:  

China Town will be part of my next visit to Singapore!

Day 5 - Great day at Singapore Zoo from the Orchard Urban Jungle!


Check out the rest of our Singapore-Malaysia journey here:

Day 1 - Singapore City
Day 2 and 3 - LEGOLAND Malaysia
Day 4 - Jurong Bird Park and Science Center
Day 5 - Singapore Zoo (with breakfast with the Orangutans)
Day 6 - Sentosa Island
Day 7 - Universal Studio Singapore 
Day 8 - SEA Aquarium and Vivo City

  

SINGAPORE DAY 1 (Singapore Flyer, DUCKtour and Gardens by the Bay)

We had an early first day kick off in Singapore.

• 6am - flight out Manila via PAL.  My husband and I had 3 options in going to the airport: park and fly, rent an airport transfer or ask a friend to bring us to the airport.  For safety reasons we opted for park and fly (will write a detailed review on this later).

PAL left Manila on time and we arrived in Singapore 3 hours and 40 minutes after.

• 10am - Arrived at Changi airport Singapore. It took us less than an hour to clear immigration and collect our baggage; Bought Singtel's Hi! SIM Card at Changi Recommends outlets.
 
• 1030am - Left Changi via taxi (SGD25) and arrived at Royal Plaza on Scotts (RPoS), Orchard 20 minutes later. 
 
• 11am - It was real nice of RPoS to accommodate our request for an early check-in. We were able to freshen up before heading to our next agenda.
  

Note:  I bought the Singapore Flyer, DUCKtour and Gardens by the Bay tickets through Asia Travel.  You can get these tickets cheaper at travel and tour agencies at Lucky Plaza in Orchard, but again we opted for convenience.  I do not want to drop by Lucky Plaza to pick up the tickets.


SG Flyer and DUCKtours are located in the same building.

• 12nn -  Singapore Flyer and Journey of Dreams. We exchanged the Asia Travel e-mail vouchers at the Singapore Flyer Counter, Guest Services Lounge 1st Level (Note: In Singapore, floors starts at Level 1 and not Ground Floor).   

• 1230pm- Lunch at Popeye's located at Level 1, Singapore Flyer  Building.  I wanted a fast and safe first day lunch for the kiddos and ended up with a Family Chicken meal package (less than SGD25 for a full meal with drinks and desserts for 4).

• 130pm  - The Original Singapore DUCKtours. We exchanged our vouchers at the Singapore DUCKtours Counter. The tour lasted for about 1 hour and included land and  water tours.  We were able to see and get good pictures of the major Singapore structures such as Esplanade, Merlion,  SkyPark and Art Science Museum, saved the tired feet. 

This is a good way to see Singapore without tiring the kiddos. (Note: Remember to call in for tour reservations.  I called in from Manila 3 days before the actual tour.  I saw guests turned down since they were not able to reserve slots even with travel vouchers.)  


We left SG Flyer via taxi (SGD8) for Gardens by the Bay (GB).  Singaporeans would tell you GB is a short walk from the Flyer, but it was really quite a long walk from SG flyer. You would have to cross a hi-way bridge under the scorching heat.     

• 3pm - Gardens by the Bay (GB). The e-mail vouchers were exchanged for tickets at the Friends of Gardens by the Bay Office (It is a separate counter and is located across the main ticketing counter). Our package included entrance to the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. Touring both domes took us about 3+ hours.

Missed due to time constraints:

• SG Flyer: Singapore Food Trail (This was our first choice for lunch.  The center is located right next to the DUCKtour boarding center).
• GB: Outdoor Garden Tour (We figured, we would have enough garden inside the air-conditioned dome, so we gave this one a skip), Super Trees and Far East Organization Children's Garden and Playground (The boys were pretty tired and exhausted from visiting the domes and the playground was a skip as well).

We left GB via taxi (SGD20) around 6pm.  We headed straight to the hotel with hubby ordering take out (in SG the term they use is take away) at KFC (which luckily has branch located right across our hotel).


First day accomplished! 

Check out the rest of our Singapore-Malaysia escapade here:

Day 1 - Singapore City
Day 2 and 3 - LEGOLAND Malaysia
Day 4 - Jurong Bird Park and Science Center
Day 5 - Singapore Zoo (with breakfast with the Orangutans)
Day 6 - Sentosa Island
Day 7 - Universal Studio Singapore 
Day 8 - SEA Aquarium and Vivo City

SINGAPORE - MALAYSIA Itinerary and Tips (8D/7N)

Singapore never runs out of things to do for everyone. This particular itinerary was tailor fitted for families travelling with young children (mine are ages 6 and 10).

The plan was 1 day Singapore City tour, then an overnight at LEGOLAND Malaysia, before returning again to Singapore to finish the remaining days of our vacation.

Our mode of transportation in Singapore is via taxi, which proved to be more convenient and faster for a family of 4.  Travel by taxi was a bit expensive, but it saved us some walking time and energy to enjoy the attractions more.  Remember we were travelling with children and the attractions are NOT really right next to the MRT.  It would take another 8-10 minutes of walking .  Under Singapore's humid weather - walking is an absolute punishment to the young kiddos. 

Here is our 8D/7N itinerary (will add links and details as I finish writing them).

Day 1 - Singapore City
Day 2 and 3 - LEGOLAND Malaysia
Day 4 - Jurong Bird Park and Science Center
Day 5 - Singapore Zoo (with breakfast with the Orangutans)
Day 6 - Sentosa Island
Day 7 - Universal Studio Singapore 
Day 8 - SEA Aquarium and Vivo City

I tried to pack in as much attractions as I could, but with children in tow, too much is impossible.  So instead, I tried to be realistic. 

General TIPS:

1. Plan ahead.  My rule of thumb is at least 6 months preparation. The earlier you book your air travel and hotels the more you save. 
2. Travel light.  Pack light cotton clothes with the same color hues for easier matching.  Make a list of things to bring (with your passport, money and travel vouchers on the top of the list).
3. Plan your itinerary. There are so many things to do in Singapore.  With limited time, you would have to learn to prioritize which ones you really like.  Group attractions near each other.
4. Buying SGD. We got ours from our main bank.  You would be unable to buy SGD unless you have a bank account. If that would be a problem, you would be happy to know that you can easily exchange your Philippine Pesos to Singaporean Dollar at the Changi Airport.
5. Budget. Budget all depends on where you stay and what you intend to do.  Cost is slightly more along Orchard Road and mostly tripled inside parks and  resorts. Our budget for 4 pax is: 
• Food - breakfast at SGD20-30; lunch and dinner at SGD 40-50 each.
• Taxi transfers depending on where you are going. From Orchard taxi fare is about SGD15-25 (including peak surcharges) from most tourist attractions.
6. Download helpful smart phone applications. 
• Trip Advisor Singapore
• Exchange Rates - XE Currency application allows you to convert for multiple currencies at the same time.
• My Sentosa Plan your Stay  - was helpful in planning and deciding which attractions to visit, but was a poor navigation guide. 
• Offline Maps. I downloaded some, but found the free maps at Changi more useful.
7. Buying data plan to stay in touch with your family in Manila.  We bought Singtels SGD50, with free 5GB data. My phone was on wi-fi hotspot status which enabled data share with my family.  
8. Must bring.
• good quality selfie-stick
• 3 prong British Standard outlet
• extra battery pack
• light jacket
• umbrella (in Singapore it is either raining or the scorching sun is out)
• face towel (bring a handheld fan if you have one)
• be sure your have comfortable shoes. Singapore is the walking capital of Asia! 
• also bring: plenty of water (water in Singapore is potable, you can buy a bottled water and refill to save on money) and tissue (hawker centers charge extra for tissues).