TRIP for 2019

2019

1. January - Bangkok, Thailand 曼谷 $17000 for 4
2. May - Singapore 新加坡 $13000 for 4
3. June - Macau 澳門 虎航 $12000 for 4
4. August - Tokyo 東京 JAL 44000+44000 Avios for 4 + $?
5. October - Cebu 宿霧 虎航 $13000 for 4
6. December - 花蓮 太魯閣 宜蘭

So, final count is 5 countries/cities

TRIP - Singapore Sept 6-9

I wanted to take my parents on a trip and also wanted to see Singapore, so here we are on a DIY 4 Day 3 Night trip from September 6 to 9.

I had a whole schedule planned, and of course nothing follows the plan (it's hard with elderly and baby), but I think we did alright and saw most tourist attractions with nice weather

Day 1

• Woke up at 5 am for 7:40 flight. 777-300ER was so empty we got rows to ourselves (flight ticket $14000 NT/person)
• $60 MaxiCab to hotel - Royal Plaza on Scotts ($135 USD/night x 2 rooms x 3 nights = $1000 CAD)
• Quick lunch across the street @ Far East Plaza - Hainan chicken and Yakun Toast
• Everyone napped from 3 till 7 pm (oops)
• Walked around Orchard St at night and dinner @ Lucky Plaza. Orchard St is prettier at night than daytime

Day 2 

• 313 Somerset Toast Box + mid-point buy HIPPO ticket (~$280 CAD for 5 adults)
• PURPLE to Suntec, 12 pm DUCK boat
• 1 pm RED bus --> Chinatown 2 pm, Maxwell
• Walk to temple, CHC, then 5:15pm RED bus to Suntec, 5:45 @ Flyer
• Dinner @ food court. Leave around 7:30 pm to Helix bridge
• 8 pm Wonder Full show @ MBS
• 8:45 Bumblebee water taxi to Clarke Quay
• MRT to Orchard, hotel @ 10 pm

Day 3

• Woke up lazily to a day in Sentosa - Siloso beach, Most Southern Point, Imbiah station
• Esplanade - No signboard chilli crab ($$$300 SGD for 7 adults + 2 kids)
• Marina Bay - walked from Esplanade to Flyer
• Singapore Flyer
• Took bus 173 from Flyer non-stop back to hotel. Bus >> Taxi >> MRT if you can find the bus (check http://gothere.sg) 

Day 4

• Hotel check-out 
• $50 MaxiCab to Changi airport
• EVA flight downsized to A332 but still has many empty seats to shuffle
• Jason asked and got earlier CX flights SIN-HKG-TPE as well, and Premium Economy seat

Notes

• Singapore is not cheap in general, unless you become a local and act local
• Bus system is good, and so is Taxi, better than MRT
• Overall we spent < $10,000 NT cash while major expenses went on CC 
• Singapore directions/signs are horrible, either above or under ground. It's usually faster if you walk above ground and jaywalk. You get lost quickly or walked too much underground

June Recap

Ella is 1 year and 4 months old (16 months old)

• She hasn't gained much weight or grown taller much, hence she's now 97-percentile instead of way above the growth chart. 
• She is 12.5~13 kg and ~83 cm tall
• She doesn't talk much yet
• She can however listen and understand most things we tell her, quite amazing
• She loves to play out in the deck

Other News

• All my Aeroplan promotions are in, and I am at 146,000+ Aeroplan miles again (I counted, I collected 140,000 Aeroplan in 6 months, thanks to AMEX and Aeroplan promotions). Now I can redeem for Business Class flight once again
• Club Carlson "Big Night Giveaway" promotion points have come in also
• Earned 50K at Radisson, 44K at Country Inn + another 50K at Radisson
• Earned 50K at Radisson
• Now I have enough points for many nights at fancy Radisson Blu in Europe/Chicago
• Trip to SFO is booked in July, it's been an "interesting" experience when things are not in my control
• Trip to Taiwan is booked for September, and may visit Singapore for a few days also
• AMEX Platinum annual fee is increasing to $699/year on June 29, anyone who signed up by it will "only" be charged $399/year but can still enjoy all the new benefits!! 
• New benefits are (I only list ones I care)
• Gold Club Carlson hotel membership
• $399 value of Priority Pass - you access worldwide lounge for free
• $200 credit via AMEX Travel service, resets on Jan 2013 so you get 2 x $200 essentially
• Fine Hotel & Resorts
• Contact me if you'd like a referral to sign up (I get 15K AMEX MR, you get 30K MR after $500 spending in 3 months)