Clarke Quay, Singapore

Sharing some of the sites while breeze walking in one of the famous places in Singapore - Clarke Quay. This place is named after Sir Andrew Clarke - this man made a big difference in the history of Singapore, aside from being the second Governor in history, he was one of the guys who strategically positioned Singapore as main ports for Malay states. Quay (can be pronounced as "ki", "kei" or "kwei") in simple English is a pier or wharf where ships may stop over to load or unload stuffs.

You can see Clarke Quay right now as one of "hot spot" for tourists. Colorful lights from famous restaurants and night clubs. Ride around the beautiful Clarke quay along river cruises or river taxis. Want some excitement? Then Clarke Quay's outdoor sport - GMAX reverse bungee. A must try for thrill-seekers. The best time to stroll is during night time. Lots of people from all races are all over to party until the lights and sounds are over.

How to Get To Clarke Quay:

By River Taxi
From Raffles Place MRT Station
(Standard Chartered Bank Exit)

By Bus
No. 54 from Scott's Road or 32 and 195 from City Hall MRT Station

By MRT
Clarke Quay MRT (about 5 mins walk)
City Hall MRT (about 10 mins walk)
Raffles Place MRT (about 10 mins walk)

Map from Clarke Quay Site

Clarke Quay has 5 blocks (Block A-E) and Jetty. There are several stores to choose from. For more information, please click here.

If you're in Singapore, Clarke Quay should not be missed.


Readers may also be interested in Reading:
National Geographic Store, Singapore
Hawker Food Center - A Taste of Singapore

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Our first stop, is the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport. This is located somewhere in the far north already. Basically in Subic, Pampanga. We've landed in this airport since we've chosen Air Asia as our carrier to Kuala Lumpur. Air Asia's terminal is only located there so we have no choice but to abide.

Travel period from Philippines to Malaysia is around 6 hours. So while in the plane, we've fine tuned our Itineraries to be able to make sure that we will not miss different must see's in the country. Of course, after the "review", we ended up sleeping to make sure that we have the strength to tour Kuala Lumpur.

We checked-in in Bintang Warisan Hotel. The hotel is very accessible to almost anything! Almost 2-3 blocks from our hotel is Pasar Malam Night Market and the Pavilion. We went to the Night Market to get us some "Pasalubong".

Tired and hungry, we wanted to try some Malaysian delicacies. Luckily, we've passed through one hawker in one of the streets going to our hotel. We got the chance to eat in "Nasi Lemak Kukus" (means steamed rice with coconut milk). A full meal with an average of 1RM. Not bad for a tourist with tight budget huh?

We rested early to make sure that we can wake up in the morning for the Batu Cave. Unfortunately, due to some circumstances, we woke up late. hehe! Anyways, we went straight up to Batu Cave. When you're here, you'll be thinking, are we in India already? Lot's of Indians around since this is a place of worship for them. Huge statues of different Hindu gods covered almost the whole place. Mind you, if you plan to travel here, better bring an umbrella and lots of water because the place is very humid. whew!

After taking some shots in Batu Cave, we are very hungry to the extent that we don't know where to eat. Until we've bumped in this resto named - Chicken Rice Shop. Set meals are somewhat cheap and good for 4 persons. Not bad for a 33RM meal.

Next stop is the National Museum. Actually, we went here by an accident. We tried the Hop-Off, Hop-On bus and to our surprise, it costs a fortune! Huwaaaw! Roughly 44RM for 24hour ride in the city. We are expecting that there is some sort of a minimum wage when going to the next hop-off points but unfortunately, once you ride the bus, you're gonna pay the whole rate.

KL Telecommunication Tower (Menara KL) is one of the known tower in KL. When we got their, they have other recreations like Snow village and Zip line.

Sad part in our tour is we haven't got the chance to climb on top of the Petronas Twin Towers. However, we didn't bother to take some shots outside of one of the tallest high riser in the world

On our last day, we ended up going to Sunway Lagoon Theme Park. We like the concept of this park. It's a combination of Splash Island and Enchanted Kingdom. Nice place for the family!

Last stop, Genting Highlands! One unforgettable experience that we had here was we rode the cable car 3 times! whew! At first, it's pretty awesome but eventually you'll be bored in it. Anyways, Genting Highland is a theme park for the family. They have an outdoor and indoor park that can really satisfy whatever adventure you may have. We suggest if you'll come here, better book your room here and have a whole day tour of the place.

Alright. We've described all the things we've done here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Til next time :)

Mt. Famy, Siniloan Laguna

As everyone in the blogosphere says, Mt. Romelo or most famously known as Mt. Famy is one mountain that is perfect for beginners. Tracks are not that hard to walk through and available guides are in place for rookies to consider. With this in mind, to enter this league, Club Tourists traveled almost 3 hours from Pacita Complex Laguna going to the starting point in Siniloan Laguna. Quite a tiring and sleepy ride 'cause we started it at around 12 midnight.

The route:
Pacita Complex to Calamba Laguna, Php 30 / pax
Calamba Laguna to Siniloan (town proper) Laguna, Php 80 / pax
Take tricycle from Siniloan Town proper to drop point (aka KM 3), Php 10 / pax

For a group of 8 and above, Club Tourists recommends to rent a van or jeep to lessen the wait time and at least the travel fare.

Upon arrival in KM 3, we met Tita Merlin. She's the one responsible in the registration of all mountaineers who wanted to experience the beauty of Mt. Famy. An amount of Php 20 / pax for environmental fee will also be collected. Tita Merlin showcases a wide range of services like guides who can accompany hikers going to the camp site and even goods that can be brought up like drinks, snacks and the like. She also offers a public toilet and bath for a cost of course.

Tita Merlin's Place

For the guides, rates are as follows:

Child Guide (around 10 - 15 years old) - Php 150
Adult Guide - Php 300
Horse - Php 200 (Note: A little help with heavy stuffs and this also includes an adult guide)

The guide is ready and so are we. We started walking in a muddy uphill. Excitement overflows in the group while walking since majority of us was first timers. When in a group like this, one very important value learned is teamwork. For every obstacles along the way, a helping hand is right in front just waiting. If there's an upcoming cliff, someone will shout "Bangin! sa Kanan" (means Cliff on the right side) to warn the group of the upcoming threat. Not to mention sharing of water and heavy load.

The stretch of the path has 4 stations altogether. These stations are resting place for hikers. 2 of which are plain improvised resting grounds with bamboo seats, the other one is a mini store where fresh coconut, mountain dew and ice water are available and the last one is a nipa hut. Begin to count and after getting to the last station, its just a matter of half an hour going to the camp site.

While on top, breath-taking views cover our eyes and cold breeze embraces our bodies. Simple things that make the hike more interesting. Enjoying nature at its best!

Roughly 3 hours of trekking just to reach the campsite. As soon as we reached the camp site, flowing water is a common sound. Little rest is needed before we started building tents and cook food. Common finds are also available in the camp site since there are approximately 4 stores around. Canned goods, softdrinks, rice, snacks and even cigarettes are available.Drinking water is not a problem because there's water flowing from under. This is right beside one store in the campsite.

There are at least 4 Falls in different location and the most popular of them all are the "Buruwisan Falls" and the "Batya-Batya Falls".

From campsite, there's a need to climb downhill in a very steep cliff in order to reach the "Buruwisan Falls". This is one of the highest falls that Mt. Famy offers. Extra caution since the water is really deep. Aqua shoes really come in handy in this type of place. Get a very good one since its good for a simple trek and for rocky water such as this one.

Next stop is the "Batya-Batya Falls". Swimming in a deep water is necessary before reaching this hidden paradise. Much easier compared with the first falls. Falls is around 20 feet in height. A short jump in the water won't hurt. Because of Club Tourists curiousity, we went on top of the falls and found out why this falls is called "Batya-Batya"! There's an oval formation of rocks that looks like a "batya" (laundry tub) filled with water coming from a mini falls from above. Just be careful when climbing since its very slippery.

Mt. Famy is a very challenging yet worth it mountain to climb. In order for the next generations to experience this, we must ensure that we help in preserving her beauty. Lets be responsible with our waste. This wont hurt a thing.

How to Go to Mt. Famy:
Coming from North side,

1. Go to JAM or HM terminal in Cubao. Take bus going to Sta Cruz Laguna. When in Sta Cruz, you can either take the jeep or tricycle to Siniloan, KM 3.
2. Go to edsa central jeepney terminal in Crossing Shaw Blvd just near 7-11. The fare is only Php 80. The route would be Crossing → Ortigas → Rosario →Junction → Rizal (Binangonan, Angono, Taytay, Teresa, Tanay, Baras) → Siniloan.

Coming from South side,

1. Go to bus terminal in Edsa Taft, either in JAM and HM transit.
2. From Alabang, ride a jeep or a bus going to Calamba Laguna. Then ride a jeep again going to Siniloan.