When I arrived, instead of renting a car which will cost me SG$65, I decided to take the airport bus for only SG$9. I know my employer will pay and I even have a corporate credit card to to cover such expense. I just cannot bring myself to spend SG$56 more for something that will attain the same objective -- I boarded in front of the arrival gate and I alighted in front of the hotel lobby.
The country is clean. Really clean! No beggars, heavy traffic and polluted air that greeted me on my way to the hotel.
I stayed at the Gallery Hotel. Nice but not the kind of service I expected.
I arrived mid day so I had the whole afternoon to unpack, iron my clothes and go to Ikea! I'm glad I am allowed 20 kilos of luggage only, if not, I would have exhausted my credit limit!
After Ikea, while deciding where to eat dinner, Don's friend and I decided to take the bus instead of taxi. The long waiting line at the taxi stand was very discouraging. So we rode the bus and it was quite a nice experience for me.
We had a nice dinner at a chinese retaurant. For those who follow me on Instagram, I ranted about having to pay for house water. SGD$0.30!!!
We sort of got a little confused with the bus route, so we decided to take a cab going back to the hotel.
I must say that I am really impressed with the public transportation system of Singapore. I hope we can implement the same for the Philippines. I love their taxis there -- may resibo na, the drivers are hi tech pa! The driver was not familiar with the hotel I was staying in, so she (yes she) asked for the zip code and referred to google maps using her iphone!
During our meeting, I was so proud when some of the initiatives in the PH office were showcased and other AP countries were encouraged to use our framework. Oh and I was given a recognition award too (**kilig**).
CSR was part of the agenda. We baked cupcakes and cookie for kids living in the orphanage. It was my first time to bake and I will never look at a cookie or a cupcake the same way again. Baking is not easy at all!
I didn't go out much after our sessions. I did not even bother to visit the famous Merlion.
I met with a good friend around the area and I can see from afar the lights from the Merlion Park but I was actually uninterested to go around for sightseeing. Honestly, I miss Don and Julia and I would like to visit Singapore again and explore the country with them. I will forever be thankful to technology for making my business travels more bearable.
I hope this will be my last out-of-the-country business trip for the year. So much is happening (aka changes) at home and I am swamped (an understatement) with things to do at work. Looking at the bright side, I learned a lot durig the trip and of course, I had lots of quiet me-time.
What's your latest travelling experience?
