Total duration 5D4N Singapore is 1hr ahead of Phuket. Flight time is 1hrs 50mins on Silkair from Singapore to Phuket. Return flight is 4hrs 45mins on China Airlines from Taipei to Singapore.
Morning flight on 9th Aug at 120pm and arrival in Phuket in the afternoon at 210pm. Return flight from Phuket on the 13th Jun at 1145am and arrival in Singapore at 220pm.
This escape plan was to utilise the National day and Haji super long weekend for a short getaway to somewhere close to home. Since we hadn’t really been to Phuket, we thought it would be a good time to do so.
Budget nature: Comparatively costly
Comparative to other parts of Thailand, I thought it was rather costly to visit Phuket. The flights were obviously expensive since due to the long weekend but we reduced the costs by claiming expiring miles for the flight there and paying for the return on a day after the long weekend. Our transportation could have been cheaper if we booked through Klook or negotiated with the driver more. We spent more than $700 cash than we bought for the 5 days.
Complexity: Easy
It was easy since most of the transportation was taken care of with a chartered driver. It could have been difficult had we been able to get our own car as we realised while in the taxi that it was quite challenging to drive in the chaotic traffic especially in town.
The dreadful weather continued into day 5 with the overcast clouds stubbornly dripping droplets till day broke. We were all up by 9 and pretty smoothly with the morning routine – I used in Korea seemed to work here as well.
We managed to get ready and go for breakfast on the 4th floor. There weren’t many people and the variety was limited as it was only serving continental breakfast. K was struggling with his cereal but I found the garlic spread that when applied to sliced bread and toasted, gave the perfect formula for K’s fussy tastebuds.
My breakfast
At 10, we all gathered on the ground floor ready to board the vehicle for our last day trip. We were going to the Window On China theme park to see miniature models of famous landmarks. It was an open air theme park so the bad weather was going to be a bummer to the visit. We paid the price of 5 full price tickets of NT499 and 3 at reduced price of NT399 for the seniors and K.
Window on China theme park
Gigantic bugs
The theme park was quite well done I thought as the models were pretty realistic and there were quite a variety of buildings that I could relate too. It also garnered the interest K’s interest.
Miniature train that moved!
Building with an army parade
Airport
Panoramic of the little buildings
Model of a interesting builiding
Forbidden city in tiny size
Fountain in the WOC
After the landmarks of Taiwan and China, we took a mini train that brought us to the other section. Here we found an indoor theme park, an outdoor one which was mostly closed and a theatre. There were also European miniature landmarks and American ones.
Train to the other section
Egyptian theme section
We saw the European ones and proceeded to look for the NASA space rocket in America before returning to the theatre for a show that had magic and comedy and the Chinese traditional art of face changing. It was interactive show as the performers came down from the stage and got close to the audience, giving the kids high fives and at times requiring “help” from the kids to do something.
European building
Moscow famous church
Outdoor them parkl
NASA space shuttle
Inca pyramids
Indoor theme park
Performers up close!
After the show, we went to the restaurant serving fast food nearby to have our lunch. K had not much of a problem eating that as there were his favorite fries.
Ferris Wheel restaurant
Our lunch
We headed for the exit after our lunch after deciding to pay Leofoo village theme park a visit, considering that there would be not much time left as it would close at 5pm and that the rain would limit the amount of outdoor activity at the park. It would have been fine too if we had chosen to stay as there were also indoor and outdoor rides at the Window on China.
Store from Window of China
The drive to the park was quick since the distance between the 2 parks was really close. I made a purchase quickly on Klook and plus entering a promo code ended up with us paying only $157 for 5 adults, 1 child and 2 seniors, less than $20 per pax. Got my tickets from the customer service office and we entered the park that wasn’t crowded (because of the weather of course).
Leofoo village entrance
Ticket
The target visit was the animals and thus we checked out the white tigers, and the many many types of monkeys there. Later, we returned to board the safari bus ride that brought us to see bear, lions and tigers, these animals were free roaming as the bus entered their compound thus the experience felt like a safari. It was an interesting experience with the animals very close by.
Camels
Flamingo
Monkey running
Another type of monkey
Inside the safari bus
Tigers roaming about
Lion lying around in compound
K wanted to visit the birds enclosure while mommy and the rest went on to take the train. While at the enclosure, one of the staff handed K a syringe to feed the parrots and that ended up with parrots standing on both of our heads, fearless of getting close to humans when it comes to food.
We walked to the goat enclosures and saw them baaing at the visitors waiting to be fed with goat feed that could be purchased there. K wasn’t interested since he had done a lot of that at the Flying Cow Ranch. We walked to the Alcapa enclosure but couldn’t see those animals as they might have gone into the shelter.
Baaing goat on a elevated rock
Then at one time, the meerkats were out in full force as the staff fed them. It was easy to identify the one on guard duty as it was doing that role diligently up atop a rock. Soon mommy returned with the rest to join us and we walked out of the animal theme section to have a look at others.
Meerkat on the rock as a lookout
Barely touched the palace section before I brought K to the America section where he vaguely remembered playing an arcade machine of firefighters and wanted to see that again. As I ran there, we found that place was closed and instead, we tried our luck at the air rifle games instead. That gave K some experience with a air rifle (not a real one) of loading the cock and shooting, though we didn’t win any prizes from that game. Mommy joined us and tried as well but also in vain.
Hippos with fountains
Carousel
Shooting carnival games
Before leaving, we watched the last fountain show and that was pretty disappointing compared to the various fountains that we have seen in throughout our travels. The unimpressive water fountain that had some of their nozzles choked ended up with a messy and lazy kind of a water display. They would need something better than that to attract people.
Disappointing fountain show
We exited the park at closing time and got aboard our vehicle for a visit to another adhoc location, recommended by the guide, the Hsinchu City God Temple.
It was about a 40mins drive back to the city and we arrived into a busy place that was lined with lots of food stores. We got off to the temple walking through a doorway that seemed too obscured to know that it leads to the main temple. While in the temple, we lighted up the joss sticks and did the prayers before visiting the toilet and looking around.
Busy central area where the temple was
Hsinchu City God Temple
Within the temlple compound
K and I returned to the vehicle a short while later while mommy and the rest visited a store selling meatballs to get some local food before joining us.
Next we were off to our dinner location, a popular roast chicken store that originated from Yilan, where they would roast their chicken in dome shaped kilns, Weng Yao Ji, 甕窯雞, . We arrived at the restaurant which quite empty though, however the many Taiwanese celebrities photos on the walls convinced me that it should be quite good to garner the interest of these people.
At Weng Yao Ji restaurant
Kilns for roasting chicken
Our food came and the main dish of the roast chicken came last since it had to take time to roost. Being a fan of roost chicken, I did find the chicken tasted better than those I am familiar with because the meat did feel juicier, even at those sections that were particularly dry. The rest of the other food was ok but the free soup tasted bad.
Cabbage
Fried prawns
Fish fillet
Eggs
Soup
Roast chicken
Before returning to the hotel, we informed the driver that we regretted not getting any bubble tea and so he made a short detour to drop us off to get our boba milk tea from 50 Lan, aka Koi in Sg. With just NT50 we got to satisfy our milk tea cravings before we went back to the hotel.
50 lan
Huge boba milk tea
Night was the usual stuff plus some packing. There wasn’t anything planned for the next morning before flying home so we just chilled for the night.
Total duration 6D5N Singapore is on same timezone as Taiwan. Flight time is 4hrs 45mins on China Airlines from Singapore to Taipei. Return flight is 4hrs 45mins on China Airlines from Taipei to Singapore.
Morning flight on 20th Jun at 1030am and arrival in Taipei in the afternoon at 310pm. Return flight from Taipei on the 25th Jun at 230pm and arrival in Singapore at 715pm.
This escape plan was the first time that we travel with my wife’s extended family. I didn’t participate in any of the planning and just went with the flow. As such, some parts of the trip didn’t turn out to be as enjoyable as I thought it would be.
Budget nature: Not too bad
The bulk of the costs were the plane tickets and accommodation which was paid off by extended family members and I only had to pay for the attractions which weren’t all that expensive. Food was affordable too (and paid by FIL).
Complexity: Easy
As it was planned with a daily driver, we didn’t need to know how to move around since the driver would bring us around. We only need to know where we wanted to go.
Also, we targeted attractions within Taichung and northwards towards Taoyuan, it was easy to cover these with the driver.
This escape plan was the another attempt of visiting our neighbouring country Malaysia for a long weekend getaway on Vesak day 2019. This was after swearing not to drive in ever again. I still hated wasting my life in a traffic jam but what changed? We tried to avoid the jam by getting across late and getting back early!
Budget nature: Not too bad since it was still soft launch
Singapore high exchange rate coupled with a soft launch of the Desaru Coast area meant that we it wasn’t too expensive to do this trip.
Complexity: Medium
The only complexity I thought was navigating the jam at the crossing and checking on the latest fees which might be confusing if not following the news. There was supposedly VEP implementation in Q3 2019 so we weren’t really impacted.
Total duration 18D17N Singapore is 1hr behind of Korea and same timezone as Hong Kong. Flight time is 4hrs 5mins on Cathay Airlines from Singapore to Hong Kong, a 50mins transit followed by a 4hrs 50mins time on Cathay Airlines from Hong Kong to Incheon Airport Seoul.
Return flight is 3hrs 55mins on Cathay Airlines from Hong Kong to Singapore.
Friday night flight on 29th Mar at 810pm and arrival in Hong Kong in the morning of the 30th Mar at 1215am followed by a flight at 105am and arrival in Korea in the same morning at 555am.
Return flight from Hong Kong on the 15th Apr at 230pm and same day arrival in Singapore at 625pm.
This escape plan was the first time in donkey years that we travel with my extended family. It was not an easy itinerary to begin with, having to plan different flights for my wife, my parents, my aunt in HK and for me and my boy, as we were flying different times, for reasons such as for business, for best price and for breaking the trip. There was also trying to plan a bit of something for my parents and for the kids. Glad that everything turned out well.
Budget nature: Rather Expensive
Costs of living in Korea was quite high especially in the cities, car rentals was expensive too. This was offset by the optimisation of squeezing into Airbnb units in Seoul and getting the better deal through Klook and utilising discount coupons from tourism book brought over from Singapore.
Complexity: High
Due to different flight times (5 different tickets) for everyone, we had to get all the dates and times right before purchasing the tickets. Travel by car outside the city was still fine but met with heavy traffic when in Busan. Thankfully for the Hyundai Sonata in-car GPS, it was a little easier to navigate as Google maps do not work, and Naver app wasn’t driver friendly. Travelling via public transport in Seoul was easy but not so in a taxi as we were easily lost in translation, and getting taxis for a big group was a challenge itself, as the taxis can only take up to a certain number of people.
Total duration 3D2N Singapore is 1hr behind Bintan. Ferry time is 1hrs on Bintan Resort Ferries from Singapore to Bintan. Afternoon ferry on 2nd February at 12:10pm and arrival in Bintan at 12:10pm. Return ferry is on the 20th February at 235pm and arrival in Singapore at 435pm.
(Itinerary without details) Day 1 Arrival in Bintan Day 2 To the beach and back Day 3 Home Sweet Home
This escape plan was planned as a short getaway before the CNY. We were here 4 years ago for when our kid was still an infant so it was a short revisit to the resort under the same company (Staying at Angsana instead of Banyan tree previously).
Budget nature: Budget buster.
Although this was in Bintan, we were getting something better for accommodation and therefore the accommodation was quite high. Similarly for the ferry, we also took the “business” class seats and that was slightly less than twice an economy class seat, with an change in timing costs at the last minute to rush back for our boy to see a doctor
Complexity: Easy.
Since all the transfers were arranged, there was nothing difficult about getting to the resort. We didn’t get out of the resort at all except getting over to Banyan tree restaurants through internal buggy arrangements.
Total duration 5D4N Singapore is 1hr behind of Tokyo, Japan. Flight time is 6hrs 20mins on Japan Airlines from Singapore to Tokyo Haneda Airport and return flight is 7hrs 50mins on Japan Airlines from Tokyo Narita Airport to Singapore.
Monday morning flight on 7th Jan at 220am and arrival in Tokyo in the morning of the 7th Jan at 950am. Return flight from Tokyo on the 11th Jan at 6pm and arrival in Singapore at 1250am on the 12th Jan.
This escape plan was an impromptu one when I thought I needed to clear leave and the idea of a solo trip come to mind. I had never done it once in my life and since wifey wasn’t keen on trip to Japan anytime soon, I thought I would just go there on my own!
Budget nature: Budget buster
The airplane tickets weren’t cheap at all even though the travel dates were on weekdays as it was kind of last minute. However, I managed to get a seat on JAL at $900++ vs the Scoot $1k+, it was still not too bad (another one by Delta was $600+ but considering the later flight time, I opted for JAL). The exchange rate between SGD and Yen was average, but the cost of living in Tokyo was quite high. Furthermore, “cultural experiences” cost money too!
Complexity: Medium
Travel was done almost exclusively by foot and train (subway, JR and Shinkansen, yes they are all different). It took some time to get used to the what tickets were used for each but once that’s done, it was easy. Language could still be a barrier especially outside Tokyo but nothing an online translator, sign language or absolute sincerity couldn’t fix!
Total duration 15D14N Singapore is 12hr ahead of California, USA. Flight time is 15hrs on Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Los Angeles and return flight is 17hrs on Singapore Airlines from Los Angeles to Singapore.
Friday evening flight on 2nd Nov at 845pm and arrival in Los Angeles in the evening of the 2nd Nov at 855pm. Return flight from Los Angeles on the 16th Nov at 1025pm and arrival in Singapore at 815am on the 18th Nov
This escape plan was an impromptu due to the availability of good deals. Singapore Airlines announced the revival of the direct long distance flight to Los Angeles and with premium economy seats going at just $1328, only $200 more than the economy seats, it would be a sin to miss!
Budget nature: Budget buster
It wasn’t a fantastic time to be spending USD as SGD was weak near the end of the year compared to the earlier months. The savings from the tickets were gone in a flash due to travelling in the state with the highest costs of living in the USA, lots of shopping and Disneyland.
Complexity: Easy
Driving around was not difficult even in multiple lanes highways. Tolls can be a little tricky but reading it up on Google helped. Jams were common in cities but with patience, you would still reached your destination, albeit in the dark. Google maps worked like a charm and pulling to the side of the road by the police for speeding wasn’t too daunting too!
Total duration 3D2N Rawa Island is in the same timezone as Singapore. Transfer to Mersing takes about 2hrs and ferry time is 30mins on private transfer ferry from Mersing to Rawa Island. Return is the same in reverse, time depending on jam at crossing.
Ferry from Mersing to Rawa Island at 1130am, arriving at 12noon in Rawa Island. Return ferry from Rawa Island to Mersing is at 1230pm and arriving in Mersing at 1pm.
This trip was planned as a getaway birthday trip for me. It was planned closer to my birthday in November but we pushed it earlier as we had hijacked 1st week of November with a USA trip.
Budget – Affordable by standard of private island.
Total package of accommodation plus ferries and full board for 2 adults came up to RM3000 which in my opinion was affordable. We didn’t go for the water activities such as diving though.
Complexity – Easy except the jam
Travelling was pretty easy with a car. Driving to Mersing followed by private carpark and thereafter a short ferry to the island was simple enough! I am often confused about how much to pay while crossing the borders and thankfully with 2 Touch N Go cards, I didn’t have to figure out where to top up (since the Touch N Go was in Singapore). But the jam was horrendous on the way back and I swore never to go back into Malaysia via car ever again.
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Total duration 12D11N Singapore is 2.5hrs ahead of Sri Lanka and 4hrs ahead of Seychelles. Flight time is 4hrs on Sri Lankan Airlines from Singapore to Colombo and 4hrs on Sri Lankan Airlines from Colombo to Mahe.
Afternoon flight on 9th Feb at 3pm and arrival in Sri Lanka at 420pm followed by a transit duration of 15hrs 25 mins. Morning flight of 8am on 10th Feb and arrival in Seychelles at 1035am. Return flight is on the 19th Feb at 535am and arrival in Colombo at 1120am followed by a transit duration of 13hrs 40min. Morning flight of 1am on the 20th Feb and arrival in Singapore at 730am.
This escape plan was to utilised the long weekend from the Lunar New Year to get away for some R&R. Since during this period of time, the northern hemisphere would always be cold and we did not want to go to Australia (again!) and coupled with the irresistible airlines deals offered in December by Sri Lanka airlines, we decided on a visit to Seychelles for CNY.
Budget nature: Very expensive due to costly hotels and food.
Most of our budget was spent on food as each restaurant meal can turn up to about 60SGD per meal. Accommodation was overall costing higher than those we normally take in other parts of the world but these were pretty close to the beautiful beaches/waters. Although fuel price was comparable to that in Singapore and Seychelles islands being relatively small, we did not spend a lot of pumping gas. Activities and trips were not cheap and were offered in Euros.
Complexity: Easy to get around in a car.
It was easy to drive around in a car as the islands were served by a single lane road most of the time. However, in order to get from the east to west coasts, we had to cut across the hills by going through curvy hilly roads that might be difficult in terms of road sickness and also at night due to the lack of lights.
