Singapore #TelcoTalk

I've been to Singapore 4 times over the past 2 years and have been purchasing a local SIM each visit.
I've tried Singtel, Starhub and M1. There is no denying that Singtel is Singapore's biggest telco and no doubt has the widest coverage and best internet experience. I remember having an M1 SIM and it could not upload due to congestion (I was at USS) while my boyfriend, who was on Singtel, had INSTANT upload.

I usually get the SIMs at Changi airport, right after arrival.

Singtel used to have a $15 Hi! Tourist SIM offer that had up to 100GB local data, 500 minutes local calls and 100 local SMSes valid for 5 days, which I managed to get on my visit late November 2015 to catch Elton John live in concert.

They have since stopped that offer, and is now apparently offering the same but with 4gb of data only. However, I could not find any such offers in the airport. Every telco seemed to only offer a $30+ Tourist SIM when I was there a week ago (21st Jul- 25th Jul).

Hence, I bought a Starhub Prepaid Internet SIM which only offered data for 5 days. It had up to 2GB per day allowance which I did not exceed daily.

The SIM only offers data, and absolutely no voice or SMS. However, Whatsapp conveniently allows in-app calls now so we actually utilized that aplenty (especially when I am lost in the huge Malls of Singapore LOL). 

Coverage was fair, albeit slightly slower than my previous experiences with Singtel. Singtel speeds is really smooth- you can click on a Snapchat video and it loads in a second.

My boyfriend and his mum purchased Starhub SIMs too. They are usually Singtel regulars but the time we were in Sg, the booths selling Singtel SIMs were closed for renovation, and only Starhub was available to us. They purchased a different SIM from mine:

Pretty good deal, except:

Note:

• #Per Second Billing applies. Per Second rates are rounded up to two decimal points.
• $8 SIM gets you up to 99 mins of talktime; or 160 Local SMS; or 1GB of data. $15 SIM gets you up to 185 minutes of talktime; or 300 Local SMS; or 2.2GB of data. These numbers are for indicative purposes only. Your prepaid value can be used on talktime, SMS and data, depending on your preferred usage.
• Directory Enquiry - Calls to Service 100 charged at 70¢ per call, plus Local Prepaid call charges.
• International Calls - Local Prepaid call charges plus prevailing IDD charges (StarHub IDD 008 / 018).
• 30¢ per MMS (less than 30KB) / 80¢ per MMS (30KB and more*).
• **What you get is based on the assumption that all of the credits are used solely on that service.
• * Via activation of Prepaid Mobile Data plan
• 100GB local data can only be used on 3G network
• 4G Booster can be activated via *123*3*4*1# after the expiry of 100GB data 

The 100GB is on their 3G network, not 4G and is only valid for 5 days. That was OK for us as we were only there for 5 days but my BF kept complaining about the lack of speed. Mine was on 4G so I did not really feel that pinch.

Personally, I would still opt for Singtel for the coverage and speeds, but it was not convenient and their SIMs were not readily available for purchase.

Bangkok eats

Sawadeeka! I just got back from Bangkok last night (technically this morning at 1am) after spending almost 5 days there over the Raya break. The trip was one of those overdoing it types, with us walking almost every second we were awake.

We covered almost everywhere I wanted to go, and we managed to eat a lot of really good food. We did not get to do any sightseeing this trip because we didn't have that much time.

 One place that I made a point to revisit was Petite Audrey, a lovely cafe inside Siam Center (I always get confused with Siam Center, Siam Paragon and Siam Discovery but I think I pretty much got the hang of it now).

I love this Thai Tea Crepe Cake from Petite Audrey!

I love Thai milk tea, its so refreshing and so authentically Thai. I do not have a single sweet tooth in my body which makes this cake perfect; it isn't sweet but tastes just right.

Me with my Thai Tea crepe cake!

There are several branches in Bangkok, so do make time to try this! Its their bestseller.

One of the nights, we went to have Korean BBQ for dinner. Bangkok is flooded with Japanese and Korean cuisine places because it is like the IN thing for the past few years. My bf;s brother took us to Doo Rae, a triple-storey Korean restaurant in Korea Town, near Terminal 21 in Sukhumvit. Korea Town, as you can guess, has a lot of different Korean shops, cafes and restaurants.

It is only logical to have Korean beer at Korea Town. 

We had a lot to eat, from beef, chicken, pork to kimchi and this mushroom soup. The service was excellent; the waitress constantly helped us grill the meat, as well as renew the metal stoves so that the taste from the previous grilled meat do not linger. It was all very quick so I didn't manage to snap any good pictures of the food!

The food was really good and the meat were all grilled to pretty much perfection. Nyum.

On this trip, I only managed to have Mango Sticky Rice twice. 

The first time was at this small night market near our hotel outside MBK

 Second being some random eatery in Chatuchak weekend market.

Speaking of Chatuchak weekend market, we found an absolute gem of a place where we had lunch. It was as authentic and raw as it could get. It wasn't a nice place but the food was so good! I love Thai food, the more authentic the better (but no pork blood PLS!).

We walked til we did not know where we were (always happens in Chatuchak for us, its like Timbuktu there. Now you see it, the next time you're back you just cannot find it again!) but we walked pass this restaurant where there were many locals eating. Picture cement ground, non-matching wooden tables and plastic chairs and an outdoor stove.

We were grateful that the menu had picture because the wordings were all in Thai. So we just pointed at what we wanted from the menu.

Pork! Apparently our Thai friend said this is the most simple dish in the Thai food world. Haha and we love it. This was really good, we really liked it. It was spicy and sweet in the right dose.

Clams! Normally I don't eat seafood much, especially shelled ones but this was really nice. I normally dislike food like this because of the "ocean" taste but this one had none at all.

Papaya salad, also good.

Basically, we really enjoyed our lunch there and I do feel that even though sometimes food is cheap and the atmosphere isn't great, the food can just be amazing like this one was. I do live for experiences like these.

See you next time x