"Glamorous White Sliver 21st", w $700 Budget

21st birthday is not just any other ordinary birthdays to spend. After touring my ass off Europe for the whole of june/july, I didn't want to spent a crazily huge amount just for that night. Often, people spend like crazily 1.5k on average just for that ONE night. NO WAY FOR ME!!!! 

I invited a total of 35-40 guest, held it at Marina Bay Business District, $700 budget for E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G sound really ridicules. Today, I present to you some tips and tricks I've learned from my very own 21st birthday party! No matter what kind of gathering or parties, this should be beneficial in any ways.

1. D-I-Y, You will be surprised how much you've saved

People spend wayyyyyy too much time and money for deco, banners, toppers and guest book etc. Nobody aim got time for that? You can always refer to pininterest.com, lovevsdesign.com, offbeatbride.com and more. Google it, you'll have it. 

There's tons of available website that offers free and gorgeous templates for you to print out. Don't spend way too much time to buy these paper goods. Always print it yourself, sometimes the online templates look even better than those you'll spend $$$ over in spotlight, paper market, popular etc. Hey, they do have pretty Birthday Banners too if you're a banner fan heheh.

Self-printed guest's thumb print trees, intagram tags etc

2. Plan Early, Book Early

Get your birthday outfits, venue, balloons and decorations early. I ordered mine like 3 months earlier during my holidays. Don't do it last minute if you are on budget and didn't want to spend a waterfall on this birthday party. 

My venue was booked through airbnb,  of course there's rules and regulations but i managed to sneaked my guest in flawlessly. It's kinda the cheapest price to get a decent location right at the most expensive business district in Singapore. Mine was held at a condominium called The Sail@Marina Bay costing around $300+ per night. But if you want there's other good apartments available which are cheaper, but just dont get caught! (Tip: there is $33 off for first time users! make sure you create an account with this link Here. You're welcome)

One down side is that the apartment at The Sail is really small as it is just a couple studio apartment. Inviting around 20-30 pax of guest would be ideal. Mine was a bit too overcrowding and chaotic thought :( 

I got all my decos and outfit from taobao.com. It's like 80% cheaper than you would have gotten in Singapore shops. O-M-G i know righhhttttttt. My white dress would easily cost more than $80 in singapore, but Guess how much i pay for it. $18 Bitchhh.

Links to get from taobao.com:

• Decorations and balloons  - Spend around $30 - $40
• Birthday Dress - Around $18 
• Table Clothes and Backdrop - suitable for table clothes, pretty backdrops and even photobooth!

You can always ship them to Singapore easily with forwarding services like 65Daigou or Vpost.com. Their shipping rates are very affordable!

Another tip is that don't use helium for your balloons. Get a pump, or use your lungs. I tied those balloons with ribbons and tapes and hey it looks pretty good too. Helium balloons are hard to manage floating around the room and you still have to use tape to stick it on the wall anyways, TRUST ME, I've been to 10000000000 21st parties before mine.

Also I like to keep all those pretty glass bottles and fake flowers so it's kinda some ready decorations that I din't spend anything on. Polaroid Films are also ready items but you can get them from qoo10.sg.

3. Why not a dessert table?

Personally, I feel that displaying an 2-3 layer cake on the center of the table is way too boring and plain. I preferred a wide range of desserts to look pretty and guest can also chose whatever desserts they would like. My dessert table only costed me like $120, with such a variety! And nope, i suck in baking/cant bake/no time to bake. All desserts are ordered and bought from various baker and cafes.

Also, I would highly recommend all my desserts because they are so pretty and yummy! Worth each and every penny. Great customer service too! Just contact the respective bakers for more info, they are really friendly and nice! More information:

• Cupcakes and Cupcake stand from Flourish Pastries    - $50 for everything 
• Fruit tarts (24 Mini) and Floral Cake (1 kg Vanilla flavour) from Swee Heng Bakery  - $52.60 
• 7" Lemon Meringue Tart from Carmen (87146885) - $19
• Marshmallow Tree (D-I-Y) - Spend like $3 total (for mint colour pot and marshmallow) 

4. Other than expensive catering? 

As my apartment are rather small and I'm already sneaking people in, I really couldnt afford another chance to be fined by my host. Thus, list of food you guys can consider are: 

1. Dominos - Free shipping island-wide, great food,  party set for 30 pax at only $180 

2. 食福閣 - Shi Fu Ge Restaurant - Delivery Zi Char Restaurant, free shipping island-wide with purchase of $80 or more. 

3. Shepherd's Pie - Halal, free delivery with a minimum of 4 pies 

For drinks, buying packet drinks or making your own syrup and dumping all into the fridge kinda sound like a plan. 

I'm not a ver big fan of after party drinking games sooooooooo... ermmmmm, ok bye. Else, just buy those alcohol from DFS in changi airport?

5. Gather all buddies and ka kia-ssss

Hey, you can't just do everything all by yourself right? Ask/beg/SOS your friends nicely, you will be surprise how egg-cited and helpful they can be. Luckily for me, I did my nails and hair for free. Thanks to my awesomely cute girlfriends, they even came early to help out with the decorations too! 

Also, get a few friends who are good in photography, and ABLE TO TAKE PRECISE Polaroid films for you. You shouldn't need to hire photography with all your trustable professional friends. 

Just give them a bigger slice of cake afterwards :P 

6. Be Photogenic, Look Gorgeous  

It will be a tiring day for you, I swear. But remember to enjoy, it's not a party to torture yourself! Take tons of photo and Y-O-21-O. You only 21 once! Or whatever age you are, stay youthful and wild! TEEHEEEE. 

Happy 21st birthday to you! Let me know if you guys need more suggestions and tip, and enjoy your very magical wonderful birthday party! 

Island Paradise for 2 weeks in under $700!

Ever dream of lying on a white sand beach, listening to the waves crash while you read a book?

Think of Philippines and what's the first island that comes to your mind? - I bet it's Boracay. Don't you wish that you can find a quiet spot on the beaches so that you can have your quiet time but it is always filled with people? Let us tell you where else in Philippines you can find a hidden gem.

Where?

Now, let's go to Siargao. Wait, where?!

"Siargao is a tear-drop shaped island in the Philippine Sea situated 800 kilometers southeast of Manila in the province of Surigao del Norte. It has a land area of approximately 437 square kilometers." -Wikipedia 




Still not sure where is this hidden gem? No worries, Cebu Pacific flies to this island, although not directly and not daily so do check your dates correctly when you are purchasing the tickets. (Note that Cebu Pacific will have flight delays so factor that in during your purchase)

We booked our tickets from Singapore to Cebu via Tiger Airways during one of their flash sales and got a pair of return tickets for $325.50 which works to be $162.75 per pax. We bought our connecting flight from Cebu to Siargao via Cebu Pacific during their 1 PHP sales. (Yes, air tickets for 1 PHP excluding taxes and airport charges). We got a pair of return tickets for $71.05 which works out to be $35.5 per pax.

Did we mentioned that Siargao is a surfing paradise? Everyone on the island practically grew up surfing! Not even kidding. #funfact - Siargao is ranked top 10 in world's surfing spot.

Accommodation

Basically, most tourist stay at General Luna(GL). The town that is nearest to all the surf spots and restaurants. Although GL have a decent number of resorts and restaurants, it is still not overrun by mass tourism.

We stayed at Kermit Surf Camp Resort, it is THE place to stay. Not only do they have decent rooms, the environment there is awesome! The staff are so friendly and there is this vibe there that makes you want to just stay there forever. Do note that they are always full and do book your accommodation early.

Our room is the Surfer's Hut which cost about 950 PHP per night for 2 pax. There are various different types of rooms and ranging from 400 PHP to 2500 PHP per night. Oh did I mentioned that they provide complimentary breakfast served every morning?

A sample of the breakfast provided

Breakfast choices consists of :

- A main

- 2 choices of fresh fruits

- 1 cup of fresh fruit juice (2 choice of fruits)

- 1 cup of hot beverage

What to do for non-surfers?

So you heard Siargao is a surfing paradise but what if you don't surf? 

EASY! We don't surf too but this island has a lot of natural attractions and beautiful scenery:

White sand beaches, waterfalls, islands, coral reefs, wildlife, caves, lagoons, large mangrove and many more..

Don't be mistaken that Siargao is like Boracay or Bali where there are parties till morning or endless supplies of booze and chicks. It is a laid-back and chill-out island where you will NEVER want to leave. You basically can just lie on the beach and just watch the world go by.

Highlights of activities

1) Sugba Lagoon

Sugba Lagoon also known as Caob/Caub is located north of the town of Del Carmen on the west side of Siargao.

The thing about Kermit is that the boss is very accommodating and he organise tours to bring his guests to have fun. We had no clue what to do on the island and he recommended us to this place. At first we were skeptical but when we reached this secret lagoon, AMAZING! 

The trip starts from the resort where we were being picked up by an air conditioned van which took us on the scenic journey to the town of Del Carmen. 

From the port, a local pump boat took us through some of Siargao's famous mangroves. We entered a narrow passage leading through a network of lagoons, finally reaching the secret sugba lagoon.

Unwind and relax in a hammock, paddle around the lagoon on a SUP(Stand Up Paddle), snorkel, and enjoy the delicious prepared lunch.

Kermit will provide the transportation, food and activities, while we just enjoy our day. The chef will also prepare a sumptuous BBQ tuna fish and fresh cut fruits for us during lunch. It's beautiful and everyone didn't want to leave when it was time.

Cost is about 1500 PHP/per pax.

2) Sohoton Caves

Be amazed by the breath-taking views of the cave formations rising out from the turquoise-colored water, feel adventurous by jumping off safe cliffs, and feel  experience of swimming around hundreds of harmless and NON-stinging golden jellyfish.

Yes you heard it! Swim among jellyfish!! That was the highlight of Sohoton Caves. But unfortunately when we were there, it wasn't the season and we caught no sight of the jellyfishes.

We took a pump boat and the journey is 3 hours to the caves and 3 hours back so be prepared. When we reached the caves, we had to pay an entrance fee as well as a fee for the activities that we need to do so please bring enough cash. It's about 400 PHP/pax.

The turquoise-colored water is where the jellyfishes are situated but unfortunately, there was none at sight. #justourluck

We got to swim into caves and also jump off from a cliff. The way up the cliff is pretty scary as there are no proper lighting in the caves and the rocks are pretty sharp.

Cost - 

1. 5000PHP/per boat. A boat can take 8 people so roughly 625 PHP/pax.
2. Roughly 400PHP/pax for entrance fee as well as activities fees.

3) Island Hopping

MUST DO* This activity is a MUST DO, nobody visits Siargao and never go island hopping. Basically you will visit 3 islands by a traditional pump boat. It's a day trip where you will visit Naked Island first (NOT A NUDE ISLAND),  have lunch at Daku Island and some R&R and finish off with sunset at Guyam Island.

Naked Island is basically an island with no trees, no structures, nothing. Just plain sand and clear water! Perfect for a tan and photoshoot. Be prepared with sun tan or sun block lotion as there is no shelter for you to hide in.

After an hour or so at Naked Island, we will then travel over to Daku Island where we will have some R&R time while the villagers prepare our meal. Meal was sumptuous - grilled tuna fish, chicken, fresh cut mango.

You can choose to get a fresh cut coconut for about 30 PHP. Why do I know it's fresh cut? Because it's literally freshly cut from the tree! You pay the money to one of the villagers, he will climb up to the tree and cut one down for you! 

We had a couple of hours after lunch before we set off to the next island so we went wandering around the beach area. The sand is powdery and soft. A quick tan by the beach. 

We set off to our last island, Guyam Island. The island is uninhabited and we practically have the island to ourselves. We caught a glimpse of the sun set while enjoying the sea breeze. This island looks like an island at Maldives right?

Cost - Roughly 500 PHP/pax

4) Magpupungko Pool

This beautiful natural rock pool is by the beach and located at the town of Pilar. If you are feeling adventurous, rent a motorcycle and ride to Pilar yourself! It's about an hour and a half ride from GL. Entrance fee is 50 PHP/pax. Do bring along some drinks and snacks so that you can feast beside the beach.

Otherwise, you can rent a Habal Habal (Motorcycle Taxi) which can fit 2 people and cost about 800 PHP round trip.

Locals do visit this area and take a dip in the pool or do some backflips which is quite interesting. But note that the rocks are pretty sharp and once you are up there, the only way out is down.

Cost - 

1. 50 PHP/pax for entrance fee. 
2. 400 PHP for rental of motorcycle
3. 800 PHP for Habal Habal

5) Beach Bumming

Clear water, white sand beach, no trash - what's not to love about the beaches in Siargao? Best of all, there isn't anyone around! You can have the whole beach to yourself and just bum the whole afternoon away.

Siargao hasn't been populated with mass tourism yet, most tourist that come here, they come for the waves so there won't be anyone by the beach with you. Think peace, quiet and getting into the zen.

6) Surf-watching at Cloud 9

If you are afraid to surf or you are a non-surfer, how about surf-watching on a windy evening? Sitting by Cloud 9 tower, you are catch some surfers doing their thing or watch the rest get wiped out by the waves.

During evening - grab a beer, catch the sunset on one side, and surf-watch on the other. 

Still not convinced?? .... Really?!

How about I let you in on some celebrity news? RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS's Anthony Kiedis was spotted surfing at Siargao. So what are you waiting for? ;)