Singapore Day 1: Where to stay, what to ride, what to see?

Yeay finally I write another story of my holiday.. 😁

Well this is my second visit to Singapore. First visit was with my bestfriends, and this time with my family. These 2 visits have different stories, but I’ll give you the best recommendation for visiting Singapore.

The first chapter of my Singapore trip’s stories is about basic preparation you need to know before visiting the country.

WHERE TO STAY?

After you booked the flight tickets, the next thing you’ll prepare must be hotel room. Where should I stay?

If you planning to go on your own without book any travel agent, so I recommend you to find place to stay near the transportation center. In Singapore, it must be near MRT station or city bus stops. It will help you cut walking time from hotel to your transportation, so you have more times to spend at tourist site.

Since I used to be budget traveller, I choose the budget hotel as well. I decided not to stay in a hostel because it less privacy, even though it’s cheaper than budget hotel. I need hotel room with private bathroom and more spaces to pack things (as expected from shopping master 😂). Unfortunately, most of budget hotel located a bit far from MRT station, the nearest are hostels and 5 stars hotels.

In my first visit, I found the nearest budget hotel to MRT station is in Geylang. There are many budget hotels in this area. I chose the nearest one to Kallang MRT station, The Fragrance Hotel Emerald. The Fragrance Hotel is a hotel group that you can find easily across the country. They has some classification like Emerald, Pearl, Ruby, Royal, Imperial, Rose, Oasis, Riverside, Waterfront, etc, based on the location and what stars the hotel is.

So I finally booked The Fragrance Hotel Emerald in Geylang because it’s the nearest hotel to MRT station. Even though I need to walk about 1 km or 10 mins walking to the station but it’s better than any hotel in the area. I had no problem during the stay at the hotel, it’s quite comfy, but my Singaporean said that it's in red district area! LOL 🙈

I spent IDR 650.000 (USD 45)/night (2 person) for Superior Twin Room at Fragrance Hotel Emerald. It has private large bathroom with bathtub and hot shower water available. But with this price, breakfast isn't included.

The Fragrance Hotel Emerald Singapore

The hotel location to Kallang MRT station

On my second visit, I brought my parent along. So I should find another place that is super close to MRT station. Walking 10 mins to the station seems too much for elder. I thought staying in apartment room will be better, because I found out that in Singapore, local residences are closer to MRT station than budget hotels in the same area.

Yeayyy I found one! Apartment room for 4 people in Chinatown that just a blink away from MRT station..😁

Actually it’s an old Chinese style apartment, but it’s located in the same complex with shopping center and MRT station. Wowww we were so happy..

The name of the place is People’s Park Center. It’s also located at the big crossroads of Chinatown area, opposite the Chinatown Point Mall & OG Building, and just 5 mins walk from the famous Riverside, Clarke Quay..

The building of People's Park Center

The maps of People's Park Center near Chinatown MRT

Chinatown Junction

Me and sister posing at Chinatown Junction.it's below our apartment..😍

The price of staying in an apartment room is a bit higher than in a budget hotel, but you can't tell the different due to its better location. I spent IDR 1.450.000 (USD 100)/night for 4 person, with private and shared bathroom. We also could use the shared kitchen and iron. The apartment contains of 3 rooms, so we're getting to know each other with other guests.

So I suggest you to stay in an apartment room, especially if you bring many people along. You can find apartment recommendation that suit your preference on Airbnb application and booked with your credit card. 

Or kindly contact me to ask more.. 😀

WHAT TO RIDE?

Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) is the best transportation you can have in Singapore. I recommend it because it’s a lot easier and cheaper than any other transport mode. MRT’s integrated system help you move easily from one place to another. The train will arrive every 5 minute, so you don’t need to wait for long time at the station.

Bus also become a common transportation for local people, but the system will get you nuts..😂

You should remember the bus number and the destination point. Taxi and grabs can be an alternative if you have more money or travelling with 4 people at once.

To ride MRT safely without getting lost (even though getting lost is a fun thing..😆), you need to understand the MRT maps well. MRT divided into 5 lines that bring you to different destination. 

Every line has different colors:

Green Line: East West Line

Red Line: North South Line

Purple Line: North East Line

Yellow Line: Circle Line

Blue Line: Downtown Line

The MRT System Map

You only need to know your departure station and find your destination station, so you can choose which MRT line you should take. Some MRT stations also become an interchange station, it means you can change from one line to another. The biggest interchange station is Dhoby Ghaut. It is the interchange point for 3 lines: red, yellow and purple.

Here are some examples of riding MRT:

From Changi Airport to Bugis:

Take Green Line, from Changi Airport MRT Station (CG2) to Bugis Station (EW12), you don’t need to change line because it’s in the same Green Line.

From Changi Airport to Chinatown:

Take Green Line, from Changi Airport MRT Station (CG2) to Expo Station (DT35), change to Blue Line.

Take Blue Line, from Expo Station (DT35) to Chinatown Station (DT19)

Or

Take Green Line, from Changi Airport MRT Station (CG2) to Bugis Station (EW12), change to Blue Line.

Take Blue Line, from Bugis Station (DT14) to Chinatown Station (DT19)

The point is you should change from Green Line to Blue Line that reach Chinatown.

This interchange also applied in another route. You might change from Red Line to Purple Line, from Yellow Line to Green Line, etc.

Another important notes that you shouldn’t miss while travelling on MRT is some DONT’S that you shouldn’t done, instead of paying taxes:

• Eat or drink on MRT
• Smoking on MRT
• Bring flamable goods
• Bring durian on MRT (as it’s aroma might annoys other passengers)

And when you take the escalator on MRT station, please KEEP LEFT. It means that if you want to stand still while riding the escalator, you better stay on the left side, because the right side will be used by people in a hurry of catching the next train.😅

Pay MRT fee using EZ Link Card

I don’t really know if there’s a single way ticket for riding MRT. Since the first time I visit Singapore, I directly bought EZ Link Card to pay MRT fee. You can buy the card at Ticket Counter on every MRT station. The new card cost SGD 12, containt of SGD 5 as guarantee (you can’t claim it) and SGD 7 that you can use to pay MRT fee. You can top up the amount at self counter machine. We topped up SGD 10 more that we can use it until the next 4 days, so the total amount we spent for MRT fee during our 4 days trip in Singapore is SGD 17.

But don’t worry if you have a lot of amount remaining in your EZ Link Card you can redeem it, except the SGD 5 guarantee. I prefer not to redeem the remaining amount, because the card is valid for the next 5 years..😁

The latest EZ Link Card x Gudetama

I’ll show you some pictures of us at MRT station.. 😍

Some stations are designed super fancy..😍

WHAT TO SEE?

We decided to go to tourist spots because this is my parent’s first visit to Singapore. There are many destinations that we can visit in a day only by using MRT for the transportation. For Indonesian people like us, the main things that matter is we should walk a lot during our trip in Singapore. At home, we don’t used to..😓 So it might be a shock to our feet and we were having massage everyday after we came back home..LOL.

I summarize my Singapore 4 days trip itinerary into a simple table below, include the transportation mode we took and the ticket price. You may copy the itinerary or personalize to your travelling plan. I will tell you what destinations we visit in the next blog chapter..Enjoy!

My Singapore 4 days trip itinerary