Singapore - The Lion City

Marina Bay Sands at night

Singapore - An island country in Southeast Asia that lies off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. This teeny-weeny tropical city-state is also known as the Little Red Dot, the Garden City and the Lion City.

Singapore is one of the world's tiniest nation but it has a thriving economy much stronger than that of many larger countries in Asia. It is undoubtedly one of the world's most expensive cities. This state has a high standard of living, which means that there is relatively little poverty. 

It's powerful economy is clearly apparent on its infrastructures, transportation, and its people. High-rise buildings, multi-storey shopping centers and hotels are everywhere. But amidst the picturesque skylines, Singapore has a variety of parks that features natural tropical environment which also makes it an environment friendly city. 

How to Get to Singapore

Look how small Singapore is.

Before booking your flight or hotel accommodations, make sure that you have an idea on different travel documents (passport, visa, invitation letter, onward or return ticket, etc) that are needed in order to enter Singapore.

Many airlines from all over the world fly to Singapore daily. Check the airline of your choice (some may require connecting flights) and book your flight.

Coming from the Philippines (particularly in Cebu City), we took the evening flight to Singapore via Cebu Pacific Air. Travel time is approximately 3 hours and 40 minutes.

*Our round-trip ticket only costs Php7,000 for 2 person already! :) 

Important: After checking in, you need to go through the immigration counter where an immigration officer will ask some questions regarding your travel and will check some of your documents (passport/visa, onward or return ticket, hotel accommodation, identification card - these are the basic things they will require you to show to them). Once they scan your passport and stamped it, be relieved! You're good to go :)

Singapore Arrival

Image from: www.badmintoncentral.com

We arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 2 few minutes before 12 midnight. I was still half awake when I exited the plane but upon entering the airport's arrival area, I was amazed with its beautiful interiors. It's incomparable to any of my country's international airports. It's huge with carpeted floors, various shops, it felt like I'm inside a shopping mall. 

We walked for 10-15 minutes (thanks to travellators) before we arrived at the immigration counter.
Money changer are available 24/7 inside the airport, near the exit gate where people line up for taxis. The exchange rate is quite expensive compared to the money changers in downtown area.

S$10 note. Singapore's currency is Singapore Dollar.

Since its already past midnight, there were no longer MRT operations so the only option we had was to ride a taxi to take us to our accommodation. You don't need to worry. There are plenty of taxis in Singapore  so queuing in line is a breeze. 

Note: Midnight surcharge applies from midnight to 5:59AM. 50% of the meter fare is added. Ouch! 

There are numerous accommodations to choose from in this city. You can opt to say on high-end to mid-range hotels, hostels or you can stay to a relative or friend's house/apartment if you have any.

Accommodations in Singapore is pretty expensive. To cut the cost, we opted to stay on a premium hostel just 5 minutes walk away from Bugis MRT.  The place is called Primero Place and the hostel's name is Plush Pods (visit their website: www.plush-pods.com). To tell you frankly, I have never stayed in a hostel ever in my travelling life. I dislike the idea of having common utilities and sharing a room with some bunch of people. But Plush Pods offers private rooms and it exceeded my expectations. The room is small but all the basic things you need are provided.

Image from: www.plush-pods.com

Getting Around the City

The hostel where we stayed in is in a perfect spot - near Bugis MRT, near the shopping malls and is walking distance to many iconic places in Singapore. Before we began wandering, we bought couple of things to help ease our 3-day journey:

1. EZ Link Card

The EZ-Link card is a contactless smart card used for the payment of public transportation fares and in some retail stores within Singapore. This card is commonly used for paying transportation fees in MRT, LRT and public buses. It lessens the hassle of queuing in line for tickets and paying with coins or verifying the correct fare to pay. You just need to tap the card and go! For more information about the card and where the card is sold, visit their website: http://www.ezlink.com.sg/ez-link-card/


2. Singapore Sim Card

This one is optional. If you want to have internet connection 24/7 then you should buy a sim (Singapore has 3 TelCos) unless you have your roaming data in play. In our case, we needed a prepaid sim to contact a relative living in the city. You need to present your passport if you'll buy one.

3. Singapore Map and MRT Map

You need to have a handy map - be it a printed map or in your portable devices. As first time visitors in Singapore, we needed this tool to guide our way when touring the city by walking. You can somehow skip the MRT Map. All MRT Stations have directories. You'll never be lost.

4. Water and Tissue (why??)

It is always expected that you need to walk around the city. Many of SG's attractions are close to each other so you'll just walk under the heat of the sun. Singapore is a tropical country thus characterized by a hot climate. Drinking water is quite refreshing, as they provide respite from the sun.

Hawkers are very common in Singapore. Hawkers are open-air stalls that sells inexpensive foods. It is cheap and surprisingly clean! 

Hawkers in Maxwell Center

Hawker stalls don't provide tissues so you need to have it in handy. When you put a tissue (clean tissue) on a table, that means that somebody has reserved the table and will be occupying it.

These are just few of the things that you need to know before exploring the city. 

Get a load of more Singapore attractions on my next blog posts.. Hang in there ;)