It's always been my dream to travel the world. A dream that costs a lot of money as my mother said. I remember 4 years ago, January 2014, I got an opportunity to travel overseas for the first time in my life to my ultimate dream country, Greece, for free! I cried over excitement and my body couldn't stop shaking when I got the news. Can you imagine, I was only a poor student back then, I didn't even have a passport. So I made one right away. I had no idea about traveling that time.. Visa, budget, etc. Someone took care of it for me, and unfortunately, my visa got rejected by Greece Embassy! I was devastated. They told me because I had ZERO stamp on my passport and the relationship between me and my sponsor was not "clear" enough. *cry*
Since that, I promised myself that I will make my passport full of stamp, here and there, and I will be MY OWN SPONSOR of my trips, not depend on anyone, anymore.
Why Singapore
For Indonesian passport holder, Singapore is one of the easiest, closest country to visit! Free visa, cheap airfare, easy two hours flights and lots of things to see. I decided to go for it, in June 2014, I made it to my first journey to another country, finally. Yaiy, Singapore! (Actually, even with Malaysia! Since I was thinking it's a good idea if I can get one more stamp from Malaysia and all I needed to do was just take a short bus trip to Singapore-Malaysia border, I spent two days and one night in Johor Bahru. I will write about it on Malaysia Post, soon!). That time, for 5 days trip, two countries, I spent not even more than 3.000.000 IDR! To be precise maybe 2.700.000 IDR (183 USD). It was 4 years ago so I am trying my best to recall the budget ;
-around 800.000 IDR for tiger airways return tickets CGK-SIN-CGK (yes it was on promotion)
-around 600.000 IDR for Universal Studios Singapore ticket (so pricey for me that time but it's very worth it!)
-around 300.000 IDR for 2 nights in Singapore hostel (150.000 IDR each)
-around 100.000 IDR for 1 night in Malaysia hotel (It was 200.000 IDR but I shared with a friend)
and the rests are for food and MRT/bus budgets.
It was quite an experience and for me it was a really good starter. Special thanks to my bestfriend, Feronia who accompanied me through my first journey.
(Singapore, 2014)
..and now, August 2018, I've been to Singapore like four times, and it's always been fun! :)
Where to Stay
Personally, I don't really care about sleeping condition when I travel cause most of the times I will spend day outside anyway (also because I'm always on budget, lol. Did I mention that I even slept on Changi Airport, twice?). Hotels in Singapore are very expensive compare to Indonesia, so hostel is the answer. Yes, with S in the middle, a place where you share a room with other people or some call it, "you basically pay for a bedspace". Singapore has plenty of it, most of my trips to Singapore, I always stay in such place. The only time I ever stay in 5* hotel in Singapore was when I dated this international cabin crew who invited me there on his layovers.
So here are the hostel/hotel I have stayed at ;
1. City Backpackers, Clarke Quay
Source : Google Images
I spent my first hostel experience here with Feronia (luckily she was there). Our first impression on this hotel was.. Well, we were quite shocked because when we opened the door of our room there was a naked middle east guy sleeping on one of the bed there. The thing is, unexpected things happen when you travel, either you be mad about it or you embrace it and make it fun. But lesson learned, if you are not comfortable sharing a room with opposite gender, you can choose "all female dorm" or "all male dorm", just need to add a bit more cash. But the hostel itself was not bad for me, nice location, clean, AC & water-heater worked well, they served simple breakfast like cereals, bread, milk, coffee & tea, nice staffs (they gave information about Singapore to us and even gave a cute keychain as a souvenir when we checked out) oh, and best price. I think it was the cheapest hostel in that location with good ratings. Around 150.000 IDR/bed that time.
Source : Google Images
Went here August 2016, I wanted to spend a day in Singapore to go to this exhibition at Art-science Museum after my Thailand trip (post coming soon). And I spent a night in this hostel after I had 3 horrible nights in Phuket hostel, so it feels amazing! Nice comfy bed and blanket, the room smells good, the common area was so homie. I watched a movie with other travelers while having some snacks, and WIFI was fast. The kitchen and dining room were also very clean and lovely. They got very good ratings and reviews, location was just perfect. Very close to MRT station. Also this time I decided to stay in all female room. It was so neat and tidy. :) If i'm not mistaken it cost me around 200.000 IDR/bed.
Source : Google Images
Stayed here two nights on July 2017 to ran away from my ex boyfriend's hotel to wait for my flight home, lol. The price was around 175.000 IDR/night. What I like about this hostel is its privacy because they put a curtain to each bed and we got a safety box next to our bed. The hostel staff also very friendly, they tried to find the right plug for my charger and they let me stayed longer even after I checked out. Nice outdoor breakfast area plus they added sausages and eggs besides of bread and cereals only like other hostel. My only concern was every time I walked back to hostel or going outside, there were some street workers nearby who kept catcalling me and I was always alone. It was okay on day time I can just ignored but on night time it was a little bit intimidating.
Source : Google Images
(Singapore, 2017)
Yup, so used to hostels, it was kinda nice to experience staying in a "real" hotel. It's connected to a mall with plenty of great restaurants downstairs and MRT station is just outside the hotel road. Stayed here twice, they have very convenient location, close to a lot of museums, nice room and breakfast (ofcourse), well.. I can't really explain much. They give you what you expect from 5* hotels, I don't even know how much it cost, lol. But if you have big budget this wouldn't be a bad choice. Ah, and the view of the room, was very pretty at night! Choose higher floors.
Where to Go
1. Universal Studio Singapore
My number one list! If you are into theme-park, thrills and movies, I really recommend you to go here! Since also there are only 4 Universal Studios in the world and we are lucky one is quite reachable in SG. You can feel the vibes of international lifestyle, see something we don't usually see everyday and their set up and rides are amazing! (You shouldn't miss mummy rollercoaster and Transformer ride). The ticket is not cheap but it is worth it. It is located in Sentosa Island.
(USS, 2014)
2. Singapore Botanic Garden
I am always into nature but unfortunately it is quite hard to find such place in Singapore. I wanted to see beautiful flowers and that time I thought I had to pay for Gardens by the Bay so I chose to go to botanic garden instead since it's free. Well, in my opinion the place wasn't bad, to some people maybe quite boring. But it's free anyway, so if you have any extra time and want to relax in a place where it's surrounded by greeneries, this one can be your choice.
(Singapore Botanic Garden, 2014)
3. Bugis Street
Cheap market, thousands of clothing choices, street food, souvenirs. I think those will describe Bugis clear enough. Rather than go to malls, if you are into shopping like most people who come to Singapore do, then this is the place I would recommend if you are on budget.
(Bugis Street, 2014)
4. ArtScience Museum
Cried tears of joy when I was in exploring this interactive art and science exhibition. I don't really understand art though I appreciate it a lot, yet I always like science and I enjoyed nearly three hours by myself in this museum! I chose the package "Future World" and "Big Bang Data" and it cost me around 250.000 IDR. What I liked the most about this place is how it brought some part of me flown to another dimension and made me wonder to a very personal level. However, I also saw lots of visitors came there just to take picture since the place is also very instagramable, so I guess it suits many kind of people. Oh, by the way it's located in Marina Bay Sands.
(Art Science Museum, 2016)
5. Gardens by the Bay
Walking distance from Artscience Museum, I decided to go here and unlike before, that time I understand already this famous garden is actually free entry! It amazed me how Singapore can built such modern, beautiful garden like that. The skywalk and displays are just terrific. Very worth a visit, just get ready to walk a lot.
(Gardens by the Bay, 2016)
6. Henderson Waves
Was still curious to find a "nature-related" area in Singapore, did surf the internet and ended up visiting this place, it is the highest bridge that was built close to a "Mount" named Faber. I remember I took the MRT, one short bus ride and "climb" up so many stairs to reach there. The view was great, the air was refreshing, I saw lot of people coming there for a jog, chillin' with friends or even just sitting by themselves reading a book peacefully. It is beautiful on sunset.
(The Southern Ridges, 2016)
7. Haw Par Villa
I don't even know how I got there. A unique-Chinese-mythology-site. Contains a lot of statues that tell you many old stories and belief. In my opinion this place is not suitable for young children as they potray disturbing scenes. However you can learn a lot and the concept itself is quite interesting for me especially "The 10 courts of hell", where they explain the kind of punishment that human get for doing certain types of sin. Just keep yourself openminded, though :) Eventually, anything that gives you an insight into another culture is worthwhile. Oh, and it's free entry.
(Haw Par Villa, 2016)
8. Science Centre Singapore
Still obsessed with science, I went here on my third visit to Singapore on my free time. Initially I wanted to try their planetarium in Omni Theater but unfortunately there was no show when I arrived there, so I just wandered around the science centre. It was interesting and I re-learnt again some theories that I studied when I was in school. The ticket cost me around 110.000 IDR. A nice place for children, however please note that if you are not into science thingy, this place might makes you feel bored, and since it's not free, it's better to skip this from your itinerary.
(Science Centre, 2017)
9. Siloso and Palawan Beach
Actually it's better to come here on the same day if you go to Universal Studios since these places are also located in Sentosa Island. If you go with train from Vivo City, you can hop on hop off to all 4 stations around the island anytime anywhere. For those who used to see beautiful-natural beaches (especially Indonesian), don't expect Siloso and Palawan will drop your jaw, but I think it is still nice to spend time here with a group of friends, family, or even just chillax by yourself as what I did. Try their floating bridge and go all the way up to their wooden buildings, you can see everything from there :)
(Sentosa Island, 2017)
10. Esplanade Park & Orchard Road
If you like to take a picture with a landmark, don't forget to stop by the Merlion (Singapore's most popular statue/fountain) nearby. The area is quite tourisity somehow. I came here few times to eat (there are plenty of restaurants), watch live music or just sit and relax in the evening. I would like to recommend the famous one dollar ice cream if you pass by the orchard road, it is just yum! Enjoy it while watching beautiful flowery streets <3
(Singapore, 2017)
Ps; Pretty sure there are still bunch of places to visit in this country, I will update as soon as I have the opportunities to explore more! :)
Tips
-Airasia has a lot of promotion CGK-SIN-CGK, if you are lucky you can get a good deal around 700.000 IDR for airfare.
-To save money, if your flight time is a little bit messed up, rather than pay another night in the hotel, sleeping in Changi airport could be a choice. It is the best airport in the world and they have a lot of "sleep" spaces, just ask the information center where they are. Of course it is not as comfortable as sleeping in a bed but it is also not that bad to rest for few hours, I did try. :)
-Buy Ezlink card for transportation, you can use it for any train and bus. You can just top up some amount in any station when you need it so no money wasted. I've been using mine everytime I go to Singapore for years and it's still work.
-Prepare to walk a lot when you travel with public transportation, so wear comfy footwear :)
-Food portion in Singapore is huge! So if you don't eat a lot you can even share a set meal with a friend remembering food is also expensive there.
-Don't stay in Geylang though the hotels there are so cheap unless you are okay with red-light district area.
-Singapore is a pretty safe country, you don't need to feel scared at all even when you are a solo female traveler. Security is everywhere.
-ASK when you are not sure where to go. Many people would love to help you out. Though it is quite easy to understand Singapore map. Just bring it along with you, you can take it as much as you want in airport when you arrive.
-Listen carefully when people talk, they are using Singlish (Singapore English) and sometimes the accent is different.
-It is common sense but always be polite and respectful. Singapore is quite a discipline country, follow the rules, for example, throw away your trash only in the bin! They are very clean. Or when you are standing on the escalator, don't block the way, be on the left side and give the right side for those who walk fast. You know, small things like that.
-When you stay in a hostel alone, just be friendly. Many people from different countries go to Singapore, you might end up getting a new friend.
-and last but not least, enjoy your journey! :)
Unforgettable Memory
When I was on my way to go to Universal Studio the first time I went to Singapore, I met this old couple, grandpa and grandma in Vivo City, apparently they are from Indonesia as well, they noticed my language when I was talking to my friend, so they said hi and introduced themselves. They asked us how to go to Sentosa Island and Universal Studio, they wanted to go there too. What was beautiful to me is when they told me they were in Singapore to get medical treatments since they were ill..cancer I think. It touched my heart that at the same time they also still tried to travel around and have fun together (they were keep holding each other's hand..walked slowly, tried to figure out the route. Remember, they are old). So we went together with the train, last time I saw them outside the Universal Studio, they were taking selfie together, smiling. Small thing, which made me realized, someone can love you forever, through thick and thin. Hope I will find mine, one day.
Cheers,
Pishella Putri
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step"
- Lao Tzu
