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tutorofenglishtokoreans · 7 years ago

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And so I boarded that midnight bus to Singapore from Melaka after waiting for almost 2 hours for the bus to come as scheduled. Yes, expect delays and sleeping late when traveling on the road. It was the same thing during my land trip from Butterworth, Penang to Melaka about 2 years ago. What I liked about the night trip this time was that I chose a 27-seater bus, and since it was the last trip out or a late night trip for that matter, it wasn’t a full bus.

And it turned out that it was just all right that the bus was delayed. I arrived in the vicinity of the Golden Mile Tower at about 6 AM, just a few minutes before the Singapore sun finally brightened everything. Except for that inconvenience of a delay, my road trip to Singapore went very smoothly this time.

I booked online and took a Starmart Ekspres. The bus from Melaka to the Singapore border wasn’t really a new one, but the interior was good enough. From the border to Kampong Glam Park, we were given a much better bus, still a 27-seater. (No, I’m not advertising; they didn’t pay me for this;~~ for illustrative purposes only)

This time’s border control was superb! Or was it just because I arrived at the border very early in the morning and maybe we we’re one of the first of many buses to have arrived. Whatever the reason may be, it was easy-going compared to the last two year’s. It used to be that one had to queue at a designated bus stop and hop on any or the next available bus from the same company that parked at their designated stop.

I totally liked it this time around: Bus passengers just have to take note of the plate number of the bus they’re taking (and is waiting for them) after they’re done with Malaysian immigration stamping.

This new bus takes a few minutes to reach the Singapore immigration. This time I didn’t have to go up an elevator. Just fill out an entry and exit card and give the immigration officer an address to wherever you’re staying in the country. The same bus will be waiting for you at its designated stop. I didn’t see any queue waiting to embark on their bus anymore. It was that smooth.

The drop-off point was at Kampong Glam Park, about 50 meters away from the Golden Mile Tower. I discovered later after having a quick tour of the park and its neighborhood.

Our drop off was here in this park nearby Masjid Fatima, at the center of Kampong Glam residential buildings

Since my goal was to enjoy this Singapore trip as cheaply as I could, I had to take advantage of the freebies the Lion City has for me. First in my checklist is getting a Singapore Tourist Pass good for 2 days and I had all convenience of the public rides for free. Click this link to know other options available.

Taking my time, I went around the area of the Golden Mile Complex. Since I wanted to have an early breakfast, I tried to find the Hainanese chicken meal (a popular chicken dish in the Malay peninsula) in the Golden Mile Food Centre.

Unfortunately for me, the shops that serve it were not open yet. Only the noodles were available, and I was not keen to have some despite the time of day and the long bus ride. I just took my time to freshen up a bit at the public restroom here.

Having stopped close to the Golden Mile Tower Complex, the nearest MRT station with a Transitlink booth I could go to for my tourist pass was Bugis MRT. However, the Translitlink office there doesn’t open until 10 AM.

(I think you can also get the tourist pass at 7-11 shops, but I just wanted to check the area along Beach Road to Bugis, and that was just what I did.) I simply considered it my early morning walk.

Here are the free things I did:

Enjoy the cool morning breeze at Kampong Glam Park while sitting on a bench fronting Masjid Fatima. This religious site reminded me to do my morning prayer, too.

Masjid Fatima @ Kampong Glam Park

Visit the Malay Heritage Center and its vicinity~~

You don’t have to go inside the museum, though. The area around it and the streets are instagrammable enough. I went there early in the morning, so I couldn’t go in the museum even if I was curious to. If I am allowed a longer time away from work and visit Singapore again, with not just a weekend getaway, I will go back to this area to experience it more.

Stop by Masjid Sultan~~

Walk down Beach Road and turn right at Sultan Gate St. Just go straight and you won’t miss the arch of this impressive mosque on the left. Its magnificence yelled at my hunger pangs to scram! Entrance is free, but then again I was there too early when the morning was still busy for prayers.

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Check out the colorful life (and bustling nightlife) at Haji Lane and Arab Street~~

Instagram fanatics and selfie addicts celebrate! I didn’t take a lot of selfies but took a lot of pictures as I went around. Boy, I was sure glad I went to this place which is not always included in many tour packages of Singapore. The vicinity itself is a museum full of relics and artefacts. If you pay a visit to the Malay Heritage Centre Museum of the Children Little Museum, the experience will be like going to “a museum within a museum”. That’s why I didn’t feel bad about not having gone inside a real one.

One of the mesmerizing murals at Haji Lane

I hoped to show that I was as ecstatic as this woman on the mural…

I had a Singapore traditional kaya toast for breakfast at The Fun Coffee at the ground floor of Raffles Hospital. I couldn’t recall eating a hearty breakfast for the longest time. Beside the coffee house is a Starbucks.

MUST EAT!!!

Here’s how you order your coffee in Singapore. I chose Gula Melaka coffee and the traditional kaya toast. Lovely combo!

For lunch I had beef rendang, and this dish has been my ultimate favorite of all beef dishes. This is like quoting Sylvia Plath when she said

“I craved him constantly, so deeply it was a physical ache”

I’ve ordered beef rendang from a Singaporean restaurants but not in Singapore or Melaka. I’ve cooked it at home, but I couldn’t tell if there was any difference, so I wanted to go for the authentic, yeah. Time allowed me to enjoy it in the Terminal 1 departure lounge of Changi Airport. I went to Changi from Bugis MRT. That quick. I had to explore something at Changi at this time.

I wish I were always a big eater, but it’s very seldom that I am. There’s a long list of food to eat when I visit a place, but sadly for me I couldn’t get to try everything on the list for fear of upsetting my tummy. So I went hungry after all that walking of course, so it was time to stuff my hungry worms. It just so happened that I came across this 1983 Taste of Nanyang bistro, and to my huge delight they have my deeply craved for beef rendang.

MUST EAT!!! beef rendang @1983, Level 3, Departure Transit Lounge, Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1

5. Pay a visit to the Civilian War Memorial Park~~

After Changi, I went to this park in search of something free to see. The park was not crowded despite the day being Saturday and Christmas eve, so I liked it. It drizzled for a few minutes, so it wasn’t a hot afternoon to say the least. There were some couples, some families having an afternoon picnic in some spots, others were just lazing around just passing time. I saw another tourist like me who’s busy taking photos here and there, too. It was a rare moment in my life to sit by a park bench and watch a kit of pigeons. That was the best part: me bumming around aka resting (ho-ho-ho)! I never knew I could miss parks like that, haha!

This can be an interesting tour to do in the future.

The Four Chopsticks

6. Book Fair @ Suntec~~ I wanted to go early to the Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay, but lo and behold a book sale. Another weakness of mine I couldn’t let pass. Entrance was free of course. I spent my late afternoon here after sitting a while at the park. I thought I’d get some novels for me and some friends in Saigon but the queue for those paying in card was terribly a kilometer long, so I forgot about buying more for friends. I opted to pay in cash (for which I didn’t bring enough S$) so I had to prioritize buying only a Murakami and 2 laptop bags. It was fun going around a gigantic book sale, though. No regrets!

7. Gardens by the Bay~~It was Christmas eve, but Singapore doesn’t really have a fancy celebration for Christmas. However, I underestimated the crowd here at this time of year. I enjoyed the night view for a while, but seeing that crowd stressed me out, so I didn’t stay long. I would’ve loved to stay longer because the trains were good until 1:30 AM anyway, the Christmas morning. Going to the Gardens and back to the MRT, I got caught in a sea of human traffic. I regretted going there that time.

8. Chinatown~~ The first time I came to the People’s Park Complex and its vicinity, I sort of liked it. But this time most shops were closed when I arrived there, so I didn’t bother going around the area much, as I got tired from that agonizing crowd at the MBS. I planned to buy trinkets here, but I thought I could just do it the following morning. Tt didn’t happen; here’s why��

Well, maybe I would just cut my 2nd trip experience to Singapore to a day because on my second (and last) day there, I OVERSLEPT! My plan to go to more places that morning was ruined all because I woke up late. All that walking must have made me dog-tired that I didn’t notice.

I could have done more free things like visiting the Botanic Gardens and the Changi Point Coastal Walk. Yeah, regrettably. I will definitely do more on my next visit.

After taking a quick shower and saying goodbye to my uncle and family at Sembawang Close, I quickly headed off to the airport. It just dawned on me that it was Christmas Day and the airport could have long queues, but I was wrong. Everything was smooth-sailing. So I had plenty of time to burn at the airport, getting a S$10 refund for the tourist pass, and used it well at a souvenir shop, and having late lunch of nasi lemak.

Incredible? Yes, very much I guess.

Here’s how I did it: (computed in USD)

Saigon to Kuala Lumpur (via AirAsia): $43.40

Airport breaky (NZ Curry House) about $2.50 with mee goreng and teh tarik

JR Cawangin: about $13 for the big serving of asam pedas fish and lime juice

Panorama (old, red bus): about 37 cents

McDonald’s Dinner: about $3.70 for ayam goreng spicy chicken and cappuccino

Melaka to Singapore (bus): about $6.15 (I booked it here.)

Fun Toast breakfast: about $4.11 for the traditional kaya butter toast and Gula Melaka coffee

Starbucks: $3.37 for a tall serving of mint tea

1983 Lunch: about $5.08 for beef rendang set meal and milk tea

Singapore Tourist Pass: about $19.43 (S$26 with a $10 deposit for the card)

Airport dinner: about $4.60 for nasi lemak with coffee

Singapore to Saigon (via Vietjet): $78

Grand total: $201.20

Less: about $7.47 (refund for the STP deposit)

NET TOTAL: $193.73

Click her for the Melaka walking tour! Please keep posted!

Let’s go places!!

Mabuhay! 🙂

Incredible 3D-2N Melaka and Singapore in under US$200 (Part 2/2) #soloSaturdate #soloSundate And so I boarded that midnight bus to Singapore from Melaka after waiting for almost 2 hours for the bus to come as scheduled.

#budget trip #incredible #melaka #singapore

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