Asia - Budget Style: Singapore (1.5 days)

May 23: Arrived in Singapore from Taipei on Jetstar Asia. Flight was 4 hrs long and a good value. It was clean and had leather seats. Only complaint was that the seat hardly reclined. Got to the Singapore airport quite late and took a taxi to our hostel, A Traveller’s Rest Stop. May 24: Purchased a City Buzz Pass from our hostel front desk. This was a convenient Hop-On Hop-Off Bus and was very cheap at only US for the entire day. First stop was the Fountain of Wealth. We were surprised to see that it was actually turned off. But we then realized that it was because at certain times of the day, you are actually allowed to walk into the base of the fountain and touch the water. So we touched the water and hopefully, our luck will never run out! We also went to the Esplanade and saw the Merlion. Had Hainan chicken rice for lunch. This is a yummy dish comprised of rice cooked in chicken broth and served with a side of chicken! Afterwards, we went shopping on Orchard Rd, which we thoroughly enjoyed. It’s very modern with a huge variety of shops and cafes. Hopped on the CityBuzz to Bugis Street and the Goddess of Mercy Temple. Bugis St had an almost overwhelming amount of stalls with clothing and accessories. Walked to the temple from there and then on to Little India. Got picked up by my friend’s friend again to have seafood chili crab at Jumbo’s Restaurant! Afterwards, went to the night zoo with I thought was a highlight. It was great to actually see the animals alive and moving instead of sleeping. May 25: Went to Sentosa as we had made reservations for the Swimming With the Pink Dolphins program. This was a great experience where we actually got to go into the water with the dolphins. Went to Underwater World and took a ride on the luge. Underwater World was very small and not that impressive. The Sentosa luge was a lot of fun but very short. You also get to ride the chairlift up after going down. Had Hainan chicken rice again at a hawker stand. Hopped on the Transtar bus to Kuala Lumpur. It was a 4.5 hr trip in complete comfort. You have a reclining, massaging chair and get a meal, a personal entertainment system, blankets, and pillows.

Quick Tips:

The Bugis Street market had the cheapest items, although you would have to probably spend a few hours in there walking through the cramped aisles. Food from the hawker stands were great with a lot of variety.

Best Way To Get Around:

The CityBuzz pass was a great deal at only US. There are three double-decker bus lines that take you to all of the touristy areas and they run approximately 15-20 min apart. There are also stops where you can interchange between the different lines. The stops are well marked and you get a map that makes them easy to find. Each bus that we went on was totally empty, so we were able to get top-floor front seats every time. The subway was also very efficient and extremely clean. If you buy a single ride ticket, be sure to get your deposit back from the ticket machines.

We did a lot of hostel research, and this one by far had one of the best reviews. The hostel is located in Chinatown and is about a 2-minute walk from the nearest bus stop and a 8-minute walk from the nearest MRT station. We stayed in quad room with an attached bathroom. The cost was very cheap, only $12.50 per person per night. The people at the front desk were very friendly and helpful. We told them we would be arriving around midnight, and they actually waited up for us so we would not have a problem checking in.

The room had two bunk beds, a locker, and a bathroom. The only complaint was that the air-conditioning unit in the room was nowhere near strong enough to cool down the entire room. It was quite stuffy in the room, even when the AC was left on the entire night.

Even with this problem, I would still recommend this hostel, as it has clean rooms, a lively character, a friendly staff, and is located a central, safe location. Chinatown is also a great section of the city to stay in, as it has a lot of character, interesting architecture, and cheap food. Official website is: http://www.atravellersreststop.com.sg/.

When we mentioned to a Singapore local that we wanted to eat chili crab, he recommended that we eat at Jumbo Restaurant. The Jumbo that we went to was located at the East Coast Seafood Centre off of the East Coast Parkway. It is an open-air restaurant located right by the ocean providing a great atmosphere. There is also a big air-conditioned section if you want to eat inside. There were about four other open-air seafood restaurants in the East Coast Seafood Centre complex, and Jumbo was definitely one of the most popular. Some the dishes we had were fried taro with a scallop in the middle, fried shrimp with honey/mayonnaise, a Chinese vegetable stir-fried with garlic, and, of course, a huge chili crab. The chili crab was very tasty and quite spicy. It definitely makes your lips tingle. The taro/scallop dish was also very good and quite different from anything that I have had back in the US. Dessert, to top everything off, was a sweet taro soup.

I would definitely recommend going to Jumbo if you love seafood, even though the service was a bit slow. The food was great and a highlight of Singapore for all of us.

This is Singapore's performing arts venue that features local and international performances. It is known as architectural icon with distinctive twin shells, and is located Marina Bay at the mouth of the Singapore River. The outside is very unique and was made to remind people of a durian, which is a favorite fruit. We walked into the Esplanade and eventually made our way up the escalators to a viewpoint on the 3rd floor where you could see the Singapore skyline. As it was a beautiful, sunny day, we were able to get great pictures of the city. If you don’t go up to the viewpoint, you can have the same view from the sidewalk on the Singapore River side, there are just more people around. As a whole, the Esplanade reminded me a lot of the Sydney Opera House.

This fountain is located at Suntec City and the sign claims that it is the largest fountain in the world. We took the CityBuzz bus there and were very surprised to see that it was actually turned off. The fountain is located in the middle of a roundabout and you have to enter the mall and go up and down the stairs to get there. When we questioned some workers about why the fountain wasn’t on, they said it was because it is only on at certain times of the day. We also realized that since it wasn’t on, you are allowed to actually go up to the water and touch it to bring yourself good luck. In the base of the fountain, there was a platform leading out the running water. According to the sign, you are supposed to touch the water, make a wish, and then walk around the fountain three times in a clockwise direction.. So we followed the directions and hopefully, our luck will never run out and our wishes will come true! My friend even bought a souvenir test tube of the water to make sure that that happens.

The Merlion, a creature that is half lion, half fish. It is a trademark symbol of Singapore and it stands at the opening of the Singapore River. There are two Merlions located here, a smaller one that you can take pictures next to along with the larger one that shoots a fountain off into the water. We initially saw the larger Merlion from the Esplanade side of the river and walked over the bridge to take a look.

Sentosa is a popular island resort, easily reachable from the city center. To get there, we took the MRT to HarbourFront Station and took the public bus across. A more scenic but much more expensive way to get there is to take the cable car across. You are able to go to Sentosa for a day visit or even stay there overnight. While there, we swam with the pink dolphins at the Dolphin Lagoon, visited Underwater World, Siloso Beach, and rode the Sentosa luge, and chairlift. It is extremely easy to get around the island without a car, as there are 4 free bus lines that run frequently to all of the different attractions. It is a clearly a very touristy place (the Singapore locals we met said that they have never been there) although it had some great looking beaches. Only slight complaint was that the view from the beach was straight into the shipping lanes! If you're looking for a place to relax, this is it.

Swimming With the Dolphins was our one and only Singapore splurge (cost approx US$72). In my opinion, it was well worth the money. You got to interact with the pink dolphins (Indo-Pacific Humbpack Dolphins) by learning commands, etc., for about an hour. We got to feed them lots of fish and the best part came when we got to go into the deep water and actually interact with them. This involved holding on to the dolphin’s dorsal fin and being pulled around. It was a great experience that I would love to do again. After our session, we stayed around to watch the dolphin show which was only ok. The dolphins did their tricks quite far away from the beach and I didn’t think it was that exciting or informative.

It is advertised as Asia's largest oceanarium but this was the smallest aquarium that I have ever visited. There were few displays and it was really was not worth the visit. There were some of the normal fish tanks and moving platform through an underwater tube. I thought the best part of the visit was that the touch pool where you could touch little sharks. Nothing was very impressive although I thought that Gracie the dugong (manatee) was very cute. If you do go, be sure to eat outside as there are no food facilities on the inside. If you are a real adventurer, be sure to take advantage of the "Adventures" that they offer for an extra fee. This includes the Swim With the Dolphin program, Dive with Sharks, or even Dive with Gracie the dugong.

This was a ride where you get to sit on your own little car and ride down a paved hill to the bottom. You can control your own speed and also have to wear a helmet. I thought it was quite fun but a little pricey. The ride is also only a few minutes long. You also get to ride the chairlift up from the bottom and this is included in the price of your ticket.