Singapore
WHERE IS SINGAPORE?
Singapore is a country in Southeast Asia. It is located on the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula.
TRAVEL COMPANION
Laura 😊
MY FAVORITES
Atlas - Changi Airport Terminal 1 Jewel Installation - Supertree Grove in Gardens by The Bay
CURRENCY
Singapore uses the Singapore dollar. Currently, one USD is 1.34 SGD. Here is a link to see the current conversion ratio. Upon exiting the bus in Singapore, I withdrew about 80 USD from the nearest ATM. I never had to take out more cash and would have been fine to withdraw less cash than I did. Card machines and ATMs are everywhere so you should never find yourself in a timely search for cash.
BUDGET
Knowing ahead of time that Singapore would be more expensive than many of my previous countries, I budgeted about 100USD a day. This budget was harder to maintain and I definitely went over budget a few days. With all of that said, I don’t feel like I missed out on any opportunities by staying in Singapore on a low budget. There are actually quite a few popular and free activities available. In addition, the activities, food, and local transport would cost about the same as visiting a major city in the US.
TIME OF VISIT
End of December
WEATHER
77 °F - 88 °F or 25 °C - 31 °C
We were worried about rain and humidity during our December visit, but did not find either to be extreme and spent most of our time outdoors.
CLOSEST MAJOR AIRPORT Singapore Changi Airport
Since we entered and exited Singapore on bus, we did not have the experience of traveling through Singapore Changi Airport. However, we still visited the airport to see Changi Airport Terminal 1 Jewel Installation. I would recomend visiting this installation for any person visiting Singapore. If you fly into/out of the airport, schedule time to be able to see this before departure or after arrival. If you go during one of your days in Singapore, it is very easy to reach via public transport and will only take up about half of your day so you will have time for other activities as well.
VISA REQUIREMENTS
It is not required for United States citizens to get a tourist visa if your stay in Malaysia is under 90 days. This requirement may have changed since I have written this post, so always double check the U.S. Department of State website for the most up to date information. You will however need to complete a SG Arrival Card (SGAC) prior to your arrival into the country. If you are entering via an airplane, your airline should send you a link to complete the SGAC about 3 days before your scheduled flight. If you are arriving through other transport means, such as a bus, you can access the link here.
TRANSPORT
Bus – Subway (MRT)
PACKING LIST
light and loose clothing – sunscreen – umbrella / rain jacket – swimsuit – sandals
ACCOMMODATION The Bohemian
Whatever accomodation you choose in Singapore will likely be pricier than you are used to if you are used to paying a typical hostel price. The Bohemian was on the cheaper side of Singapore accomodation, but I was still not thrilled about paying $30 a night. I will say that this was quite a nice hostel. We stayed in the standard capsule in a 12 bed female dorm. This set of dorms was located at the top floor of the hostel so we did not have a lot of outside noises. Each capsule came with privacy curtains, electric sockets, a biometrics locker, and a smart tv with headphones. They also offered complementary breakfast in the morning which is always a good way to start the day. We also liked the location of this hostel. It was close to public transport, Chinatown, and a Hawker Center.
FOOD
Komala Vilas Restaurant - Lau Pa Sat (Hawker Center) - Kim Joo Guan for Bak Kwa
SHOPPING
Haji Ln - Chinatown
LANGUAGE
You will commonly hear Mandarin, Malay, and English throughout Singapore. English is quite common, especially in the tourist areas.
GOOGLE MAPS PINS
Here is my Google Maps link for all of Malaysia and Singapore. You can zoom in to Singapore to see only the locations around this area.
DAILY ACTIVITY BLOG
Day 1 (SATURDAY)
Laura and I started the day off with our bus ride from Melaka to Singapore. We used KKKL bus services and the ride was very nice. We watched “Crazy Rich Asians” on the ride in preparation for our time in Singapore 😊 Prior to this bus ride, we had read of horror stories of crossing the border between Malaysia and Singapore. Stories of hour long waits and bus riders being left at the border crossing by their bus service. I am pleased to say that we did not have this experience. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The process was extremely smooth and quick at both the Malaysia check and the Singapore check. You do need to ensure you have filled out SG Arrival Card and other necessary documents depending on your passport nationality. On this ride, we sat next to a guy who was going to the same hostel we were.
So, upon arrival at our final bus destination in Singapore, we shared a taxi with him to our hostel. We checked in to the hostel then headed out for dinner at our first hawker center. Hawker centers are a version of a food court where there are a variety of food stalls selling delicious and sometimes world-famous street food.
To say Laura and I were most excited about the food during our time in Singapore would be an understatement. For my first dinner, I ordered lime juice, pork dumplings on spicy noodles, prawns, and fruit ice cream. Everything was delicious and it was a great start to our food tour. We got back to the hostel around 11PM and I washed some of my clothes in the shower before calling it a night.
Day 2 (SUNDAY)
I slept through my alarm this morning which I never do. So, I hurriedly got ready so Laura and I could leave on time. Before we left the hostel, we enjoyed toast with strawberry jam. We then walked around Chinatown. We didn’t buy anything today, but we made notes of what we liked so we could return and purchase them before we left.
After wandering around, we took the MRT to the National Museum of Singapore. The coolest thing about the MRT is that you do not need to purchase a special transit pass. Instead, you can simply tap your card and it will charge you the correct amount depending on where you get off.
Once at the National Museum of Singapore, we paid for entry into the Singapore Gallery and easily spent over two hours here. We loved this museum and we learned so much. In particular, we were most surprised at how much we didn’t know about Singapore’s involvement in WW2 and how it contributed to their status as an independent nation.
From here, we walked up the street to Little India. We walked around the shops and ate lunch at Komala Vilas Restaurant. It was delicious 😊 I got masala dosa, cheese naan, garlic naan, and butter fry dal. It was all so good. I finished every morsal and was absolutely stuffed walking out of there.
From here, we shopped off our food coma at The Fashion Pulpit. I found the cutest orange short romper and Laura found a cute top. After shopping, we walked down Arab Street and Haji Ln. These were great shopping streets. I preferred these to Little India and Chinatown for shopping. We continued down to Bugis Junction to buy some things from Daiso and enjoy a cold drink. When we left the mall, it was dark outside.
Our next stop was the National Library. Laura’s mom is a librarian, so we had a special interest in seeing the library. It was a very nice library! We walked around it for a bit before heading down to the waterfront promenade.
We saw a free concert here from 8:45PM-9:30PM then enjoyed a pizza from Saporita and another lime juice. We took the MRT back to the hostel then went out with some friends from the hostel for a beer. It was a great way to end the night.
Day 3 (MONDAY)
I woke up to my 7AM alarm today which already made the day start better. We had toast at the hostel before heading to the airport. No, we were not going home. We were going to the Changi Airport Terminal 1 to see the Jewel Installation. It took about an hour to get there and we enjoyed frappuccinos from a coffee shop in the airport while we waited for the water of the installation to turn on at 11AM.
It was definitely worth the wait to see the water turn on. It was so pretty. Laura and I had a fun time taking pictures and walking around the different levels before eating lunch. I got a truffle cheeseburger from McDonalds and Laura got a veggie bowl from another restaurant. After lunch, we headed back into town.
Our next stop was ATLAS, a very famous gothic architecture bar. Laura and I loved our experience here! I got the signature Singapore Sling cocktail and really enjoyed it 😊
From here, we went to a different hawker center for dinner. I tried Hainanese chicken, cheese naan, and passion boba tea. After dinner, we went over to The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands to rest out of the rain for a bit.
At around 7PM, we walked over to the Supertree Grove in the Gardens by The Bay. We enjoyed their 7:45PM light show. It was free to watch!
After the show, we walked back to the mall for a sweet treat. We went to Bacha Coffee and split a Mount Kenya coffee sable. After dessert, we went back to the hostel and I enjoyed some goldfish before calling it a night.
Day 4 (TUESDAY)
Laura and I started off our day with toast from the hostel. We also tried two of our snacks from Malaysia: dodol and Durian chocolate. I tried all of the dodol flavors and didn’t like any of them. When it was time to try the Durian chocolate, I chickened out. Durian smells SO bad. Laura was brave and tried the Durian chocolate. After watching her fight to keep it down and then continue to fight the aftertaste ALL DAY LONG, I was very happy with my decision to not try it. After our breakfast, we went to Chinatown to purchase a few things. I got a pair of flowy pants and a mini game of Mahjong. We also bought chopstick holders for our friends.
We then headed to a local café for a cream cheese bagel. When we were done, Laura sent a postcard to her mom while I went to Kim Joo Guan to try Bak Kwa (pork jerky).
I got the chili flavor and it was delicious! I was upset I didn’t get more than one slice. From here, we dropped our goods off at the hostel and headed out to the Supertree Grove at the Gardens by The Bay so we could see everything from last night in the daylight.
It was so nice to walk around 😊 It is a very pretty area and there are many trails to follow. We got hungry after our walk, so we went to Haji Ln for nachos. After lunch, we went to see the Merlion Statue. We had a good laugh because all week we had been pronouncing it as “mer-loine” instead of “mer-lion”. At the statue, we took a bit of a nap on the steps before walking around the lake to the mall.
On the way, we walked through a Christmas Market! It was an ok Christmas Market, nothing like we would have in the US. At the mall, I picked up more goldfish and then we headed to Orchard Road to look at the Christmas lights.
We lucked out here tonight! They were having a night food and craft market! It was so cute. We had fun seeing all of the lights, trees, and fake snow. I found a food truck and enjoyed nachos and a slushy. Laura found a different food truck and ordered cheese sticks. On our transit back to the hostel, we needed to spend the rest of our Singapore cash because we were leaving early in the morning. We spent the rest of our cash on breakfast snacks and earrings. At the hostel, we packed up our things and got ready to go back to Kenya in the morning.
