5 Days in Singapore

Singapore...what a chaos!

And equally exhilarating...

Visa:

If you are like us, women who are single and looking to travel to Singapore, please ignore the various travel agents who ask for an NOC from your parents. No such documents are required by the consulate. Contact a proper agent, in our case we used Udaan, and simply submit your NOC from your employer in the visa application along with the rest of the documentation. Unfortunately, Singapore visa can only be applied from an agency so submit your application at least two weeks beforehand.

Unless you reside in Chennai/Delhi… all other applications are couriered and take time.

Documents we submitted:

• Bank statement for 6 months.

• NOC from office stating that the trip is for personal reasons and sponsored solely by yourself.

• Address proof in case your passport has a different address.

• A short cover letter.

• Passport size photo, specification can be found on the official website.

• ITR for last year.

• Confirmed flight tickets.

• Confirmed hotel booking.

• We did not have any insurance but its better to keep one from Tata AIG/HDFC Ergo, they are available for around 500 INR.

Once your visa arrives in a week, apply for the SG arrival card and submit it online 3 days prior to your date of departure. It’s done for free, once submitted you need to have the submission details with you online when you travel.

Similarly, don’t forget to fill in your Air Suvidha form as the officials check it during boarding at Singapore.

Forex:

I found Niyo Global very helpful during my stay in Singapore. The best part is the 0% markup and good exchange rate. The card is valid for use at almost outlets & even at MRT & LRT. Plus any leftover cash can be easily transferred back to your own account.

If you are carrying your debit/credit card, a MasterCard is a better option as a lot of shops in Universal Studios and even taxi services offer good discounts on it.

EZ Link or Tourist pass?

If you wish to travel to Sentosa for more than a day, good news is, the entry is free until Dec '22.

Tourist pass allows you free access to all metros and buses however an EZ link card enables easier access when you're entering Sentosa- a tourist pass means you need to contact an official to gain the free entry to Sentosa.

An EZ link card will entail a non-refundable fee of 5 SGD which might seem like a loss but it's much preferable when it comes to paying at various POS.

Also, you can use your Credit Card (Visa/Mastercard only, Rupay/Amex don’t work) to pay while using metro or buses. There are kiosks handy at every station that let you recharge using your debit or credit card. A recharge of 10SGD would last at least 2 days from our experience. Don't forget to press the button if no one else does, for your stop when you're using the bus!

Metro/Bus/Grab

For transfers wherein you have luggage a Grab taxi is much preferable. However, with a single bag or no luggage metro connectivity or even buses are a fantastic way to commute within Singapore. Download an offline map,and you'd be better off taking a metro and spending 1/3rd the amount as a taxi.

Sightseeing:

You will find a lot of articles with enough data on sight-seeing in Singapore, so I’m going to stick to a few that I found were note-worthy.

Google Maps are your savior...but do not hesitate to ask for directions!

We spent 45 minutes looking for Madame Tussauds because the entrance was hidden beside the entry to the cable car!!

There are usually 3 parts to a road and what with over bridges and alleyway, you're bound to get lost. Let's not waste time and ask the ever-friendly locals or officials for directions.

- Wings of Time: this is located in Sentosa Island and is worth every bit of penny!

Do NOT miss it come what may!!!

The 20 minute show usually starts at about 7:40pm with the seating area occupied by 7:15. Try to stick to the middle rows to ensure an enthralling view of the performance.

- Magical shores: we missed this! Although the flyers and posters all proclaim that you can view the laser show from 7:30pm until 9:30 we arrived at 9pm on the island to just a view of purple lights akin to Goa Baga beach... So suffice to say, be there at 8 at least!

- Dolphin Discovery: This is located next to the Sea Aquarium and is a delight! A tad costly, but what the heck, you get to meet some cute dolphins and watch them perform tricks. The photo cost is quite high but then again its optional.

- Trick Eye: this was a disappointment and I'd advise to skip it. The app was slow and the illusions only work when you use the app to load the AR.

- Fort Siloso: Although we missed this one, the beach itself was beautiful. The party animal in you can relax at Bikini Bar and other street side cafes. Unlike the other parts of the mainland as well as the island, the bars are open here until 9-10 pm at least.

There is a free tram to take you from Beach Station metro to Fort Siloso and you can even rent bikes to cycle through the island.

Commute within the island using Sentosa Express is always free, and you can opt to stay at a hotel here or simply travel from Vivo City Mall via L3 entry.

- Jurong Bird Park: this is going to be shifted to the area near Singapore Zoo in a few months. Plan to reach here by 10:30am so you can see the morning shows with the various birds that’s held in the amphitheater. The tram takes you around the park and has 4 stations each with different attractions where you can spend time and carry on in the next tram that comes along.

- Singapore Zoo: Must visit for the pandas of course, we found both Le Le and his Mom munching on bamboo completely oblivious to the visitors. There is a river cruise and you will also get to see otters here.

- Singapore Flyer: This is located nearby the Gardens and you can flag down a taxi or simply walk to reach the flier. The wait is usually of 10-15 minutes and the ride itself is of 30 minutes with a voice over and a 5 min stop at the highest point where you can click pictures and get 360 degree view of the place.

Other areas in the mainland:

- Chinatown: this is the place to be if you want to pick cheap souvenirs and do some shopping or try some local food. Although be warned the place shuts down by 10pm. There are a few restaurants open after 10, but majority of the places close before that. The lighted streets, and the vibe is worth a visit though.

- Little India: I didn't know what to make of this place. You hear Punjabi music interspersed with the latest Telugu songs and witness India complete with the sights, sounds and smells. Not much to do here.

- Bugis Street: Keep aside at least 4hours if you plan to go down this road. The Princess Street is a literal shopper's paradise. And for the rest, there are food stalls selling, root beer floats and seaweed wrapped crispy chicken for 4 dollars. 3 for 10 dollars or 8 for 10, take your pick! The perfect place to do some last-minute shopping. And don’t miss the cat cafes here. You would have to reserve a table and on Mondays a few of them are closed.

- Clarke Quay: the sophisticated area of Singapore, this is where the good hotels are at. Although the metro is at quite a bit of a walk, you would not regret visiting or staying in this area. If you want a break from all the hustling around, a nice little breakfast here or a romantic dinner is ideal.

Other Things to keep in Mind:

- As you know you can’t bring in cigarettes or chewing gum into Singapore. The hand luggage is also scanned when you are exiting from the airport. So unless you have a packet of open cigarettes on your person, very less chances of you getting away with it. My advice would be to not bother as you can find most 7-Elevens selling them (after ID verification so carry your passport).

- Smoking is banned in most areas in Singapore. But you will see plenty of smoking zones in almost every place, and mostly after 10pm, every dustbin located in some alleyway becomes a smoking point.

- Always stand to the left when you are in an escalator, leaving the right side open for people who want to walk up/down. This is basic courtesy I had learnt after my visit to Finland and I see it widely followed in Singapore.

- Do not buy liquor from 7-Eleven’s. They charge almost double the rate and also, keep in mind that liquor sale in retail is banned after 10:30pm.

Cost of the Trip:

The overall expenditure for 2 of us including food, travel, flight and stay came to 2.25lakh. Here's how it went-

- We were lucky to get the most wonderful stay in the 5-star Hotel Michael Resorts World Sentosa for just 33k for 2 nights! The hotel is 2 minutes walking distance from Resorts World metro and the Universal Studio area. The room was lovely with a balcony & yes, a bidet in the washroom! We were even offered a smoking room.

- I had booked Studio M Hotel for it's unique loft design rooms. However they had removed the bidet from the washroom :( The toilet area and the shower were separated and so tiny that there was hardly any room to move. But thankfully the room was spacious enough and the view was good so we put up with it. This cost us 27k for 2 nights.

Of course you will find cheaper hotels in Singapore, but from my endless scouring I could understand that the hotel rooms were tiny if you were going for budget hotels. They even charged extra if the rooms had windows!

- Food is cheap if you are okay with sticking to local street food or grabbing an onigiri from 7-eleven. Restaurants were on pricier end and we used to hop on the metro and visit the food courts in Vivo city Mall or the Chinatown eateries for a good meal. The food portion is huge so take a look around before ordering any meal. A typical meal for 2 (non-veg) will cost around 10-12SGD.

- Do book your tickets at least a month in advance. I found Singapore Airlines very comfortable and the round trip per head cost us just 25k!

- Traveling within Singapore as I mentioned is very cheap thanks to the metro and the bus services. We used 25SGD each on our EZ link cards during our stay. But don't hold back from taking a taxi at the end of the day, save that energy for the next morning.

And lastly don't forget to visit the indoor waterfall located in Jewel airport before you leave.