It feels good to be back in my desktop, sitting and writing my post. Thank God for a safe journey to and from Singapore. Surprisingly, I love Malaysia more after I visited Singapore.
It is also a personal financial achievement because I managed to stretch SGD 120 in 5 days (or average of 24 dollars a day). I don’t think I can write a full chronological account about the entire trip, but I did write some details about my money spent, and hopefully, that account will reignite some memories about what happened. It is unfortunate that I didn’t own a camera, so I guess I will have to use words to recreate the entire journey. =)
248.00 Total money brought (rate: SGD 1= MYR 2.40)
8.00 SingTel prepaid card with SGD 10 airtime
5.69 A Burger King meal set
6.00 Singapore Public Transport Map
3.00 Supper (Yee Mee)
1.40 MRT Fare from Novena Station to Ang Mo Kio Station
18.73 Anne Frank’s Diary
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213.18 Balance at end of Day 1
*all currency are quoted in Sing. Dollar (SGD) unless stated.
After a 5-hour journey from Bangsar LRT, I arrived at my destination in Singapore – Novena Square. My bus, First Coach, dropped us off at the entrance of Velocity @ Novena Square. Novena Square is relatively a small shopping mall compared with KLCC and MidValley Shopping Mall in Kuala Lumpur. But, I guess when you’re short of land, everything goes. =)
I was really blur and disoriented when I arrived in Novena Square. In fact, earlier, when I reached the Custom and Immigration Complex in Tuas, I was so amazed when I stepped into a foreign for the first time. (This is my first time leaving Malaysia in my entire life, remember?)
In Singapore, the penalty for drugs is death. During transit into the country, I was slightly paranoid of drugs. I was hallucinating for a while… what if there are drugs in my bag and the penalty in Singapore is death… that is the end of my life…. it was silly, but it was very real then….
As I travelled from the Tuas Checkpoint (the bus used the Second Link to cross into Singapore; if the bus had used the Causeway, it would had taken hours) to Novena Square, I was amazed at the roads and buildings in Singapore.
The roads are so well-maintained, unlike in some country that I know of. The buildings are painted and designed beautifully. The pedestrian walkways are mapped out nicely. There are no rubbish in Singapore. There are no Proton Sagas, or Kancils in Singapore. (Proton Sagas and Kancils are Malaysian-made cars, although the authenticity of their designs are disputed. There are lots of them on Malaysian roads.) In Singapore, there are only Mercs, BMWs, Toyota Camrys, or the very least, Honda Vios(es).
The buses are allocated special lanes on the far left of the roads. The two major bus companies in Singapore are SMRT and SBS Transit; both also operate the MRT trains. No wonder all their buses arrive on time. =) Very unlike Malaysia’s Rapid KL buses.
Wow, what a great diversion. Anyhow, I arrived in Novena Square and walked around the mall. Basically, I covered the entire mall in 2 hours. In MPH, I bought a map of Singapore with its public transportation system mapped out. The map provides information for travellers to take which bus, at which bus stop, at which road. It was a great investment, and all for only 6 SGD.
I was supposed to meet my friend in Ang Mo Kio MRT Station at 10.30 pm because he had tennis session with his buddies. Technically, that means I had to spend five hours loitering in the mall. Since I conquered the mall in 2 hours, it was a real bore sitting and waiting. Thus, I headed to MPH and bought Anne Frank’s diary for SGD 18.73. What a great book to fill my time!
For dinner, I ate at Burger King. I sat at Burger King for quite a while because I had no where to go. I was still new and very foreign to this country.
Telecommunication-wise, I panicked! My Malaysian SIM card didn’t work! Dad was right to have a Plan B. I went over to a SingTel retailer and got myself a SingTel SIM card. For 8 dollars, I get 10 dollars airtime. In Singapore, whenever you get a new number, you are required to produce your passport. I did. A scanner scanned my passport, and 10 seconds later, I am checked into the system.
I managed to surf for free in Novena Square. In KL, there is no such thing as free surfing in any of our malls. Read my inbox, checked out some news on Malaysiakini. Again, prior to surfing, I needed to produce my passport for identification. I can’t believe how important my passport was. Imagine losing it…. hmm, unimaginable… deported back to Malaysia? swim?
Right, so at 10pm, I took the MRT to Ang Mo Kio.
But Winson, where you took the MRT from?
Under Novena Square. That’s right, under Novena Shopping Mall, there is an underground MRT station. It cost me SGD 1.40 for a single trip. At the counter, I was a total squid because I don’t know how to use the ticketing machine. Singaporeans are quite nice; I think someone taught me how to use the ticketing machine. Anyhow, it was a new experience.
The MRT train was huge, and punctual. Ang Mo Kio was 4 stations away from Novena. It took me about 10 minutes to get to Ang Mo Kio MRT station. I waited for a while, and at 10.40pm, I met Kiat Siong, the one who was going to host me for five days in Singapore.
At the Ang Mo Kio MRT, we went underground again. More malls and shops underground. More pedestrian walkways underground. I guess they are short of land. But, it’s amazing to see how the Singaporean government utilised their lands to the max. If you cannot build on the surface, go underground! Built-in with the MRT station are a bus interchange and a shopping mall. It was a really long walk to Kiat Siong’s apartment.
OK, in Singapore, people live in apartments called HDB flats, where HDB stands for Housing Development Board. All apartments are built by this government arm. In the HDB flat I lived in, it was a 900-square-feet unit with two rooms, one toilet and one kitchen. HDB flats can cost from SGD250k till 500k. Practically, that means if you can afford a SGD 250k HDB flat, you can own a big semi-D in Malaysia (which is what most Singaporeans do in Johor Bahru, southern Malaysia).
Also, on the first floor of most HDB blocks, there are shops and eateries. (first floor in Singapore means ground floor in Malaysia.) There are supermarkets, hair salons, restaurants, and slimming centres. In the block I lived in, they were mostly restaurants. Furthermore, every HDB block in Singapore is numbered. I lived in Block 130. The highest number I saw in the whole Singapore is 851.
After a shower in Kiat Siong’s apartment, we went down for supper at first floor. Yee Mee at 3 dollars was a great deal me thinks. Kiat Siong bought me a Milo Peng (Hokkien for iced Milo, a popular chocolate drink both in Malaysia and Singapore.)
That wraps up Day One. I spend 40 dollars on my first day. I thought I was going for broke.
P/S: I am too tired to edit. I shall publish my first draft. i will edit it if I have time in future.
