First Time In Singapore - Tips for You with Our Experience

 
In my childhood, I always needed to travel around the world. But now I know that traveling around the world costs a lot for citizens in developing countries😝. But... still dreaming and believing them while achieving those dreams one by one.

I planned several trips to several countries but in the end, I decided to visit Singapore aiming the DevFest Singapore 2023 because that's an event for tech guys like us and I would get a chance to check inside of the Google Asia Pacific Headquarters😍. The whole trip was so fun and got so many new experiences. All the bookings and planning were done by myself cause we didn't need to stick to others' plans and we didn't need to pay for travel agents. We could enjoy everything we listed in our plan and one person had to spend only 300,000 LKR (1200 SGD) including air tickets, accommodations, food, etc. Aaaand... This article is to share where we visited in Singapore, some experiences we had, and some tips for your upcoming Singapore visit.

All free and paid attractions we visited in Singapore

Previously, we also had a doubt about visiting all the following areas and attractions within five days but in the end, we realized that is the optimum number of days for a Singapore trip if you are not a lazy ass. We could spend some hours for shopping also and that was enough to cover the Mustafa Center, a few Value$ (Value Dollar) shops, many Bugis street shops, FarePrice supermarket, etc. Let's list down everywhere we went in Singapore below with the day and number of hours we spent in those places.
  • Day 1
    • Singapore Cable Cars
    • Universal Studio - 7 hours
    • Geylang street walk
  • Day 2
    • Walk from Marang Trail to Southern Ridges - 4 hours
    • Google Asia Pacific Headquarters Singapore (DevFest 2023 Event) - 6 hours
    • Orchard street walk
    • Visit to Clarke Quay
    • Dinner at Lau Pa Sat Hawker Center
  • Day 3
    • Marina Barrage - 1 hour
    • Gardens by the Bay (Cloud Forest, Flower Dome, Floral Fantasy, etc.) -  5 hours
    • Art Science Museum - 3 hours
    • Singapore Time Capsule and Flyer - 2 hours
    • Merlion Park (it was closed for maintenance😢)
    • Spectra light water show at 8.00 P.M.
    • Garden Rhapsody show at 8.45 P.M.
    • Just visited Bugis Street to check the prices
  • Day 4
    • Palawan beach walk and Palawan island - 2 hours
    • Siloso beach walk - 1 hour
    • Fort Siloso and Siloso skywalk - 2 hours
    • SEA Aquarium - 3 hours
    • Madame Tussauds - 3 hours
    • Walk in Little India and shopping at Mustafa Center
  • Day 5
    • Visited several temples including Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Thian Hock Keng Temple
    • Singapore City Gallery - 1 hour
    • Shopping at Bugis Street
    • Shopping at several Value$ shops
    • Shopping at FairPrice supermarket
    • Jewel Changi airport - 2 hours
While I visited temples and the city gallery on Day 5 morning, my friend needed to have a long sleep and to go to the SkyPark observation deck (but he said that it was closed due to the rain). However, this was our optimum plan that we had no time to rest😅.

Low budget accommodation in Singapore with New Experience

Accommodation is the most expensive thing you would find when you plan to travel to Singapore. I bet you can't find even a single-bed hotel room lower than 30 USD per night. But there are hostel rooms that are cheaper but you have to share the room with strangers and the room has 6 or 8 beds that are fully visible to everyone. That means no privacy.

The best option is to go for a sleeping pod. Definitely, you have to share the room with strangers but you get a private sleeping pod. In the pod, you don't need to worry about privacy (kind of soundproof and fully covered), you can control the air condition temperature for your pod, and you can control the light inside your pod. That sounds like a hotel room, right? But you have to share washrooms with your roommates. Sleeping in a pod was a new experience I got during the trip and sharing a room with strangers was also a new and fun experience for me.


We stayed at SpacePod@Com which is very close to the Kallang MRT station. It's definitely worth the price. It's a well organized and clean place with very friendly staff who are always there to help and guide you. You get unlimited free coffee and tea also😉 Hot water showers, washing machines, and dryers are also there. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for budget accommodation that includes some new experiences.

Some special tips we discovered before and after visiting

I think these are very secret tips that are not discovered by even people who live in Singapore. I bet even some Singapore locals don't know these tips😜. So, hope all my dear travelers will find the following very interesting and helpful.

Just after you land in Singapore, the first thing you should buy is an EZ-Link card. The EZ-Link card is a rechargeable contactless smart card and electronic money system that is primarily used as a payment method for public transport in Singapore. There are some other expensive cards, specifically marketed for foreigners. Don't fall into those fancy cards. Just buy an EZ-link card to pay for your transportation needs.

Singapore has a well planned MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) rail system. If you need to go somewhere in Singapore, keep the MRT as your first option. That's fast, easier, and cheaper. And you can find busses as your second option. That's enough for transportation options. Trust me... You don't need any private vehicle or a taxi car.

Why do you need to buy a Singapore SIM card if you are going to stay there only for a week? Just to access the internet right? But you can find free wi-fi everywhere in Singapore. I didn't buy a SIM card in Singapore cause every attraction area and our SpacePod hostel allowed us to use free wi-fi. And whenever I needed help with navigation, I just talked to someone and asked for help. I think that's a better way to travel and get to know some people instead of looking at Google Maps for navigation.

There's a fee to enter the Sentosa Island. But you can enter Sentosa Island for free if you go walk there or cycle into Sentosa Island by the Sentosa boardwalk. As a traveler, you should experience the cable cars in Singapore. You can enter Sentosa Island by cable car without any additional entrance fee. So... plan to visit some attractions in Sentosa island on the day you experience cable cars.

Don't buy meals from the same shop or restaurant. Singapore is a multi-cultural country and you can find various types of foods from various cultures. Try different shops and meals. Anyway, the best meal I had in Singapore was the chicken noodle soup from a shop in Kopitiam at Vivocity.

Pokka drinks are the best. You will find various soft drink brands in Singapore, but keep this in your mind. Pokka is the best. You can find Pokka drinks anywhere in Singapore except on Sentosa Island. So... better to bring a bottle when you visit there. Otherwise, you will have to buy Yeo's drinks which have an odd taste that I hate.

People may say Valu$ is the best and cheapest place to go for shopping. Some others may say it's FarePrice or Mustafa Center. We went to all those places but we found everything for the cheapest price at Bugis Street. Mustafa Center also gives you good discounts. But shops in Bugis Street had them all for cheaper prices.

As a traveler in Singapore, you can claim the GST tax you paid for those items at the airport before your departure, if you have bought items for more than 100 SGD in a single bill from some shops such as Mustafa Center. To do so, you must get a GST refund form from the shop where you purchased the items. And remember that only a few shops have these GST refund counters. Always ask the cashier whether they have a GST refund facility and don't leave money on the table.

There are special events organized by some companies or charity programs in Singapore. Check them out online and try to participate in them. We missed such an event that was held at Marina Barrage and that was organized on the same day we visited Marina Barrage and Gardens by the Bay😐

A single post is not enough to share the whole experience. I will update this post if I get anything else important. Happy journey!