Singapura: 24 hours

Oct. 5 - 6, 2011

*long overdue trip report* *palm on face*

it was a sudden decision by my boss to let me fly to Singapore for 24 hours to fix something for work. so i was kinda in a daze to fix any itinerary for the duration of the trip. all i wanted to do that time besides work were 3 things: experience night life, shop and tour around. somehow, i was able to manage to do all of it but with almost no sleep. hahaha!

 what is Merlion experience without the cliche pose. haha!

so what happened within my 24 hour trip in Singapore? here goes...

GETTING TO/FROM/AROUND

Jakarta, Indonesia to Singapore via Tiger Airways - c/o my boss

*it was my first time to ride tiger airways. i was actually expecting a super budgeted plane experience but surprisingly it was not the case. it was actually better than Lion Air. haha!

and since we rushed from work going to airport, we didn't have enough time to grab dinner so we opted to try plane food. sadly, no rice meal available. we ate sandwiches instead.

menu

food in flight - roasted peanuts, sandwiches and water

we arrived at the budget terminal a little past 11 pm already. it was a long walk from plane all the way to the immigration. Thank goodness the taxi queue was very short.

Budget Terminal

Taxi Stand

Budget Terminal to Hotel via Taxi - ~18 SGD

Hotel to Orchard via Taxi - ~6.20 SGD

Orchard to Hotel via Taxi - ~9.40 SGD

Hotel to Airport via Taxi - ~23.30 SGD

Orchard to Merlion Park, Esplanade, Fountain of Wealth then back to Orchard via MRT and walk
* We took MRT Orchard to Merlion Park then walked going to Esplanade and all the way to Fountain of Wealth and went back to Orchard via MRT again

MRT

walkway from Merlion Park going towards Esplanade

Singapore to Jakarta, Indonesia via Lion Air - c/o my boss

*I was a bit irritated coz they changed the flight sched to a later time and then when we assumed there was enough time to go to the boarding gate, screen screams "gate is closing". i rushed to the gate only to find out that the flight was still delayed and made us wait for another 30 minutes or so. ggrr... :/

ACCOMMODATION

Since this trip was a work - related one, my boss booked the hotel for us. She chose Value Hotel - Thompson for our overnight stay. i can't say a lot about this hotel coz i only stayed for approximately 4 hours (including checking in, sleeping and checking out). hahahaha!!! Anyway, i still have some thoughts about this hotel. here goes...

PROs

• easy check - in experience
• basic and clean room
• free and fast wifi (according to my housemate)
• bes was comfortable enough
• attentive and helpful staff
• easy to find cabs outside the hotel

CONs

• small and narrow bathroom
• not accessible to MRT (i'm not sure with the other public transportation)
• no restroom at the ground level (restroom is located at the hotel's parking area)

reception

our room

toilet, TV set and coffee making supplies, hotel's pool

TRAVEL ITINERARY

Here's how i spent my 24 hours in Singapore...

Oct. 5

8:05 pm - Jakarta - SG Flight
11:45 pm - check in hotel
12:30 am - night out (Clarke quay and Chijmes)
4:00 am - back to hotel

Oct. 6

7:00 am - wake up call and prepare
9:00 am - early check out hotel
10:00 am - meeting in Orchard
11:00 am - Merlion Park, Esplanade, Fountain of wealth, Orchard Road
5:00 pm - get bags from hotel and travel to airport
8:00 pm - SG - Jakarta Flight

TOURIST SPOTS/DESTINATIONS

We only have a limited time to be roam around the city and be tourist-y so i opted to only explore the famous and usual tourist spots. and okaaay, i've been to SG twice but never got to see the Merlion so of course, that was a must! haha!

Merlion Park

How did we get here: From Orchard Road, we took MTR and alighted at Raffles Station and walked all the way towards Merlion Park.

The Merlion Park

The Fullerton Hotel

a walkway on the bridge enroute to Merlion Park

view of Marina Bay Sands at the Merlion Park

Esplanade

How did we get here: From Merlion Park, just walk through the walkway towards the Esplanade.

view of esplanade

Fountain of Wealth

How did we get here: From Esplanade, we walked through the city link mall then towards the suntec city mall

fountain of wealth

Orchard Road

How did we get here: From Hotel, we took cab and from Suntec City Mall, we took MRT.

Night Out in Clarke Quay and Chijmes

So my friend picked me up at my hotel and we took a cab going to Clarke Quay. Since it was a weekday and a bit late already, we opted to just drink in a Spanish Restaurant in Clarke Quay (i forgot the name) and later went to another pub to drink again in Chijmes. After a couple of drinks, I went home with a right amount of booze in my system. hahaha!

TIP: always bring ID just in case the pub's bouncer asked for one.

SHOPPING

H&M

It was one on my to-do-list when i went to Singapore. I'm a huge huge fan of this brand so i was excited to hit this store. Though i didn't get to shop that much coz the collection was Fall Season and coming from a forever summer country (Indonesia), it was not functional. haha! 

COTTON ON and Rubi

another favorite brand of mine whenever i hit Singapore and Hongkong. i always find myself hoarding a lot of stuff from this store. hahaha!

TRAVEL IN STYLE

Since the weather was almost the same as Jakarta (read: forever summer), i chose to wear something summer-y and also comfy at the same time.

details

Final Thoughts about Singapore

I never get to fully explore Singapore even if i've been here a couple of times. And whenever i come here to visit, i always find myself not wanting to go back to Jakarta right away. hahahaha! Given the only 24 hours for this trip, maximizing each minute is a must!

Another great thing with Singapore is that it's so close to Jakarta and if given extra time and moolah, i would always consider Singapore for a quick trip.

See you Singapore on April! *happy dance*