[Travel] Must Knows about Traveling in Singapore by Public Transport (Bus and MRT)

Hi all readers,

Rachel here. Sorry for the long break! Decided to create a post for tourists paying a visit to Singapore. Singapore is a very small and clean country, and definitely, the public transport system is the most efficient and affordable way to travel around the country(:

The MRT stands for Mass Rapid Transit. It is commonly mistaken as Mass Rapid Transport or Mass Rapid Train, but basically in Singapore if you're looking for an MRT station, just call it "MRT". People might just find you weird if you ask "Where's the Mass Rapid Transit Station" as almost none of the locals uses that term (at least none that I know of).

To take the MRT, you have to purchase either a one-time temporary card which is called a Standard Card and is made of paper (which can be purchased at the add-value metal looking machines), or a typical Ez-link (pronounced as "Easy-link") card that locals uses, or you could also purchase the Singapore Tourist Pass.

Ok, so which one should you purchase?

IF you think you wouldnt travel that much on Singapore's public transport system, you can purchase the Standard Card. The deposit for the card is only 10cents which was recently reduced from the usual $1! That means if you want to travel from Bugis to Orchard by MRT for example, and if the fare is $1, you just need to pay $1.10 for your one trip there!(:

How do you go about purchasing the Standard Card?
The typical General Ticketing Machines (grey metal ticketing machines). Do note that the Add-value machines (purple machines) do not issue this card

Ok, next. If you want to keep the Singapore Ez- link card for memento purposes, I would recommend you to buy the card that the locals use as well. However, it is definitely more costly. If you purchase it from Transitlink Ticketing Offices, Concession Card Replacement Offices (which is quite unlikely you will pass by any of the 6 offices they have in Singapore) and the Passenger Service Counters, it costs $12. However,that doesnt mean it has a stored value of $12. The $12 includes a $5 card cost fee, which means there's a $7 stored value in the card which is used to tap in and out of the MRT stations and buses.

However, do note that you can purchase it from the 7-eleven stores, however, it costs only $10 as there is only a stored value of $5. I would recommend to purchase from the 7-eleven stored if you intend to travel less than 4 times on the public transport but would like to keep a nice Ez-link card for use the next time you come back to Singapore.

Lastly, the Singapore Tourist Pass is a very useful option provided by the Singapore Tourism Board for tourists to travel to the places of interest in Singapore. They are passes that entitles you to unlimited travel on the public transports. They have 3 options: 1-day pass, 2-day pass and 3-day pass which costs $20, $26 and $30 respectively. In those amounts I've mentioned, there is a refundable rental deposit of $10, if you return the card within 5 days after purchase(:

The design on the Singapore Tourist Pass is quite pretty and worth keeping if you're willing to spend $10 on it, although I don't think you can reuse the card the next time you're back in Singapore.

Now, on to the BUSES!!!

I think most tourists will hardly ever take the public buses as they mostly come from neighbourhoods and MRT stations. And major landmarks and Places of Interest in Singapore are accessible via MRT. But basically the travel system in Singapore is all about paying by distance. The further you travel, the more you pay. Buses in Singapore are run by 2 major companies, SMRT and SBS.

You might be thinking, wow Singapore's public transport is rather expensive. However, do note that locals have special fare types for different age groups. The Senior Citizens have special Concession passes issued by the government and their fares are much cheaper than the adult fares. A typical bus ride for 3 stops is about $0.79 but for senior citizens it costs only $0.56, and the maximum fare for senior citizens during the off-peak hours (up to 6pm and after the morning rush period) is $0.90 (for train and bus services).

Oh yes, if you transfer between buses and trains, you're entitled to a rebate (exact amount I'm not sure) but definitely a plus point for you to save money while traveling. I think it doesnt apply to the Standard Cards but the typical Ez-link has such privileges.

Misc Must-knows in Singapore buses and trains:
- The corner seats in trains marked with the stickers "Priority Seat" are used to be called "Reserved Seat" basically for those who needs the seat more like the Elderly, young children, pregnant women, injured people, etc. If you happen to sit on it, it's totally fine even if you do not fall in that category of "needy" people. But if an elderly actually approaches you, its ok, just give up your seat to him/her. It's quite common actually.

- In buses, the priority seats are the seats in yellow (which are usually at the front of the bus). Same as in the trains, give up to others who need it more than you do(: Don't be too stressed about sitting on these seats.

- The older trains (white coloured ones with orange seats in certain cabins) have much smaller seats than the usual trains, so it gets a bit squeezy on that train especially if you're bigger in size than the typical Asian (like me, unfortunately). I usually would just wait for the next train if traveling a long distance.

- Eating and drinking is PROHIBITED IN TRAINS!! I have seen so many tourists eating snacks and drinking water on the train. Do note that it is NOT ALLOWED in Singapore, even plain water!

- Drinking plain water on the buses are fine, but no eating!

- If you want to check out the arrival timings of buses at the busstops you can download bus apps, "Iris" or "SG Buses". I prefer SG buses, as it indicates how packed the bus is, and whether there are seats available on the bus.

- There are different lines in our train transport system. The major ones are the East-West line (Green), North-South line (Red), Circle Line (Yellow) and North-East line (Purple).

- As tourists you will most likely be taking the Red and yellow lines most often as it brings you to Orchard, Haw Par Villa, Botanics Garden, Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, etc.

- If you're interested, the different coloured lines on the MRT, are run by the two different companies, SMRT and SBS too! The Circle Line, Purple Line and LRTs are driver-less! (No driver operates the train, which is why I suggest that you enter the cabin from the train head on the Circle Line and North-East line to enjoy a nice ride while seeing the train travel maneuver its way through the dark tunnels)

- On escalators, ALWAYS keep to the LEFT if you're not climbing up or down the escalators. The right side are for people in a rush, to catch trains, reach home in time for their favourite dramas, etc.



LASTLY, enjoy your trip in SINGAPORE!!

[Travel] A hidden shopping gem in Bangkok- Union Mall

Dear Readers,

I'm back with more travel reviews. This time introducing to you a hidden shopping gem in Bangkok which few people know of. At the same time, I must express my dismay at the cancellation of my June 2015 Bangkok Trip because of the unavailability of the hotels I am interested in AND the non-promotional air tickets ):

My initial plan was to book the air tickets on Tuesday morning (for the Scoot Promotional Fares), and then book the hotels for the nights in Bangkok. However, Scoot has no good promotional price the past 2-3 weeks and Metro Resort Pratunam has apparently raised their prices from 1000THB to 1400THB. The other lower-priced range hotels have really bad feedbacks (eg. Have to enter the hotel by cutting through some restaurants, Hotel lobby in a really secluded area, and Dirty sheets and linen) So no thanks, I might just head to JB during the long leave.

Ok, so back to topic. The shopping paradise which isn't that well known as Platinum yet: Union Mall. I was contemplating whether to share this or not. Because being a typical Singaporean, I'm super kiasu and worry that once there is an influx of foreign travellers, the prices of goods there might increase. But I decided to help those who are looking for quality and cheap clothings, and those who are really exhausted after a hot and sunny morning/afternoon at Chaktuchak.

Coconut Ice cream dessert: A must eat in Bangkok

I usually will head to Chaktuchak in the morning and shopped till about 2pm, then head down to Union Mall via train.

The really cute dog I saw at Chaktuchak.

Head to the Chaktuchak train station and take one/ two stop down to Phrahon Yothin (I might have spelt the name wrongly) 

Take towards the Hua Lanphrong direction

The train had good air conditioning and it was quite comfy after a really hot and sunny morning at Chaktuchak.

You can purchase your token (for a one time trip) via these ticket vending machine located in the station or from the passenger service counter.

At the entrance of the train station of Union Mall.

Look out for the Sign that says Union Mall upon arrival at the train station. You should exit from Exit No. 5. Upon exit, you will be facing the "Union Mall" sign as seen in the picture below.

Hungry? Thirsty? Grab some waffles and fries and drinks at A&W!

Looks good right? It was super appetizing and shiok! (Since Singapore doesn't have A&W stalls anymore)
This was reasonably priced at about 5-6SGD for the entire set. It fed both my mother and I (as tea time snack) 

There were many things to shop (A pity I didnt take any pictures of the stalls with the really good promotion and sales ongoing) But you can refer to my picture below for my loots I was carrying back then.

Tired of shopping? Head to the Kbox! You have your own private room (although the walls and doors are made of glass which means no privacy) I think it was cheap, but being the shopaholic I am, I wanted to make full use of my time shopping at Union mall (before I headed to Chinatown later that evening)

The prices at Union Mall were comparable to the ones at Platinum. In fact, I think the clothes sold at Union Mall were made of higher quality. I got a really nice netted skater skirt for only SGD10, and back in SG, I actually found a similar piece retailing on a blogshop as a Latest Series for SGD29.90.

Thank god I bought the skirt. Usually they forbid you to try on their items on sale, but if you kindly request, I believe they wouldn't refuse (since these shops are normal sales motivated)

The clothes there ranged from about SGD5-40. There were definitely some high-end shops, which were definitely overpriced. But most of the shops there sold dresses at about SGD5-15.

If you are looking for shoes, there's this shop on the 3rd/ 4th level which had a sale when I was there. All shoes were going for 150THB! That is super cheap and worth it.

Till date, I'm still wearing the shoes I bought there. There were shoes of various designs (wedges, high heels, sandals) and they weren't those old-fashioned design ones, they were fashionable and stylenanda-inspired or some inspired branded sandals.

I manage to get a Hermes-inspired studded sandals in a really unique pale pink colour and my mother managed to get 2 wedges (one Hermes inspired and the other a black strappy wedge heel)

The material is really good and it is quite comfy. Definitely worth the price and also the luggage space and weight (HAHA)

After shopping at Union Mall, we explored the area outside the mall (there was a link bridge to the opposite side of the road which held a large mall selling some electronics and also some fashion boutiques- although not as fashionable as Union mall)

This was taken on the link bridge! (Look at the massive traffic jam!!) 

Those other malls I mentioned above were not worth the time and effort to walk around. All in all, Union mall is a great place to head to when you're tired of all the walking around Chaktuchak, or if you're in need of an air-conditioned place to shop in. You'll need about 4 hours to shop here (based on an estimation as I shopped for about 3hours but skipped certain sections). They do have male clothings but very few stalls (same scenario as in Platinum Fashion Mall). This was all about Union Mall, any other significant stalls or experiences at Union mall I did not mention? Feel free to comment!(:

Cheers,

Rachel