RSS

Transportation in Singapore

Singapore is known has the best transportation in the world. It is very easy and convenient to go from one place to another place. The Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) connect to almost every part in Singapore, from East to West and North to South. Bus timing frequency is between 6-20mins depending peak or off-peak hours.

Ticketing
EZ Link Card

EZlink Card - a contactless smart cards used for the payment of public transportation fares in Singapore, with limited use in the small payments retail sector.

You can easily get the EZlink Card at every station at passenger service or ticket office, 7-11 store, and SingPost outlets.

Location Sales Price Stored Value Card Cost
TransitLink Ticket Offices, Passenger Services Centres $12 $7 $5
7-Eleven stores $10 $5 $5
SingPost outlets $5 $0 $5

Ticket is valid for 5 years and it is auto renew when you top-up the value. For visitor who do not want to buy EZlink card, can get Singapore Tourist Pass. This is like rental of EZlink card, do not need to pay for card cost.

Standard ticket and Coins - Most buses in Singapore only accepted coins and no change given. After you put in the coins, the small white color ticket is generated and you will need to keep this ticket with you until end of journey for checking purposes. There is a person with white color dress who boarding from one bus to another bus just only to check if you did pay the correct fares or tapped in the EZlink card.

General Ticketing Machine
MRT required a standard ticket to be purchased through General Ticketing Machine. The price of the ticket is with additional $1 refundable deposit where you can get the refund at your destination station.
This General ticketing machine accept coins and $2, $5, and $10 notes *change is given (all coins)

Using EZlink card is cheaper than using cash, it can be cheaper as $0.30 per trip.



Mass Rapid Transport (MRT)
Currently there are 4 lines in operation, there are East-West (Green) line, North-South (Red) line, North - East (Purple) line, and Circle (Yellow) line. Yellow line is not fully operated yet.
Travel time between stations are between 2-3 mins
All stations within CBD area are underground and the rest are elevated.
First train at changi airport starts at 0531hrs/0559hrs and last train at 0006hrs. For those of you going to city or West area, please note that last train service from Tanah Merah stn is only until 2331hrs. Please check the timing on respective stn here

All 4 lines are connected and you can transfer easily at the interchange area that is mark with white circle.
For Example journey from Changi to Orchard:
1. Take the train at Changi Airport and alight at Tanah Merah stn (Exit for train to Joo Koon)
2. Board the train to Joo Koon and alight at City Hall stn, transfer to Red Line train to Jurong East.
3. Orchard stn is just about 3 stn away from City Hall stn.

Bus
Bus transport in Singapore is the most comprehensive and affordable means of public transport for the masses, with over two million rides taken per day on average on the buses of the two main public transport providers SBS Transit and SMRT Corporation. There are more than 300 bus services covering all parts of Singapore.

For apple user, you may get Singapore Bus Guide through Apple store here

Taxi

Basic Fare: $2.80 (normal) and $3.20 (Limousine). Click here for full detail of cab fare

Taxi Hotline:
Dial-A-Cab      6342 5222
CityCab           6552 1111
Comfort Taxi    6552 1111
SMRT Taxis    6555 8888
SMART Cabs  6485 7777
TransCab         6555 3333
Premier Taxis   6363 6888
Prime Taxi        6778 0808
Yellow-Top Taxi    6293 5545

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Taxi rates in Singapore

Standard Taxi Rates
All taxis are metered.

Advance Booking Phone Numbers
Comfort Citycab Dial-A-Cab (65) 6552 1111
Comfort Premier Cabs (65) 6552 2828
Premier Taxis (65) 6363 6888
SMRT Taxis Skytrek Bookings / Premier Cabs (65) 6555 8888


Basic fare Normal Limousine
Flag-Down (inclusive of 1st km or less) $2.80-$3.00 $3.20
Every 385 metres thereafter or less up to 10 km $0.20 $0.20
Every 330 metres thereafter or less after 10 km $0.20 $0.20
Every 45 secs of waiting or less $0.20 $0.20

Peak Hour Surcharge

Monday - Friday : 7.00am to 9.30am 35% of metered fare 35% of metered fare
Monday - Saturday: 5.00pm to 8.00pm 35% of metered fare 35% of metered fare

Applicable at the time of boarding. Not applicable on Sundays and Public Holidays.

Midnight Surcharge
Midnight - 5:59am 50% of metered fare

Central Business District (CBD) Surcharge

Monday - Saturday : 5.00pm to Midnight $3.00 $3.00

Applicable for trips starting from CBD area. Not applicable on Sundays and Public Holidays.
The CBD surcharge is payable on top of the Peak Hour Surcharge.

Public Holiday Surcharge

From 6pm on the eve to 12 midnight of the public holidays below: New Year's Day, 1st and 2nd Day of Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali, Christmas Day $1.00 $1.00

Where the above holiday falls on a Sunday and the following Monday is a holiday, the Public Holiday Surcharge will be payable up to 12 midnight of Monday.

Location Surcharges

Changi Airport & Changi Air Freight Centre

Friday-Sunday from 5.00pm to 12 midnight $5.00 $5.00
At all other times $3.00 $3.00
Seletar Airport $3.00 $3.00
Singapore Expo Centre $2.00 $2.00

Booking Fees

Current Bookings:

Monday - Friday: 7.00am to 9.30am
5.00pm to 11.00pm
$3.50 $8.00
At all other times including Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays. $2.50 $8.00
Advanced Bookings (at least half an hour in advance) $5.20 $16.00

Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) Charges

Please reimburse our driver for the ERP charges incurred during trip and for Fuji Xerox Tower drop-off.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Why weather in Singapore recently is very hot?

MSN weather taken 11/05/2011
I know most of you experience the heat (very hot) weather nowadays. I remember 2 days ago the weather showed at night time was 31°C but it feels 41°C *MSN weather. Can you imagine that? is it one of the impact of global warming thus countries residing in tropical area feels the extreme hot weather? well...nobody knows but I believe it is.

There is one reason that i can find why the weather is very hot recently that is tropical storms that hit the region in the north and east of the Philippines on Sunday (8 / 5), that cause of extreme weather in some parts of Sumatra (Indonesia) that is very close to Singapore

The temperature monitored from Satellite NOAA 18 was above 36 degrees Celsius yesterday
Weather forecast says the weather will be remain very hot for next 2-3 days (12-13 May).

I just saw my neighbor bought new Air-con today and Landlord's Mom consider to get Air-con as well.

Let's keep our fingers cross and hoping everything will be back in normal for next 2 days.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Travel to Batam from Singapore

Singapore - Batam
Most of you know the nearest neighbor island from Singapore is Riau Archipelago/Riau islands (Indonesia) other than Malaysia of course. This included Batam island, Bintan island, Karimun island, etc

There many reasons why we are going to Batam. You can just have a short trip for holiday even within a day, going there in the morning and coming back in the evening. Most people do is for holiday and have a shopping, the price is cheaper than Singapore because of the different of exchange rate. Current exchange rate is $1 = Rp6900 (Highest ever is Rp 8000 in mid 2008* if not mistaken)

Batam is one of best alternative vacation options for those who staying in Singapore, perhaps you may get boring here and wanted to get out of Singapore for a while, then you may get yourself heading to Batam. It is just 45 minutes away from Singapore by ferry.

It is very convenience and easy to go to Batam since the ferry departure's timing is almost every 1 hour and there are few operators is operated there.

Here are some guide to travel to Batam from Singapore:
1. Get yourself to Harbourfront Centre

  • by MRT (NEL/purple line: Harbourfront Stn)
  • by Bus (Telok Blangah - Harbourfront Stn, bus no: 10, 30, 57, 97 ,100, 131, 143, 145, 166)

2. At Harbourfront Centre - proceed to Lvl 3 at ticketing office. In this place you may find few counters serving to different destination ports (Batam Centre, Sekupang, Harbour Bay, etc).

3. In my opinion, most people are going to Batam Centre. So the ferries operator will be Penguin and Batam Fast. The ticket cost is less than $50 *can't confirmed for current fees (Info heard is cheaper than ticket to Harbour bay)
If you are going to Harbour bay, then the ferry will be Wave Master ($48 - return)

I attached Wave Master ferry schedule when I went to harbour bay 2 months ago

Wave Master Ferry Schedule

I, myself planning to go Batam again by end of this month (Batam Centre). I will give an update what things can do in Batam. See you at next blog.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Best Hospital Singapore

Mount Elizabeth Hospital

Singapore hospitals are one of the best in the world. The services and expertise of the top hospitals and doctors in Singapore are comparable to the best in the world. It was ranked as the sixth best in the world and the best in Asia by the World Health Organization in 2000.

What makes hospital in Singapore is one of the best in world? for sure it is because the government has play a big role in the Singapore's healthcare system. The government has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in healthcare facilities, research and development and hiring of best international doctors and scientists.

is there any such the best hospital in Singapore? actually none is the best but i suggest you to find it based on which doctors and scientists is most known for their specialities. It is common to find a doctor working under different company, so you just find which one is suite you.

2 types of Hospital in Singapore: Public and Private. It is commonly known private is more expensive than public. Some people mentioned they are actually cost you the same when you are foreigner as there is no subsidies as for Singaporean for choosing public hospital.

Here is sample comparison private-public hospital:
4-bedded ward: Mount E - $230/day, SGH - $187.25/day
So based on this info, I think public hospital is still cheaper :)

Here is list of pulic hospitals in Singapore:

1. Alexendra Hospital
2. Changi General Hospital
3. KK Women's and Children's Hospital
4. National University Hospital
5. Singapore General Hospital
6. Tan Tock Seng Hospital

And here is list of private hospitals in Singapore:

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands view from helix bridge
Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. Developed by Las Vegas Sands.
It was open for preview on 27th April 2010 and was officially open on 23rd June 2010.
This resort features a 2,561-room hotel, a 120,000 sq.m. convention-exhibition centre, The Shoppes mall, an Art & Science museum, two Sands Theatres, seven "celebrity chef" restaurants, two floating pavilions, a casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines.

The complex is topped by a 340m-long SkyPark with a capacity of 3,900 people and a 150m infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world's largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 67m. 

The Skypark is accessible from the 3 towers, however only tower 3 is open for public and others for guest in the hotel.

Tower 1

Tower 2

Tower 3
Skypark Ticket Price:
- S$20 for adult
- S$14 for children (aged between 2 – 12 years)
- S$17 for senior citizens (aged 65 years and above)

Hotel Price
It says 3D2N starts at S$188++ per person per night (current promotion at their website)

There is nothing much you can do in the skypark but there is restaurant, souvenir shops, and it is good for photography especially during night time

There is no direct MRT to get there, but nearest MRT i can say is promenade MRT station (Circle Line - Yellow). Once you alight, you look for sign "Exit A" which indicates "bus to Marina Bay Sands". At this station you may have 3 options to get there:
1. Bus
2. Walk

If you decided to take bus, turn left when you exit by "exit A" and go to traffic junction. Look at the sign "Bus to Marina Bay Sands" and you get into the bus stop. All buses in this bus stop will drop you in front of MBS hotel.
The buses are: 97, 97E, 106, 133, 133M, 502, 502A, 518, 518A

If you decided to take a walk, it is the same way as goes by bus but you just walking instead of taking bus. Alternatively, you may cross to Helix Bridge and it will end to MBS mall.

happy traveling in Singapore and I will update other spots to visit soon.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Every Vote Counts - Singapore General Election 2011

Today, 07/05/2011 is marked as Election Day for all Singaporean. There are 7 parties in total: Reform Party (RP), the National Solidarity Party (NSP), People's Action Party (PAP), Workers' Party (WP), Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), and Singapore People's Party (SPP)


few things made me interesting about this election:
1. First and foremost is the young candidate from PAP (Tin Pei Ling) and NSP (Nicole Seah). To read more about these two candidates, pls click here
2. This election consider "The PAP's greatest fear ". Previous general election on 2006, PAP won by 66.6%
3. Now I'm staying where the area is under WP. Previously I stayed at area under SDA.
4. We can see the result within a day. FYI, the polling stations open at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
5. Many other

Is PAP going to win again? or the opposition got additional piece of cakes of the parliament? we'll see...

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

St John Island, Kusu Island - Southern Island Singapore

Anyone ever heard about St John Island? This place is rarely known even by people who are staying in Singapore or by the tourist. Most known islands in Singapore are Sentosa and Pulau Ubin. Actually still there are few islands other than these 2 that are St John Island, Kusu Island, Sister Island, etc. They are all located in the Southern Singapore. In a map you may find it below of Sentosa.


Regular ferry to St John and Kusu Island is provided which operated by Singapore Island Cruise while others have to chartered a boat.


If you wish to make a trip to these Islands, you can get there by taking ferry at Marina South Pier. You can reach to this pier by taking train to Marina Bay MRT station (RED Line) and go by Exit B instead of Exit A (currently Exit A is closed due to construction on going as per 02/05/2011). From the Exit B you may heading to main road and turn left and make your way to underpass, there is bus stop about 100m away and take bus no 402 from there.

Ferry ticket will cost you S$15 for return ticket for both St john and kusu island. Do remember passport is not required as this is still in Singapore. The travel time is about 15-20mins between the islands.

Important things to bring that i can suggest are umbrella, food, and drinks. There is no F&B shop inside there so you have to bring it at your own.
Facilities include: Swimming lagoons, toilets, shelters and picnic areas.

I didnt take picture a map of kusu island, but there is for st john:

Beware of the weather! Lightning is dangerous. If you hear lightning, IMMEDIATELY seek shelter that equipped with lighting protection . And do not go out again until lightning has stopped for some time (half an hour is a good gauge). Do not shelter under trees, under cliffs.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS