We booked the bus tickets online on easybook.com. There were a few places to board the buses from - KL Sentral, Berjaya Times Square, TBS. We booked to depart from TBS at 9.30 a.m. using Konsortium Bas Ekspres. Our destination was Golden Mile Tower at Beach Road in Singapore. The fare was rather affordable for such a long journey, only RM48.45 per ticket. Seats were also pre-booked, and I chose seats no. 1 and 2, which were right behind the driver's seat.
The bus was quite punctual ... and we made the first stop just before noon as we reached Johor, at the Lucky Garden R & R at Yong Peng. The bus stopped for 30 minutes for a toilet / ciggie break, and passengers were actually able to grab a quick meal at the food court here. Popular favourites like nasi lemak, nasi campur, chicken rice, burgers and other snacks were available here. I ate 6 pieces of grilled Otah which sold for RM5.00, while S ate some fruits.
By 2.00 p.m., we reached the JB/Woodlands Checkpoint. Passing the Malaysian immigrations did not take that long. But right after that, the traffic into Woodlands was at a snails' pace. When we eventually reached there, passing the immigrations was another long wait. There were many counters, but then again, there were even more people! We stood in line for close to 40 minutes before we got through. Phew!
The entire process took nearly 3 hours to get through. So it was 5.30 p.m. by the time we reached Golden Mile Tower at Beach Road in Singapore. That was an 8 hour journey. I shuddered thinking about what I would have to go through to go back in a few days' time. Sigh.
A short walk brought us to the Nicoll Highway MRT, where we each bought an ez-link card for SGD12. The card was SGD5 and had a stored value of SGD7. We then topped up the card with another SGD10. It was very convenient to use public transport here in Singapore and throughout my 5 days here, I would have used SGD32 for transport.
Our MRT brought us to Clarke Quay, and from there, it was a short walk to Boat Quay. We booked hostel accommodation at 5 Footway Inn Project Boat Quay. It cost us about RM104 per pax per night. We got a single room, with a bunk bed. The room was tiny and had no windows, but air-conditioned. It looked clean, but smelled quite funky. Lol.
Bathrooms and toilets were shared - but it was good that the male and female wash areas were segregated. There were 6 toilets and 5 bath cubicles - I wouldn't say that they were clean, definitely there's room for improvement. I found the rusty shower racks totally unacceptable! There was a terrace, where guests could lounge, and here too are hot and cold water dispensers, a coffee making machine, toasters, a microwave and a fridge was available.
It could get pretty noisy at nights - the floorboards were squeaky, the shuffling of feet at the corridors, and I could hear people's footsteps thumping from above me, then there's the opening and closing and banging of doors, and people talking loudly in the corridors and in the rooms. If at Fave Hotel Cenang, it's the Chinese nationals who were noisy, over here at 5 Footway, everyone else seemed to be noisy too! The Europeans, Chinese ... everyone seemed to be speaking very loudly!
Despite this, the hostel was fully booked every day! That's because the location of the hostel was superb. Just walk down Boat Quay to reach the Raffles Place MRT ... and from here, we could go everywhere.Bathrooms and toilets were shared - but it was good that the male and female wash areas were segregated. There were 6 toilets and 5 bath cubicles - I wouldn't say that they were clean, definitely there's room for improvement. I found the rusty shower racks totally unacceptable! There was a terrace, where guests could lounge, and here too are hot and cold water dispensers, a coffee making machine, toasters, a microwave and a fridge was available.
It could get pretty noisy at nights - the floorboards were squeaky, the shuffling of feet at the corridors, and I could hear people's footsteps thumping from above me, then there's the opening and closing and banging of doors, and people talking loudly in the corridors and in the rooms. If at Fave Hotel Cenang, it's the Chinese nationals who were noisy, over here at 5 Footway, everyone else seemed to be noisy too! The Europeans, Chinese ... everyone seemed to be speaking very loudly!
Now, Boat Quay had all the fancy pubs and bistros and restaurants, certainly not for us. We walked a bit and found a Chinese eatery called Golden Cafe. Food was reasonably priced and was very tasty!
A bit sweet, but refreshing
Very yummy, and I loved the succulent pieces of prawn in it
Very egg-y an in fact a bit too starchy, but the noodles had a smoky flavour, and I loved the generous servings of vegetables and tender slices of beef
So good! Served smoking hot, the skin was so crispy, and the taste of the prawn paste blended right in with the chicken. Yummy! There were 6 pieces ... and we ate till we near exploded!
The Spalliera is the largest and most spectacular Luminarie here ...
I was unwilling to join the crowd ... so we moved away after snapping a few photos of the Supertree Grove
And also of the Marina Bay Sands .....
It's quite a very photogenic building!!
We then went back to Boat Quay .....
Singapore is beautifully lighted at night ....
So lovely
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