Living on an airport like Tom Hanks in the movie “Terminal” may sound impossible. You would need to be looking for places to eat, places to enjoy, and to rest.
In real life, being stuck in a transit really sucks especially if you checked-in early or the flight is delayed.
BUT…not if you find yourself stranded at the Singapore Changi Airport! This exquisitely designed airport has a few perks up its sleeves. I give you the 5 Free Things You Can Enjoy before boarding at the Singapore Changi Airport.
1. FREE WIFI
There are free WIFI services in all the three terminals of the airport. Just head to the Information Counter and present your passport, in return they will give you a WiFi username and password. Also, there are free candies in the counter while you wait.
Alternatively, you may enjoy the abundant and free Internet Kiosks located beside the TV Lounges and scattered through the three terminals (T). There are actually over 500 computers that you will never have to wait in line to use one!
2. VISIT THE FIVE GARDENS
If you have more than 3 hours to spare, take a stroll to the five indoor gardens. These are namely: Cactus Garden (Terminal 1), Orchid Garden (T2), Fern Garden (T2), Sunflower Garden (T2), and the Butterfly Gardens (T3).
Image Credits: Swaminathan via Flickr
While you are in there, enjoy the breath of fresh air, may your kids count the species of succulents and take colorful selfies that you can upload right away because of the Free WiFi!
3. FREE TOUR OF SINGAPORE
If you are a tourist with more than 5 hours to spare, then grab this awesome opportunity. To register for any of the tours, just approach the staff with your passport and boarding pass at the Free Singapore Tours Registration Booth located in T2 and T3.
Being in the transit for six hours will give you enough time to catch 2-3 movies for free! The airport boasts their 24-hour cinemas that screen the Fox Movies Premium Channel at T2 and the latest movies of various genres at T3.
5. PLAY XBOX 360 AND PLAYSTATION 3
Entertainment Deck in T2 is the place where the children and child at heart can go wild! Get caught in an action game while playing with the XBOX 360, Playstation 3 consoles or LAN gaming. All this for free! Parents, you can chill in the Cafeteria located in the middle of the Entertainment Deck as your kids play.
Who says that no family activity in Singapore is cheap? Think again! In fact, some of them are FREE! From free shows to art appreciation, here are 5 Family Activities (under $10) that you will surely enjoy.
1. STARGAZING
Be amazed by the stars and constellations you will see in the Omni Theatre at the Singapore Science Centre. Gaze over the vast universe from 7:50 to 10 pm every Fridays through a series of telescopes. Best of all? It’s FREE.
2. PICNIC BY THE GARDENS
In Singapore Botanic Gardens, your family may stroll over the Rain Forest Trail to see various forest animals (e.g., Giant Mahang and Common Tree Frog) ,and forest plants (e.g. Rattan and Meraga Tree) or the National Orchid Garden to see the beautiful orchids. The entrance for the National Orchid Garden is S$2 for adults and S$1 for children and senior.
Image Credits: Edwin.11 via Flickr
You could lay down your blanket almost anywhere in the Gardens, but one of the nicest spot is probably at Palm Valley and Symphony Lake, especially when they’re staging one the regular free classical music concerts.
3. HEALTHY OUTDOORS
Cycle and jog across the lush greeneries and wondrous beach view of the East Coast Park. If you don’t own bike, you may rent one for S$6. You may also indulge in a family barbecue here, and stay on your own tents to cozy up.
4. ART APPRECIATION
Be absorbed with great contemporary art in the Singapore Art Museum. Their Learning Gallery especially caters for the young minds. It is a rich visual sight that your children don’t usually see. The admission is free for citizens and PRs, otherwise you may check the prices here.
5. WONDERFUL LIGHT SHOW
Enjoy the free “Wonderfull Show” at the Marina Bay Sands every evening from 8pm (full showtimes here). In here you will immerse yourselves in light, sound and music where your little ones will awe in delight. Remember to get there early to secure the best seats!
Image Credits: MarinaBaySands.com
You don’t have to spend too much to have fun with the ones you love. At the end of the day, your presence and quality time spent are more than enough to make them happy.
Singapore is an attractive travel destination with a record of 15.6million tourists in 2013.
Known worldwide for its safe, clean and green environment coupled with world class transport and its multi ethnic cuisines, it is no surprise to see Singapore taking the top spot of the Lonely Planet Best Place to Travel in 2015.
Singaporeans are also unbelievably helpful – just approach one when you are lost and you will see them pointing to the map or even bring you to the destination.
Need a dining recommendation? Just ask. They will go the extra mile to help you rather than rip you off.
However, in a city of 5.4million inhabitants, you’ll always find a few black sheeps with a different intention. Not to scare you off, but in comparison to other countries, there are not as many tourist traps out there. We are going to name you 6 places in Singapore tourist should keep at bay and keep your dream trip in place.
1. Sim Lim Square
Sim Lim Square is a large retail complex that sells electronic goods. There is six level of 500 retailers selling goods such as computers, electronic peripherals, mobile phones, games and cameras.
If you are not aware of the recent spate of tourist scams, you better think twice before stepping your foot here. Of course, not all the shops there are dishonest but as a tourists – you know nothing better and are at the mercy of these vendors that employed dirty and errant sales tactics.
You are promised a cheap price for the phone and only when you sign on that piece of paper and paid the money, you are asked to cough out more money to unlock the phone or to pay for the warranty which costs as much as the phone.
While Sim Lim Square is getting all the limelight and attention, another retail complex known as People Park Complex has been reported to have more complaints.
Likewise, these errant vendors uses the same tactics to make a one-off sale as tourists are the best target because they never return.
Lucky Plaza is situated along Orchard where you can shop till you drop but it makes it to the third of the places to avoid list. It seems that electronics products are the easiest products to exploit due to its larger price tag and the need for warranty.
4. Newton Circus Food Centre
If you think that tourists are only ripped off by electronics products, you would be surprised that a food centre made it to the list as a ‘no-go’ due to the rampant touting and overcharging by the vendors.
Newton Circus is a food centre where you get to sample a plethora of cuisines from BBQ seafood to satays (skewer meats) and it was all good until there were too many stalls selling the same kind of food and drinks. This led to stiff competition and incessant touting by stall owners where they are often criticised for overpricing their food and compromising food quality.
In 2009, six American tourists were charged S$491 for their meal, out of which almost half of the cost is due to the 8 tiger prawns they ordered costing $239.
Avoid that place unless you have deep pocket for mediocre quality food.
5. Boat Quay
Along Singapore River, you will find Boat Quay situated right in the CBD where you can catch picturesque view of the river surrounding two and three-storey shophouses. It’s romantic to walk down the quay and at the end you will find the iconic Merlion statue, a national personification of Singapore.
Of course, don’t miss out these attractions when you are in Singapore but when you are famished, take your meals elsewhere. Don’t get tempted by the humongous Alaskan Snow Crab and other crustaceans on display outside the restaurants. They are overpriced and high chance that you will be ripped off from its ‘priceless’ [sic] menu.
6. Geylang
Geylang is the red light district of Singapore and while prostitution is legal in Singapore you don’t want to walk here with your kids at night.
If you bringing your family for a holiday, consider bringing them to Little India or Chinatown where you can still immerse yourself and experience the cultural heritage of Singapore.
So where should we go?
Consider going to well established stores in Funan IT Mall or Challenger to shop for your electronic goods. Remember to claim your tax refund during your departure at Changi Airport.
If you want to indulge in seafood and order your favourite chilli crab, go to the few places where the local would go – Jumbo Seafood, No Signboard, Longbeach and Mellben.
For tourists who want to sample the different ethnic cuisines, head over to Makansutra Gluttons Bay or Chinatown Food Centre.
Don’t fall prey to the above tourists trap, do your research and make sure you find out the real cost to it before committing.
In our earliest post on How to travel Europe on a shoestring budget, we talk about how you can travel to Europe without breaking the bank. Careful planning is essential and that is what this article is going to focus on.
Step 1: Prepare the things you need
Things you need:
1. Map of Europe (Google map will do fine)
2. Notebook & writing materials
3. Internet and/or travel guides
4. Credit card (For making online booking)
5. Travel Companion(s) (duh, to discuss.)
Step 2: Shortlisting the places in Europe you want to visit
This is going to be the most exciting and fun part of the planning. With occasional squabbles, you will spend hours researching on the best places to go with your travel companion.
Go do some research on the most travelled places and UNESCO’s world heritage sites. Use a travel guide to do your research if you have one. Otherwise, just connect to the internet and use Google.
Jot down the places you want to go in this order.
[Places of attraction] – [City], [Country]
For example,
1. Eiffel Tower – Paris, France
2. Colosseum – Rome, Italy
3. (List goes on, depending on how adventurous you are)
Mark a cross ‘X’ on the map for each destination. (I hope you don’t fill the entire map with crosses.)
Step 3: Plan your travel route
Now that you have shortlisted the places you want to go, it’s time to plan your travel route in the most efficient manner. By efficient, i mean the route that saves you the most time and resources.
Before you jump into planning the route, go search for the cheapest airfare to any of the European city that you have shortlisted first. This will be the first and your last stop of your travel plan.
There are online aggregators that compare the cheapest flight for you. For example, there are sites like SkyScanner, FareCompare, Kayak, Expedia and Zuji where you can enter your departure and return date and you get a list of flights where you can sort and filter the prices accordingly. Try to search for the cheapest return airfare. For some, there are also other factors to consider such as the quality and service of the airlines, convenience of the airport, miles point, etc. I will leave the prioritisation to you.
Once you have confirm the city to be the first and last stop. Label the cross ‘X’ with 1. I will use Amsterdam, Netherlands as an example.
Next, look for the next ‘X’ that is bordering around Amsterdam, Netherlands. By bordering, i mean connected that is not separated by land or sea. In my example, my next stop will be to visit Kölner Dom in Cologne, Germany. Mark it as 2, and follow on with the rest.
My third stop will be Museumsinsel (Museum Island) in Berlin, Germany
16th stop: London (UK)(There is a train operated by Eurostar that takes you from Paris to London)
17th stop: Amsterdam (Netherlands) (You can take budget airline such as Ryanair or a Ferry from London to Amsterdam)
*Note: Such itinerary took me a month to travel to all the places. It was tiring but fun and satisfying to conquer all of them within one month. If you were to ask me again, i would suggest condensing the above itinerary to 10stops/4 countries tops if you can only afford anything less than one month of travel. If you can afford to be away longer, go for it!
Step 4: Get busy with the nitty gritty
Now that you have a map filled with ‘X’s and numbers. You need to work out your mode of transportation that takes you from each stop.
Europe is connected by high-speed rails and you can easily hop around country in a matter of hours.
You can purchase the Eurail Global Pass that allows you to take their high speed train.
If you are age 25 and below, good news for you! You can get the Youth Traveller Pass. It costs about €442 for a 10days travel within 2 months. Check out the latest price at their website. You can also purchase them from our local travel agency. Just call them and ask.
It is not cheap, but it beats taking a more costlier option – budget airlines. Taking rail also save you times if you travel at night and book one of their sleeper cabin.
Now you need to schedule your train’s timetable time. Eurail has a very useful timetable that allows you to check out the train arrival and departure time.
For example, a route from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Cologne, Germany.
There are a few routes with different timing and train. Some of the route requires you to change train. Make sure you pick the right one.
Note down the details of the train station and arrival timing in your notebook. You will need them later.
Step 5: Book your accommodation
Once you are done with planning for your train timing, you need to settle your accommodation. Look for
an accommodation that is situated near your railway station (if you are reaching at night) or a somewhere near the places of attraction.
There are different kind of affordable accommodation which you can consider instead of booking a hotel.
1. Backpackers/Hostels (Use Google)
2. Homestay (I’d suggest airbnb)
3. Couchsurfing (free)
You will need your credit card to make the booking.
Step 6: Prepare and print the confirmations
Your last step would be to print out all the booking confirmation, fix them onto your notebook or file. I stapled all the confirmations and maps on each pages of my notebook from day 1 to day 30 so that it won’t drop. I also download offline maps of each cities on my iPad.
Now you can skip the travel agent and save the cost on tour packages!
“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money” –Susan Heller
Travelling to Europe is a dream destination for most people. With its rich cultural heritage from castle to prehistoric landscapes, it is obvious why Europe is the most travelled place in the world.
However, for many the cost of air ticket alone is going to put away the idea of travelling aside.
If you are willing to get a bit out of your comfort zone and do some planning, there are a few simple ways for you to travel without breaking the bank. Try these methods and you will be bringing half the money. Here are our tips:
1. Look out for cheap airfares
First and foremost, you’ll need a flight to bring you to Europe and that’s when airfares could contribute up to 20% of your budget should be bought with careful planing and research. There are many flights comparison website, and you will be shortchanging yourself if you do not utilise them.
Once you reached your dream destination, you will not be sticking your butt at the Eiffel Tower for the entire week. Find out the cheapest way to bring you to The Louvre or the Notre Dame de Paris. If you stay within the district, walk and embraces the place like a tourist. If not there is bus, metro and RER at your service. If Google is not your best friend, make it yours.
If you are travelling to other parts of Europe, besides taking a flight all the time which may bust your budget, your next best alternative would be train. Countries in Europe are connected by high-speed trains which could take you between destinations in hours. Consider buying a Eurail pass if you plan to hop around different countries. Work the number out using the trip planner by RailEurope and see if it is more worthwhile to purchase individual tickets or a rail pass. Do note that for certain trains (night and scenic train) might need additional reservation fee to make a reservation.
Good news (and good excuse) for those under 26. They have a youth pass which you can to enjoy up to 35% discount off its Eurail Pass.
3. Plan your accommodation
The next item on your list would be accommodation which contributes to a significant amount of cost to your budget. You don’t need to stay in five star hotels to enjoy your Europe trip. Most of the time should be spent exploring the scenic and tourist attractions rather than having a spa in your bathroom or a view from your balcony that overlook the entire cityscape.
If you are a student with not much budget, hostels and backpackers would do just fine. You can also rent someone’s room temporarily using airbnb.
Otherwise, budget hotels and motels such as IBIS or Formule 1 could be in your consideration.
Again, this requires careful planning and your best friend would be more than willing to help.
There are aggregators sites like Trivago, Agoda and Booking.com which will compare and show you the available accommodation at your check in and out date and you can filter and sort them according to your budget.
If you want to further save on your accommodation, you can consider booking an overnight train and sleep while you travel to your next destination. You not only save on hotel cost, you save valuable time.
4. Food
Eat like a local. If you visit touristy areas, expect yourself to dig deep into your wallet. Follow the locals’ lead for cheap eats. Ask around to find out affordable restaurants. Of course, there are times when you should indulge in their delicacies, so occasionally pamper yourself a bit.
As a Singaporeans, we are not used to tipping, but in Europe if you plan to tip, around 10 percent is the norm.
Some of your accommodation may include breakfast, so take advantage of it. Croissant and Coffee? I will take that.
5. Entertainment
Find free entertainment. Visit the parks, concerts and cathedrals and you can’t deny that exploring Europe by foot together with a camera is by itself – entertaining. It don’t cost much to have a photograph with an Eiffel Tower or the Colosseum in the background. Visit their national heritage sites and immerse in their culture and diversity without busting your budget.
