Singapore : 4 days 3 nights- Part one

I planned to go for a 4 days 3 nights relaxing holiday in Singapore. So, I booked Airasia flight for a fare of  Rm 314 return ticket (Kota Kinabalu to Singapore and back), which I felt was reasonable and to experience the "Spacepod hostel" ( about S$25 per night). Please take note, this experience was in June 2019 so as time goes by, everything including accommodation, transport and food prices may not be the same any more.😅

 My purpose of this travel was mainly a stress free travel with no definate plans except eat, sleep, visiting friends and some relatives. NO SHOPPING if possible ...my target was 7kg cabin bag into Singapore and & 7kg out of  Singapore!!! Can I do that?😅😅😅 Let's wait and see, yeah???

In our daily living , apart from food and air to breathe, accommodation or whatever human beings like to called it "a roof over my head " is also in the list. Whether it's an expensive luxury mansion, a creative home made from recycled aeroplanes etc or a simple small hut, they are still a home or accommodation, shielding us from rain or shine, cold or hot. 

When we travel, the most important things in our planning list are transport, food and accomodation. Even if accomodation is free, ie staying at friends and relatives, you still need to plan. If you have millions in the bank, would try for the 5-7 star hotel 😜; something less expensive, 3-4 star maybe? For  budget, 1star hotel or hostel ...Your choice😁😀.

A "space pod" hostel was my choice and had been in my wish list for quite a while.

I planned to go to the Kallang area  because i knew this place quite well .The advantage of knowing a place helps cutting down unnecessary time from getting lost or searching. Kallang Space Pod has been reviewed by many bloggers for it's location, cleanliness , cheap and safe to stay.

Though I have a place to stay for free, at friends and relatives, I chose to stay at the space pod hostel this time, just to experience what was it like to sleep in a space pod like those travellers commented. I have never in my life stayed in a  hostel and envied those who were able to do so. thus, this was one of my wish lists, just like my train travel from Tenom.

 As the days got nearer to my travel date to experience the feeling like you are "in space" excite me because it was something new.

Those items shown above were what I had prepared for the night before departure .

After reading from a few bloggers and reviews  I brought along : 

A good head set for the phone.

 A set of disposable slippers.

Light clothes and an empty bottle for water.

1 clothes hanger and 2 pegs.

In Singapore , I had to have a very strong will, not to depart my money unnecessarily. I must remind myself "This was supposed to be a budget trip, maaan!"😂😂😂

E-Z link train/bus card is very conventient

The beginning of my journey

There were 7 self check-in machines in Kota Kinabalu International airport but 2 were faulty. and there was a long queue for self check in with the remaining machines. Luckily I had checked in at home and with only a cabin bag, I could just go straight to security gate.

Since I was in the airport at 7.30am and my flight will depart only by 9.05am, I got myself a light breakfast at McDonald. Never like to eat in the plane.

Boarding time.

It was advisable to get a 9am flight, instead of 2pm  because by the time you reach Singapore the whole day is gone.



Filled in the immigration card, Airasia cabin crew would hand out this card to passengers before landing. It's better to fill in the forms while flying. It keeps you busy by focusing on what to write for a few minutes on the form so you don't feel too long on the plane, at the same time you would feel more organised on arrival.

Arrival at Terminal 4, the latest Changi airport of Singapore

On arrival I would get a "hi card"  or "star hub" telephone card. It's costly to use homeline for roaming rate. With S$8, I could purchase a minimum of 1G internet access for  7 DAYS, Worth it for watsapp and bus arrivals etc. With watsapp you can call anyone home for free, And the speed for internet in Singapore was really fast.

I downloaded this SingBus app into my phone which was very useful especially when there were certain places I needed to go. Some places were nearer by bus than by MRT. With this app, I was able to organise the time to catch the bus for a certain destination.

Changi Airport Immigration

Taxi stand  was just outside the door.

After exiting from Custom, go straight from the arrival hall for a taxi to the city (if you have a lot of luggage, it's better to get a taxis).

For those who prefers to go on the train which is cheaper by 10 times the fare of a taxi, turn right from the arrival hall and walk to the end, keep right. 

There is an airport shuttle bus for free to T2 (Terminal 2) to catch a train (MRT).

Waiting area for transfer to T2

Transfer Bus schedule at T2
Before midnight there will be a bus every 10 mins.

Arrival of airport transfer bus.

I was lucky, to get on the bus in time without waiting😁

On arrival to T2, turn left . 

Follow the escalator down to Train Station . Singapore has very good signs and instructions.

Buy your ticket from the ticket office or from the machine

MRT map

MRT ticket machine

I have an E-Z link card so I just top up with S$20 at the machine for my 4 days travel

Train ticket office in the airport

If you don't have E-Z link card, there are other options😂. 

Singapore is always up to date with changes and promotions. 

Now there is a tourist promo pass.

3 days unlimited fare for S$20, worth it. 

Green line train route

Passengers getting in and out of the train

The train will stop at Tanah merah from airport (only 2 stops ) then change train to the city, just crossing over the platform to B

At Tanah Merah, get off to platform B to change train to city

Platform B for train to city

Green line (East west line) train to city

View from the train at Bedok train station.

There is a good food court here and a shopping mall.

Bedok station is just one stop from Tanah Merah and 6 stops from Kallang.
Since check in time was only at 2pm, I alighted at Bedok and got myself some lunch before continuing to Kallang.

If you don't fancy any stops, just go straight to Kallang, only 6 stops from Tanah Merah.

Alight at Kallang station which is only about 25 mins from the airport. 

Kallang MRT station, turn left to see the traffic lights. Before the traffic lights there is a sign "Singapore sport hub" .Ahead over the road the Space Pod can be seen.

After crossing the road, the right side is the bus terminal and the left side is the Space Pod.

Those interested to go to Jalan Besar  or little India, take bus 141 from this terminal😃 and return by train from Farrer Park station. 

Check in reception is where the arrow indicates.

Check in time was 2pm but guests allowed to leave the bags and return when ready

Some guests lockers were outside in front of the reception. I was lucky to have mine in the room😄

Check in counter. Tony, who worked there the longest, was very helpful along with Iwa, the cleaner who works from 9am to 6pm. I have heard  from reviews about them being very helpful and making you feel the place is safe.
Tony works from 10am to 10.30pm. 

Those who arrived late after 10.30pm, guests will have to use the self check in. Instructions are given. Those checked out after 10.30pm will slot their room/cubicle card key into this safe box as self check out. (The receptionist is only available from 10am to 10.30pm)😜

Common dinning hall. That's my orange bag!

Clean small pantry.

There are rules and regulations, but i am fine with them

because they are mostly common sense.

Reminders to guest to clean up their own mess after using the cutlery and pantry

Free orange juice and milk available 24 hours 7 !!

Is this not common sense?

And this?

Clean drinking water anytime 

A clean sink

Wi Fi in Singapore is very fast.

Shoes are not allowed inside room or reception area. Shoe rack provided for those who don't want to leave their shoes outside.

Now, let's go into the "space pod". This is what I have been waiting for....

When I entered the room, it  really looked like as if I was in a space ship, especially when lights were off and it's so quiet. Maybe I was the first to check in??😜

Mine was in the lower bunk as requested when booking online with Agoda.

A clean firm comfortable mattress with soft linen. In fact, the mattress was more comfortable than my King Koil mattress at home. Clean, soft, striking blue blanket to keep you warm at night.

Towels are provided but I brought my own.

How does the pod work? There were about 20 cubicles in the room with 2 units of big AC in the room. Temperature of the AC were set to the coolest and maintained at 16 degrees celsius, therefore the whole room was very cool. The purpose to keep the room very cool was.... each cubicle has 3 little exhaust fans like, when switched on, will pull the cool air within the room into the  cubicle, so the pod is comfortably cool enough to sleep in. The cubicles are made of "fibre glass or plastic" so it's not sound proof, some bloggers advised to bring a headset, in case there are inconsiderable people. It's very quiet apart from unpacking or opening the room doors or locker. That didn't bother me.

 Fancy lights control:

Normal, white, yellow, blue, pink, green,

Fancy light switched off. 

Normal white light. 

Yellow light. 

Blue light. 

Red or pink light. 

Green light. 

Air control Extracting air conditioning air from the room into the pod. 

There were 3 little "exhaust like fans" inside the pod. At night, it was cold enough, so i never switched on the little fans.

Reading light

Ceiling light inside the pod.

When I lie down facing the blue ceiling light in a cool private pod, it really felt like being in space 😁. especially at night when it's so quiet.  Now i know, what the bloggers or reviewers meant about being in space.🤭

On one occasion, I could hear someone telling somebody off for talking too loud on the phone, or  the music was too loud from their phone. He firmly voiced out, "Hello Hello! Can you turn that down a bit, please!!! It's like a teacher telling a student to keep quiet.😁 "His request was effective because since then we all had a quiet night throughout.👍👍😂😂😂

2 USB ports

 for charging phone...fast and slow mode. 

The internet is very fast 

 

Screen with secure lock which act a door. 

Clip or locks to secure the blue screen, from  inside, makes you feel safe and more private, as if you are in a space of your own😂

There were slippers provided inside the dorm but i brought my own water proof light slippers.

Body and hair  shampoo in the bathroom

Unique water heater like a robotic vacuum cleaner

The bathrooms were never fully occupied even though the pods were fully booked.

Washing machine. 

Dryer

ice cream vendor machine. 

There was a vendor machine for ice cream just at the corner side hostel. 

Self service breakfast

Free tea and coffee

Free bread

Free butter, jam and kaya spread. 

Look at these beautiful unlimited Fresh eggs. 

No wonder everyone was having more than one egg!😅 Watch your cholesterol level, Ladies and Gentlemen!😜😜

Cereals

Morning breakfast from one young lady in her early 20's. She had 4 fried eggs in her plate, a big bowl of cereals with milk and 2 pieces of bread!! Why not? Breakfast was free😂😂

In the Space Pod, they also sell cheaper tickets to amusement centers - universal studio, SEA aquarium, Jurong bird park, Singapore Zoo, River Safari, Night Safari, Cable car, Sentosa, Garden by the Bay, and Singapore Flyer.  eg. Universal studio was S$70 Adult instead of S$79.

Honestly speaking, I have been to all these, except the Singapore Flyer. My claustrophobic  condition doesn't allow me to go on this piece of entertainment.

 Space pod is different, the feeling of being able to come out of a  pod, at any time is what i can cope with.

Ok, Let's take a break.  Story to be continued soon.......😜😜😜

Part Two is mainly about food, shopping experience and amusement centers