Some not so popular places to visit beyond Singapore during hoildays!

There are many places(or countries!) you can visit outside Singapore. Many people argue me that there is not much enough places left within Singapore to explore ..yeah! ..I surprise them asking a question "Have you been to macritchie reservoir ?" ..The answer is "Where is that!!". So here you go ..its an myth that being in Singapore for many years you have no new places to go for :).

For the sake of tourists or expats who are here for short duration and want to explore some places around Singapore .this may be a handy list of quick gateways from Singapore !..here is my favorite list !:

• Bintan : I have been to Bintan 2 times and its a good place to start exploring outside Singapore. 45 mins from Singapore you in Indonasia ! ..Its a small Island part of Indonesia and has many many resorts for your to enjoy!. Recommended to at least stay 2D1N to enjoy!. Check out my post on Bintan Island Resorts.
  
• Batam : Less than hour journey in a ferry from Singapore get you to Indonesia again!. Again this is a small Island with just some resorts and places to take stroll around!..Nothing spectacular but good to visit once!. 1 Day visit is recommended.
  
• Johor : Johor is so close to Singapore that you can really walk across a bridge from Singapore :). Lot of people go to Johor for shopping and buying things in bulk. If you have a car and Malaysian Visa already then this is the place you can try as your first adventure outside Singapore !. If you happen to go in mansoon season, plan to visit to Kota Tinggi. A water fall near Johor. If you do not plan to venture out much beyond Johor, 1 Day is good enough.
  
• Pulau Ubin: A small island very near to Singapore. Recommended to go a day trip only. You can do nature walks or enjoy cycle riding around the village!.
• Malacca: Malacca is 2.5 hours away from Singapore. It is in Malaysia. So if you have Malaysia Visa, before going to popular destinations like KL, Genting. You can goto Malacca to experience historical places in Malaysia. Recommended to spend 2D1N at this place. You can also find 1 day tours conducted by Bus from Singapore to Malacca.If you are interested this could a nice drive from Singapore.

I still thinking about more places ..till then this is a draft post but published!

Travel from Singapore to KL in Train : Economy Trip !

Recently we did a train journey from Singapore to KL using the KTM Train. We were exited to travel by train first time outside India!. In India I have traveled almost entire India by Train and it was good experience overall.

For traveling from Singapore to KL via train you have 2 options to book your travel :

1. Using the internet via the URL : http://www.ktmb.com.my/
2. Goto the Malaysian Railway Station in Singapore

So for those who would like to book Singapore-KL Ticket for their onward journeys and not in Singapore, using internet is good idea as you get e-tickets!.

Many people ask this question on Yahoo Answer or on other forums about purchasing Singapore-KL ticket in Malaysian Rinngit(MYR). Well this is very much possible using the Internet website, but not the complete journey fare!. So to discover this economy path we did our booking in 2 steps(Again the entire hassle of booking in 2 steps is only worth if you have many people traveling!) :

• Booked Johor Bahru To KL Ticket on Train # 12: EKSPRES SENANDUNG MALAM

• This train departs from Singapore and goes till IPOH
• When we did this journey it departs from Singapore @ 22:00
• Booked this ticket in MYR
• So the deal is that whenever on Internet you specify a From Location within Malaysia, the fare is in MYR,whereas if the departure location is Singapore the fare is in SGD. The fare is same always, just the currency changes :)
• For example the fare for 1 adult for Johor Bahru to KL was : MYR 37.00 and if I book Singapore to KL ticket using the same website and same train # 12 the fare shown is SGD 38.00 :) - Internet is smart and flips the currency when you are going from Singapore.
• So the website is smart - Now the other option to save money is to Book 2 tickets - 1 from Singpore to Johor in SGD(which is SGD 6.00). Well the website do not allow you to do that!. They knew that passengers globally are smart too and would do this.
• So now for Singapore to Johor Bahru Ticket
• You need to visit the Train Station located in Singapore personally(or you can ask your dear friend in Singapore to do that for you!)
• Well here is another catch. Now this is something I did not find on internet when searching for the similar information and that's where icare2share :)
• On the ticket counter if you ask for the Singapore to Johor Bahru Ticket the person at the counter knows your intentions!. So they do not allow you to book this SG-JB ticket more than 1 day in advance - smart huh!

So there you go ..You have bought 2 tickets for the complete Singapore To KL(read as SENTRAL KUALA LUMPUR on the KTM website) on almost 50% discount. For example if have 10 friends going to a Singapore to KL Trip on Train - look at the savings !

10 SG to JB Tickets : SGD 60.00(approx MYR 144)
10 JB to KL Tickets : MYR 370.00

So the total is MYR 544 instead of SGD 380(approx MYR 908). There u go! ...You have saved MYR 364 which is decent money in Malaysia to enjoy with - figure out what you can do with this savings on your trip to Malaysia!. Well as already mentioned, the savings are good only more than 4+ passengers are traveling together.

No comes the hard part of playing this game! - Which is saving money and loosing your sleep!.

When you board the train at the Singapore station, you need to goto the seat which is given on the SG To JB ticket!. Which could be compartment L1(first from the engine) and your JB To KL ticket could have alloted you L5 compartment which is 5th from the engine!. So to avoid this choose the First possible compartment in the Train on your JB To KL Ticket and pray! - but most likely the SG to JB ticket would be in L1 ...again no idea how this works.

Train starts from Singapore at 22:00(10:00 pm). It was pretty much on time that day. You need to clear immigration(part1!) at the KTM Railway Station in Singapore before boarding, so to save time and hassle of writing in low light of platform please do fill up the immigration forms before reaching the immigration counters.

After immigration(which is actually just a stamp on your form that you are leaving Singapore by this Train # 12). You board the Train and it starts and roams the entire Singapore for almost 1 hour before reaching the Woodlands Checkpoint!.

You need to get down at the Woodlands Checkpoint from your train(you have an option to keep the luggage at the train itself(unattended!). Do the Immigration at Singapore Checkpoints and get back to your trains(this time don't forget to go back to your Singapore-JB Seat as you are still not in JB). The ticket checker comes sometime in between Singapore to JB journey to check your tickets.

You reach JB at around 23:00(11:00 pm) or so. Once you are at JB, you can get down and walk towards your JB to KL Seat! - Now this is the hard part if your seat before was at L1 compartment and now in L5 compartment...but then you always wanted to save some money for more fun in Malaysia :)

The train journey is good overall with no snacks options @ JB ..so carry something with you. Also our luck was bad the train stopped at JB for more than hour due to crossing of another train(wow this is a single track to KL!). It still reached KL at around 7am in the morning. So it was ok!

enjoy
Sandeep

Bintan Resorts Island Trip Advisor

Singapore offer many attractions within Island. But still many feel that they need to go beyond Island and try some new places. Which is good thing!. So there are many places around Singapore like Bintan, Batam, Pulao Ubin etc ..

I went to Bintan Island twice recently and the post is much awaited!. So I thought i will share some experience and information so that it helps my readers.

About Bintan Resorts Island

Bintan Resorts Island is just 45 mins away from Singapore via high speed ferry. The Island is part of Indonesia. There are many resorts in Bintan catering to different style and luxary needs!.So you going to a Island with just many resorts around.Bintan Offers good beaches with clear waters. So if you love to relax in a resort style and like to soak yourself in clear sea waters Bintan is the place. Also it offers various food options ..but all this is within the resorts!

Getting there

Bintan Island is just 45 mins away by Binan Resort Ferries(BRF). You need to board this ferry from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. You can checkout the schedule at Bintan Resort Ferry Schedule . The 2 way fare for Adult in Peak period is around SGD 59.20 and SGD 46.20 for child. There is a off-peak fare too which is around SGD 10 less. Ferry is comfortable and enjoyable journey by looking at passing cargo ships!

Booking Resorts at Bintan

This is the most important part of your Bintan Island Trip!. As there many resorts and all have different amenities, one needs to decide the type of vacation and budget and then book the resort. Remember not to go by wonderful photo's shown by the some of the resort brochures.

We stayed at the Villa in Bintan Lagoon Resort. It was excellent option as we had kids with us. If you are a family with kids or few singles together wants to enjoy Bintan Resorts, Villa option offers great facilities like Kitchen, private swimming pool,barbequeue, buggy to go around the resort etc.

Resort Recommendations for Family

Nirwana Resort Hotel

I have been to Nirwana Resorts Hotel. This is good place with moderate budget and still want to enjoy the Island. It offers rooms and suites. Food is good. Even Indian Food is offered here on request and I was surprised with the quality.

Website: Nirwana Gardens Resort

Regular Fare :

• SGD 220 for Superior Rooms
  
• SGD 270 for Delux Rooms
  
• SGD 500 for Suite
  

Internet Fare :

• SGD 145 for Superior Rooms
  
• SGD 185 for Delux Rooms
• SGD 300 for Suite
  

As per my observation around the world, there is not much difference in Superior and delux. So always go for superior rooms. If you still doubt that you are going to mix something exotic, go ahead and take a look at the delux room in the same hotel! Suites to be taken only when somebody else is paying for you ! or you are on honeymoon :)

There are other resorts offered by the same resort ..now this is confusing !. So go checkout the site yourself. These are some of the so called theme resorts like Banyu Biru Villas, Nirwana Beach club, Indra Maya Villa etc ..They all share the similar beach and clear water ..so take your guess!

Bintan Lagoon Resort

We stayed in one of the villas in this resort and it was good experience. This is again pretty similar to what Nirwana Resort Hotel Offers except the Villa stuff. The beach is near by and has good clean water. That was the best part I liked !

Website: Bintan Lagoon Resorts

Fares :

• SGD 110 to 220 for Superior Rooms
  
• SGD 175 to 330 for Delux Rooms
  
• SGD 400 to 1078 foe Villas - Depending on no of bed rooms, private swimming pool, buggy etc etc.

There are again many offers to confuse, like if you have DBS, Amex card or package with lunch/dinner or breakfast free!

Food is expensive in both the resorts. You would need think as if you are dining in good restaurent in Singapore :)

References

Details about all Bintan Resorts Details

Indonesia Visa on Arrival Information

Visa on Arrival fee is USD 10.00. Can be paid in Singapore Dollars too!

Bintan Island is a great place and you enjoy many things like Water Sports, Golf, Nature etc.

I hope you like this post and please leave your comments to share your experience with Bintan Island ..Well that said Bintan Island offers something else other than the resorts ..that is one of a kind Shopping experience ...which was what i was looking for too ..so will post about that in next post!

Enjoy Bintan!