KL style commute

April 1, 2010

After a great meal at Kampung Boy, we boarded KL’s MRT to head towards Central Market.

Compared to Singapore’s MRT system, KL’s MRT is very much similar to what we have here in Manila. It’s also quite inconvenient having to run up and down the stairs to exit and enter connecting stations. I think we rode the MRT a few times before totally deciding to take a cab instead. We’re basically spending the same amount of money anyway since there are four of us and a typical MRT fare is about 1.5MYR to 2MYR. Whereas a taxi charges from 5MYR to 10MYR, depending on the distance. The only downside is that we’d have to negotiate and haggle. I’ll tell you this, it’s much easier to get a life insurance quote than to get a taxi driver to agree to a fair price. One taxi that we took said that our destination (Bukit Bintang, which I will write about soon) is very far so he charged us 10MYR. When we boarded the taxi, in less than 5 minutes, we were there. We were all surprised because it was so near that we could have walked! The key I think is to be firm and to let them know that you are aware of how far your destination is, so research, research, and research.

Up next, Central Market.

 

Tampines

February 18, 2010

R.’s flat is conveniently located in Tampines. Tampines East to be exact.

As per Wikipedia:

………..Tampines (or Tampines New Town) is the largest residential area in the city-state of Singapore and is located in the East Region of the main island. The town is so named because in the 1900s a large forest of Tampines trees were located at the present site.

Here are a few shots of the area.

Notice how clean and well maintained the streets and the buildings. There is a small day care center nearby too, and the kids were playing at a small playground at the back of the buildings.

A few more steps and we were at the mall built beside the station. I did tell you that there’s a mall in every station, right?

We went straight to the ticketing office to ask a few questions and to have our money broken into smaller bills. After a few minutes of figuring out how to get tickets from the machine (which is much easier than figuring out how to get rid of blackheads on nose), we’re all set to visit our first stop.

This is me buying tickets. First, you select which station you’re going to. Then, you specify how many tickets you need. Then, the machine will show you how much it costs and will ask you deposit the amount. It then drops the tickets in the lower bin, followed by your change. Their LRT/MRT lines are interconnected so you don’t need to exit just to transfer to another line. I can’t help but compare how easy it is to commute via LRT/MRT in Singapore. So efficient!

Here’s an inside look at their MRT. Notice how spacious it is. And very clean too. The MRT/LRT system is used by a diverse group of diffrent races.

More on my next posts.

travel necessities

February 17, 2010

About a week or two before our trip, with the excitement slowly trickling in, I started gathering as much info about Singapore.

One great travel advice I read and try to follow is that travelers must research as much and as early as they can about the place they are going to. That way, they can plan on how to efficiently maximize their time. Also, they might find great deals for early bookings. This way, they have enough time too to choose the best, and maybe the cheapest, hotel.

Researching about Singapore and how to go around was initially confusing because most of the sites and forums I saw mention street names and LRT/MRT stations like Orchard Road, Joo Koon, Pasir Ris, Tampines, Bugis, etc. I initially thought that we could just hire a cab, give him the address, and off we go. But I read that taking a cab is quite pricey (better save that for buying the best fat burners), which was why many people, even the locals, took the MRT/LRT. Only after familiarizing myself with the MRT/LRT stations did I fully appreciate the tips I saw. Somehow, I was informed on what to expect and how to move around.

After downloading a copy of the MRT/LRT system map, I e-mailed a copy to those coming with us. One tip I got off the Internet was to print a copy of our itinerary, along with flight details, just in case custom officials ask us.

So before leaving for the airport, make sure that you have printed copies (for you and your travel buddies, just in case they forgot and avoid the hassle) of your flights details, your itinerary, and a map (in this case the MRT/LRT system map).

More about Singapore on my next posts.