Asia Archives | Rambling Feet

MariCAR Tokyo: The Insanity of Go-Karting on Public Streets

As our MariCAR convoy gunned up the ramp to Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge, the insanity of the whole operation was not lost on me. The January wind roared in my ears and bit my cheeks, reminding me that I was piloting a pimped-out go-kart on public roads without a helmet. If I crashed, I had only the plush Mario Brothers onesie I was wearing for protection and even that’s not mandatory.

How was it even legal? The more terrifying and bonkers it seems, however, the more it attracts tourists. While I’m not always sold on adrenaline fixes (sky-diving, yes, but not bungy-jumping) – see Japan’s capital in a go-kart? Take my money.

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How to Sleep in Singapore for Free (and Why You Don’t Need To)

I bet you’ve heard that Singapore is expensive, right? It’s true and some of the prices may come as a shock after you’ve toured the rest of Southeast Asia. While you won’t find US$5 beds or US$1 beers, there are ways to keep your spending down. If you’re willing to rough it out, some things can be enjoyed in Singapore for free. You don’t have to do that, though, to spend less than US$50 over two days.

This post is going to lay out a cunning plan for a cheap-and-rough overnight stay; if you want to spend more time in Singapore, you may want to look at my two-week itinerary for ideas.

(As of 1 May 2018, US$1.00 = S$1.33)

Getting in and out of Singapore

There are several ways one might visit Singapore for a short time. For instance, you may want to have a look around the city on a layover without staying overnight, in which case I hope you’re reading this before you book your flights. Changi Airport offers transiting passengers free city tours if they have at least six hours to spare. If you want to do this, check the tour schedule on the website and book your flights accordingly.

If you can’t join the tour and have at least four hours, take a ride on the public bus. Take No. 36 from Terminal 2 or Terminal 4 and sit on the left-hand side. It will take you through the Marine Parade neighbourhood, the city and Orchard Road before looping back to Terminals 3 and 1. Note that it runs only from 6 a.m. to 10.50 p.m.

Exploring on your own or staying overnight? Or taking a one-way flight and a coach to/from Malaysia? Read on.

Sleeping in Singapore for free – is it worthwhile?

Given that a dorm bed is available from as little as S$12 a night in Singapore (yes, I know it’s still more than wherever you stayed on Khao San Road), you have to be really desperate to resort to sleeping rough. You won’t even have to read the next section on public shower facilities.

If you really don’t want to pay for a bed, your options are limited to naps in 24-hour laundromats, McDonald’s and Starbucks outlets and you won’t be lying flat in these places. Order a drink and the staff will be unlikely to make a fuss. You can try Couchsurfing but, in Singapore, your chances of crashing at a stranger’s place are slim.

Willing to take your chances with the weather? While camping on Sentosa is not permitted, if there’s a beach party on a Saturday, it’s not uncommon for people to sleep on the sand until public transport starts running again. You can try blending in – just remember to use insect repellent.

That said, if you have no baggage to claim or check-in and your flight arrives after 11 p.m. or departs before 8 a.m., you can sleep there. The transit side is preferable and there are plenty of rest areas. You can also rest on the land side but you’re more likely to be woken up by security officers on their rounds. They will ask to see a boarding pass too but they’ll be polite about it.

Where to shower for free in Singapore

Unlike in Europe, the public toilets in our malls and MRT stations are mostly free, and even the paid ones in some markets ask for only 20 cents at most. I’m not aware of any hostels or hotels that let non-guests use a shower for a fee; however, there is one place close to the city where you can freshen up for nothing.

You can visit the Singapore Sports Hub (nearest MRT station: Stadium) which has changing rooms that are free, even if you’re not using the facilities. It would be a shame to not go for a swim in the Aquatic Centre (from S$2.60) or float on the lazy river on the roof of Kallang Wave Mall (S$2) when you made the journey, though. While you’ll need only your own towel and toiletries, here’s the catch: the shower stalls are too small to take your bags in without getting wet, and there’s nothing to dry your wet stuff with.

There are free changing rooms and shower stalls on the beaches of Sentosa and East Coast Park too but trust me when I say you don’t want to deal with wet sand.

Cheap luggage storage in Singapore

If you can’t store your luggage at a local friend’s place or wherever you came from, there is only one place in downtown Singapore where you can do so. The InnCrowd hostel (nearest MRT station: Rochor) has a limited number of paid lockers for checked and cabin baggage and they are accessible between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. If it’s full or you’re miserly, you will be taking your stuff everywhere you go in the heat, so pack light. (Note: This is not an advertisement for the said hostel)

This tip is useful only if you’re not staying overnight. Beyond that, a dorm bed becomes more economical.

Free food and drinks

Did you really think I would advise you to buy something before sleeping in Starbucks, then tell you where to eat for free? Meals from hawker stalls are cheap (a couple even have Michelin stars and are still as little as $2.50) but if you’re desperate, it’s easy to find these places on the Internet. The one thing I’ll endorse is drinking the tap water – it’s safe and it’s greener than buying bottled water.

Free sights and getting around

Public transport gets you from the airport to downtown Singapore in as little as 35 minutes but you will need some kind of fare card. You can get either a standard ticket from any MRT station (pay-as-you-use and good for six trips) or a Singapore Tourist Pass from some of them (check the link for locations; unlimited rides for one to three days).

If you arrive via coach, you will probably alight at Golden Mile Tower. Check out this Google Map for walking directions to Nicoll Highway MRT station (five minutes) and Kampung Glam (a further ten minutes). Walks around that neighbourhood, the city, Marina Bay, Chinatown and Little India are free and there are plenty of air-conditioned shops and malls to cool off in. Thinking of that roof-top pool at the Marina Bay Sands? You can’t swim in it without being a guest, though you can share the view by splurging at Spago. Otherwise, there’s the aforementioned Lazy River if you’re skint.

To access the Internet through a free Wireless@SG hotspot, read this page. Make sure you have roaming activated so that you can receive the password via text message. You may even want to download the Wireless@SG app before you arrive.

The cheapest alcoholic drinks are in the convenience stores and supermarkets but sales end at 10.30 p.m. daily – the same time that drinking in places that aren’t pubs becomes illegal. It’s worth remembering when you’re sleeping rough.

What’s the damage?

One night in the cheapest dorm (or storing one large bag for two days): S$12
Six hawker centre meals: S$20
Unlimited public transport rides for two days: S$16 (plus a refundable S$10 deposit)
Access to the web: Free
Total: S$48 (US$36)

There, that’s how you take US$50 to Singapore for two days and have change left over!

No Leave Needed: 36 Hours in Tokyo

If I had the choice, I wouldn’t spend only 36 hours in Tokyo, especially on my first visit to Japan. When you can’t take any other days off on your birthday weekend, however, you deal with what you have. I took a katana to the usual three/seven-day itinerary, slashing ruthlessly until my two days in Tokyo were filled only with things that were meaningful to me.

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A Bagan Temple Route to Follow on Your Own

The weather forecast didn’t look good before I left for Myanmar. I’d booked a hot air balloon flight especially for New Year’s Day but, closer to the date, the chances of rain kept increasing. I hoped I wouldn’t have to activate Plan B and plot a Bagan temple route on a bike in wet weather.

In my dreams, I imagined myself floating in the basket of a hot air balloon over some of Myanmar’s most famous pagodas and stupas as the sun rose. The peace would be interrupted occasionally by the hissing of the burner above, while people below aimed their cameras at us.

I opened my eyes on the morning of my balloon flight, however, and it was pissing down. How could this be, in the middle of the dry season? Check out this article on how the unseasonal rain affected the farmers. Needless to say, the flight was cancelled. If I wanted to see those temples, I had to rent an e-bike and ride there. Bicycles were available and cheaper, but after the pain of cycling around Angkor, I decided against renting them.

The wet, overcast weather meant that there were no pretty skies. However, it also meant that foreign tourists were a tiny minority over the holiday, and the plains didn’t turn into a dustbowl. Hundreds of temples dot the area, thanks to the attempts of Buddhist Myanmese kings to make merit over the centuries, and it would’ve been impossible to see them all. Instead, I picked out the most interesting ones.

Here’s the route that I took, with some modifications and useful information from my art history classes. I’ve included a Google Map at the end.

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A Secret Kuang Si Falls Tip

Kay and I looked out looked around the parking lot at Kuang Si Falls, at the stalls selling snacks and trinkets to tourists like us. Charcoal smoke wafted through the air from skewer-lined grills and frying pans. After exploring Luang Prabang’s most popular attraction, we had a little time on our hands to seek the “secret” part of the falls.

I say “secret” in parentheses because it isn’t one to the locals, such as our guesthouse owner. According to him, the tourists don’t realise that there’s a restaurant right over the falls. If we found it, we would probably be the only foreigners there.

Where would we find it, though? We didn’t even know the name of the restaurant. It would’ve been embarrassing to ask the stallholders about this place but I surmised that it could only be downstream. We followed the road that led out of the parking lot, leaving the chatter behind us.

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Tam Coc: The Alternative to Halong Bay for Tight Schedules

Had I more than one day to explore Northern Vietnam after my work engagements in Hanoi, I would’ve joined the masses in Halong Bay. No matter how beautiful the World Heritage Site was, however, taking an eight-hour round trip to spend four hours on a ship didn’t seem like a good use of my time. Tam Coc came up often in discussions about alternatives to Halong Bay; being less than two hours from Hanoi, it seemed like a sensible pick.

I decided on one of the many organised day trips that also included a visit to the ancient citadel of Hoa Lu and a bicycle ride around the rice paddies. The Ninh Binh region is full of the same limestone formations as those out at sea, but I’ll focus on the river ride in Tam Coc for this post.

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