How to Explore Singapore in Cheap – The full proof Planning and Analysis

Hi Folks,

  I thought of adding another post to my Singapore series blogs where I would like to share the planning sheet that helped me plan the entire trip and the analysis on the expenses incurred in Singapore,

This is a series of blogs where I am trying to let people know about some tips and tricks to visit Singapore that are not available on internet,

Prior to this one,

1. Flight Booking

2. Before Travel

3. Day 1

4. Attraction Cheat Codes

I would like to share the a google sheet that I created that helped me throughout the trip and if you are a planning freak like me then you would really appreciate this.

Here is the link to the sheet, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rJ2YZJhNQvPB6AONj5cbroBjNocBlyhlu0pWf0btHkE/edit?usp=sharing

Create a copy of it and save it in your own google drive, modify it and use it as per your own suitability.

This sheet has following features,

1. It has list of all the possible things you need to do (Expense wise), right from Visa photo till return taxi to home.

2. I have divided the sheet into 3 sections, Before Travel, in Singapore, Extras and Optional (In my case it’s now couldn’t do it).

3. I have left most of the activities as it is with the cost, this can work for you as a checklist in terms of travel and attraction planning.

4. This is a smart sheet and gives you automated updated results based on your expense inputs.

5. You can enter expenses in Indian rupees and Singapore dollar. The sheet automatically color codes the expense separately.

6. The sheet has a section where Singapore Dollar FX rate is updated automatically in realtime, this is fed into all the SGD expenses. This gives you the total trip cost in INR in realtime with current FX rates.

7. The sheet also has a section where you can mark an activity done, that will make the activity paint color black with white font, this really helps in seeing what else is pending.

Please use it and modify it use it even if you are travelling different country with different set of currency, that would require some change but if you know little bit of excel then you can figure that out pretty easily.

Now let me show you some Analysis on expenses occurred with me in Singapore,

Travel – 35% of my total expense on travel, of course the flight ticket was the major contributor to that,

Food – Food was just 10% of the total trip expenditure and it was interesting to see that we spent almost equal amount of money on meals and juices and drinks !!

Overall – Overall I feel it was a good trip with balanced funds spent on each activity. As I said earlier, I could have saved little bit on Hotel but I didn’t want to compromise because we had a small kid with us.

Write to me at ankkkit@hotmail.com if you need some more info that you would like to know.

How to Explore Singapore in Cheap–Before Travel

This is a series of blogs where I am trying to let people know about some tips and tricks to visit Singapore that are not available on internet,

Prior to this one,

1. Flight Booking
   Next is Things to do before Travel,

1. Room Booking – People would say that Singapore is so small and public transport is so good that it virtually doesn’t matter where you are staying which may be true but what if you just don’t want to get into the hassle of catching a public transport to do any and everything ? What if you could just go out of your hotel and start shopping or enjoy the Singaporean Delicacies? It would save loads and loads of energy.

a. So my tip here is to get you hotel booking around major shopping streets or the area that you are more fascinated with, Bugis ? Chinatown ? take a pick. I had a 3 year old daughter for whom we had to look for a proper Indian food every morning, there was one right next to our hotel and one major daily task tackled in a breeze. I stayed at Summer View Hotel, It was comparatively expensive due to its location but it was worth it.
b. Save money and do not go for a fancy hotels, you have zillion things to do in Singapore and you will come back to hotel just to sleep. My hotel didn’t have swimming pool and my room didn’t have a window, did it matter ? No, because after getting exhausted from all day outing, you just need a cold shower and a fluffy bed…. may be a chilled beer as well before the bed.

Use Booking.com to book the tickets, it really gives you a vast variety of hotels and you get to choose between non-refundable or refundable bookings, of course refundable bookings come with premium price but affordable.

2. Visa Photos – There is a slightly different requirement than regular passport size pictures, so include minor expense this in your overheads.

3. Visa – You need confirmed return air ticket and hotel bookings to apply for this and this can be applied 30 days before travel date only.

a. Apparently you can get the visa done on your own but I could not find on net, if you can then well and good as it’s going to cost you just $30.
b. If someone you know in Singapore who has PR, they can apply for you.
c. I took help from a travel an agent (Eastern Travel Needz – Facebook, Google, Call/Whatsapp - +919880782160) who got it done for me in a week for ₹2450 rupees per person, very comfortable experience.

4. Travel Insurance – You can get this done directly from any firm, Reliance, New India, etc. usually its going to cost around ₹600 per person, child till 12 years is not applicable.

5. Planning – This is the core part and there is no end of what all you want to do in Singapore, I would say that I covered probably all important attractions but that might come up to just 30% of what all is out there. So plan well and plan smart, you don’t want to overwhelm yourself and keep a plan that has buffer so that you don’t get stressed out if you want to take an unplanned break in the middle of the trip which we had to take due to exhaustion.

a. Attractions – I will not list down what all you can see in Singapore, go look on internet and you will find zillion of references, so go ahead and make a day wise plan, in next few blogs I will try to show you how did I plan and give you an estimate of how much time would one activity typically take.

b. Day-wise planning – Very important, plan your days so that you have some control over your limited trip. You can always move things around but without plan you will lose time and opportunity. Here’s list of what I planned for, didn’t plan for and what I could and couldn’t cover.

c. Luggage Essentials
i. Food – Pack lots of snacks, they were very useful when there was nothing available to eat. We packed a rice cooker and some rice that was really useful for lunch packing for kid. Beware that you will not get normal curd anywhere in Singapore, we tried a lot and all you get is sweet yoghurt or extreme sour curd from Indian restaurants.
ii. Clothes – Pack 1 top for each day and bottom can be repeated maybe once, that really worked out if you are not interested in getting your clothes washed, which is possible for some really interesting prices, I think minimum was 20 SGD for 4 KGs, which is roughly ₹1000.

d. Currency for Travel – I contacted a friend who had a friend at Singapore, took all SGD from him and later transferred him in Indian rupees, I saved at least ₹3000 with this but if not then you can find out from different people, who is giving the best rates, usually it will be travel agents.

e. Roaming – If you don’t mind paying huge bill then go ahead and get the roaming activated, in fact AIRTEL’s new plan is quite good, ₹1200 for 10 days and you get international incoming free. Else buy a local sim card once you reach Singapore. Or, almost all the hotels provide a mobile phone for your disposal till you are staying with them, you can use it for finding routes, make local calls and in our case calling to India was FREE !! Strangely It did not have incoming call or SMS enabled, hence there was issue in booking Uber or Grab. I would recommend buying a sim card for $15.

Write to me at ankkkit@hotmail.com if you need some more info that you would like to know.

The Wine delight

Friday afternoon, a working day but you have taken a day off from your chaotic office timetable to celebrate your birthday in peace. On one hand you have enchanting garden-fresh barbecued skewered vegetables and on other a glass filled with Heritage Cabernet Red Wine; perhaps a finest selection of an Indian Origin wine.

 

I am talking about the Heritage Winery located on Mysore Road. On Mysore – Bangalore highway you will encounter an uninterrupted display of red boards guaranteeing throughout the journey that you do not miss the turn to this estate

Just near Kadambam Hotel you will find a series of red boards indicating you to take left but don’t take a blind left as you might end up in a pit (Trust me there was one when this blog was written). Go a little ahead and then take your turn. It’s still 4 km inside; road is are great only till halfway; later half; not so much; still better than current Bangalore roads. Once you pass through flower farms; you will reach the entrance to Heritage Winery. They have done one hell of a job in showing the directions.

 

Once you are in, you will be asked if you would like to have a winery tour which includes an attention-grabbing video on wines, a wine factory excursion and 4-5 samples of wine for tasting. All this comes at a fee of 150/per person. Personally I did not find it worth for the money because the tour was ordinary; the point is that a factory visit cannot be an exceptional one unless it’s Charlie and his chocolate factory. 150 bucks in my opinion is for 4-5 samples you get to taste at the end of the tour. But this place is not only about wine tour; even if you do not go for the tour; you can still enjoy the Epulo Restaurant that serve fresh food with noble home brewed wine.

Above Menu Courtesy, Zomoto.com

The place is located 4 km inside the main highway surrounded with farmsteads and that gives the place a resort kind mood over other places. Here you can talk for hours, enjoy food and drink wine in tranquil countryside.

They claim that they do not keep things prepared but cook from scratch, hence anticipate a delay of up to 30 minutes which is worth. Since it’s surrounded by farms; you get a fresh flavour in the cooking.

 

Overall experience was not bad at all, with wine tour for 2, a three course meal and 3 bottle wine for home concluded with just 1300 bucks, which is quite economical considering prices at restaurants in Bangalore. But having said that, this is not a resort; we were told that they are forecasting a resort here and sadly; after that this place also will become swarming

My Report Card for The Heritage Winery based on my only visit,

Price – 8/10

Taste – 9/10

Service – 7/10

Ambience – 8/10

Value for money – 8/10

Will I go back – Of course

Caffe Pascucci where you get Wood Fire Pizza

Pizza Pizza Pizza, everyone loves Pizza and that’s why there are now zillion of pizza factories offering numerous pizza selections from thin crust to stuffed crust etc. Opportunities are many and yet the true flavour needs to be discovered. There is barely any pizzeria that is serving a pizza worth your money. If it’s inexpensive it’s no good and if it’s good then it’s overpriced !!

And there is yet another pizzeria called “Caffe Pascucci”. The name is “Caffe Pascucci” but the board on main road reads “Wood Fire Pizza”. It would appear that one single place has 2 names !!

Address:- 690/8, 14th Main, 15th Cross, 2nd Phase, JP Nagar, Bangalore

So they serve wood Fire Pizza, Do you care where they make their pizza ? Do you even know what the difference ? What is the difference between the pizza that is served here or Pizza hut or Dominos or Pizza Corner ?? None

I and my wife went in here at around 9 pm Saturday night and astonishingly place was jam packed. This gave us optimism that this is a sign of a great place to get some remarkable pizzas. We were seated down inside the enclosed area (By the way, you can opt to sit out in open or inside). The attendant came to our assistance without ado. The prices looked on a higher side but once you have eaten pizzas in Dominos, Pizza Hut or Pizza Corner then what’s an expensive Pizza

We ordered 3 courses,

1. Cream of Mushroom Soup 1 by 2

2. Garlic Bread

3. Grilled Zucchini Pizza

The prices are absolutely lesser then big and old Pizza trademarks but more than price one has to serve respectable quality food and provide upright service if they want to run their business for long.

Well it looked like that this café/restaurant has got fame in a very less time and now want to attend to each and every customer as they arrive. Basically this restaurant does not want any customer to go away just because there wasn’t any table available. If they do not have place for new customers; they make sure that customers who are currently dining, must eat fast, pay and LEAVE.

If you see what we ordered, was fundamentally a 3 course meal and ANY restaurant in world would serve you in order 1, 2 & 3. But service here is FAST, it was so fast that they served us 1-2-3 at the same time !!! In below pic you can actually see the soup bowl with SOUP in it !!

I had a hard day and wasn’t in mood to argue but this did not happen only with me. It was happening almost with everyone and frequently pizzas were going back because typically main course is eaten after appetizer. This was the first time I was having my main course along with my Soup . Even while eating as soon as I took last spoon of soup the soup bowl was gone before I sipped it !! Just because there were few people waiting outside !!

That was about service, now let’s come to the food,

1. Cream of Mushroom was just scrumptious. The measure of half soup was even more then solo portions at many places.

2. Garlic bread was awful; it was stone-cold, looked butchered with uneven slices and no hint of any garlic whatsoever.

3. Roasted Zucchini pizza was excellent and delicious.

For some strange reason they don’t serve any soft drinks which all big Pizza brands have made our habit. As an alternative you can go for array of beverages. A regular Liquid refreshment is priced almost identical as an average Pizza here!!

Overall it wasn’t a bad place to pizza at all but it’s not the place for heavy eaters because a single pizza won’t be enough for 1 as it is in pizza hut. This place is about flavour and it has got that. But I know a place that serve exactly the same pizza at somewhat lower amount or maybe same price but I guess Pizza is larger in size; just half a mile away from this place; Pizza stop.

I might not come back to Café Pascucci again just because of its service and little pricey affair when I know I am getting same thing for a lesser price nearby.

My Report Card for Café Pascucci (JP Nagar) based on my only visit,

Price – 6/10

Taste – 8/10

Service – 5/10

Ambience – 6/10

Value for money – 7/10

Will I go back – Sure if Pizza Stop is closed?

Vidhyarthi Bhavan :- A Legacy

It’s said that if you are in Bangalore and haven’t had Vidhyarthi Bhavan Masala Dose then there was no significance in visiting Bangalore. Vidhyarthi Bhavan perhaps is the most ancient restaurant that serves mind-blowing dosas. They have other stuff too but masala dose is the most well-known order here. Vidhyarthi bhavan is located in Gandhi Bazaar,

Its famous for its breakfast but when you go here have slight endurance because you will have to be in a queue to get in. People just pour in from each direction to have breakfast here.

The operational timings here are,

As soon as you get here; get your name written to the attendant outside the restaurant gates taking names to get people inside in orderly fashion. Once you are in then you will appreciate the oldness (It has been renovated but still has looks from the past) of the place and if I am not incorrect; few people in staff too are as old as the restaurant.

When you get in; you can ask for innumerable varieties of dishes but don’t forget to order masala dosa right away because waitron may give you a bad glare if you don’t order one (Just kidding; I have never tried that but that can happen I guess). Khara bhat, Kesri bhat and tea are ordinary but Vada, poori and Coffee are good

and unquestionably masala dose are simply the crispiest dosas you will find anywhere ; except of course at Davangere Benne dose opposite to the Sarakki bus stop,

Don’t get terrified by the manner Dosas are served here, they are professionals and please do not try this at home,

After dosa is served; wait for some time because a server would come to aid you with chutney.

It’s a legendary place, very crowded and yet very small hence don’t get perturb if a family stands next to your table waiting for you to get up as soon as you are done so that they can grab the seat. Such sights are traditional here.

My report Card for ‘Vidhyarthi Bhavan’ is

Price – 8/10

Taste – 8/10 (Only for Dosa)

Service – 10/10

Ambience – 4/10

Value for money – 8/10 (Again, Only for Dosa)

Will I go back – Sure why not

Food Street aka Thindi Beedi

 

Food Food food, who does not love food and when it comes to road side food the lure of hunger skews up exponentially. But it is very much necessary to know where to get hygienic, appetizing and economical street food. In India the rudimentary problem is hygiene and a careless attitude towards it which sometimes takes a toll on our health. Well no worries, I have got just a right place for you where you can get all kind of street food from Idly to Dosa and from Pakodas (Bhajjis) to Chinese. It’s called Thindi Beedi aka Food street.

Thindi beedi is located in VV Puram,

There is everything here for all ages from kids to elders but you might not find great deal of north Indian food but there is lots more to explore.

The street starts from VB Bakery, perhaps the finest and the oldest bakery known in Bangalore.

Tip:- You might wanna tour the street first, eat everything and then enter here to shop so that you need not have any distractions while eating.

Thindi street is full of eateries and most delightful food you could ever fancy. The food here cannot be labelled cheap but it’s certainly not expensive.

Tip:- Take a dry tour of the boulevard and then choose on the list of options because there lots to eat but certainly you cannot have all .

Here are the few legendary food here,

 

At Shivanna Gulkhan centre you get 2 exclusive deals,

1. Exotic fruits + Gulkand + Ice-cream = Mind-blowing Combo

2. Masala Pepsi

for some strange reason people tend to have printed the wrong spellings all over the street on their shop boards but nothing could beat the following, 

Food street is a strictly veg foodie’s nirvana, so just go there and freak out on the food coz the place is a delight by the evening progresses as the crowd builds up,