Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
39
to anywher e in the city for a flat rate of
S$35 (US$23/£16). You can inquire at the
taxi queue or call
&
65/6542-8297.
There's an
airport shuttle,
a coach that
traverses between the airport and all major
hotels. Booking counters at all three termi-
nals are open daily from 6am to midnight.
When you book your trip into to wn, you
can also make an adv ance reservation for
your departure. Pay S$9 (US$6.05/£4.05)
for adults or S$6 (US$4/£2.70) for chil-
dren at Terminal 1,
&
65/6543-1985
;
Terminal 2,
&
65/6546-1646;
or Termi-
nal 3,
&
65/6241-3818.
The
MRT,
S ingapore's sub way system
(see map , inside back co ver), operates to
the airport, linking y ou with the city and
areas bey ond. STB will tell y ou the trip
takes 30 minutes, but r eally, give yourself
at least an hour , because y ou'll need time
to wait for the train to arriv e, then y ou'll
have to transfer trains at Tanah Merah sta-
tion, and if y ou're arriving in Terminal 1,
you'll need to hop on yet another train—a
shuttle between terminals. After you get to
your station in to wn, y ou'll still hav e to
find your way, with your luggage, to y our
hotel. Personally, I think it 's a pain in the
neck, but hey, it costs only about S$2.70
(US$1.80/£1.20) to to wn. Trains operate
roughly from 6am to midnight daily.
A couple of
buses
run from the airport
into the city as well. SBS bus no. 36 is the
best, with an express route to the Historic
District and along Orchard Road. Pick up
the bus in the basement of any terminal.
The trip will take over an hour, and you'll
need to get exact change before you board.
A trip to to
nects Singapore all the way up the M alay
peninsula, with stops in K uala L umpur,
Penang, and even connections to service in
Thailand to B angkok. Train passengers
will stop for immigration at the check-
point at Woodlands, just acr oss the strait
from M alaysia, but will not alight until
they reach the
Singapore Railway Station
on Keppel Road (
&
65/6222-5165
), not
far from Singapore's Shenton Way down-
town financial district.Taxis to most major
hotels will cost under S$10 (US$6.70/
£4.50).
For train information from Kuala Lum-
pur, call
KL S entral
railway station
at
&
603/2267-1200.
I n B angkok, call
the
Hua Lamphong R ailway S tation
at
&
622/223-7010.
By Bus
Buses from Malaysia will drop off passen-
gers at any number of points ar ound the
city, depending on the bus operator—
there is no pr oper inbound bus station.
For bus service from major Malaysian cit-
ies, r efer to bus listings in each section.
Operators will be able to tell y
3
ou wher e
you will be dropped off.
GETTING AROUND
SINGAPORE
The many inexpensive mass transit options
make getting ar ound S ingapore pr etty
easy. O f course, taxis always simplify the
ground transpor tation dilemma. They're
also v ery affor dable and, b y and large,
drivers ar e helpful and honest, if not
downright personable. The
Mass R apid
Transit (MRT) subway ser vice
has lines
that cover the main ar eas of the city and
out to the farther parts of the island. Buses
present more of a challenge because ther e
are so many r outes snaking all o ver the
island, but they 're a gr eat way to see the
country while getting wher e you want to
go.
Of course, if you're just strolling around
the urban limits, many of the sights within
the v arious neighborhoods ar e within
wn will be r
oughly S$2
(US$1.35/90p).
For arriv al and depar ture information,
you can call
Changi I nternational Air-
port
at
&
65/6542-4422.
By Train
While most visitors to S ingapore will
arrive by air, some will come via train from
Malaysia. The Keretapi T anah Melayu
(KTM) operates a rail system that con-
