5-Day 4-Night Free & Easy Travelogue of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (Also a Guide)

5-Day 4-Night Free & Easy Travelogue of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (Also a Guide)

I originally planned a 7-day free trip to Singapore and Malaysia for the 2024 National Day holiday, and started making a guide two months in advance. But because I had to be on duty on the 6th, I shortened it to 5 days.

1. Online searches said that black is a color taboo in Singapore and Malaysia, and pink is disliked. But when we arrived, people wearing black clothes and carrying black bags were everywhere.

2. Singapore is indeed very clean, with clear signage everywhere.

3. In Singapore, as long as they can still work, elderly people still do jobs. At Changi Airport, an 83-year-old man and woman were cleaning the tables, and people in their 60s and 70s were doing security screening guidance.

4. In Kuala Lumpur city center, old houses and modern high-rise buildings coexist. Jalan Alor is very famous but its storefronts are quite shabby and greasy.

5. The main attractions in Kuala Lumpur city center are very concentrated.

Below is a review of the 5-day itinerary (also a guide).

Day 1: Departed from China (Chongqing) and flew for 4.5 hours to arrive at Changi Airport Terminal 1. We didn't have checked luggage for our free trip. From security and customs in China to entering Singapore, we used self-service systems (if unclear, there were people to guide us). We had filled in the electronic arrival card 3 days in advance, so it was very smooth. At Changi Airport T1, we visited "Jewel Changi." Afterward, we asked how to take the MRT to the city center.

We had booked the Bencoolen Hotel. While preparing the guide, we heard about a travel card that works for 3-5 days, so we asked everywhere where to buy it. T1 doesn't have an MRT station. With the kind help of a Singaporean man who spoke Chinese, we took the shuttle train from T1 to T2. Meanwhile, another darker, thinner person said we needed to go to T3 for the MRT. The Chinese-speaking man said going to T3 for the MRT was too far, so he directly led us to the elevator entrance for the MRT at T2. We were very grateful to him. When we went down to the MRT entrance, we asked several people but none spoke Chinese, and their English was hard for me to understand. We walked in circles several times until a staff member who spoke Chinese came. We showed him the hotel we were going to. He said to take the MRT from Changi Airport one stop and then transfer to the Blue Line (we had been looking for the "South Line" according to our understanding). Get off at Bencoolen Station on the Blue Line, and that's it. We asked if there was a card that could be used for 3-5 days. He said no, and asked if we had an MRT card or a Mastercard without a UnionPay logo, as Mastercard can be used directly to tap in and out. We didn't have one, so we had to buy MRT cards. The minimum fare for one card was 10 SGD (including a 5 SGD card fee). We bought two cards (cannot share) costing 20 SGD. We took the MRT one stop to Expo Station and transferred to the Blue Line (we only understood the next day that Singapore's MRT lines are distinguished by color: red, yellow, blue, green, cyan, purple, so the Blue Line is not the "South Line" meaning north-south). From the airport to the hotel, it only cost less than 3 SGD (taking a taxi on Ctrip was about 240 RMB). 1 SGD = 5.5 RMB exchange rate.

Checked in at Bencoolen Hotel. We had booked the room at 860 RMB per day. When we opened the door, a strong unpleasant smell hit us. The window couldn't be opened, so we had to keep the door open to air it out. Looking at the water bottle, it said this hotel was built in 1968, quite old.

It was still early at around 6 PM, so we dropped our luggage and went out to see the sights. Using the Amap app, we searched for "Merlion Park" and it showed a 20-minute walk. Guided by Amap, we arrived near the building with a durian-shaped dome at dusk. Walking further, we saw the famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel as seen online—it was so beautiful! We quickly took photos and various selfies for a while. Continuing forward, we saw a bridge with many people—wasn't that the Merlion? More photos and selfies. To the left, the Singapore Flyer was flashing in different colors. We continued along the riverside, passing various food stalls and cafes. We entered the mall in front of Marina Bay Sands to cool down. Walking to the end, we saw a lively area downstairs—various Singaporean foods. We walked around and finally decided to have dinner there.

After dinner, we went up to the Helix Bridge. Using Amap again to search for our hotel to go back, it said there was no recommended walking route in that area—it had gone on strike. So we walked back in the direction we came from. When we got behind the durian dome, we used Amap again, and it could navigate again!

Day 2: Guided by Amap, we first went to Chinatown, City Hall, the National Museum of Singapore, the Old Hill Street Police Station, Clarke Quay, and finally the Botanic Gardens. Wherever we turned, we could see Marina Bay Sands. To the left of the Old Hill Street Police Station is Clarke Quay, and to the right is the Singapore Civil Defence Force. About 100 meters ahead is the famous Song Fa Bak Kut Teh (we saw a very long queue). The boats at Clarke Quay were all docked, with few tourists. The National Museum of Singapore requires an admission ticket. The Botanic Gardens had great ecology—we saw golden chickens, large turtles, large monitor lizards, and very old plants. We also went to Geylang Durian Street to enjoy durian freely. It's called Durian Street, but actually there are only four street corners each with a stall selling durians, not like a market street in China with many shops lined up. Finally, we checked out Haji Lane. One day's steps: 35,600.

Day 3: After breakfast, we took the MRT to Changi Airport Terminal 4 for a 12:20 flight to Kuala Lumpur, arriving at KLIA at 13:40. We had pre-booked a Ctrip airport transfer service. At 14:30, we got into our private car (112 RMB; checked on Grab, the KLIA Express to the city costs 55 MYR per person, so it's more economical and convenient for a group to book a Ctrip private car). It took 1 hour to reach Holiday Inn Express. The driver mentioned we could go to Jalan Alor for food. After checking in at 16:30, we immediately went to Jalan Alor. Still using Amap, we searched "Jalan Alor"—a 10-minute walk. It started raining along the way. When we reached Jalan Alor, it was pouring heavily. We braved the rain to browse the food street and chose a shop with many diners to sit in. We ordered: "Malaysian Vegetable, Stir-fried Clams with Chili, Stir-fried Fish Fillets with Chili, and Satay (10 sticks)." Of the four dishes, only the Malaysian Vegetable was the most delicious and suited our taste. What is Malaysian Vegetable? It's like a cold mixed water spinach dish.

Day 4: Following the guide's idea of visiting farther places first, we used Grab to book a taxi in the morning (we had asked our driver the day before: Kuala Lumpur has metro and buses, but they are few and hard for foreigners to use, so he suggested using Grab). First, we went to the new Istana Negara, took various photos at the gate. Luckily, we happened to catch the cavalry guard changing of the guard and witnessed the whole process. After that, we took a taxi to the National Mosque (Masjid Negara). Afterward, we didn't take taxis anymore but walked freely. We passed City Park, then saw a large Malaysian flag flying high. We walked over, thinking it might be a government office building. We saw a lawn with many tents set up, thinking it was a night market. We checked Amap and found it was exactly the place we were looking for: "Merdeka Square." The large Malaysian flag flying high is the landmark of Merdeka Square. Across the street is Sultan Abdul Samad Building. After visiting, we navigated to Petaling Street and had lunch at KFC opposite it, drinking plenty of cold drinks. After strolling through Petaling Street, we saw the 118 Tower and decided to go take a look—it was still under construction and not open to the public. We navigated to Kuala Lumpur Tower. There we met fellow travelers from Shapingba. There were two ticket prices: 110 MYR/person for the top, 85 MYR/person for the middle. Finally, we navigated to Petronas Twin Towers. The Petronas Towers truly deserve to be Malaysia's top attraction, 422 meters high. Legend says that the two towers were built simultaneously by teams from Country A and Country B, with Country A finishing 7 days earlier. We wanted to buy tickets to go up, but at the ticket office, we were told all tickets were sold out and to come back tomorrow. We were flying back home tomorrow, so we had to leave it for another time. (In the future, tickets must be booked in advance.)

Day 5: After breakfast, our pre-booked Ctrip private car arrived at the hotel entrance at 8:40 as scheduled. The fare was still 112 RMB (booked on Ctrip, paid on Ctrip). The driver was a woman, also Chinese-speaking, an overseas Chinese. We arrived at KLIA before 10 AM. Our flight was at 12:20, but it was delayed by 50 minutes (whenever there is a transit, be sure to allow enough time for possible delays). We arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 4. Our flight to China was from T1, so we followed the "transfer" signs downstairs. We saw the sign for transfer to T1, T2, T3 and walked over. Staff checked our tickets and passports but said something I didn't understand. I tried to explain but he didn't understand either. He quickly found someone wearing a security vest who communicated in Chinese. It turned out that as foreigners, we could not directly use this transfer route; we needed to go through customs first before transferring. We went through self-service customs smoothly (be sure to fill in the electronic arrival card in advance—transit also requires it). After passing customs, we saw signs for transfer to T1 and T2. Note that T1 and T2 are different buses. However, if time permits, either is fine because T1, T2, and T3 are interconnected, just time-consuming. T4 requires a shuttle bus. One important point: In China, you go through security and customs first, then directly board at the gate. Abroad, it's different—both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur have security checks at the boarding gate, so you need to allow enough time at the gate.

Regarding internet: We used China Mobile phone numbers. Before leaving, we activated international roaming and Global Call. But directly using mobile roaming is very expensive. We bought a 5-day Singapore-Malaysia-Thailand package for 29.9 RMB on the China Mobile app, which includes 10GB of data and 20 minutes of calls. Throughout the 5-day trip, we used the internet constantly—for Amap navigation, WeChat video calls—and only used 7GB of data. The data was not used up.