Logistics Post: Price, Accomodation and Maps

Price;
Money should always be a consideration when making decisions. Here's the breakdown of the total cost spent in the 6 days 6 nights. I have omitted the last day food because we didn't really follow the plan. 

Accomodation for 6 nights:
2 x 133.50 + 87 + 140 + 190 + 164 = 848
Food for 6 days:
10+70+40+10+13+70+4+20+20+6+10+2+40+25+14+80+20+5=459

Activities:
105 (megazip) + 40 (photos) + 130 (USS tickets) = 275

Random snacks and drinks:
20

Total cost = 848 + 459 + 275 + 20 = SGD $1602

Our budget: $1500. And we did it cause we actually have season pass for USS and hence we saved on the tickets :)

It's really expensive to stay in Singapore; costing half of the total price. The food price can actually be much lower if you eat simpler and skip the desserts unless us :P drinks are expensive too. Coffee, beer or soft drinks at restaurants can be avoided to save costs. The activities are also quite expensive. Look for bundles if possible; sometimes Sentosa has packages and cheaper to buy a few items that you're interested in.

Accommodation:

Day 1 and 2:
Keppel bay area Airbnb. Look for Scott. The place is clean, the condo has a kick ass swimming pool with a view! The owner has a cat though if you're allergic to animals. Private lift to the apartment. 5/5

The owner has a super friendly cat! Let him know if you have allergy to cats!

Day 3:
Genting hotel Jurong.
Nice clean place! The most expensive accommodation of the trip. But couldn't find any reliable Airbnb in the area. Burst my front wheel cycling into the carpark. 4/5

Day 4:
Woodlands dahan road Airbnb. Look for Tina. She has many experience with Airbnb and is really a good host with good recommendations of the area. Really spacious and beautiful quiet place to stay. 5/5

Oops no photo was taken but the Airbnb photo is exactly what you get! It's super duper spacious really :)

Day 5:
Rivervale area Airbnb. The host is quite careful but gives you a room with full privacy and many facilities like kitchen and washing machine. Couldn't park my bicycle at the place and had to leave it at the public area. Last minute booking cause the previous host didn't respond. 4/5

This Airbnb is super well equipped even with kitchen and washing machine which we used!

Day 6:
Raintr33 hotel. Quiet little place with a good restaurant to eat nearby. Away from the crowded Changi Village. Clean and spacious. Quite a unique layout of toilet and basin with private balcony. 5/5

Maps:

These are the google maps with intended routes and places of interest that I visited or near the area. The Strava data from each day contains the actual routes taken, it's not too far from the intended routes :)
Read the description for food places and accommodations as well as optional places to visit near the areas.

The first map goes from Bedok to Keppel to Jurong to Woodlands to Punggol.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1Y-JysI04IceMjoJpVf1luMfipaY&ll=1.3586465723898469%2C103.82394969999996&z=11

The map below goes from Punggol to Changi Village to Bedok.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1BHo26p84lcaSTmursZJqn1LrLd4&ll=1.3666440309970724%2C103.9594247&z=12

Day 7

Day 7: Changi Village to Bedok

From the rustic Changi Village to the quiet Changi Beach and along the gruelling tanah mera coast road where we saw racing cars and a field of lalang finally back to East coast past the sailing centre and Bedok camp and corner where you can grab delicious local food :)

Well done. It's done. We're done.

A total distance of 146km from Bedok to Keppel to Jurong to Woodlands to Punggol to Changi Village back to Bedok.

For sure this can be done within a day. I'll probably do the same route soon :)

But the point of this trip was to explore Singapore. When we travel, we visit places of interest and take photos. During these 7 days we did exactly that. We enjoyed east coast park, kallang riverside park, the sports hub, esplanade, a whole day at Sentosa, USS, 4D Adventureland, Megazip, romantic dinner at the beach, Mount Faber, Tree top walk, hort park, Kent Ridge park, West coast park, JEM, Chinese garden, Yuan Ching Road, rail corridor, Woodlands waterfront park, Sembawang hotspring, Yishun Dam, Seletar airport and bicycle cafe, Punggol waterway park, Punggol settlement and waterfront, Pasir Ris park, Changi Village and back to East coast park.

I'm pretty sure a normal 7d6n tour in Singapore can't cover the 25 places I just listed.. Lol

Home Sweet Home!

Day 7: Food

We had breakfast in hotel on day 7 which was included in the price then lunch was back to our usual habits. 

The original intention of Simpang Bedok lunch and 85 market dinner would have cost around $20 for 2 persons with drinks and 1 dish each depends on what you order.
*Both of these places are super popular with the locals and have delicious local food. Simpang Bedok sometimes get tourist but 85 market doesn't get much attention but is flooded with locals.

Day 7: Strava Data from Changi Village to Bedok

Cycling in the east is a ultra breeze compared to the West and North. I did not once use my smallest front chainring or had to push my bicycle.. Lol..

https://www.strava.com/activities/1028991026

Day 6

Day 6: from Punggol to Changi Village

The days are getting shorter. We are running out of the energy. The zombies are... Sorry wrong story.
But we're seriously worn out from waking up early to beat the Sun, cycling from point to point using weird pavements instead of roads, cycling under the Sun, having to navigate unfamiliar roads and then adjusting to a new place to sleep at night. It's been quite fun but tiring! I can't imagine doing the 100km x 10 days tour de Taiwan..

Anyways, today was great! We saw our future house, my wife's future workplace, a view of the beautiful Punggol neighbourhood, Pasir Ris, then the Loyang temple before reaching our rustic accommodation destination.

Day 6: food

Breakfast @ Long John Silver's in Rivervale mall.
($14) for 2 sets of sandwiches. If you're in Southeast Asia you need to drink Milo! It's this chocolate drink that we drink in our childhood night time before sleeping.

Lunch @ Coastal settlement along the Netheravon Road.
The decorations are beautiful and the location is away from the bustling crowd of Changi Village.
($80) for 1 mushroom pasta, 1 beef rendang, 1 peanut milk shake, 1 pint of lager, 1 waffle stacks. The food is delicious!

Dinner @ chock full of beans.
Must visit for their latte art! Those with * have the option of requesting for 3D art. The default ones are pretty cute :) my wife says the food is quality too!
($40) for 2 iced lattes, 1 pasta and 1 tiramisu.
Extra food @ Changi Village.
Lots of local fare here. The Nasi Lemak, Ayam penyet and chicken chop hor fun is all quite good! Which stall to buy from? Singaporeans love to join queues. Just join the longest queue :)
($5) for 1 packet of Nasi Lemak with chicken wing and 1 cup of coconut drink.

Day 6: Strava data from Punggol to Changi Village.
Smooth cycling with well connected paths compared to the North or West. The area near the punggol marina club is under construction.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1027707984

Day 5

Day 5: from Woodlands to Punggol

Who knew Woodlands had such a nice waterfront park? You can see JB from there.
Sembawang hot spring. No place to park and right beside an army camp. Lots of locals there enjoying the hot spring water!
Yishun dam! Such a magnificent view! You can see from the water body stretch out end to end in front you! But too bad it's also quite inaccessible too.
Seletar airport. I'm sure it won't win any award but still looks cool lol.
The cafe for lunch is a must-visit to see all the retro bicycles! There's even an issue of cycling magazine from 2001

Day 5: food

Breakfast Sembawang Hot Spring
Enjoyed the hot spring water on our aching legs while waiting for the eggs to boil. Lots of containers there to use. We brought our own small one and left it there :)
($2) for 10 eggs. We had 2 each and gave away the rest while receiving the valuable advice of boiling it for 45mins to become hard boiled. We boiled for about 20+mins and ate it softboiled the way we like it!

Lunch Seok Seng 1954 Bicycle Cafe near seletar airport
A must visit for any cyclist! Beautifully decorated cafe with retro fitted bicycles and above average food with food value. Doesn't seem out of place if you're riding there at all :)
($40) for 3 drinks, 1 katsu don rice, 1 cheese fries, 2 slices of cake (very nice)
Saw many other people eating their Western food and fried rice! Will try those when I go back again.

Dinner @ nihon mura express in Rivervale mall.
The idea of moving sushi belt with very cheap price was introduced a few year ago and caught on in Singapore like wildfire. Sure beats Sakae sushi, the local sushi shop.
($25) for 13 plates of assorted sushi. Pick what you like, there's something for everyone! I personally like the salmon fish head and ice cream along with the other yummy stuff here

Day 5: Strava data from Woodlands to Punggol.

This is a relatively easy ride compared to what we did the past few days. Gentle upslopes and no staircases or surprises waiting for us :)
In fact there's quite a bit of downslope so be exercise caution and be careful when riding! I may have to change my brake pads after this trip lol.
There is unrecorded riding:
1. We went to woodlands waterfront park without our bags and took a few photos and enjoyed the place before returning to the accommodation and setting off.
2. I only remembered to turn on Strava a bit into the riding. But it's all riding on PCN so just make the connection from day 5 accommodation to where the Strava starts

https://www.strava.com/activities/1026262863

Day 4

Day 4: from Jurong to Woodlands

Went to Chinese garden, turtle museum, yuan ching road, went past Bukit Batok, Marsling and finally at republic polytechnic before reaching the accommodation place.
Don't hope to cycle on pavement on Woodlands road. Saw quite a few people happily cycling on the road with roaring heavy vehicles O.o

Day 4: food

Breakfast in hotel.
Quite a spread of food offered. From cereal to yogurt to rice to bread to eggs and others. Had some combination of stuff.
($30?) Price was included in the accommodation but saw add on price of about $15? per pax..

Lunch @ crowded bowl in republic polytechnic.
Saw a few foodie blogs that recommended this place. There were at least 3 food courts available for eating.
($6+) for 2 bowls of yummy fusion vegetarian food. I had salad, cherry tomatoes, pasta, crispy thing and sesame sauce. Super tasty served by friendly auntie!

Dinner @ kofu in woodlands mart.
There was quite a few dormitory around the area serving Indian food but we chose to go to a local brand food court. There was a famous chain of duck rice, noodles and other food stuff served there.
($10+) for 1 vegetarian mixed noodle with 3 veggies and 1 san lou hor fun. It's basically white noodles stir fry with fish slices. Typical hor fun are black, big, flat noodles.

Day 4: Strava data from Jurong to Woodlands.

It's mostly smooth riding until Woodlands road where there's no PCN or pavement for about 1km? There's also a long upslope after Kranji MRT.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1024803153

Day 3

Day 3: Keppel to Jurong

Went to mount Faber, Henderson waves, tree top walk, hort park, Kent Ridge park, West coast park! It's a day full of parks! Lots of green in Singapore for those who wants to see it. Saw squirrels, eagle, huge ants and lots of trees!

Pushing the bicycle up Mount Faber. Super painful -_-"

Day 3: food
Breakfast @ telok blangah rise. Original plan was to eat at the food centre but it was closed for renovation until end June 2017. 
($4) for 6 red bean buns, 1 milk tea and 1 packet of milk. From the nearby convenience store aka locally as mama shop.

Lunch @ Spinelli coffee in Synergy building.
We loved to visit this chain of coffee place when we were university students. My wife loves their drink: cookie spin. They have really weird outlet locations.
($20) for 1 pasta, 1 tuna sandwich, 1 cookie spin and 1 iced chocolate.

Dinner @ food republic in Westgate.
This chain of food court has many famous local food stalls concentrated into one place. The downside; the food usually ain't as good as the original. But it still gives you the many flavours of Singapore at once! I saw minced meat noodle, Indian food and Mini wok Zhi Char for those interested in local fare but non-authentic ambience. You have to eat Zhi char(stir fry) at the coffee shop man.
($20) for 1 Korean mixed rice, 1 Korean saba fish, 2 milk tea. Korean food is recently popular in Singapore :)

*Optional food for supper is found in the Google map link provided later. There's prata and curry puff

Day 3 Strava data: from keppel to jurong.
Don't go up Mount Faber and kent ridge park in the same way unless you want to push the bicycle up many many steps!
Otherwise it's beautiful cycling!
https://www.strava.com/activities/1023308043

Tips for day 3:
1. Bring and drink lots of water! Luckily we brought 2 extra bottles of 100 plus and drank it all!
2. Avoid planning going uphill to the same parks if you don't want to push the bicycle up some unavoidable steps.. and please descend carefully.. The roads down are quite steep and one merged with a main road and we had to brake quite hard!
3. Always be ready for unexpected punctures! Make sure you know how to replace your own inner tubes.. Had 2 punctures within a day and had to use all my spares >.<" the basic puncture kit would require 2 tire levers, inner tube and 1 mini pump.. and practice at home if possible! You can buy more inner tubes from bicycle shops here.. The prices start from $7 to$ 12 depending on where you go! Just Google togoparts bicycle shop listing and you'll be able to find one near you!