Traveling with Antoine and Chloe

Students discuss their travel experiences in Singapore, highlighting its convenience as a central hub in Southeast Asia. They mention the efficient and cheap public transport system as well as the cultural diversity and English language proficiency. Must-visit attractions include Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Night Safari. They also mention hidden gems like Timber Plus and Marina Parade. Unique cultural experiences include visiting food courts and celebrating Diwali in Little India. They discuss local customs and etiquette, such as understanding different types of coffee and navigating the wide variety of food options. The students recommend asking locals for guidance. Nearby destinations for short getaways include Langkawi and Bintan Island. They recommend using sites like Trip.com to find travel deals. Singapore is considered safe, and students don't need to worry about walking at night or losing belongings. They also emphasize how difficult it is to get lost in Singapore due to Hello and welcome to ESSEC APAC's Guide to Living in Singapore. I'm your host, Joey Escobedo, and on today's episode, we'll be talking about traveling in and around Singapore. Joining me are two ESSEC master's students, Antoine and Chloe. Thanks so much for being on the show. Hello, Joe. Hi, Joe. So maybe we kick it off and find out a little bit more about your overall travel experience in Singapore as an international student. Okay. To me, I think it's very convenient because in Singapore, you know, you're quite central in Southeast Asia, so it's super easy to get around, to go to any country in Southeast Asia, but also like to North Asia. And in Singapore, I would say public transport is the main transport I use because it's super efficient, it's cheap, and I can go wherever I want. I would say, so Singapore is like a big cultural melting pot, so it's very convenient because the main language is English and you wouldn't have any difficulties when you're traveling in Singapore because you will have a very clear guide written in the languages you understand. Also it's very nice because it makes all kinds of culture from Southeast Asia. That is very helpful. I'm curious, presumably you've been traveling around Singapore, what are the must-visit attractions for international students? Antoine, can you kick it off? Sure. So to me, there's a lot, but I would say mainly, to me, it was MBS because all around MBS, it's so like unique, like all these flagship boats, like it's so like wonderful and all the shops inside, it's like super luxury, super magnificent to see and observe, and like the view on the Marina Bay is like so delightful. So to me, it was such an experience coming from the countryside, like when you arrive here, like it's a totally different side. So yeah, I definitely loved it. For those who aren't familiar, MBS stands for Marina Bay Sands. To me, it's Singapore Night Safari. I went there with people from my class, and it's super interesting because for most of the animals that you will see on the safari bus, there will be no, the animal won't be in the cage. So basically, you will see the animal in a very close distance, which I don't think you can experience that in other groups, and especially it's during the night. So it kind of adds more spice into the whole experience. Absolutely, it's something very unique about Singapore, it has one of the top ranked zoos in the world, and the night safari, like you said, is an experience unlike any other. I'm curious, both of those places are relatively known. I'm curious, are there any hidden gems or lesser known places that students should be aware of? I think of one, but I forgot the name, the food court that is super close to White North. Timber Plus. Timber Plus. Timber, yeah, Timber Plus. Yeah, I would say Timber Plus because it would be a really nice spot for ESSEC students, especially if you have a really late class and you want to chill out, you want to have good food, good live music, you just go to Timber Plus and enjoy yourself. Great. Antoine? Okay, so for me, it would be Marina Parade because this is a place where to me, it's such a long walk where you can admire all the sea, all the boats, and it's like walking to the beach. It's super long, super convenient, and I think it's like being on the highway, but you have a city near to it, but it's like you're on the beach. You get a nice overview of the sunset. Also, you can admire the sea from a distance, so I think it's very relaxing to me. Awesome, I'll go check that out. Chloe, you mentioned earlier that Singapore is a cultural melting pot. I'm curious if either of you have had any unique cultural experiences while in Singapore. Maybe. To me, something very different, something very unique I encounter in Singapore in terms of cultural differences, I would say is related to food court because it's not common in Europe to have all these places where you can get some food and eat in the sort of common tables where you share with people. So to me, it was such an experience because you discover so many different types of food from different cultures, and you can always speak, and with your friends, you can gather and explore different types of food, like different cultures. So I would say it's very unique, and to me, it was a real cultural difference because we don't have that in Europe, and it's not common to go to a food court, I would say, because it doesn't exist, so yeah. Very interesting. Chloe, how about you? To me, it's celebrating Diwali at Little India. So I went to Little India with my friend and one of the Indians. So basically, during our whole visiting, you will have your friend explaining the background of the Diwali festival, and you can also see the huge table in Little India and visit different Indian restaurants. So basically, it's a good experience to me. And it's really unique because I never visited that in China or United States before. Antoine, have you had a chance to experience any unique events or festivals while in Singapore? Sure, a lot, I would say. Because I arrived in August, I had the chance to first explore Mid-Autumn Festival, which was super great, and I experienced the mooncake, which is a dessert in Chinese traditions. Obviously, there was Diwali, which was my first Diwali in my life, and also Chinese New Year, but also my first Chinese New Year. And lastly, we had Ramadan, which I think it's cultural, it's part of Singapore. So I would say I had the chance to experience major events of cultural aspect of Singapore. Great. Now, it sounds like some of the experiences you had overseas were a little bit different. I'm curious, were there any local customs or etiquette tips that students in Singapore need to be aware of? Because there is a joke in my class. So basically, one of our friends went to Yakult toast, and he said he wanted latte. So yeah, maybe, I think it's pretty famous, but you can, before visiting any local Singaporean coffee shop, you might want to understand the difference between the Kopi O, Kopi C, and then you order it. That would be, I think, pretty local etiquette. And to me, I would say it's to understand all the different dishes you can find, for example, in the food court or in the food places, because there are thousands and thousands. And as a European, you would never travel to an Asian country, so you don't know the different dishes. So basically, when you go to a food court, you don't know where to order, where to choose a cookie, because there are so many options, you don't know what to take. It's quite overwhelming, but that's why you need some guidance from locals to guide you to know, OK, you can take that, you can take that, because to me, I encountered to eat some vegetables. It was good, but super spicy. I literally had to blow my nose. So it can be depending if you can tolerate the spice. If you're European, for example, you need some good guidance, because Asian food is very spicy. Indian, Malay food, Chinese, everything is spicy, so be careful. Yeah, that's good advice. When in doubt, always ask a local. They'll help guide you in terms of your food journeys. Now, so far, we talked about Singapore, but Singapore is very conveniently located near Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bali, and so on. What is your favorite destination, just for a short getaway near Singapore? For now, my favorite one will be Langkawi. It's a Malaysian island and very close to Singapore. I think around one hour or two hour flight. It's very quiet. It's like Bali, where you can enjoy all the beaches and different geological features in the island. And you will also have the beautiful sunset. But however, it's very quiet. It's not like Bali that highly commercialized. So for me, my favorite one will be Langkawi. And how do you get there? You said it was a one or two hour flight away? Yes. Okay, great. Antoine, how about you? To me, I would say we go to Bintan Island, because it's very, very near. I think it's like one hour, very short to get there. And it's like, you know, you just take a step back from the city, from the old working environment of Singapore. You can enjoy the nature, the quiet, all the peacefulness of the island. So yeah, it's very convenient to get there. You can stay like for the entire weekend, which is really good. And it's like, yeah, traveling very conveniently around Singapore. And there's lots of budget airlines nearby. There's Scoot, we were talking about earlier. Are there any specific sites that you guys use to find different travel deals around the region? For me, I use a Chinese one called Trip.com. To me, I used Trip.com once, but usually I refer like to airline companies' websites. So we talked about how safe Singapore is. Are there any aspects that students don't necessarily need to worry about when in Singapore because it is safe and the laws are so well governed here? Firstly, I think if you have scheduled some night activity with your friends, you don't have to worry about like walking around the street in Singapore like you do in other specific countries. Like you don't have to worry that at all. And also if you lost something in Singapore, I think Singaporeans are very sufficient in like handling lost and found items to the police station or in the MTR. So these are the two things I think you don't have to worry about. And to me, I would say that something that you won't worry about is to get lost in Singapore because Singapore is such a convenient place, convenient city. Like you have public transport everywhere. You have signs everywhere. I think it's impossible to get lost. Singapore is quite small, but when traveling, you realize how big it can be if you really want to explore outside the main sights of Singapore. So I would say that you won't get lost because it's impossible to get lost in Singapore because it's convenient and everything is super connected. You have signs and people can help you in. Yes. And the great thing about Singapore is it's very convenient. Like I said, you're very close to any MRT station at any point. So you just hop on and find your way home. Now, so far we've talked about the MRT, which are the train stations here in Singapore. How about other public transportation like buses, taxis? How do you guys generally get around? To me, I mainly use MRT to go to school or naturally to go to work. But sometimes I like to take a bus in the morning or like going back home because when you take a bus, like you can see the outside. So you get a better view of the city. You get like, you know, it's like looking at the city. And I think it's more peaceful than taking the MRT. Yeah, I like taking MRT and buses both. But sometimes if I'm really rushing to do, rushing for an event or activity, I would probably skip buses because the schedule might not be that predictable. So I would rather like rush to MRT on my bare feet. Yeah. Do you guys use any of the ride hailing apps like Grab, Gojek, Copadelco? Yeah. Yeah. To me, I use Grab. Like if I need to, usually I use it. However, I'm in a rush, like as Chloe said, like if you're in a rush, you can also like use Grab, which is very convenient. Like one day, I spilled some coffee on my pants like at Yahoo! And I had to have a presentation and I had to come back home. I grab and then come back to the school. So it was a very stressful day. But Grab saved my life during that day. But like if you want to, I don't know if you have to go out during the night. And because public transport stops at midnight something, I think. And then you think Grab is like your best friend if you want to come back home. I think Grab should definitely have you as their spokesperson. It sounds like you had a great experience so far. Chloe, how about you? Except from Grab, GoJag, and men's transport, there is another app that I would recommend. It's CDGZik. C-D-G and Z-I-G. Zik. So that is the last option if I run out of Grab and GoJag. So yeah. I'm curious. Do you guys ever take part of any of the bike sharing or car sharing options here in Singapore? Oh, yes. Especially if you find out that, okay, right now if I take a Grab back to my house, it took like 30 Singapore dollars. Okay, I'll take a bike. And to me, I've never used it. It never came to my mind that also I know how to ride a bike in Singapore. Yeah, it's super hot. And the app name, like the app for sharing bike will be Anywheel. Like A-N-Y and Anywheel. Yeah. Anywheel. Great. So I'm curious, in terms of the ease of transportation to get to the Singapore campus, could you share what it's like, your current journey? Sure. To me, it was very convenient because I live like five, six stations. I live like to five, six stations by MRT, like from my place to the school. So it's very convenient, like two stations taking the downtown line, and then four stations taking the circle line. So very convenient, like 30 minutes, 25 to 30 minutes. Very fast, very convenient, like it's efficient. For me, it's taking a green line, four stops. I hop up at Bruno Vista, and then I, supposedly I need to walk for 10 minutes, but under the Singaporean sun, I choose to take a bus one stop to the school. Yes. For those who aren't familiar, the Singapore MRT or train system is color-coded. So it's very easy to find your route once you figure out the codes and where they go. Awesome, guys. So our last question is, what has been your most memorable experience while traveling in or around Singapore? To me, when traveling around Singapore, would be when I take the plane, it's going to Jewel. Because when going to Jewel, I know that I'm going to have a lot of fun. Even like before taking my flight, because Jewel is like so beautiful, like the airport is like so magnificent, so efficient. I don't know, like the whole design of itself, it's so great to visit. And basically, it's like a giant mall with food and restaurants. You really want to take the plane because when taking the plane, you know that you will spend some time in Jewel to get some food or to rest, to chill. So that's why to me, I like to come way earlier on my flights because I know that I really want to spend some time in Jewel and have some fun. To me, I'm having a very great time in Singapore with my friends. So Anton mentioned about in Singapore, I'll mention one trip around Singapore. I just finished a trip with my friends two days ago to JB, Malaysia. It's great because that's the last trip before everyone left Singapore and seeing the graduation season. So everyone go to JB to have a great massage with affordable price and then have all you can eat in a Japanese sashimi and barbecue place. It's awesome. For those who aren't familiar, JB stands for Johor Bahru, which is just on the border of Singapore and the North West. So very, very convenient. I think you can get there by bus or train. How did you get there? I took the bus. I think it just takes 10 to 15 minutes to reach the destination from the Kranji station in Singapore. Awesome. Very convenient. With so many options for our listeners. Antoine, Chloe, thank you so much for sharing your insights and stories. We really, really appreciate it. Thank you. Awesome. And for everyone listening, if we can answer any of your questions you may have around traveling and around Singapore, we are happy to do so. Otherwise, thank you so much for joining today's episode of Essex APAC Guides Living in Singapore. Thank you.