Singapore's TidbiTs

Crossing the Causeway to Johor Bahru is a weekend ritual for many Singaporeans. With the favourable exchange rate (1 SGD ≈ 3.2 MYR), a day in JB means cheaper meals, affordable massages, and stocking up on groceries and toiletries — all within an hour of home. I frequently made the trip via the Transtar TS1 cross-border bus. Here's what to expect, how to get there, and how to plan your own JB day trip. 📋 Quick Facts Best time to cross Weekday mornings, 9–11am Avoid Friday evenings, Sunday evenings, public holidays Currency Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) Passport validity Minimum 6 months Travel time 30–90 minutes one-way (depends on queues) RTS Link opens End of 2026 (4 km, 5-minute ride, 10,000 passengers/hour) 🚌 How to Get to JB: Transport Options The options to cross into JB are wide. Here's a comparison to help you choose: Option From Cost (one-way) Pros Cons Tran...

With options almost negligible to travel overseas for holidays during the pandemic, there is no stopping us from travelling or holidaying domestically, well, minus the airplane. Using the Singapore Rediscover voucher to offset some of a staycation cost, a holiday in an airport mall may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But then Changi Airport and Jewel is unlike any other airport or shopping mall. One can get apprehensive staying in an international airport, albeit landside area, coming into contact with travellers, but the airport terminals were closed. Plus, it was during a heightened alert where dining-in was not allowed and so we thought it was going to be kind of dull. We were wrong! So, let’s start with the check-in into Yotelair. It was a breeze. After filling-up a simple health declaration form, we were given our room keycard. The cabin room is kind of small, but has almost everything that you may need, but then staying indoors in a hotel room for the whole stay was not the idea ...

Public or community libraries can be found in almost housing estates. Some libraries are even housed in shopping malls and arts galleries! How cool is that. You can shop, eat (not in the libraries, of course) then nourish your brain in the libraries. And to sleep, yes to sleep. And it's free. You can read some books or magazines, or the daily newspapers for free or watch some audio-visual materials from one of the computers dotting inside the libraries. There are comfy seats for you to read. Some are too comfy that can make people snooze. You can also surf internet on your laptop, tablet or iPad using the complimentary wireless@sg WiFi. The libaries are air-conditioned so they are good place to escape the heat and humidity outside. Though just like cinemas, many libraries air-conditioning are set at winter temperature, so bring along a light sweater if you plan to stay in libraries for an extended period of time. A public library The central, regional and public or community librar...

From household to beauty products, we have heard of Daiso, the $2 stores that sell almost everything under the sun. From clothes hangers, to drinking glasses, plates and cups, cleaning products, kitchen and home accessories, flashlight, stationeries, travel accessories, yard tools, arts and crafts products, beauty products, socks, smartphone cables and all other knick-knacks all for $2 each. Even long-distance reading glasses sell for only $2. A great place for budget hunting items. But of course, if you are to buy several items the cost will add up. In fairness you can sometimes get some items cheaper at neighbourhood Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats stores, so maybe you want to browse around the neighbourhood as well. At some stores in the neighbourhood they sell many items for only $1 each. You may also want to check out IKEA that sell clothes hangers for a $1 each. Daiso However, Daiso may offer varieties such as gardening tools where you can get garden fences, nets, pots...