Settling into my Short Term Apartment Rental in Singapore
Greetings,
The time is 2:56am and I should be sleeping. As it happens I’m in Singapore and only until Friday, go figure? I’ve just sent over my passport info for the flight so basically I’m bouncing soon or becoming an identity theft horror story, we shall see. Suffice to say, due to my short stay I’m exploring the short term apartment rental scene here in Singapore. It’s big around the world but for some reason I’ve never stayed in one before and now that I have, can’t help but wonder why I haven’t…
After I booked my flight serendipity started taking force and through the powers of social media I became connected with the fine people from PandaBed who have set me up with this apartment in an area I believe is called Lavender. All I know is that I’m right next to / in Little India and everything I need is a stones through away. I’m on the other side of the planet but I feel like I’m home in a perfectly suited apartment for my needs.
The price point is precisely between a hotel and a guesthouse which is kinda where I’m at now. I’m down for staying anywhere from castles to cashew tree forts and I’ll most certainly be looking into this type of thing in the future. Chances are I’ll only eat out but if I was with a group the savings would add up by splitting the rent a few ways and having a fridge, stove and washing machine which could come in handy were I one who is more domestically inclined…
So shortly after checking into my apartment I met up with some new friends and headed to Lavender Food Court. This place is privatized but that’s irrelevant. The Singapore government has 90 licensed hawker centers which are basically food courts that are clean, delicious and insanely cheap. Even the private ones like Lavender are still cheap or they couldn’t compete, yes?
I sampled some Laksa which is a traditional dish. Don’t ask me what’s in it as I have no clue except it was spicy and I like spicy. My friend ordered the mushroom minced meat noodles and it was also taste. Something I also was quite keen of is the fact that you could have a beer in the food court. The entire meal came to roughly $5.28 for the both of us, mental. So far I’ve gathered that food and data plans are cheap while rent and drinking are expensive; I can live with that.
Supposedly there are some 24 hour malls in the area so I may just go for a stroll in the next few minutes. You know, do stuff people do at 3am like eat some curry and search for a sim card. Considering I don’t have the tickets for my next adventure in my hands yet, I won’t say anymore but it should be for 10 days which is a nice break that involves sand, beaches and a fashion show?!
The next few days are going to be jam packed so I’ll have plenty of photos and stories from around the area. I’ll be meeting with a host of interesting and distinguished individuals from far and wide in fields related to mine which is cool. They say whatever floats your boat and it’s true; what floats mine is connecting with like-minded individuals and if I had to choose a “feelings status” to this bloggery it would be buoyant.
I’d go on but I can feel my stomach growling, time to hit the streets in search of something to eat.
In closing, big thanks to the fine people from PandaBed for the short term apartment rental; it’s appreciated!
Tips hat,
P.S: Top shot is from my apartment window and bottom is walking out of arrivals at Singapore Airport.
That dish looks spicy all the way from here
I do believe it cleared the cold out of me.
Beautiful apartment! Looks more like a swanky condo to me:) I’m glad you’re back in South East Asia. One of these days I’m going to have to come visit you!
You will, so glad to be back in this part of the world. I think you’d really like it here so make it happen sometime.
Good to see your’e buoyantly binging back on the main road, keep those updates coming and have a cheap beer for me!
Consider it done, good sir.
Ah! This is making me miss Singapore!
I never spent much time in Lavender but, if I remember my MRT map, it’s fairly central. I personally would have preferred that to Jurong West (the area I lived in during my time in Singapore).
I’m pretty sure I only ate at hawkers during the 5 months I was in Singpaore (minus my school’s canteens). Try “carrot cake” if you get the chance. A Singaporean friend bought it for me at a hawker one night. It’s nothing like what Westerns would think of as carrot cake. I have no idea what it actually is but it’s SO good (top dish I had in Singapore)!
I’m really enjoying this area so far, very central to everything that needs to be done for my current lifestyle. I am not sure where I stayed last time but I know it wasn’t this central and I shall look for that carrot cake, you’ve piqued my interest.
Try the local pancakes at lavender food court! Many locals love it!
Noted, thank you for the recommendation.
great place and fab food!
Indeed
I’m drooling over the laksa (I desperately miss eating that in Malaysia). I’m also looking at short-term rentals around Asia as I’m planning a bit of a work/travel adventure this fall–I’ll probably move every month or so depending on how long the trip lasts.
It was tasty, at another hawker center now; I am hooked. Short term apartment rentals make sense if you want the comforts pros without the lease!
I’ll be using more of them on my travels for sure.
The problem I have with those big food courts in Singapore is it can take me up to 30 mins just to decide which of the delicious looking meals on offer I actually want… really I’m bad with food decisions and these places don’t make it easy!! 🙂
Ha, not really that bad a problem to have, yes? That said, I her you and I’m also quite horrible at making decisions in the food department. I’m working on it though. 😉
i wonder if you have visited the Philippines? If you like nature and the beach, we have the best beaches in the world. The food is great too 🙂
Not yet but heard great things and wish to visit one of these days! Thanks for reminding me.
The pancakes are called Prata. Dip them in both curry and sugur for a tasty breakfast! Can you give me a weekly or daily cost range for the apartment? We travel there every year to visit family and they are running out of space for us.
Thanks for the tip, I think it is roughly $100-$120SG a night or somewhere in that region. Best bet is to search for similar on PandaBed.com.
Good luck!