Hitting the Rucksack

Last month, I embarked on a journey with six friends to Singapore. We started our journey to the south around midnight on the 4^th of November 2011. The plan was to drive to JB, leave the car at my relatives’ house and take a bus to Singapore via Woodlands.

We reached JB at around 4.30am. Given a few hours left before dawn, we rested for a bit. We took the bus from the brand spanking new JB Sentral at 6.45am. This place is HUGE! I was a bit annoyed because to get to the immigration counter, we had to walk quite a distance.

Prior to this trip, I’ve asked around for tips and what we’re supposed to do at the immigration in Singapore. I have been warned that we had to RUN if we want to catch the same bus that we took from JB. WE DID RUN but apparently not fast enough. Haha! No worries as busses are plenty and we only had to wait for 5-10 minutes for the next bus to arrive. We were travelling on shoe-string budget thus, the public transport. It’s a hassle to purchase an RFID tag (similar to Malaysia’s SMART Tag) and EZ Link Card (similar to Malaysia’s Touch N’ Go) if we were to travel by car.

From the immigration at Woodlands, the journey to Queen Street bus station took about an hour. Our dormitory is on the Hong Kong Street, around the Clarke Quay area. We had the option to take the MRT from Woodlands but I figured, might as well take the bus right to the nearest stop to our dormitory. From the Queen Street bus station, we were quite confused on how to get to the dormitory. I planned to use Google Maps and walk or take the bus to the dormitory but it didn’t occur to me that I would not be able to access Google Maps once I’m in Singapore. SAY NO TO ROAMING CHARGES. 

After coming to the conclusion that the bus system is incomprehensible for tourists like us, we hopped on the MRT at Bugis station, interchanged at Outram Park station and finally alighted at Clarke Quay station. Phew! We could have easily reached the place in 10 minutes by foot but we were not going to take any chances. Good thing the dormitory website provides an accurate direction to the dormitory from the Clarke Quay station. The dormitory is 3-minute walk away from the MRT station. Pretty convenient, huh?

Once we enter the RUCKSACK INN 2, we were greeted with a flight of stairs and interesting graffiti on the walls. It was just 10 in the morning and the journey kicked our asses. We dragged our tired butts up the stairs to the reception area. The check-in time is at 2pm but we were allowed to leave our belongings in the small room below the stairs, near the reception counter. Be warned that the room is quite small and anybody has access to the area so, DO NOT leave your valuables in there. The staff were so kind to let us use the bathrooms. They even served us with cold water. Thank goodness! Well, it is JUST plain water but we were beyond exhausted  and our throats were as dry as the Sahara by the time we got there. The excellent hospitality did relieve a little bit of our fatigue.

After resting for awhile, we made our way to Universal Studios Singapore, the highlight of our trip. I’ll talk about it in another post.

After having LOADS of fun in USS, we checked-in our rooms that night. I, Piah and her sisters, Nirah and Qilah settled in the Nyonya room, the female dormitory. The boys, Rassi, Haponpon and Bobby settled in the Baba room, the mixed dormitory. I did mention to the boys that they will be staying in a mixed dorm but somehow they had this idea that it’s an all-boys room. Imagine their surprise when there were girls in pyjamas (read: SKIMPY CLOTHES) sharing their bunk beds. Your lucky day, boys! You're welcome. :p

I did not take any pictures of my room, though. Many apologies. To sum it up, the room was clean, a little bit on the cramped side but comfortable nonetheless. The air-conditioners are only switched-on for a few hours during the night which is totally understandable because the backpackers are usually out during the day. If you’re feeling warm in the room, you can always head down to the common area where there are guitars, a flat screen, books and X-Box for your entertainment. I know! COOL! If you need to get online, wifi signal is available throughout the dormitory. There are a few PCs, connected to the internet at the common area and they are for free.

The drinks are for sale. I've been meaning to try the vitamin water.  It tasted.. EH. 

Bobby on the PC

Books! 

The bathroom. I love love love the bathroom. There is one shared bathroom on each floor. There are a few shower rooms and toilets in the bathroom. The bathroom is super clean, plus shampoos and shower gels are complimentary! I didn't take any picture of the bathroom as well. SORRY! 

The kitchen area is pretty neat too. Small but very functional. You can find one big dining table, a microwave and a toaster. Breakfast is complimentary. They have butter, peanut butter, jam and bread. You can help yourself to tea or coffee as well.

Kitchen area. It is ALWAYS clean so make sure you clean up after yourselves. :)

My ideal breakfast. 

This is my first time staying at a backpackers dormitory. I must say, Rucksack Inn 2 is a memorable first experience. If you feel that you are not comfortable sleeping with other backpackers, they offer double, triple and quad room too. 

For all these how much did I pay for the room, you ask? $32/night! It’s a STEAL!!! 

Oh, before I forgot. A word of advice to anyone who intends to stay at a backpacker dorm: PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHER TRAVELLERS. We did run into one DIFFICULT occupier of our room. This person was so rude to us that the OTHER girls in the room apologised to us on her behalf. Well, if we live in an ideal world, everyone would be nice and polite but in reality, once in awhile our paths will cross with jerks and the likes so, patience is key. 

In a nutshell, RUCKSACK INN ROCKS!!!! Big time. :)