Off to Singapore!

After 16 hours of traveling, we finally made it to Singapore! Since there is no direct flight from Honolulu to Singapore, we flew from Honolulu to Narita (8.5 hours), had a one-hour layover, then flew to from Narita to Singapore (6.5 hours). Most of the flights from HNL to SIN will arrive late in the evening. Our flight arrived to SIN around midnight due to a slight delay at Narita. My friend and our parents decided to fly on JAL to Singapore. We were fed one meal and a snack on each leg of the trip as well as intermittent miso soup and drink throughout the duration of the flight.

Immigration was not too complicated and is simple if you fill out your pre-arrival details beforehand. Singapore only required visitors to fill out the SG ICA Arrival Card with vaccine information and details about your stay (i.e. hotel). Once completed, you will be sent an email confirmation with a QR code for arrival. I recommend printing this out beforehand so you can easily present this at immigration. You should also print out a copy of your student IPA letter in case they ask for it. Since you will not have your student pass (visa) yet, DO NOT fill out the Long Term pass holder arrival card. I thought I needed to fill out this form since I received my FIN number. However, it was the wrong form because I did not receive my physical student pass yet. I had to refill out the regular tourist visitor arrival card for entry.

Depending on what time your flight arrives, public transportation may not be running. The MRT and public busses stop at midnight and open at 5:30 am for the MRT and 6 am for the bus. We took a Zig taxi from the airport to the hotel and it was about $40 and paid through the CDG Zig app (most places in Singapore prefer contactless payment).

I arrived one week before the start of classes and it was just barely enough time to get settled. I would recommend getting to Singapore at least a week and a half or two weeks before (especially if all the COVID regulations are in place). A lot of things can only be done in person and take a while to get processed. Since I only got housing three days before my arrival in Singapore, I did not know that there would be housing orientation a few days before move in day. I unfortunately missed it since my flight was the same day as the orientation. Dorm move in starts one week before the start of school. However you can request early check-in if you plan to arrive earlier and not stay in a hotel.

My dad and I mainly shopped for dorm items, set up my room, and took care of NUS formalities. We also had time to visit some of the typical tourist areas like Marina Bay Sands, Changi Airport, Little India, Chinatown, and Clarke Quay. Since we stayed in Little India it was more central and everything was about 20-30 minutes away by MRT. Highly recommend doing some sight seeing the first week of school and getting acclimated to the public transportation system. You should also join the WhatsApp and Telegram group chats to meet other exchangers. It is a great way to see the city and make new friends.

Rag & Flag Day

Week 0 Schedule

• Sunday 7/31

  • Arrive in Singapore

  • Move in and set up stuff in my dorm room

  • Walk around campus

  • Shop for dorm supplies

• Monday 8/1

  • Open DBS bank account

  • ICA Step 3 appointment

  • Student card pick up

  • Continue setting up dorm room

• Tuesday 8/2

  • Lunch with friends

  • Suit fitting

  • Shop for dorm supplies

• Wednesday 8/3

  • Gardens by the Bay

  • Marina Bay Sands

• Thursday 8/4

  • Changi Airport attractions

  • Bank account check-in

  • Shop for dorm supplies

  • Respect & Consent workshop

• Friday 8/5

  • Bank account resubmission

  • Finish setting up dorm room

• Saturday 8/6

  • Laundry

  • Rag & Flag Day

  • Chinatown

  • Clarke Quay

What I bought in Singapore

• Giant Hypermarket

  • Vacuum

  • My friend and I bought a vacuum since it is extremely dusty in the dorms. If you don’t leave your door open or have good ventilation the dust can build up pretty quickly.

  • Plastic containers

  • Manual dehumidifiers (helps prevent my things from molding)

  • Clorox wipes

  • Tacks

• Mustafa Centre

  • Hair dryer

  • Iron

  • Kettle

  • Paper plates

  • Chopsticks

  • Tissues

  • Snacks

  • Shampoo

  • Conditioner

  • Liquid detergent (finding pods detergent is a little difficult and more expensive)

  • Bounce dryer sheets

  • Fan

  • Lights

  • Batteries

• FairPrice

  • Pan

  • Spatula

• Daiso

  • Paper cups

  • Ice tray

  • Makeup

  • Folder

  • Notebook

  • Whiteboard markers

  • Sponges

  • Kitchen knife

• Ikea

  • Stool

  • Seat cushion

  • Hangers

  • Paper towels

  • Ziploc bags (sandwich and gallon size)

  • Ikea bags

• NUS Coop

  • Essentials Pack

  • Pillow

  • Bedsheets

  • Towel (small and large)

  • Dust pan and broom

  • Trash can

  • Hangers

  • Universal travel adapter

  • NUS merch

View of MBS from the Apple Store