HI ALL!
It's been a while since I wrote a blog post, but I decided to do this as a hobby (hopefully not too lazy and hopefully exciting things happen in my life to be told). - because they say that success people love to write and write and write and write. And just because writing your heart out actually feel relaxing in a way. I will try to make this on English to practice my writing skills. Writing a blog post is one of my to do list in 2017, even though maybe no one will read this but that's OK. Beside sharing my stories, I will also give (hopefully) useful tips based on the experience that I got through this traveling. Also thinking about changing my URL name which is very lameeeeeee since I made it on junior high school - any suggestions?
This post is about my short trip experience to catch COLDPLAY in Singapore. But not only about the Coldplay concert, this is also about my first ever solo trip (even though only in Singapore). I am not a big fan of Coldplay, know some mainstream songs, but it is very well-known that their concert is very amazing, visually beautiful, intimate, and definitely not to miss. So I also joined the hype while people were queuing online - which is simply a war. They only had 1 concert date at first, but because lots and lost and lost of people want to watch it, they added another 1 date. I got the ticket at the extra show on Friday, where I was very lucky, because it is very hard to get into the website, lots of people are using extra devices to increase their luck but I got it via my handphone without Wi-Fi. And my mistake was I only buy 1 ticket for myself 😂😂😂 I didn't ask my friend or my brother or anyone to join me for the concert because I was too lazy to wait for their confirmation, and I forgot that I can resell the tickets later, maybe got a few extra money from it since everyone was searching for it. BUT NO I DIDN'T - this is so stupid I know. So yes - I got the Coldplay ticket.
My 2nd mistake was not to buy flight tickets directly because I was considering when I should go, at what day what time. I bought it 2-3 months before the show, and it was already quite expensive. I chose the cheapest one but the schedule was not so good - I fly on Thursday night and get back on Saturday morning. Yes my very short trip. Getting closer to the day, I listened to Coldplay songs everyday 😏😏 even on a 'Coldplay Setlist Concert 2017' playlist on Spotify, tried to memorize the lyrics and the unfamiliar songs. 1 week before the concert - my work tasks suddenly increased because it was the end of the month and I was quite stressed about it. So when I finally arrived at the airport I was very happy to finally finish all the deadlines and reward myself with a holiday.
My flight was at 20.00, I will arrive at Singapore on 22.30, and the latest MRT train would be on 23.19. I thought I could make it with some little running since I didn't carry a luggage, but I was wrong. The immigration counters were really, really, really crowded - I got out from there on 23.30, missed the train then I took the taxi to the hostel (which was expensive since I was alone, but well what choice did I have)
Arrived at the hostel - CHIC Capsule Hostel @ Chinatown. Quite tricky to find if you haven't browse and see it on Google Satellite first, it is located in one of the ruko. I met the owner and checked in. I booked a bed in all female dorms, but the rooms turned out to be full that night, so I was moved to a 4-bed mixed dorm. Thankfully they were already asleep (bcs it's already past midnight) so I didn't have to meet them awkwardly. I got a bed in upper level, I also got a locker for my luggage. I set up my luggage, took a bath, change into comfy clothes. Then I ate my dinner (which I bought at Old Town White Coffee Soekarno Hatta because I was too lazy to search for food in midnight) downstairs at the lobby, because it is not allowed to eat in the bedroom, and because they provide dispenser there. While I ate, I also met 3 Indonesian who stayed here for Coldplay concert 😆😆 Here are a video of my hostel!
The next day, I woke up at around 7.30 AM, I planned to go shopping at 9 AM. But I fell back asleep again, and just reached the MRT station at 8.30. Oh and this hostel also provide you with breakfast, two sandwiches with cheese and ham, made by the owner, so yeah you don't have to wander around looking for food in the morning. This is also very close to the station, about 300M walk, and the surroundings are quite crowded, which gave me a safe feeling of walking around on my own. I got out at Somerset station at 9AM, but the stores were still closed. It turned out that they usually opened at 10AM. So I bought a water in 711, then I wander around the street, waited at the bus stop (because lots of people waited here so I wouldn't be alone), sat on a bench near the Somerset for free Wi-Fi, while eating my sandwhich. At 10AM the stores were opened. I walked into Typo and bought some cute pens (I always fell for cute pen a keychains while traveling abroad), went into Smiggle and bought another pens. Then I went to Garrett to buy popcorn, then to Editor's Market (which recently just opened their store in Somerset!), bought some clothes, then I got out from the building. I went to Wisma Atria, bought the famous Ben's Cookies, visited LUSH and bought their famous Angel on Bare Skin cleanser. After that I went to ION and visited kikki (also bought cute pens because they are simply irresistible) and Sephora.
(tired face from mall hopping carrying my shopping items)
It was already around 11.30 AM, so I should hurry back to the hostel to prepare for the concert. I was transferred to another room, female dorm, which was bigger than the previous one, because it was for 8 person while the previous one was for 4 room. Packed up, changed clothes, then I went to the Stadium through MRT. I was stupid enough to buy only 1 ticket concert, but thankfully I ran into a friend who happened to watch this concert on Standing B section. She came here with his boyfriend and his junior highschool friend - and I just tag along (and fyi we only know each other in 1st year of college) 😌😌 thank God they are very nice and friendly :"""") So yes I met them at the gate, which was already crowded with people queuing and sitting on the ground. It was still 2.30 PM but already crowded enough, even though the gate will open at 6PM and the concert started at 8PM. We queued and sat there, while I recently remembered I haven't had my lunch which was why I was starving. My friends already ate before, so I had to go out from the line and find restaurants nearby. Thankfully there was a Burger King outlet just in front of the stadium, but I had to go through people behind me who were already queuing - harus tebel muka aja permisi2 walaupun dijutekin orang 😂😂
We waited there until we got bored.. and it was raining. Even though the stadium was indoor but the rain was really hard it started to splash at us! Then finally at 6PM we went inside, thankfully we got the first (and a half) row at standing B, so it was all worth the queued. At 8PM the concert started, and it was really beautiful.. I might ran out of words to describe it. Lots of properties like balloons & confetti, incredible lightening - it matched the song played through our handwrist that could glow in the dark, for example in Yellow song the handwrist glow in yellow light, and the lightening stage also changed. It was very beautiful. My first concert that could made me in tears :") It was really intimate and heartwarming in a way. They played all the mainstream songs, and also their latest song - Something Just Like This.
The show ended at around 10PM, my friends went to their hostel by foot, and I had to take the MRT. It was very crowded, everyone had to queue to go inside the station, but it was very organized. I arrived at my hostel at around 10.30, then I ate my Burger King that I bought earlier that day. I took a bath, packed my stuff, because I will be leaving Singapore at 8AM flight tomorrow.
Thankfully I woke up at 5AM. I have asked the MRT Chinatown officer about the earliest train to Changi, and they said it will depart at around 5.49AM. The journey took about 1 hour and I didn't have any baggage, so I thought I would do that. I took a bath, checked out, got my breakfast at around 5.30AM. I walked to the station, and waited there - it was very quiet. There were some trains stopping by, but it didn't work, the door wouldn't opened. I waited until 6.00 AM but still the trains are not working. Already asked the officer about the schedule but they said it should already be leaving at that time to Changi. I was a little panicked, so I decided to leave the station and searched for taxi from the street. Thank God once again I found one - I arrived at the airport at around 6.45AM, and it was quite full. I had to check in, went to the counter for verification, then waited for the immigration queue, which was why I was glad I decided to take the taxi instead of the MRT.
Simple tips for the solo traveler:
1. Located near MRT station
Since taxi is expensive in Singapore, MRT is the best transportation option if you want to travel, especially if you're alone. Compared to other hostel/hotel, CHIC hostel is the most suitable one - it is very near with the MRT station, the surroundings are crowded, safe, and the price is also very reachable.
2. Prepare an extra cash if you have early/late flight
Learning from my mistake, if you have a 8AM flight in the morning, it will be better if you take the cab because the MRT schedule can change easily (the hostel owner said usually it depart at around 6.30AM). Same thing for the late flight - if you will arrive in Singapore at late night, prepare some extra cash for cab, because the latest MRT is only around 23.00 PM.
3. Take a bath in early morning/late night
A hostel mostly only provide 1-2 bathroom per 4/6/8 bedroom. So if you want to take a shower it would be better to do it early morning or late night, to avoid queueing. Usually they will give you a clean towel and the toiletries in the bathroom, but better be prepared if you are not sure about the hygiene - you can bring your own towel and your own toiletries
4. Bring a water bottle
Since they don't provide a mineral water in each room, they usually provide a dispenser or water in jumbo pots where you can drink it with the glass - in my hostel, it is located downstairs and outside the bedroom area. It would be better if you bring a bottle and refill it, so you don't have to buy a mineral water every time you took a walk, or if you are thirsty in your room.
5. Make it simple
If you're a solo traveler and will only stay for 1-2 nights, it will be better to use and bring the comfy-est stuff - sneakers, backpack, simple clothes. Singapore's local foods are delicious, but if you don't have the time to buy it you can always buy fast food which are easy to find, easy to pack, and halal proven
Wrapping it up, I would say that my first hostel experience is very fun! I thought it would be so much awkward staying with other people in one room, dirty and smelly, unsafe, and lots of bad things were going on in my head. But it was actually very fun - it was lot cheaper and nicer than hotels, it feel safe for the solo traveler because you get to meet and talk to other people.
Hope this post is useful for you ~~~ see you in my next trip!
Comments