My First Hostel Experience at Inn Crowd Hostel in Little India, Singapore
ALL-TIME FAVORITE POST FROM 2008 RE-BLOGGED.
Hi! I'm Jerik. I'm an alcoholic. Just kiddin'. I started my journey visiting three countries: Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand in the 2nd of November.
My first stop was Singapore. Right from the KLLCT Airport, i rode the bus and then another bus to the Puduraya bus terminal to Singapore. From Singapore, i arrived with no Singapore Dollar. I just asked some random bus operator for some Singapore Dollar in exchange of Malaysian rupiah that i have.
I knew already i wanted to stay at Inn Crowd Hostel. I was busy researching for good places to stay in Singapore before i left Manila, and i wanted to try a hostel. It's funny, almost all the Filipinos i know who travel to Singapore will book a luxurious 3-4 star hotel. I wouldn't dare do that. I want to meet new people - exchange ideas, try the hard way, sleep on bunk beds, keep my patience up even if there are some heavy duty snores, pick my toiletry kit and rent a towel and try the best way i can to dress up without some random people seeing my crotch, all to save money. Apparently, the Indian guy across the bathroom of Inn Crowd 2 has the dirty habit of looking at girls taking a bath while he's busy cooking.
My thoughts, exactly... this is the lion city, the land where it's fucking hard to find the Merlion, where the dishes served in them restaurants are not uniquely Singapore, instead it's a hodgepodge of everything in between Indian and Chinese cuisine, where you need to pay $12sg for a pack of tacky printed Marlboro cigarettes, where i get the best deal for a bottle of Tiger at my most favorite hostel in the world "Inn Crowd" at $5sg, where wearing nothing to sleep is actually cool, and wearing something only means you have flabs somewhere or you have to cover bed bugs somewhere.
I love Singapore because it's clean, progressive, successful investment if you want to work, study or put up a business but it sucks as hell once you realize you're paying too much for something you can get 1/8 of the price somewhere else.
 Fake beach, fake hooters, fake plants? i guess Singapore is so good at promoting itself, she knows how to convince farangs to stay for a few days and spend some more even if there's not much to see in it. I didn't go to the clubs, instead i went to the Sentosa island for some adventure, and for friendship. The cable car ride wasn't scary, trying to make a move is. All i did everyday was to wake up, say good morning to everyone in my room, brush my teeth and head to have some breakfast; cook my eggs - two eggs that is and toast my bread and buy Milo at the nearest convenience store. Oh, and chat away.  Singapore is a fast paced city, and the start of my amazing journey. What turned out to be a few days of stay got extended indefinitely till i finally got tired of this oh so city. But i love Singapore because of the amazing people i've met here and together with Tiger Beer, I've met quite a lot of them: Millet, the french man who as i said, i need to exchange link soon. He used to have the best job in the world, and i'm proud to have been sporting my tee from London's Topman. i think he's somewhere in Indonesia as well. Valentino, who has the amazing globetrotting adventures across the world. He's been to 41 countries and counting. You can't beat that. And he comes home proud to taste the best Italian pesto, from his mom. Enjoy Indonesia, my man. George, who has the same story everyday - how he lost his passport, how it's more fun to work in construction than be tied up in an office job doing promotions. He left his bike and surfboard in Australia. I met him again later in Koh Phangan in Thailand. Believe me, he dances like a friggin' kangaroo. I think he's dancing the LA walk and his brother who wore a speedo bikini made Mae-Mae, a smiling thai girl i met as well who's into happy pills, smiled the whole fuckin night. The Siberian guy, who thinks he bought the cheapest Heineken big bottle 4 blocks away, only to realize he can get that bottle 3/4 of the price right smack in front of our hostel. He also loves to talk about politics, nuclear power, and Russian government. Ola and Agatta who's really looking forward to India, as everyone. These two ladies are awesome. They've traveled across south America and central American plains and have been to the Mayan temples and beyond. They're mature thinkers, and they rock! Pamela, whom i love so dearly. She's such a sweetheart. She left the day before her best friend Amy left. i didn't get the chance to say goodbye though. It was nice meeting her, and she's pretty cool. And she's a veterinarian who loves horses. Amy, the guide, the sponsor, the navigator. She's the real woman of the world. She knows where to go, how to get there, even if she walks like a marathoning woman, i love her because she's pretty nice and cool. She does the craziest stuff and everything is documented. i can never forget how she caused panic at Sentosa. Everyone was thinking she fell from the stairs. Celina, thanks dear. Pauline who's now officially heart broken after leaving the hostel. I'm finally thinking clearly now. I will miss a lot but i will definitely come back for more! The foreign manager of the "inn crowd hostel" who utters the line, you're the only Filipino guy I've met who drinks Tiger every night. He sure earned a lot from me, buying rounds and pints of tiger. Pretty cool, eh? So, as they say Singapore is UNIQUELY SINGAPORE. It is, not for anything else, but for the warm greeting Inn Crowd Hostel has showed me. I will definitely come back again to Singapore to visit MM of course, stay at Inn Crowd, meet some more people and share stories and head to Prince of Whales at night where Brian can hook me up with some Philly girls. =)  Want to know what happened when i came back 6 years after ? Click Here. |
4 Comments:
Hi! Can you recommend InnCrowd? Read some reviews that it's bed bug infested!
@Meedge sorry it took me a little while to write back. been hell busy with work. from updates about a year or two ago, the owners have renovated Inn Crowd so i bet rooms, hopefully including the sheets are new. I stayed there for almost a week, no bed bugs. my bed bug attack happened in KL. Read that story too in my blog. But i love Inn Crowd + the location is perfect! Not too expensive but with maximum exposure to local culture. Stay there!
The review I read was written last December. Anyway, thank you so much for the advice. I read your post re the bed bug attack in KL and I really don't want anything like that happening to us! I will write a review of InnCrowd once I go back from SG. I'll add you in my blog list. Thanks again!
@Meedge yes, when i went to Singapore i didn't even bother to book a dorm bed. I just went there and paid. There's more cool hostels around the vicinity. But do go to Little India, that's where the cheapest accommodations are. When you write a review, let me know, so i can edit this post and link your blog entry. Thanks again1 Have a fun trip!
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