StanKase

We are staying at the Crowne Plaza at the Singapore Airport. At about 1-2 PM we will want to go into town to visit Little india and see the area I hear about that attracts emerging artists (not paint by numbers) and then get back to the airport by 6:30. I rather not get involved in traffic on the return and i understand there is quite a high quality fast train that is a possible solution. If you have used it can you tell me your experience vs. taking a taxi? thanks.

Kathie

The MRT is very quick, easy and inexpensive. But taxis are fairly quick as well. Singapore has a system where there is limited car access to the central parts of the city which keeps traffic flowing pretty well. Certainly, the MRT is safest - you know you won't get caught in traffic!

Cicerone

The MTR is the subway, and it is very easy to use, and runs from the airport. The stop for Little India would be Little India, although you might want to check the street names in Little India where you want to go, as another stop, like Farrer Park, may be closer. If you want to take the MTR from the Little India or Farrer Park stop to the airport, this will require 2 changes to get to the airport, so you may first want to just take a taxi to the City Hall MTR stop, as that is the direct line to the airport, and is only a few minutes' ride. (A bus to the airport from Little India is also possible, but would probably defeat the whole purpose of saving time.) See http://www.smrt.com.sg/trains/trains.asp for info on the MTR.

That being said, Singapore really has very little traffic to speak of, so a taxi really would not take any more time, and as you have to change lines twice, may in fact be faster. The scheme mentioned above is to keep cars out of the Central Business District (CBD), however you will be on the edge of it in Little India and most likely won't go within the CBD area unless you go to the City Hall MTR stop. However, even outside the CBD, I don't think you would find traffic to be a big problem, esp as you would be getting on/off the expressway to the airport quite close to Little India. Once on the expressway, there is no traffic. Any "traffic" on city streets is a <i>very</i> relative term; it is not Bangkok or NYC by any stretch of the imagination. And the MTR can be crowded at the rush hour as well, so on the return you may sacrifice some comfort for speed.

StanKase

Can you tell me about the cost and time say at 1-2PM of a taxi from the airport to Little India and where best should be my destinartion? Is the return cost much different, for in some cities in and outside the US that is the case?Are you at all familar with the section near the art district compared to Little India? This information will help us plan our5 hours. We are not rushing back for a flight but a meeting. thanks.

Cicerone

Sorry, I don’t know any art galleries in particular in Little India, I had taken it from your message that you already had some galleries in mind. You might try http://www.sagg.com.sg/page/ which lists many galleries in Singapore. In terms of a place to go, you might tell the taxi driver to take you to the Serangoon Road/Race Course Road area; this is the heart of Little India and has many small streets with shophouses where my guess is you will find galleries. (For an excellent lunch go to 54 Race Course Road and have the very famous fish head or other curry at Apolo Banna Leaf , see http://www.thebananaleafapolo.com/; there is a limited map of the area on the website which may be helpful too. There are two outlets of this restaurant in Little India, either would do, although I like the Race Course Road outlet.)

Little India is full of "wet" and dry markets, bangle shops, incense and saree shops, and temples, and is a great place just for a walk to see the street life even if you don't end up finding any galleries. Tekka Market sells just about everthing you can imagine.

As an alternative, you might want to go to the Singapore Art Museum, which has a good collection of local and SE Asian artists, and perhaps enquire there as to local galleries; there may also be some in the neighborhood of the museum. See http://www.singart.com/. (The museum is theoretically walkable to Little India, but you may not find it doable. While it is a flat walk, it is hot/humid and you have to cross some major roads by pedestrian overpass/underpass and therefore it can be confusing. I would take a taxi or bus to Little India from the museum or vice versa.)

My <i>very</i> rough guess is that the fare to and from the airport to the Little India area would be somewhere around S$25-30 for each way, but really that is more of a guess on my part than a firm estimate. You may have to pay a rush hour fare for leaving the Little India area at 4-5 pm. There is a small surcharge for trips FROM the airport, but all together with the peak hour charge, the total fare for each trip will probably work out about the same. You might take a look at the Changi airport website to see if they provide any information on cab fares and surcharges. Tipping is not required nor expected. You can leave change.

lcuy

In october, we paid S$27 to get from the airport to teh Intercontinental Hotel. It is on top of Bugis station, and about a 5 minute walk from Little India. i'd guess you'd pay about the same.

asdfghjkl

do take note that it's rather difficult to find a cab at 4pm as most of them are changing shifts. you might want to factor more time or to book a taxi (will cost additional S$2.50 on top of the fare).