Hello everyone! I hope this blog post finds you well and healthy. I have not had the opportunity to update this blog as things had been hectic since last year. I had been busy setting up a new dental office and traveling nowadays is a luxury. However prior to opening the new dental office, my brother and I had the opportunity to travel of the country back in December 2019–the typical travel month for the both of us and the month before COVID19 outbreak. Our travel route was Manila-Singapore-Kuala Lumpur-Manila. Since the both of us were up to a chill journey, we decided to take the bus from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. I created this blog post as travel guide for anyone who needs reference to Singapore-Malaysia bus ride.
HOW AND WHERE TO GET BUS TICKETS
Obtaining bus ticket (Singapore – Kuala Lumpur route) is as easy as purchasing item on Amazon or Lazada app. Tickets are sold online and I implore you to buy your tickets online as purchasing bus ticket at the bus terminal is chaotic. Although you can buy tickets at the bus terminal but being the efficient traveler, you might want to lessen the stress during trip as much as possible. I would like to thank Kuya Ringo for recommending easybook.com website and for guiding our us throughout the journey.
I purchased our bus tickets through the website and paid via card. The bus ticket cost for a one way trip (Singapore-Kuala Lumpur) is 14SGD per person (under the bus operator called Billion Stars). Here is a copy of my online transaction for reference:
We chose Billion Stars Company as it fits our travel schedule. You can choose other bus operator such as:
- Transtar Travel
- Starmart Express
- Golden Coach Express
Prior to experiencing the bus-check-in-chaos, I was really excited about the bus trip as it has been a while since I rode a sleeper bus. The last sleeper bus experience was back in 2017, when Jobelle and I decided to explore the major cities in Myanmar by land. That said, I was really looking forward to this bus journey.
BUS TERMINAL IN SINGAPORE / DROP OFF IN KUALA LUMPUR
One of the major bus terminals in Singapore is Golden Mile Complex. Here is the complete contact details in case you need accurate reference:
6001 Beach Road #01-52
Golden Mile Tower Singapore 199589
Telephone Number: +65-840-11-777
Google Map Plus Code Code: 8V27+QG Singapore
We arrived at Golden Mile around 11:30 pm. 12:30 am was our departure in Singapore and we expect to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at Berjaya Time Square around 6:30 am (same day). I find traveling at night efficient since our travel stay is limited. However, I did not expect that having to travel at wee morning would also come with minor issue at the bus terminal:
# 1: The waiting terminal and the bus company itself was closed
You may ask what is the problem if its closed anyway? So we arrived at the terminal and people were flocking here and there; people were earnestly waiting for their bus ride and since it was my first time to be at this bus station, I started to somewhat panic because of our missing bus and disorder. I asked my brother to wait outside as I look for the bus company office within the complex to check in with them. So I get inside and I see most stores are closed. Being agonized by the situation and the remaining time until departure, I literally started running like crazy inside the complex to look for Billion Stars office but it was nowhere to be found and that matter made me panic more as I was unsure whether the bus tickets I purchased online is legit enough for us to travel or the bus company itself is even real. I looked for security personnel to gather information about the bus company and I was mortified to hear from these individuals that Billion Stars office is frequently closed. They showed me the office location, which somewhat gave me a slight relief from my disbelief about the company being illegal. They advised to wait for the bus instead but series of questions were running in my head at the time–So what do I do next? Do I purchase another bus ticket? How long is the waiting time? Is it worth to try?
Learning couple of things about the bus company, I was apprehensive to head back to my brother to tell him the news. Well, we both wound up waiting for the bus. And yes our bus did arrive around 12 am.
On our bus tickets released online, we have a designated seat so were confident about confirmed reservation but lo and behold, the check in process done by the bus driver is completely outrageous. How? The bus driver only allows passengers whose destination is Berjaya Times Square. I was getting anxious about the situation as it was far from the normal bus check in protocol. The amount of passengers who waited for this bus were quite a lot and I could tell they looked agitated about the situation; the people who approached the driver first hand tried to fight their way to get on the bus but the bus driver rejected their plea soon as he sees their ticket which does not coincide with the announced destination. Unsettled, I had to confront the driver about the commotion he is creating among us. The driver seemed to have assessed us as passengers (bro and I)and had weigh we were good candidates since we were just two individuals; the look on his face made it seem like he approves us. The bus driver saw our ticket, reiterated our destination with a question and instantly allowed us to get in. At that very moment, it felt like we were characters in a survival game.
Kevin and I looked for our seats soon as we got inside and surprisingly, even our confirmed seats are non-existent. I ended up randomly choosing our seats to finally settle down since I had been panicky for quite some time already.
Things to expect and prepare in this trip and when crossing the border:
Expect the bus to stop twice for immigration purposes. First immigration will be Singapore immigration then followed by the Malaysia Immigration. You are expected to bring all your stuff (luggage, hand carry) as you go through the immigration. Prepare your passport ahead of time. Immigration officers may or may not interrogate you. The Malaysian immigration officer I had dealt interrogated me with few questions, which are typical immigration questions, like “how long is the stay and where do we stay in Kuala Lumpur.” Do also expect that you are not really going to be able to sleep during this wee hour trip because of the immigration process.
At the Malaysia ImmigrationSince Singapore – Malaysia trip is a 6 hour bus journey, wear something comfortable and buy snacks before heading to the terminal.
If you think this article will and could help a fellow traveler, friend, or family, you are more than welcome to share this!
XX Isabelle Segui / TuristangDentista
turistangdentista.com 