Singapore - June 2024 - Logistics and Itinerary

 

Logistics

• A three day solo trip to Singapore in early June. I'd last visited in 2019 and thoroughly enjoyed myself over a three day trip, so this time booked an extra day (note that a full day is spent getting there so it is really a four day trip - two days annual leave required). It's an easy city to navigate, is completely safe, and has far more birds than you might expect for a megalopolis  - the island is extraordinarily verdant and I enjoy the plants as much as the birds.
• Flights: British Airways from Heathrow on Friday night after work which arrived in Singapore on Saturday at around 6pm, too late for any meaningful birding. I used air miles as well as some kind of BA voucher to get there and so just paid the taxes which meant I could travel rather comfortably. I returned on Tuesday evening and as you gain time in this direction I arrived in time for work on Wednesday morning. Yay!
• Transport:  As you would expect public transport in Singapore is top notch so I purchased a three day Singapore Tourist Pass for about £17. These are only available at larger MRT stations -  I bought mine at the the airport, there is a kiosk at the far end of Changi MRT. This grants you full passage on all buses, tubes and light rail and I used it extensively. As it was a three day pass I also bought a single ticket to get me into the city centre that first evening. For some places that were a little out of the way I used Grab a handful of time, the Singapore equivalent of Uber. 
• Accomodation: I booked a room the size of a shoe box at a budget hotel called the NuVe Urbane near Lavendar/Bugis. This was ideally located for me to get everywhere I wanted to go, and seeing as I spent virtually no time there, it made sense for it to be at the lower end of the scale.
• Literature/Resources: As ever I used eBird for up-front planning, identifying target birds and sites, and as I'd been before I knew I also wanted to revisit a few places. Mick also gave me a few tips of places he'd found good in late 2023.
• Food - Street food and food courts are alive and well in Singapore. I also had lots and lots of cold fruit-based drinks.

On this trip I went to eveywhere marked with a red dot.

Itinerary

• Day 0 - Evening arrival into Changi, no birding. Just a quick meal and then bed.
• Day 1 - Early start at Lorung Halus Wetlands, and I then walked all the way from there to Pasir Ris Park where I spent most of the afternoon, including at least an hour sheltering from some incredible rain on the mangrove boardwalk. In the late afternoon I went to Hampstead Wetlands Park which is a well-known site for Buffy Fish-Owl.
• Day 2 - An even earlier start to be at the Jelutong Bird Tower in the Central Catchment Area as soon as possible after first light. This is a 40 minute walk from the nearest road hence the very early start. All morning in this area and then a quick walk around Windsor Nature Park in the same general area. Afternoon spent at the wonderful Singapore Botanic Gardens before going back to Pasir Ris to try for the Spotted Wood-Owls again. Evening at Marina Bay East and the Gardens by the Bay. 39k steps with a heavy camera nearly killed me.
• Day 3 - Final day! Started at Jurong Lake Gardens before heading to Dairy Farm Nature Park late morning. Mid afternoon stop at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park for Spotted Wood-Owl again, this time wit success! Another tour around the Botanic Garden before heading back to my hotel to pack my bag and head to the airport.