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Getting Around
Singapore has a comprehensive bus network with
frequent services and a convenient Mass Rapid
Transit (MRT) subway system. Both are cheap and
simple to use. There is also a good supply of
taxis and all are metered.
There are branches of all major rent-a-car companies
here and you can charter bumboats (motorised sampans)
to take various tours on the Singapore River.
Regular ferry services operate from the World
Trade Centre to Sentosa and other islands, while
luxurious junk tours can be taken around the harbour.
Rickshaws have disappeared from Singapore's main
streets, but can still be found operating in Chinatown
and back streets; agree on a fare beforehand.
Getting There
A swag of airlines fly into Singapore's ultramodern
Changi international airport - often voted one
of the best airports in the world. The departure
tax on international flights is US$9.
Lots of visitors to Singapore combine their stay
with a visit to Malaysia, which is just a kilometre
away across the causeway over the Straits of Johor.
You can travel between Malaysia and Singapore
very easily by bus or taxi. A second causeway
has opened to ease congestion - it links Tuas
in Singapore with Geyland Patah - and is known
pragmatically enough as the Second Link. It can
only be used if you have your own transport.
A vehicle and passenger ferry operates between
north Changi and Tanjung Belungkor, east of Johor
Bahru, and a daily high-speed catamaran links
Singapore with Malaysia's Tioman Island. Immaculate
air-conditioned buses link Singapore to almost
all large Malaysian cities; fares are generally
inexpensive. Singapore is the southern terminus
of Malaysia's rail system and there are four trains
a day to Kuala Lumpur.
There are no direct passenger ferries between
Singapore and the main ports of Indonesia, but
it is possible to travel between the two countries
via the Indonesian islands of the Riau Archipelago,
immediately south of Singapore. Modern ferries
link Singapore with the islands of Batam and Bintan
in the archipelago. Speedboats link Batam with
Pekanbaru in Sumatra, and several ships a week
link Bintan with Jakarta.
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