TRIP REPORT: Into Singapore and the Ibis Budget Ruby – Growing Old in Style

Into Singapore and the Ibis Budget Ruby, Geylang
Growing Old with In Style

Time to head into Singapore and my digs for the night – it might be basic, but is it good enough for a crash pad? Welcome to the Ibis Budget Ruby, Gelany. 

In this mammoth trip report (note, headings subject to change)

• Yes. I’m that old. Next.
• Off to Heathrow, Terminal 3 and Cathay Pacific Lounge
• BA768 London Heathrow to Oslo Airport (Club Europe)
• The Best Laid Oslo Plans, and the OSL Lounge
• TK1754 Oslo Airport to Istanbul Airport (Business Class)
• Welcome to Istanbul Airport… Wait, where’s my passport?
• TK054 Istanbul Airport to Singapore Changi (Business Class)
• Welcome back to Changi and the Ibis Budget Ruby, Geylang
• Back to Changi Terminal 4 and AirAsia AK710 Singapore to Kuala Lumpur International.
• Into Kuala Lumpur and the Holiday Inn Express KLCC
• To the Batu Caves
• Exploring Kuala Lumpur
• Back to KLIA, The Golden Circle Lounge
• MH627 Kuala Lumpur to Singapore Changi (Economy Class)
• HOTEL: Intercontinental Singapore, Bugis
• For the love of Nasi Lemak and Hawker Markets
• Exploring Singapore, whilst avoiding Rain
• Glasses in a Rush
• Pokémon Centre Singapore
• Back to Changi, and the Lounge
• TK209 Singapore Changi to Istanbul Airport (Business Class)
• Into Istanbul and the Sheraton Levent, Istanbul
• Back to Istanbul Airport and the Turkish Airlines Lounge
• TK1753 Istanbul Airport to Oslo Airport
• A leisurely Oslo transit
• SK815 Oslo Airport to London Heathrow (Economy Classes)
• Homeward
• Older, Never Wiser

Heading off the aircraft, I was doing something a little different – arriving at Singapore Changi Airport, when it was still daylight.

Wonders will never cease to amaze me.

It’s a mite wet out

Focus is hard some days. 

As we had parked at Terminal 1, passengers exited into a mixed-zone area of arrivals and departures. For me, that meant following the signs to arrivals and the exit.

Hot meal vending machines – for those who want a hot meal at the airport, but do not want to wait for people… or deal with them, for that matter

The chances of being stalked by an Airbus A380 are slim… but never none. 

To transfers and arrivals 

Arrivals and Immigration

As I had pre-submitted my immigration form, all I needed to do was head to the automatic gates and present myself. (and if you have not done it before you land, you can do the immigration form minutes before you pass through the gates).

Baggage Claim

We are the robots. 

Passing through the gates, it was a matter of negotiating past the duty-free and luggage claim. With neither of those to worry about, it was straight through to the exit and The Jewel.

I also took a few minutes at this point to take stock and work out my next plans. That involved resetting up Grab as well as a couple of other apps (as well as checking in for the AirAsia flight too).

With that done, and a little Pokémon Go to keep me going, it was time to travel.

The mascots of the Singapore Pokémon Centre – Lapras and Pikachu.

A full gym, though (granted – it was Raid hour). 

To get to the hotel, I had the choice of the MRT or a Grab… and I chose the Grab (least of all, getting to the train station from T1 is… a pain). At this time, I also purchased a S$1 Grab pass, which offered a significant discount on many fares whilst I was in Singapore. That is helpful – and yes, in the end, I saved around S$20 on that S$1 purchase.

It was then a matter of heading down from Terminal 1 arrivals to the rideshare pickups and to the doors for pickup.

Soon enough, the car showed up for the ride to the Ibis Budget Ruby.

On the road again

Thankfully, the Grab was air-conditioned for the ride down the ECP towards Geylang. The driver made good use of it – with the Grab taking 20 minutes from the airport, dropping me off outside the Ibis Budget Crystal.

Ibis Budget Ruby, Geylang

Price paid: £54

For those who want to take a Grab, it is easy enough for one to find. For those on public transport, it is a 10-minute walk from Aljunied MRT station, with only two road crossings to deal with (or a five-minute bus ride if the temperature is not to your liking).

Sofa in reception

Now, it is important to check which Ibis Budget you are heading to, as this part of Geylang has a lot of them.

7 IBIS Budgets in a compact area

Why is that, you might ask?

There are also a bunch of Hotel 81s here, where rooms can be rented cheaply or for a few hours.

This part of Geylang is better known as Singapore’s Red-Light District, as well as some nightlife and sports venues. Thus, some travellers might be put off staying in the area (although it’s reasonably lit and people are respectful in the area).

I had chosen this one as it would be near the Old Airport Road Food Centre – somewhere to explore in the morning, as well as how close it was to the MRT station. And yes, I checked this time, and it would be open when I visited.

Little things are important to check.

I headed in and started the check-in process. However, it seemed that my Curve Card was in a bad mood and rejected the payment. Thus, I fell back on the Amex. This would be more of a theme over the next few days, as my bank and Curve started to reject pretty much every payment request.

With a keycard issued, I headed up to the 8th floor to my room.

Warm corridors 

As usual, the hallways were warm, but the room itself was not too bad, with the temperature alleged at 24 – it felt cooler. That did not stop me from turning down the aircon to low.

The room is small and basic. And that is fine, considering the cost and location. It was clean too. Always a good spot.

Bed

Coffee, Tea, phone, hairdryer, kettle, and multi-plug outlet. All the important things in life. 

Power sockets were by the bed, and were the universal type (e.g., UK 3-pin style, but could take any plug you throw at it). It’s something I love in Asia, as even the most basic hotels have them, but high-end hotels in the rest of the world go “meh”, and you need adaptor blocks instead to convert your plug into something more usable to charge and power items.

There are also some USB-A outlets. That is fine, but with the world going USB-C. That is something that might need to change in the future, as even high-wattage devices start to go USB-C.

There is a reasonably sized television in front … not that I bothered using it. I guess over the years, I have fallen out of love with watching television, and sometimes, even bad YouTube.

TV 

There’s a fridge there, too.o 

Do not expect slippers here (although considering the district you’re in… they might be useful).

There is a tea and coffee station, with the cutest kettle in the world. Whilst it was basic Nescafé coffee, at least you could dose the amount of water you want in it (from a fakepresso to a watered-down substance that could resemble coffee).

You are not paying for the view. 

As for the bathroom, the basics were there – a shower, toilet, and sink, as well as fresh, branded towels. Because this set of Ibis Budgets loves its branded towels

This hotel (like most Accor properties in Singapore) does not offer water bottles – rather, all water is filtered through the system. Whilst drinking water is safe in Singapore, some might prefer bottled sources (or boiling their own water and letting it cool down). If I can see the filter, I am more inclined to drink out of the tap. Otherwise, I will boil water and let it cool.

Check-out was a simple affair – well, almost. I dropped the keycard off at reception (as they print the room number on the keycard sleeve to cut costs). Whilst I was waiting, I was asked to leave a Google review.

Thankfully, my Grab was fast approaching, so I ducked out of that situation. With my bags in hand, it was time to head back to Changi Airport.

Overall

The Ibis Budgets in this area are normally pretty good value, given they are clean, reasonably close to transit (without being too far a walk in the Singaporean heat), and there are good local facilities nearby (and a little further if you want to walk).

If you’re using it as a base for Singapore, it’ll work – but if you need to spend time working or doing other things, you might be served better by a property with a larger working area, or nearer to other amenities, as well as the cost of commuting in and out of the Central districts.

It is basic, but as I have long said about the Ibis Budget brand – you know exactly what you are going to get – nothing more, nothing less.

Next:

Even though we just came from here, it is time to go back to Changi Airport. This time, I’m off to Changi Terminal 4 and AirAsia AK710 Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.

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