Mustafa Centre - Everything under 1 roof

I had heard about this place from many people. But you got to see it to believe it. You can get everything in this store at the best rates in Singapore - literally. If you ask me a question - "Where can I buy ____ ?" My answer would be Mustafa.

This is a 6 floor store at 3 min walking distance from Farrer Park MRT on purple line. There are various store sections that include - Cosmetics, Electronics, Home Appliances, Grocery, Pharmacy, Clothing, Jewelry, Vegetables, Foreign exchange, Tours and Travels, Air tickets, Food joint and whatever you name. And what more would you want when you can get all the Indian brands too. Be it Indian spices, garam masala, parachute hair oil or even pressure cooker. So people coming from India can drop the idea of getting the pressure cooker if you are running out of space in your luggage. You can literally find every Indian stuff here in stock, which sometimes you might not find even in India ;)

There are various chain of supermarkets in Singapore, but you will get the same stuff at Mustafa cheaper than any other place. Frankly there is no competition to this superstore. If you have not found something here, I d guess you will really have to hunt for that thing in whole of Singapore. This is not only a superstore but also a tourist attraction. Every tourist shops atleast once here. Moreover its open 24 hours.

Tips

- Don't go on weekend evenings to Mustafa - it is extremely crowded. Buying the same stuff will take you double the time. In my opinion shopping here at midnight is a good idea :)

- Finding a cab or standing in long queue will take lot of time. So it is best to call up and book a taxi.

- Buy a month's worth stuff from here. It is probably not worth an effort to enter this place for buying 1 or 2 things unless you live very close to this place or you only get that at Mustafa.

More info - http://www.mustafa.com.sg

MRT - Singapore's Lifeline

MRT stands for Mass Rapid Transit. Like most metro cities, Singapore's Subway or Metro Rail is popularly known as MRT. Truly it is one of the most important system in Singapore.

MRT connects majority of Singapore with a 2 min difference between 2 stations. You will just need to google for a map and you can see the well connected network. Undoubtedly the fastest and cheapest way to reach a destination in the city from any corner of Singapore. For instance, it takes me 20 SGD (12SGD tariff + 35% of tariff - peak hour extra + 3 SGD surcharge for taking taxi from city area)  to reach home from my office compared to about 1.6 SGD in train). Also it takes exact same time by either mode of transport.

There are 3 major functional lines. North-South (Red), North-East(Purple) and East-West(Green) line. The other lines shown in map are under construction. While most of us would have our offices in the city area (Stations like - Dhoby Ghaut, City Hall, Raffles Quay, Orchard, Somerset, Outram Park), some would have at Changi Business Park (Near Changi Airport) so MRT would be the most convenient way to reach office. During peak hours its probably half as crowded as local trains in Mumbai :) However travel is smooth in the spacious air conditioned compartments.

Stations

Most stations are underground with exception of few on green line. They are 2 floors above the ground. Underground stations have doors on the platform which open only when train a train approaches. All stations are equipped with plasma screens for train details and speakers for announcements. Once you are in station premises you are strictly not allowed to eat/drink or smoke. If you are caught, you can be fined from 200 - 1000 SGD. Dhoby Ghaut, City Hall and Outram Park are interchanges where you can shift between lines.

EZLink Card

To use the MRT, you can either purchase a daily ticket or buy an EZLink card for 15 SGD. 5 SGD is the deposit and you get 10 SGD for initial travel. You can top up the card with amount you wish. It can be purchased on any of the stations and can be used in buses, taxis and even food joints like McDonalds. A pretty important card in your wallet. Minimum MRT fare is 80 Cents.