Exploring Tiong Bahru, Singapore, Part 1 (Written in English)

Hi guys!

Last week i went to Singapore, the home of Merlion and a shopping heaven. As Indonesians, Singapore has always been a perfect short getaway for my family (since it only takes an hour by flight from Jakarta). Strangely, even though i've visited Singapore for some times, Orchard Road is the only place i'm familiar with.

So on the second day of my trip, i decided to visit a new street outside Orchard and that place is Tiong Bahru. I've heard about Tiong Bahru for a while from here and there, especially about Books Actually, so i thought why not check it out.

First i went to the nearest MRT station from my hotel, the Somerset station. I bought the adult EZ Link card for 12 SGD (around  Rp 118.000) at the counter, so i don't have to buy anymore individual tickets everytime i change my destination. I wanted to go to Tiong Bahru street, so i take the north south line to Dobby Ghaut, changed to the south east line heading to Outram Park, and finally changed to the east west line heading to Tiong Bahru Station. 

Walking around the station having no idea where to go, i found the Tiong Bahru bus station near the exit door. I don't think people will know if i ask where Books Actually is, so i asked the Seven Eleven guy at the bus station, where the Tiong Bahru Market is (cause i checked on google and they say it's near there). It's about 6 minutes walk from the Tiong Bahru station to the market (just go straight), then another 5 minutes walk to Yong Siak Street where Books Actually is located.

So this is the place they've been talking about..

The place is kind of narrow, so it's very hot in there since there were many visitors and it was like 100 degrees outside.

I was very happy to see books i've never seen in other bookstores, including local literatures. If you're a fan of literature and poetry, this is the perfect place for you. Anyway, when i was checking out the books, something moved from behind the counter.... then i realised it was a CAT. Apparently, they keep a cat as a pet in the store. I was kind of scared since it went around scratching the books everywhere.

In here, i found To You Out There, a poetry with about 9 pages of illustrations and sentences explaining why 'I' am so lucky to have 'You' in my life. It also contains gratitudes because 'You' exists in this world. It was the cutest thing ever. I also found Prism of the Grand Budapest Hotel, basically it was a magazine that does reviews for one particular movie in each edition. In this edition, they'll tell you everything you need to know about The Grand Budapest Hotel movie, including the different perspectives behind their story and getting to know the characters more deeply.

They also sell postcards with riddles and vintage illustrations on them.

Oh, they also have a room full of unique gifts, from vintage ceramic plates, glasswares, and other vintage collectibles. 

At the end, i bought A Family Portrait and Balik Kampung, novels by the local authors, Lin Yang and Verena Tay, published by Math Paper Press.