American spends 24 hours in Singapore with no money, couchsurfs and sneaks onto bus without paying

With Singapore's reputation of being an expensive city, countless tourists have challenged themselves to travel here on a budget. 

But one American took it a step further by attempting to survive in Singapore for 24 hours with no money. 

Austin Nelson documented his experience in a YouTube video uploaded on Nov 13. 

"The 24-hour challenge with no money has been done a lot already but no one has done it in Singapore, the most expensive city in the world," pointed out Austin. 

"This city has been draining me for the past couple of days so I think I need to do this anyways." 

With no accommodations booked, no food, and no form of transport, Austin had to think on his feet and find solutions to his newfound problems within 24 hours. 

"I'm honestly pretty nervous but this is also an opportunity for me to share with you and discover all the cool free stuff that there is to do in Singapore," he said. 

For his accommodation, Austin messaged around 10 people to see if they were all right with him couchsurfing at their place. 

Activity-wise, he planned on making his way to Gardens by the Bay to find free things to do. 

Trying to find free things to do around Marina Bay

To get there from Chinatown, he had two options - take the MRT or walk.

"I can try to sneak on the public transport but the only option is the train and I think people check there," he said. 

So, he decided to walk. 

The journey took him around 35 minutes and while it was scenic, Austin found himself drenched in sweat. 

"It's so humid here. I'm literally just walking around normally and I'm like dripping sweat," he lamented. 

After finally reaching Gardens by the Bay, Austin spotted a tree with fruit and considered plucking one to eat. 

But he had difficulties in doing so and abandoned the idea. 

Mid-exploration, he took a break in an air-conditioned space and also used the opportunity to check if anyone wanted to take him in as a couchsurfer. 

This wasn't going well and he had already received four rejections. 

"Given how hot it is, I really don't want to be homeless tonight," said a concerned Austin. 

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The next thing on his agenda was to head over to Marina Bay Sands to see what he could do without spending money. 

There, he managed to fill his water bottle for free. 

But water wasn't the only thing he needed. 

"I'm starting to get hungry. Haven't eaten anything all day," said Austin with a pout. 

He then entered the hotel and made his way up to the rooftop to enjoy a bird's eye view of the city. 

However, when he attempted to enter the infinity pool area, he was asked if he had a hotel room card and was turned away. 

After this, he headed over to the ArtScience Museum and managed to catch a movie for free. 

"This is a really weird day," he said with a chuckle. 

Sneaking onto a bus without paying

Austin ended up not being homeless that night as a man named Faraz contacted him and said he was all right with Austin couchsurfing at his place. 

But to meet him, Austin had to travel all the way from Bayfront to Little India. 

This was around a 42-minute walk and Austin wasn't very keen on doing so. 

"That's kind of steep after all the walking I did earlier," he pointed out. 

So, he decided to try and sneak onto a bus. 

"Is the most expensive city in the world going to collapse because I take one free bus ride? No," said Austin. 

"I got to say though, I might just get completely blocked from this bus situation. They're on top of it here in Singapore. At every single tourist place, there are like a hundred people checking tickets. I've had a hard time getting in anywhere so I might just have to walk 42 minutes." 

But Austin didn't have to because he successfully managed to sneak onto a bus. 

However, it didn't go unnoticed and an elderly woman asked him to pay the bus fare, which he didn't. 

Despite his efforts, Austin ended up getting off at the wrong bus stop and had to walk for another 15 minutes to meet Faraz. 

Free accommodation, free food and a new-found friendship

One of the first things Faraz asked Austin when they first met was if he had eaten anything. 

And when Faraz found out that he hadn't, he brought him to a hawker centre to treat him to a meal. 

There, the pair tucked into otah and shared a claypot rice. 

"I really appreciate Faraz and how he's helping me out," Austin said gratefully. 

After filling their bellies, Faraz paid for Austin's MRT ticket and brought him around to see the places he usually hangs out at in Singapore. 

Then, they picked up Austin's bag from his previous hostel and made their way to Faraz's humble abode, where Austin was offered a mattress on the floor to sleep on. 

The next day, Faraz helped Austin get back to the city area and to Austin's new hostel and the new friends bade each other goodbye. 

After an interesting 24 hours in Singapore, Austin reflected on his experience. 

"Started off a little bit rocky but got to explore some pretty cool stuff and made a really good friend," said Austin. 

"I do not recommend trying 24 hours in Singapore with no money," he added. 

While Austin successfully managed to complete the challenge, netizens weren't too impressed with him. 

Several called him irresponsible and one netizen pointed out that running public transport costs money, so he should not have sneaked onto the bus for free. 

Another pointed out that plucking fruit and not paying for public transport is illegal and asked Austin not to take Singapore's kindness for granted. 

ALSO READ: Can it be done? 2 tourists try spending just US$20 in Singapore for a day

melissateo@asiaone.com