Tourists take 2-hour taxi ride around Singapore — here's how much they paid

Compared to many countries, Singapore's just a tiny speck. 

Which begs the question — how long does it take to drive around its perimeter? And how much will that taxi fare be?

Content creators Hook and Adi decided to give this a go, documenting their journey and findings in a 16-minute YouTube video uploaded on Sunday (Jan 15). 

Speaking in Chinese at the start of the video, Hook, a Taiwanese, said someone told her that it only takes one hour to travel around Singapore by car. 

Adi, who is from India, chipped in and said travelling from the north of Singapore to the south would take around 40 minutes to an hour. However, if it is around the entire perimeter of Singapore, it would take over an hour. 

Rejected by cabby

The two tourists then tried to flag down a taxi at Jalan Besar to begin their adventure. 

"Can we go one round around Singapore and come back [to this same location]," he asked one driver, to which the latter responded with a fierce "no". 

"Cannot go around Singapore," the driver retorted and drove off. 

Despite feeling slightly dejected, the duo tried to get another taxi again. 

And after a few failed attempts at flagging down a taxi, they finally managed to get a driver, who agreed to their quest. 

A quick time check showed that they started the trip at 5.28pm.   

"I wonder what will happen when we go one round around Singapore and I wonder how much it will cost," Hook asked Adi, who guessed that it will cost around $100. 

Hook also asked the taxi driver if he had met anyone else with the same request, to which the uncle said no. 

"But you still agreed to take our ride, you're such a good person," said the content creator.

'Cheaper than I thought'

Throughout the ride, Hook and Adi could be seen chatting with the driver about various topics, including Taiwan. 

"Just nice, we managed to meet a taxi driver who understands Taiwan well," Hook said gratefully.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLDTdT_wVgE[/embed]

They also asked the driver about his vehicle's Certificate of Entitlement (COE) and he shared that he rents his vehicle for $110 a day, and that does not include petrol costs. 

"Very expensive isn't it," the driver said. 

Some 20 minutes into their trip, they reached Tampines, checked the taxi fare and noted that the charge was $16.60. 

"It's only been 20 minutes," said Hook, who then apologised to Adi for previously saying the entire duration would take an hour. 

Next, they headed up north towards Mandai and Woodlands. They passed by the Causeway where the driver explained that they could enter Malaysia via that checkpoint. 

The taxi fare was around $41.85 then. 

Mid-journey, the driver asked the pair if they were hungry and wanted something to eat. While they said they didn't want to eat in his car, he insisted they fill their bellies. 

They made their way to a coffee shop in the west to take away some chicken rice.

While there, the duo explained to their viewers about the concept of coffee shops in Singapore with its wide variety of food. 

They also shared that they paid $3.80 for their packet of chicken rice, which they found very affordable. 

The trio then headed from Pioneer Road towards Orchard Road where they admired the festive lights. 

And finally, after a long two-hour and 16-minute ride, they were back at Jalan Besar. 

Their round-island taxi fare? A decent $107.45. 

"It was a lot cheaper than I thought," said Hook. 

AsiaOne has reached out to the pair for more details.

Round the island on a bicycle

Last April, a father-and-daughter duo made a trip around the island's perimeter too, but by bicycle. 

The trip alone was no easy feat and it was also challenging because the girl was just two years old. 

The pair began in Yishun at 6.45am and ended at the same location at 11.45pm. In total, the 166km journey took them 17 hours to complete.

This wasn't his first attempt either. 

In 2021, he set a goal to cycle his two children around Singapore on a round-the-island bicycle trip, but could only carry one kid at a time. 

So, he did so with his five-year-son first and clocked 164km in 15 hours, with the starting point at Yishun. 

In an interview with AsiaOne, Phua said he recently found a passion for cycling and wanted to inculcate "a lifestyle that was exploratory in nature" in his children.

ALSO READ: 'Loser' buddies embark on epic journey, cycle 3,400km from Singapore to Vietnam

melissateo@asiaone.com

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