Backpacker forced to cut short Singapore trip because of F1 weekend
"Make sure you find out what's going on in the area before you book," she said.
A backpacker who didn't realise it was Formula One weekend in Singapore found herself priced out of the city - and had to cut her trip short.
"The cheapest accommodation I found at the start of the week was $38 a night, and I was wondering why I couldn't book the rest of the week," said TikTok user @edenkellyy in her viral clip
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She thought she'd figure it out when she got here, only to discover that room prices had skyrocketed due to the F1 weekend. The cheapest option she could find, she said, was a hostel bed going for $180 a night - more than three times that of her first night.
Her solution: a bus to Malaysia, where she would stay for three nights before returning to Singapore to catch her flight to her next destination.
In her post, she reminded fellow travellers to always check what major events are happening before booking trips.
"Lesson learnt, people. Check before you book," she said.
Netizens were quick to sympathise with the backpacker, with numerous comments agreeing that JB would be better and less expensive.
"Yup, it will be very hard to book and find hotels during F1 weekend. Glad you decided to stay over in Malaysia," said a Tiktoker.
"True definition of YOLO. Anyway, JB is better," said another commenter. One added: "Just take a bus and support our neighbour in Johor or Batam. Johore has a lot of fun things you can do and food is excellent."
Others suggested she could stay in Johor Bahru and still visit Singapore for the day.
"Just stay in Johor Bahru and travel daily. Accommodation there is cheaper and far better than in Singapore," said one.
But not everyone was sympathetic. Some said she should have sorted out her accommodation before arriving in Singapore.
"Not booking a hotel before you go overseas is wild," said one user. Another added: "I cannot believe you would not pre-book your accommodation."
Still, some defended her approach, saying it's typical for backpackers to plan on the go.
"So many in the comments have no clue how backpackers style are… booking a hostel as and when we get there is like rule of thumb," one user pointed out.
"Common thing with many backpackers actually, plan-as-you-go type of trip," another agreed.