Singapore — How Malaysian Border Officers can ruin a day out in Singapore
The problem with going to Singapore — getting back into Malaysia
May 2015
Living only 5–6 miles (7–10 km) from the Singapore border was great if you wanted to go to Singapore for the weekend. We used to pop over for decent back bacon and cheese, and nights out. Plus, there was the advantage of a cheaper lifestyle in Malaysia, but getting across that border could be a real pain.
Over the three years I regularly crossed the Malaysia/Singapore border, I had crossings that only took 30 minutes (two immigration checks and one lot of customs), and others that have taken 3 to 4 hours.
The problem was immigration and customs. I have nothing against immigration and customs, but the immigration and customs on the Malaysia/Singapore border were unpredictable. So planning your trip to meet people (e.g., for dinner, an airport pickup, or drop-off) was almost impossible. At what time did you need to set out?
Crossing the border will take a long time if you go during rush hour (early morning, around 7–9 am, or late evening, 5-7 pm). But at other times, such as mid-morning or early afternoon, you may also find massive queues; there appears to be no pattern.
On one trip across the border via the Woodlands Crossing (the old original causeway crossing), I encountered something I had never seen before. I was entering Singapore, and Singapore Customs had decided to funnel eight lanes of cars down to one. This caused massive tailbacks and untold stress to drivers. This wasn’t due to staff shortages, as many staff scanned vehicles as they exited customs. Why do this? I could only assume that they were looking for someone or something.
On one trip, getting into Singapore in the morning wasn’t too bad. There were minor queues on the Malaysian side.
And the bridge over to Singapore was clear, and traffic moved freely at the Singapore terminal.
However, coming back in the evening was a different story!
There were minor queues on the Singapore side, and then as I went over the bridge, it was solid to the Malaysian border.
I could see how bad it was by looking at Waze.
All I could see was the queue going on and on.
I thought it would never end.
It got dark, and we still queued.
And on it went.
Finally, after nearly 3 hours, I got to the border and discovered that less than 50% of the processing booths were open. Totally nuts!
Living in Malaysia is the best way to ruin your day out in Singapore. Getting back across the border can be a real pain.
My day out in Singapore had been ruined by the experience of trying to get home.
The variability in the time it takes to cross the Malaysia/Singapore border makes life difficult, as you can never plan for your crossing. Will it take 40 minutes? Ninety minutes or 4 hours?
My advice? Don’t drive into Singapore from Malaysia unless you have to.
