Cheapest area for accommodation in Singapore ... Geylang area
Well it has been a nearly a month since leaving my job.  I did not think this would take this long to get ready for my trip.  You can see the details in my Au Revoir Singapore post.  So where have I been staying.  Well a friend was kind enough to put (me) up with me for a week.  Then I thought I would be near to leaving but with my passport and Russian and Chinese Visas taking nearly a week each.. I found a local hotel to stay in.  Hotels are expensive in Singapore.  I know Singapore quite well and starting looking around the outskirts of the city center.  But really the only cheap lodgings were hostels and shared dormitory's.  I did some search on-line (the sites I am using are AsiaTravel.com, Trip Advisor, Agoda. com and Booking.com.)  AsiaTravel.com seems to be the most competitive for Singapore.  Booking.com was the easiest for me to pre-book my hotels for China.  I could find places that did not require a credit card.    So where did I stay?  Geylang.  

There are a number of cheaper hotels in the area and quite a few Hotel81's.  Having walked in a few hotels in the Bugis area, I decided to stay in Geylang .. Hotel 81 Gold.  Geylang is a working class area, and very down to earth.  Before booking on-line I went for a visit.  There had to be a reason why these hotels were so much cheaper than the other hotels in Singapore.  Yes .. this is not a tourist area.  And there are some working ladies on the main strip.  But it is all very much focused on the locals.  The MRT is Aljunied a couple of stops from City Hall and Bugis on the line to Changi Airport.  I checked out the hotel room... and it was not too bad.  So .. acclimatizing for my whole trip, spend a week there and if you are a budget traveler this is really not too bad.  

 I tried to negotiate a rate at the door, but found that the internet rates were better than offered.  I think I will do this going forward in each major city I go to.  Will keep you updated!

There are 2 clear advantages with staying at Geylang.  1)  the ABC's (Apple, Beetrook, and Carrot juice) are pretty good and the friendliest .. at $2.50 each.  Bargain.