Itinerary-planning platform, Mygola, is using Singapore as its first base to launch its trip planning Perfect Day app. Founder and CEO, Anshuman Bapna, said the app fills a gap in the market. “There are apps that show what’s going on, where to eat, what to see. However, the moment you come down to creating a day’s plan, there is still a massive gap.
“There’s nothing that combines everything. Local transport details to figure out, the right sequence of activities, booking anything that needs prior reservations, the right time to visit the right place, and it soon becomes a complex task.”
He hopes that Perfect Day will “become the only app you will need to have great days in the city whether you are a visitor, local or a frequent business traveler”.
He said that Mygola has “built a completely scalable platform that’ll allow us to launch in 30 other cities in 6 months”.
“However, we’re focused on getting the experience perfected for Singapore first before expanding. As a business, we’re trying to understand the audience this is best for – for example, we were surprised to see that 50% of our daily users are Singapore locals, and what kind of monetization models might work. For example, we’re working with a few partners to enable restaurant reservations, cab bookings and ticket bookings.
“As a founder, the opportunity I see is building a large business at the intersection of in-destination, last-minute and mobile where I think there’s a massive whitespace.”
Founded in 2009, India and US-based mygola started out as an online travel concierge where a pool of globally distributed travel experts planned travelers’ trips. Based on planning over 30K trips, it changed directions late last year to create a more itinerary-centric product. Perfect Day app is step in that direction.
Natalie Chen, editor, TravelWeekly Asia, gave the app a go.
It’s a perfect day for an App on Singapore. Available on the Apple Store, A Perfect.Day.App helps you plan a day of activities from its list of offerings revolving around Singapore.
There are museum visits, tours to Singapore landmarks like St Andrew’s Cathedral and a walk of sights and eats in Chinatown. The walking tour of Chinatown does involve some cost at $65 per head.
The beauty of this App is that it tells you what you can do for free and which activities involve cost. So actually you can plan an entire day in Singapore enjoying its varied sights and sounds even the laser display at Marina Bay Sands, called Wonder Full Water and Laser Show for free.
Other activities include Walk The Southern Ridges and The Iconic Singapore Merlion. You can even catch shows in Singapore such as Mies Julie or Hotpants, an ensemble musical comedy. The App also connects you to the ticketing site to book your tickets.
This would be a useful App even for Singaporeans who are at a loss of what to do on a free day and a weekend. You can even share your Apps or your plans for the day.
The only point is that at first glance most of its dining options are of high-end restaurants like Les Amies or Iggy’s that go at more than $100 per head. But if you examine the dining options under its “Eat Out” category, you will find affordable eats. In fact, I even found the vegetarian restaurant my parents used to bring me to as a child. Talk about nostalgia…found in an App. 
There are other costs incurred other than those for activities or entrance fess, these would be the travelling costs to these tourist sites, at times they recommend the bus at others the taxi. There is also an interface with Google Maps to help you find your bearings in this App.
Its categories run from “Recommended, First Time In The City, Quirky, With Kids, Deals, Malay Festival of Arts 2014, Tours and Experiences, Shopping and Free Things to Do, Eat Out, Art & Culture, Singapore Art Festival, New and Noteworthy, Nightlife and Nature and Wildlife.
I checked out Quirky as Singapore is hardly quirky as far as mainstream thoughts lie. The Perfect.Day. App suggested paying a visit to the government office of The Urban Redevelopment Authority on its first floor which had the Singapore City Gallery where miniature models the city centre. According to the App, “The models are made in painstaking detail capturing extreme detail.”
Then there is The GoDown that’s stocks and sells home furnishings, trinkets and accessories from all over the world. And visiting the National Library of Singapore could prove to be a quirky experience.
