Novena PO: Central Singapore's TB Hotel Letterbox Hybrid

Looking for a comfortable spot for your Travel Bugs to stay in Singapore? Have some (Geo)Coins that you need to deposit in a safe place? Or, simply looking for a large-sized cache as a change after all those urban micros in the city? Well, look no further! Head on down to the Novena TB Hotel!

It’s been a while since we lost the legendary Lee Hsien Loong TB Hotel at the National Museum of Singapore, and since then, there hasn’t been a large-sized cache within easy reach of the city-centre. Admittedly, it’s difficult to make one of these that will remain safe in the super-clean, muggle-dense city that we live in. But, I hope I’ve found the solution in the form of a Letterbox Hybrid cache.

Inspired by the Taipei Beimen Post Office cache in Taiwan, this Letterbox Hybrid cache is placed in a literal letterbox in Novena. To get to the cache and the logbook, follow the instructions below:

Step 1: Go to the Published Coordinates

1. The easiest way to get to Novena is via the North-South MRT Line. If travelling from the City, take the NSL Trains towards Jurong East and alight at Novena Station (NS20), which is about 10 minutes from City Hall.
2. Once you get past the ticket gantry, look for the underpass to United Square, and take the escalators up to street-level. Follow your GPSr to the published coordinates.
3. You’ll find a bronze sculpture at the GZ. Search the sculpture for a film canister containing a key for the final cache. The coordinates of the final cache is N01° 19.144' E103° 50.539'.

Step 2: Search for the Letterbox

1. Take the key, and search for the Novena Post Office. The coordinates will bring you to the approximate area of the post office (since it’s near impossible to the get accurate coordinates at the PO Box itself because the nature of its location).
2. Once you find the Novena Post Office, look for Newton PO Box No. 183. Do not confuse this with the Balestier Road or Novena PO Boxes, which are nearby.      
3. Open the letterbox with the key and examine its contents

Step 3: Inside the Letterbox

1. The initial contents of the box are:
   1. a logbook
   2. some unwritten postcards (for visitors to Singapore)
   3. some rubber stamps
   4. two containers for your trackables
   5. a pen
2. Sign the logbook, and feel free to use your own stamps in the logbook. There’s plenty of space in the book, so you can be as creative as you want with your log.
3. If you are exchanging TBs, be sure to write down your exchanges in the logbook. There are two containers in the letterbox for you to sort your trackables according to their intended destination. One is for trackables remaining in the Asia-Pacific Region, while the other is for the rest of the world.
4. Once you are done, please place everything back in the letterbox neatly, and lock the Letterbox.
5. Finally, return the key to the published coordinates and you’re done!

Final Notes:

1. Please take good care of the key and everything in the letterbox. This cache took a lot of investment and time to set up, and it would be a shame if this has to be shut down due to bad or careless geocacher behaviour.
2. Beware of muggles at both the published coordinates and at the letterbox. Don’t act suspiciously or put the caches in jeopardy.
3. If there are any issues with the cache, please let me know on by sending me a message on geocaching.com. My phone number is also in the logbook, in case of any questions from the post office staff.
4. Keep everything in the PO Box neat and organised, and if there’s any official mail addressed to me in the cache, please do not remove or take it.  

Thank you for visiting, and I would love to hear your comments about the cache in your logs. Happy geocaching, and I hope you enjoyed your visit!