Best Places to Visit in Singapore

We are considering to visit Singapore in the near future, but I often here how boring it is there. I have a hard time believing this. What are the best places and things to do in Singapore? Adding locations would be a plus!

Thanks in advance!

The “night safari” at the zoo. :sunglasses:

I was disappointed, though, that the infamous Singapore justice system didn’t have those tourists taking flash photos of the nocturnal animals seized and tossed to the lions. :smiling_imp:

:laughing: That’s funny!!! And knowing a little about Singapore law I’d have to say that it surprises me too! :smiley:

If money’s not a problem, you could relax for a while in the downstairs lounge bar at the famous Raffles Hotel, drinking “Singapore Slings”. It’s a great place, dark and cool, with a very “colonial” atmosphere (fine for a visit, but I wouldn’t want it in Australia!). Very salubrious! Curiously, not only are the peanuts free, but guests are encouraged to scatter their empty shells onto the floor, so that the birds will come inside to “nibble away”.

There’s also the once-famous “Bhugis Street” market, where the local transvestites would hang out toting for budiness. Kinda like Taipei’s “Snake Alley” - formerly seedy, then cleaned up, and perhaps only good for the tourists.

Singapore has a large Indian community which means you should have no trouble finding a good curry. Better yet, head on down to “Little India” and check out a little culture there! And speaking of culture, the 7-11’s in Singapore seem to stock a better range of beer than Taipei’s.

Finally, if you’re with the girl and want a bit of romance, I’d highly recommend a harbour cruise in the evening or a rickshaw ride to any destination. Singapore’s a very, er “pretty” city (clean and organised, and culturally diverse). Definitely worth a visit, though I wouldn’t want to live there!

Cheers,

The Big Babou.

Singapore isn’t as bad as people say, compared to most other Asian countries it’s cleaner and stricter but that doesn’t have to be necessarily a bad thing - though I wouldn’t want to live there either, too much city and “nowhere” to go.
I also rekon a visit to the zoo and the obvious, Clark’s Quay and Boat Quay for dinner or a beer, Orchard Road for shopping, the “Adelphi” shopping center if you are into hifi/AV and perpaps a visit to Sentosa island - just for the fun and to know that you need to pay for everything there, including entrance to the island itself.
There is also a small alley with pubs just off Orchard Road where the ‘wai guo ren’ hang out, can’t recall the name but it shouldn’t be difficult to find.

Apart from spending hours playing with my cousins or cruising in their swimming pool, I usually make sure to go to all the big green parks in Singapore: the Zoo, the Night Safari, the Jurong Bird Park, the Botanical Gardens etc… Holland Village is nice, too. And make sure not to miss out on places like Little India or Orchard Road. Boat Quay and Clarke Quay are nice, as well as all the other places the above posters have mentioned. If you are into street stall food, there loads of places to go, like Newton Circus etc. For nice and not too expensive Indian food, I think Boat Quay is one of the places to go, apart from Little India, of course. I’ve also done the harbour cruise before and the Singapore Sling in the Raffles. Just make sure to wear appropriate clothes when you want to go to the Raffles. I think we tried to get in wearing sneakers once :blush:, they wouldn’t let us.

Places not worth going are in my opinion Sentosa (except when you’re bored or have kids) and China Town.

There are loads of interesting museums, and the art museum usually has nice exhibitions (but the building itself is also worth a look). It doesn’t hurt to pick up some of the tourist info material at the airport. You should find info on exhibitions in there.

If you are into books, go to the Kinokuniya on Orchard Road. They even sell German books. There are also places selling second hand books, one of them in Holland Village (3rd or 4th floor). That’s where I usually stock up on Terry Pratchett and Elizabeth George and whatever crosses my mind. Just look for the best-looking copies and tell them you won’t take the books back, so they don’t bother with sticking in the receipt.

If you have a lot of time and a car, you might consider to spend one day across the border in Johor Bahru. It’s a completely different world. I think you can also get there by bus. In Singapore itself, it’s easy to get around by bus and MTR. There is a very helpful and comprehensive bus guide listing all the destinations and bus lines.

I’ll stop here before I get carried away :wink: Btw, current weather update from my cousin: it’s finally stopped raining, but the sun hasn’t come out yet :wink:

HTH
Iris

Thanks for the further information. I knew there had to be something to see and do!

Taiwan’s office in Singapore might be a good place to apply for a Taiwan visa - See the Current Hong Kong Visa Office Situation??? thread.

Visa Division, Taipei Representative Office in Singapore
Address: #23-00, PSA Building, 460 Alexandra Road, Singapore 119963
Tel: +65-62786511 ext.114-116
Fax: +65-62780095
E-mail: tperep AT pacific.net.sg
Office Hours: 0900-1230, 1330-1600, Mondays to Fridays

Budget hotels and hostels in Singapore

Go to the World Trade Centre and take a Penguin ferry across to the Indonesian island of Batam. Cost R/T ticket about $15US…takes about 35-40 minutes. Stay at the Melia Hotel in Nagoya and hang out at Lucy’s Oar House. The owner is Evan (an Australian) and he also runs “adventure” tours of the Riau Islands. Beer at Lucy’s runs about Rp10,000 and they have great food. Upstairs at nite he has a few girls with chrome poles. :laughing: I designed and had their bikini uniforms made here in Bali.

nedbatam.com/
riau-islands.org/oarhouse/
bataminfo.com/pubs.php

Yes,

Singapore is a good place to work, visit, and have a girlfriend in. I lived in Siglap for about a year and its also a cool part of Singapore to check out. The neighbourhood has nice restaurants and its close to the East Coast Park for rollerblading. As for checking out the sights - it can be done in a few days. The best feature of the city is the plethora of great cuisine. Shopping on Orchard Road is good if you have money to burn. The Night Safari is worth seeing and Sentosa Island is good if you have children(take the cable cars down to it!) If you are a history buff, the WW2 POW camp is interesting(although they are tearing it down). Having a “Singapore Sling” at Raffles is also an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon or evening .The local girls are very friendly and often are called SPG’s if they like foreigners.(Sarong Party Girls). Overall, the city is too materialistic for Chewy. The 5 C’s (Club, Condo, Career, Credit Card, Car) are necessities for many of the populace.

Its a great city to make money in, but I am not a big fan of the Government of Singapore or its press (same thing :mrgreen: ) for that matter(although it makes good asswipe). I remember watching JBJ (an opposition MP who the government sued again and again until bankruptcy) sell books on the street, and the local populace is content to take it up the ass. They could learn a thing or two from democracy activists in Taiwan. Mediocre intellects in most government positions in Singapore (including the press), with the exception of the ruling elite who are brilliant and ruthless. I prefer the Taiwanese, South Korean, and Japanese stlye of democracies. The Security Act allows the government to arrest anyone is pleases without Habeus Corpus, and it seems like the government is falling in line with regimes like Syria and Libya where leadership goes from father to son. Lee Kwan Yew’s son is slated to be the next premier after Goh Chok Tong steps down next year.

Anyways, weekend trips to Bintan and Batam are all recommended. There was some Egyptian motif nightclub in Batam I remember quite fondly. The Novotel on that island was my little play-pen. Bintan has good windsurfing. I recommend the Agasana Resort and Spa for pampering yourself. Enjoy! Just buy the IHT (International Herald Tribune) with your morning coffee.

Chewy

Wow…so much information here. Thanks to all.
I will go to Ria Bintan and Singapore during Xmas Holiday…
Most of the time, I will be staying in Bintan for tanning myself and relax…Will probably go to Singapore for one day…
Is there any Must See in SIngapore ? coz I will only have few hours to stay in that city…I want something different from Taiwan…

I enjoyed the horse racing. You have to check to see when they are running.

More like Must Eat isn’t it?
Never been but heard a lot about the food.