Singapore - might I suggest the following places to vist

[Widebay]

Because I have relatives living in Singapore, we visit there quite often, and over the past 4 years, my wife & I have visited some interesting places. Here is my list of favourite places - in no order:

1. National Museum of Singapore (fantastic displays, artifacts etc)

2. Shopping - Little India, Orchard Road (if you have enough money), Chinatown (Pagoda Temple)

3. Singapore Zoo - well worth a visit, my favourite zoo.

4. Botanical Gardens - you will love this place if you like tropical plants.

5. Gardens by the Bay - same comment as item 4.

6. Raffles Hotel - go out the back to the courtyard bar, very nice in late afternoon/or evening having a cold drink. Raffles also has a nice cafe called Ah Tengs Bakery.

7. Peranakan Museum (one of my favourites)

8. Sentosa - you can walk from Harbourfront over to Sentosa Island. They have a great waterpark there. I know because my grandson (from Singapore) dragged DW & I over - but it was definitely a lot of fun. You can also swim Siloso beach, water can be a bit murky there sometimes.

9. East Coast Parkway - rent a bicycle & spend a few hours out in the sunshine & viewing all the container ships waiting to enter the port. You can actually ride a bike along the parkway, & eventually out to Singapore Airport, & watch the big jets land & takeoff.

10. For those who like walking or hiking - I would recommend 2 places, the first Bukit Timah ( I think Bukit means "Hill") is my favourite walk. You will come across cheeky monkeys near the start of the walk - 2 things don't bare your teeth to a monkey, its a sign of agreeson, & secondly, eat or show bananas to them, you will start a riot.

11. Marina Bay Sands Hotel (worth seeing) - go downstairs to the lower levels & you will see a manmade water course, with a gondola & paddler plying the course.....its crazy but then thats Singapore for you.

* Lots of interesting places in Singapore, like micro breweries, Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple (you must remove your shoes to go in)

12. Lastly, a place that many visiting tourists don't know about, but the locals do, its called Pulau Ubin, its an island on the northern side of Singapore Island, you get a boat over & then hire bicycles to ride around.

Hope my little lists can be of benefit to someone visiting Singapore, Lion Island.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Excellent list.

May I please add ,that for anyone who has ,or has had a connection to WW2 in Singapore or the Asian Pacific region , a visit to the Chapel at Changi prison is a very moving experience. It is set up as memorial to all those who were imprisoned during the war. Several bus tours include it on their itinerary or you can take a taxi out there , and they will wait while you visit the Chapel and Museum.

 

[Keith1010]

Excellent list. We have been to Singapore several times with another trip this spring and you have done a nice job highlighting lots of places of interest.

 

Well done!

 

Keith

[julesdb99]

Thank you Widebay -- I will have 3 days to explore Singapore in Febrary at the end of my cruise. Can you recommend a reasonable-priced hotel near public transportation? I don't need luxury -- just a clean, safe spot to rest up between my adventures. -- Again, thanks for the list of things to do and see. I will definitely print it out and take it with me. -- Julie

[Widebay]

I forgot to mention another two places which relate to WW2 - being "Battlebox" which is underground & located on a hill, quite close to the centre of Singapore. It was used by British & Australian Officers before the fall of Singapore, well worth seeing. Another WW2 place of interest are the "Secret War Tunnels".

Remember nothing in Singapore is too far away to visit, taxi's are plentiful & quite cheap when you think about it.

 

Before our son & his family moved to Singapore to work/live, we visited Singapore & stayed at the Mercure Grand Roxy Hotel, near East Coast Parkway. The hotel has a free bus shuttle pick up & drop to the airport. I am not sure if they do the same for the cruise terminal, but you could always ask.

The hotel included free breakfast. Across the road is a modern shopping centre, which your wife would enjoy. It is possible to cross the road via the elevated walkway to the shopping centre, and also access East Coast Parkway (beaches/cycling etc) - The parkway is pleasant, as it allows you to get away from the crowds.

[Widebay]

I just finished doing a "dummy run" for a booking at Mercure Grand Roxy, and I put in 3 nights in 3 months time, and a normal room came out at around $190 per night, which I thought was reasonable considering the prices other Hotels charge in that city.

I quite like Mercure Grand Roxy, because my wife & I could walk or rent bicycles to use along the relaxing East Coast Parkway, very pleasant sea breezes, and the walkway/cycleway never seems to get crowded.

Friends of mine think that when they visit an overseas city, that you have to be right in the centre, for all the action, but this is not the case for Singapore, as you know its a small island, reasonably cheap & plentiful taxi's to sightsee. Each morning out the front of the Mercure Grand Roxy Hotel, one would see around 3-5 taxi's waiting for someone to hire them.

[bronte2]

Great list Widebay. Can I also add a wander around Clarke Quay. We enjoy walking around there and there are some lovely older buildings as well as lots of restaurants. It's also very lively at night time with locals and tourists. Little kids seem to have a ball playing in the water jets especially at night as they change colours.

Last time we were there, we actually decided to take a boat ride along the river. We found it quite enjoyable and the commentary was quite interesting.

Another way to get to Sentosa Is is to take the cable car. Great views but not for those who don't like heights :eek:

[Widebay]

Bronte - yes I have been over to Sentosa on the cable car, but last time I was in Singapore, my son was with me, and he said we will walk over, so we did. Every so often they had moving platforms, but my son, he likes to walk & walk, so we did.

 

Have a good day wherever you are

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thanks so much for the list. I'll be there in 10 weeks or so, for 2 weeks, so lots of time to explore while my husband works.

[julesdb99]

Thanks for the information on the hotel -- I will check it out. Can hardly wait to walk along the beach. I'm like your son in that I enjoy walking whenever possible. I know I will wish I had more than 3 days in Singapore -- it sounds like a wonderful city to explore.

[SailingCableBeach]

This is a great list. What a wonderful city for the visitor.

Could I add a plug for the National Art Gallery of Singapore...I was surprised how much I enjoyed the art and the building.

[Widebay]

Yes, Singapore is a safe city, compared to many others in this world.

Loads of taxi's, and because of the small size of the island, the fares are quite reasonable. When we stay at our son's unit, we purchase a Ezi-Link with $10 SGD's on it, and use to travel on the MRT all over Singapore, or the local buses, and if you need to top up the card, you can do it the MRT stations, or at a local service station (the operator did it on her cash register, which was linked to the system)

Yes, Singapore has great museums - if you visit the National Science Museum in the city, look out for the "Singapore Stone", a piece of stone with ancient writing on it, believed to be the oldest stone with Javanese writing. It was discovered well before western discoverers reached the shores of Singapore, which no doubt had a different name.

The name Singapore comes from Singa & Pura (which I think means Lion City)

 

Well I hope I have given some cruisers ideas of interesting things/places to visit in this great city. I feel much safer walking around Singapore than I do in Sydney, Australia, or London.

[Iluvcruising2]

Welcome to Singapore!

 

Check out our local cuisine.

 

This was a fantastic post.

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/reasons-singapore-is-the-most-delicious-place-on-earth

 

We are not talking about expensive and fancy stuff here. We are talking about the normal, day-to-day food that we locals eat.

[dasha05]

THANKS WIDEBAY ! im planning a family holiday to Singapore. Have never travelled outside Australia , and decided I liked Singapore to be our first destination. Have heard a lot of good things. Will look into your helpful list. cheers..

 

BUT, DO HAVE 1 QUESTION FOR YOU,

 

What are the best months of the year to go to Singapore ?

[banditoo]

Thank you Widebay -- I will have 3 days to explore Singapore in Febrary at the end of my cruise. Can you recommend a reasonable-priced hotel near public transportation? I don't need luxury -- just a clean, safe spot to rest up between my adventures. -- Again, thanks for the list of things to do and see. I will definitely print it out and take it with me. -- Julie

Jules, we stayed in The Residence at Singapore Rec Club when in Singapore post cruise for a few days this past October. Included breakfast. Midrange price. The location was fantastic. Kitty corner to Raffles Hotel, a couple blocks walk to Singapore Flyer and Suntec Centre where you can catch the Hop on Hop off tours, duck tours and most every tour or shop. About 20 minute walk through safe clean streets to Clark Quay. Also easy to catch the rapid transit. Singapore is a beautiful city with so much to do. We loved it all. Clean, safe and such varied cultures. We purchased the two day Hop On Hop off tickets which included so much more such as free walking tours of China town and Little India, Duck tour boat ride, Clark Quay River Boat ride (we did in the evening and loved the quay and river all lit up), Singapore Flyer ride. The hop on hop off got us around everywhere that we wanted except to the zoo which we did as a separate half day tour. Singapore Zoo is very well done with lovely natural habitats. There is so much to do. This is a city that I could easily return to and spend another few days. It is the kind of city that you could just wander in.

[banditoo]

Widebay

I see you are from Hervey Bay. I am just in the process of putting together an itinerary for a trip to Australia next September/early October and we will be finishing our trip with a few days in Hervey Bay to do a whale watching tour and Fraser Island tour. I know this is way off topic for this thread, but I would be most interested in any pointers you could give me for the region and or tour operators. If you are willing to do that could you email me bahansen at shaw dot com . Need to remove the spaces and replace the at and dot with symbols. Thanks in advance!

[Widebay]

Dasha05 - The weather in Singapore doesn't change much throughout the year, that is, hot/sunny then heavy showers (all in one day) other days, no rain but still hot & humid. Once you get used to it, you will enjoy the tropical weather, that's why the MRT trains are all air conditioned, including taxi's etc.

One thing to have on hand is a small umbrella, you just never know when you will need it. One visit my wife & I were returning from the city to Holland Park Village, then whilst standing inside a small covered taxi rank, a storm occurred right above us, deluged the area with the rain I have never seen before, almost stopped the traffic.

Locals could probably tell which month has "slightly" less rain/thunderstorms.

Just to let you know how polite Singaporian youth are, My wife & I boarded the MRT train on the "Circle Line", and a school boy stood up & offered me his seat. The trains even have 2 seats marked "For elderly or women with children" in each carriage.

Banditoo - I could probably answer your question here on H/Bay.

Whale Watching - July to November (best month is October)

During the Whale Watching Season, the number of boat operators increases.....my favourite whale watching boat is Whale Song or Tasman Venture (do a web search - it will give you all the information you require) these boats leave daily during the whale watching season.

Last time my wife & I went, the boat operator stopped the motor, and two female whales swam under our boat, came up beside the boat, with their face out of the water, only about 2 metres from us. I swear they were eyeballing us, I have experienced whale watching like this before. I think the young whales sometimes get curious & want to look at people? who knows.

If there is anything else you want to know Banditoo - you can email me on jillnlee@hotmail.com

Regards.

[wangeling gal]

Welcome to Singapore!

 

Check out our local cuisine.

 

This was a fantastic post.

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/reasons-singapore-is-the-most-delicious-place-on-earth

 

We are not talking about expensive and fancy stuff here. We are talking about the normal, day-to-day food that we locals eat.

 

Iluvcruising2,

 

Thanks for the link to those wonderful local dishes. I have 4 days in Singapore in January, and really want to eat these sorts of food, where the locals would go to eat them. Don't want fancy Hawker Centres, just your normal everyday/everyman restaurant, that serves fantastic food. Could you please advise? Quite happy to travel all over to eat.

Any help would be much appreciated

Wangeling gal

[Widebay]

That's a good list Wangeling Gal - I have tried most of what's on your list, but not all. One I didn't like was Koi Ice.

 

Very hard to find anyone in Singapore who makes a decent Cappacino coffee.

The local baristas start with a good coffee bean, but then sometimes screw it up with too much frothy white cream on the top. One cafe barista at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre had too much frothy cream on top, so much so, that you only got about 1/2 cup of coffee, and the coffee didn't taste that strong either.

 

I found myself walking around in & out of cafes at various places in Singapore, just watching the barista making coffee, and how much ingredients were actually placed in the coffee cup.

 

Here where I live, we have a cafe called "Bay Deli Cafe" & the owner/barista is "passionate" about how he makes his coffee. He strives for perfection. He has fiddled with various parts of his machine, to improve the final cup of coffee that is served to you. I call him the "Master".

[Widebay]

Just adding to my last post - I just asked my wife, "In all our visits to Singapore, which cafe & coffee did she like the best" - she screwed her face up at me, then said, " The only coffee I enjoyed was below in the main walking concourse of Marina Bay Sands Hotel complex" - its a small cafe, with stools against the wall, with lots of sweet cakes/slices etc (you know the ones that go straight to the hips) I had to agree with her, the coffee was quite good in that cafe.

 

Spoke to my son in Singapore last night, and asked him about coffee & cafes there, and he said, " I don't know I drink tea".

[meepokman]

Hi Widebay,

 

I'm not a coffee connoisseur but you might be right to say that it's challenging (though not impossible) to find someone who can make excellent coffee in Singapore.

 

Having said that, Singapore does have it's unique coffee/tea culture. If you have the opportunity of stepping into a local coffee shop, observe how the locals order drinks. It will be a rewarding cultural exposure.

 

I also understand that the locals like their coffee differently. I am currently in Boston and my Singaporean coffee addicts are craving for local coffee. Not to say that the coffees in US is not good. I belief the taste reflect the culture.