I was asked by a few friends on the recommended places to go
in Singapore. It seems like it is high time for many people to plan for this
year’s travel again!
Since the last time I blogged about
Singapore travel was a
quite some time back, I thought it was timely to present a refreshed version of
Singapore travel recommendations again. With the rate that Singapore is
changing, I guess I have to do this every year!
My humble opinion on travelling to Singapore
- Firstly, get set for the hot weather. It is not just the
heat, it’s the humidity that suffocates. (Of course this is a lesser evil
compared to bone-piercing cold winters.). You will come to understand why we
are qualified as a tropical island J
- Singapore is a small island and only takes about 1 hour to
travel from east to west and north to south by car.
- Both English and Chinese are spoken in most places
- You can choose to commute by taxi, train or bus
- Taxi - costs about $3 to start the trip, comes up to about
$10 travelling within the city per trip
- Train - recommended, goes to almost everywhere, $2 per trip,
can be crowded though
- Bus- used in situations when train does not go to the place
you want to go
- Singapore's train network is called the MRT (Mass Rapid
Transit)
- Purchase a "ezlink"(MRT payment card) from the
staff at the control station at the airport or any MRT station. This will help
you save a lot of time and money versus buying individual train tickets by cash
The MRT network is not as complicated as it looks. You will get used to it in no time. |
List of things to do and places to go in Singapore
==This is where things get general and personal. People are
motivated by different things, and I am sure you have your own set of interests
and travelling style. I want to qualify here that my list is purely for
reference for your leisure planning, and not meant to be the absolute (though surely this is supposed to be an ultimate guide). There could be things I missed out, feel
free to add them to the comments section below.==
For those who are having a hard time deciding, I have also
included my recommendation ratings, based on feedback from my friends from
foreign lands.
|
Category
|
Attraction name
|
Description
|
Nearest MRT
|
Recommendation
|
|
Sightseeing (Nature)
|
Night safari
|
World's first night-time wildlife park. Take the tram and see animals
in the dark
|
Mandai (taxi recommended)
|
5
|
|
Sightseeing
|
Merlion park
|
Take picture with Merlion spewing water into the marina bay with MBS
is the background!
|
Esplanade
|
5
|
|
Cultural
|
Kampong Glam
|
Nice neighbourhood, learn about the Malay community, some arabic shopping
|
Bugis
|
4
|
|
Sightseeing (Nature)
|
Gardens by the bay
|
$1Bn spent in building this garden, you wont miss its iconic supertrees
|
Bayfront
|
4
|
|
Nightlife
|
Clarke Quay
|
Dine beside the river at night!
|
Clarke Quay
|
4
|
|
Cultural
|
Chinatown
|
See some temples, chinese shops and products
|
Chinatown
|
3
|
|
Cultural
|
Little India
|
See Indian temples, walk down their street
|
Little India
|
3
|
|
Sightseeing
|
Sentosa
|
Theme park and island with lots of attractions such as marine life
park
|
Harbourfront
|
3
|
|
Fun
|
Universal studios
|
Inside sentosa, mini version of Universal studios in the States
|
Harbourfront
|
3
|
|
Shopping
|
Orchard Road
|
Street of shopping malls
|
Orchard;Somerset
|
3
|
|
Sightseeing (Nature)
|
Botanic Gardens
|
Singapore's first world heritage site.
Not as mindblowing as yosemite or the scenery in chile, but worth a visit if
you are interested in plants or just want to take a walk.
There is a national orchid garden
|
Botanic gardens (yellow line)
|
3
|
|
Sightseeing (Nature)
|
Jurong Bird park
|
Come see the birds and bird show
|
Jurong (taxi recommended)
|
3
|
|
Sightseeing (Nature)
|
Singapore zoo
|
See the panda and some other animals
|
Mandai (taxi recommended)
|
3
|
|
Culture
|
National Musuem of Singapore
|
Walk through of the history of Singapore
|
Bras Basah/ Dhoby Ghaut
|
3
|
|
Sightseeing (Nature)
|
River Safari
|
Take a river down and see animals. My friends tell me is the animals
are quite lethargic, night safari is better
|
Mandai (taxi recommended)
|
3
|
|
Sightseeing
|
Singapore flyer
|
A ferris wheel to see the city. Icon in our skyline but better to see
the city from Marina Bay Sands Observatory
|
Promenade
|
2
|
Tips on choosing the Hotel
- Getting from Changi airport to your hotel
- From the airport to hotel, I recommend taking the taxi for a
stress-free ride at reasonable price.
- Instructions:
Once you exit of immigration, follow the "taxi"
sign and join the line for taxis.
No need to go to the booth to purchase any taxi services. There will be no
hagglers and Changi Airport is very safe.
- My 2 recommendations are:
|
Hotel Recommendation
|
Description
|
Location
|
Comments
|
|
Marina Bay Sands
|
Iconic hotel with casino, frolick in the skypool on the top of the
building and look out to Singapore's skyline
|
Bayfront
|
Either this or raffles hotel if price agnostic
|
|
Swissotel the Stamford
|
Great location and view of the marina bay area
|
City Hall
|
Not as expensive as MBS and one of the best areas
|
Of course, there are tons of other very good hotels also, here I am just highlighting my personal favourites.
You can also choose to stay at Orchard to be close to the
shopping.
Singapore food!
Food is very much a speciality of Singapore, being at the confluence of so many cultures around us. We have michelin star restaurants to very cheaply priced and delicious local food at our hawker centres (i.e Singapore style food court)
|
Must try local food
|
Where
|
Comments
|
|
Chicken Rice
|
Maxwell market
|
Ridiculously cheap for its quality and taste
|
|
Chilli Crab
|
Jumbo seafood
|
Ridiculously expensive but must try
|
|
Laksa
|
328 Katong Laksa
|
Noodles serve in a spicy coconut gravy
|
|
Satay
|
Telok Ayer Market (Lao Pa Sat)
|
Malay-style bbq meat franks
|
|
Bak Kut Teh
|
Ng Ah Sio Pork Ribs Soup: 208 Rangoon Road
|
Delicious pork ribs in peppery herbal soup
|
|
Carrot Cake
|
Various places
|
My personal favourote
|
|
Dim Sum
|
Tim Ho Wan
|
Though not authetically Singaporean, but still good food
|
|
Kaya Toast and Soft-boiled Eggs
|
Killiney or Ya Kun or Coffee & Toast
|
Our Traditional breakfast
|
|
Roti Prata
|
Jalan Kayu or Thomson
|
My sinful breakfast or supper food
|
|
Durian
|
Geylang/ Balestier/ Chinatown
|
You either love or hate it. If you love it you can be truly
singaporean.
|
Actually I found this
list which is quite comprehensive and
pictures should convey better:
Budget for Basic Necessities
(All currencies in SGD)
Food – A meal in the air-conditioned food court is around $5-$7. A
Macdonalds value meal is also around that price! - $20 per day
(If you choose to eat at the casual diners it can set you back about
$20/person)
Drinks - Given the hot climate, you might want to get
drinks during the day, which can cost up to $2 per bottle in the city. - $6 per
day
Transport- Most Places are accessible by train and
cost around $2 per trip. Assuming you go to 3 places a day , - $8 per day.
Allocate more if you want to take taxis, which starts at
$3.60 and typically cost about about $10 for areas within the city and $20 to
far areas such as the zoo
Accommodation - MBS is about $500 per night, Swissotel
is about $200+ per night. Let me know if you want a more budget choice at
around $100+, I'll help you find.
So excluding accommodation, $100 per day per person is quite
reasonable for basic necessities.
Fun and More
And now
to the things that matter. I mean, whats the meaning of a vacation if you do
not enjoy right?? According to your fun appetite, set aside a reasonable amount
of budget.
Alcohol - Alcohol is more expensive in Singapore
( way too expensive IMO). A pint of Erdinger is around $12-16 in bars in clarke
quay. Look out for happy hour!!
Casino - The few things that are free.. Locals have to
pay $100 to enter though (to discourage gambling).
Sentosa - An island within our
island dedicated for tourist attractions. Universal Studios Singapore is
also here, with tickets at $68-$74 for a one day pass. You should be able to
cover the entire USS in one full day. Besides the USS, there are also other
attractions in sentosa that will require admission fees.
Gardens by the Bay - Our proud $1 billion investment to
inject greenery in the city. Some areas require a entry pass which costs $28.
Movies - Tickets are around $10 at local cinemas.
Remember to book online to get good seats.
Clubbing - entry fee which comes with 1 free drink
usually costs around $28-$32.
Shopping: For American brands like Coach, Abercrombie,
CK,etc. You can get them for really much cheaper in the premium outlets store
in the US. Really, they are overpriced here... For cheap and decent styles,
head over to bugis village.
Singapore 3-day itinerary for reference
To top it off, this was my recommended 3-day itinerary I did for a friend
|
Day
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
|
Breakfast
|
Kaya toast and soft boiled eggs
(Available in many places)
|
Bak Kut Teh at Ng Ah Sio
|
Carrot cake at hawker centre in
harbourfront
|
|
Morning
|
・Merlion park and take picture with merlion!
|
Walk around little india
|
Sentosa
|
|
Lunch
|
Chicken rice at Maxwell market
|
Mee Rebus / Nasi goreng at
Kampongglam
|
Sentosa
|
|
Afternoon
|
・Gardens by the bay
・Chill at MBS Skypool (residents only)/ or your
own hotel pool
|
・Walk around kampong glam
・Walk around chinatown
|
Sentosa
|
|
Dinner
|
Chilli Crab at Jumbo seafood
restaurant at Clarke Quay (Reservation a must)
|
Assorted local food at Hawker centre
at Chinatown
|
Satay at Telok Ayer Market
|
|
Night
|
Walk around clarke quay or have
drinks beside the river
|
Night Safari
|
Rest/Casino
|
|
Supper
|
|
Roti Prata at Jalan Kayu or thomson
|
|
Of course, there's always 101 other ways to explore our little island.
To sum it up, I think Singapore has its tourism niche in Southeast Asia, with our unique city characteristics.
As my friend who visited puts it aptly, "I was sold when I could breeze through the immigration and pick up my luggage with 0 wait time. Nowhere else in the world I could do that."
Come and witness the level of efficiency and developments a small and well-managed city can achieve in a space of 50 years.
Hope this was useful for you
EUFASS
