| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 6/17/2006 2:33:35 AM | | I will be in Singapore for a week on business. Actually the business part of the trip will only take a few hours I hope so I am looking forward to seeing quite a bit of Singapore. Where should I go? What shouldn't I miss seeing and what are the best places to hang out and watch the world go by? I am thinking museums, historical sites, theatres, cinemas etc... Where can I find cafe society? I am not much of a clubber but I do enjoy sitting in cafes and watching the world go by. | |
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| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 6/17/2006 5:30:34 AM | Go this web site:
http://www.bangkoktonight.com/
The site has a forum for people to ask question. I met a lot of guys from that site when I visited Thailand and most of them have been to Singapore. They might also have a section about singapore.
Or do a search on the Web for similar forums. Plenty of ones for different countries. | |
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| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 6/17/2006 7:00:28 PM | Skyscrapers and shopping: The heaviest shopping mall concentration is in Orchard Road, while skyscrapers are clustered around the Singapore River, but also check out Bugis to see where Singaporeans shop.
Culture and cuisine: See Chinatown for Chinese treats, Little India for Indian flavors and East Coast for delicious seafood and its famous chilli crabs and black pepper crabs.
Nature and wildlife: The Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, Jurong Bird Park and Botanic Gardens are all in the North and West section.
Beaches and tourist traps: Head to one of the three beaches on Sentosa. Other beaches include the East Coast and the Southern Islands (boat service from World Trade Centre).
While you can find a place to practice nearly any sport in Singapore — golfing, surfing, scuba diving, even ice skating — due to the country's small size your options are rather limited and prices are relatively high. For watersports in particular, the busy shipping lanes and sheer population pressure mean that the sea around Singapore is murky, and most locals head up to Tioman (Malaysia) or Bintan (Indonesia) instead.
Singapore has recently been experiencing a spa boom, and there is now plenty of choice for everything from holistic Ayurveda to green tea hydrotherapy. However, prices aren't as rock-bottom as in neighbors Indonesia and Thailand, and you'll generally be looking at upwards of $70 even for a plain one-hour massage. Good spas can be found in most five-star hotels and on Orchard, and Sentosa's Spa Botanica also has a good reputation. Any establishments marked "health centre", on the other hand, are best avoided.
On the cultural side of things, Singapore has been trying loosen up and attract more artists and performances. The star in Singapore's cultural sky is the Esplanade theatre by the Riverside, a world-class facility for performing arts like classical music. Pop culture options are more limited and Singapore's home-grown arts scene remains rather moribund, but any bands and DJs touring Asia are pretty much guaranteed to perform in Singapore. Advance tickets for almost any cultural event can be purchased from SISTIC, either online or from any of their numerous ticketing outlets, including the Singapore Visitor Centre on Orchard Rd.
Despite the name, coffee shops or kopitiam sell much more than coffee — they are effectively mini-hawker centres with perhaps only half a dozen stalls (one of which will, however, sell coffee and other drinks). The Singaporean equivalent of pubs, this is where folks come for the canonical Singaporean breakfast of kopi (strong, sugary coffee), some kaya (egg-coconut jam) toast and runny eggs, and this is also where they come to down a beer or two and chat away in the evenings.
The usual Starbucks and other local cafe chains such as Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf can be found in the CBD but an iced coffee or tea can put you back S$5, whereas a teh tarik or kopi coffee (try it flavored with ginger) runs closer to $1 at any hawker center.
Café Iguana is the best in Singapore. Located at 30 Merchant Road and have launched a great new happy hour at Café Iguana, with draft beer, tequila drinks and house pour wines
and spirits on a buy one, get one free basis every day
from opening until 9pm!
Cafe L'Espresso: With its European-inspired decor, this cafe at the Goodwood Park Hotel serves up Western and Continental specialities. Begin your culinary exploration with salmon and champagne. A delectable array includes freshly baked scones, sandwiches, cakes, pastries, ice cream and fruit salad. Try the deliciously moist Hazelnut Slice. The bread and butter pudding is the house speciality. Drinks include a selection of fine coffees and teas. Try the Goodwood Blend, Cafe L'Espresso's very own concoction. | |
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| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 6/18/2006 2:03:09 PM | | I grabbed a cab and headed to Sentosa Island for a day of walking and cafes. There's lots to see there and you can just freely wander one beach after another. It was great for people watching. I spent another day at the culinary school at Raffles Hotel and met lots of good people participating. You can book ahead on the web (don't believe them that its for guests only!) Raffles Hotel is the home of the Singapore Sling. Tioman Island is fabulous, but you'll need more than one day. The movie "South Pacific" was filmed there. | |
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| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 6/18/2006 3:06:14 PM | I enjoyed a few days break in singapore a few years ago. I went to the gardens and spent a day just wandering through them, it was great, very relaxing. i just took the bus, the bus system in singapore i found really easy. I also went out to the nighttime zoo where i had a unique encounter with a huge bat. i went to the bird park too and enjoyed that, but used a combo of public transport and taxi and because of that the taxi driver was really ticked off because the fare was too cheap for him.
mostly i just liked the scent of singapore and i felt very safe. I hung out at night in a little tourist wharf area with lots of restaurants as it was next door to my hotel. and i did enjoy a few hours in a spa and it was blissful (i took a quick side trip to singapore for pure relaxation and nothing more).
I only had 3 days so there was a limit to what i could do but probably if i was there again i'd head into malaysia and also get out to some of the beach areas, etc.
i felt comfortable and very safe in singapore and if given a chance will make another quick stop there or sidetrip if i'm back in asia again. | |
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| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 6/18/2006 3:07:45 PM | | oh, and of course headed to raffles for a singapore sling and met lots of interesting travellers, particularly australians who were also using singapore as a stop through to other places. | |
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| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 11/2/2006 8:45:06 PM | | Make sure and go to the Orchid Gardens, as the grounds are magnificent. Also the aquarium and dolphin pool are really good - the aquarium has the rare Leafy Dragon creature. You will love Singapore! | |
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| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 11/3/2006 7:14:04 AM | Singapore has everything that you might be looking for in a travel destination...they have lots and I mean lots of shopping, different tourist attractions, the night zoo was a cool experience....I know what the other poster is talking about the bats. Watch out for the falling guano 
Sentosa island was a cool experience and I enjoyed it. I found that it was a very clean, safe place to visit and it's small enough that if you've got 4-5 days you can probably do and see most of what you want to do. | |
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| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 11/7/2006 10:18:10 PM | Absolutely must do the Night Safari. I really enjoyed China Town. Take a bumboat down the river to the bay, starting at Clarke Quay.
I also enjoyed hanging out people-watching, at the outdoor bar/restaurant at the Marriott on Orchard Road. That might be the kind of place you have in mind.
Subway is easy to take, taxis are easy to catch, except at rush hour. It can be almost impossible to get a cab to take you where you want to go, because they have a shift change or some darn thing at around 5 pm. Never did quite figure out the problem, but they didn't want to go outside their own district.
It's a beautiful city and you will probably find that one week is plenty. | |
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cazar
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Joined: 4/28/2005
Msg: 11 | |
| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 11/8/2006 4:50:57 PM | singapore is one of the nicest places to go n visit..most people talk english
orchard road is great for nightlife and for shopping
geylang is great for chinese food...
the MRT ..is one of the cheapest in the world..and clean and safe
very rarely do you hear of crime in Singapore since they use the death penalty
and caning is normal for crimes...as well as long jail sentences
Hotels...all over...depends on what you want to spend...I personally stay on
orchard road at the marriott several times, hilton and a couple of more...
Clark Quay is nice and for shopping check out Malaysia across the bay and bridge
or Indonesia over at Bataam Island... Personally I prefer the Mall in Malaysia...
great deals there...
Lucky Plaza is nice for shopping ( on Orchard ) . Of course any of the travel sites
on the Net can give you more to do...
respects | |
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| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 11/8/2006 11:31:22 PM | Everything that everyone has said about Singapore is largely true, but let me give you a bit of a contrarian view as well: Singapore is clean, everything in Singapore works, everything in Singapore is under control of the government. This means to me that Singapore gets boring awfully fast.
After a few hours of business and two days of touring Singapore, maybe three, how about taking the rest of the time and going into Malaysia? Maybe spend a night in Malacca or even go to KL for a day or two. Incidentally, Malaysia is generally MUCH cheaper than Singapore.
There are even discount air carriers just over the border in Johore Bahru airport that will safely and inexpensively get you to and from Bangkok in that time. | |
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| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 11/9/2006 3:33:55 PM | | True enough, but I sure wouldn't leave Singapore just to go and hang out in Malacca. I thought that place was TOTALLY boring. | |
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| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 6/29/2007 11:24:10 AM | Here are two suggestions if you go to Singapore.
1. Learn the exchange rate and learn it good.. cabbies will bilk you
2. Do not litter...period. If they catch you, they fine you on the spot. | |
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| Singapore suggestions? Cafe society?
Posted: 2/23/2008 9:41:55 PM | | Clarke Quay And Boat Quay, on the Singapore River, are my favourite places in Singapore. There are lots of good Indian and Chinese restaurants, and small bars facing the river and the place really comes alive at night. There is always a safe and friendly atmosphere there, and the river looks great at night with the lights reflecting off the water and Chinese boats, lit with paper lanterns, picking up passengers. | |
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