Things to do in Singapore

Posted by Jackie Hewett on Mon 8th September 2008 at 12:36 AM, Filed in Far East

I personally don’t like Singapore that much, especially when compared to other places in the Far East such as Thailand and Bali which both seem more culturally rich and steeped in history.  The Island city feels claustrophobic and ‘plastic’.  By that I mean everything seemed too clean, perfect and sanitised, even the press!  Newspapers are factual, but bland, with no in-depth comment or analysis of political figures, their decisions or current affairs, ditto news reports on radio and TV.  This seems to pervade the whole culture of the country.  Everyone is almost ‘too good’ and law abiding.  Many of the recommended tourist attractions I found somewhat contrived such as the man-made pleasure island of Sentosa and the much heralded zoo.  Zoos aren’t places I generally choose to spend much time in and if that’s one of the main tourist attractions I am not too impressed!
The Merlion
That said Singapore does have its good points.  Obviously it’s a useful stop-over destination en-route between Europe and places like Hong Kong, Bali and Australia.  It is great for a couple of things – food (a huge variety and wonderful quality) and shopping.  Also, if you need to work somewhere in the Far East it is probably a great base – things work very efficiently here and I presume it is easy to get your stuff fixed, unlike some of the nearby countries.

So, my list of recommended things to do:
Food and Drink:
Tiffin Curry Buffet Lunch at Raffles (in the Tiffin room) – this is a wonderful buffet with far more than just curry.  There is a great choice of Indian and Asian specialties.  Service is impeccable – it is impossible to visit the buffet table and get back to your seat without a waiter carefully re-folding and placing your napkin on the table.  Try it – we did and failed! 
Sunday Champagne Brunch at the Hilton Checkers Brasserie (Orchard Road) – alcohol in Singapore is prohibitively expensive (due to the very high tax), but at this brunch you pay a set amount per person including alcohol.  You will find loads of ex-pats here taking full advantage of this and quaffing nothing but champagne.  The brunch starts at about 11am and the choice is wonderful, you can get everything from a full English breakfast and English roast to a huge selection of oriental food and seafood.  Many make a ‘day’ of it and stagger out at 3pm to go home and take a nap
The Satay Club (was based at Clarke Quay but now in Lau Pa Sat) – this isn’t really a club, but an area with a bunch of picnic style tables outside with quite a few stalls selling the best satay you will have eaten – ever.
Try Chili Crab which is arguably Singapore’s unofficial national dish.  I ate this dish at one of the many Chinese restaurants off Parkway.  We were served a starter of drunken prawns which rather disconcertingly were initially brought to the table alive in a pot.  The waiter then poured some alcohol (I am not sure exactly what) over the prawns which understandably caused them to react alarmingly.  The pot was then whisked away, the prawns cooked and returned to the table in a matter of minutes……they were good though.  Then came the crab – huge and delicious, has to be tried!  It is such a popular dish that London held its 3rd Chili Crab festival in August 2008 (sponsored by Tiger beer).
Singapore Sling at Raffles Long Bar where the cocktail originated – as stated above, alcohol is expensive in Singapore but this has to be done.  Rumour has it that the last time a tiger was seen in Singapore was under the billiard table in the raffles bar and billiard room.

Shopping:
Orchard Road is the ‘Oxford Street’ of Singapore, only cleaner and many goods are cheaper than in London.  Orchard Road has many large malls and recommended buys are electrical goods and cd’s (very cheap with far more English artists available than you will find in the USA).  Most shops have fixed prices, but you can still barter in some.  There’s a large HMV in Orchard Road that has many ‘listening stations’ so you can hear the whole cd before you buy.

Other Activities:
Botanic Garden – this is a great place to while away a few hours.  Take a book and just sit and relax.  The orchid displays are beautiful.

Take the cable car over to Sentosa Island.  From the cable car you get a great view of one of the world largest and busiest commercial harbours.  When on the island there are a few things worth doing – get a photo or two of the Merlion (Singapore’s half lion half fish symbol) and walk the Merlion walk through the jungle (quite picturesque and quiet), visit the Butterfly Park and the Underwater World with a travellator under one of the world largest acrylic tunnels.

Take a ride on the Singapore Flyer - Singapore’s answer to the London Eye, only at 15 meters it is 30 meters taller than the London Eye.  This has opened since my last visit to Singapore, but I do know it offers views over the Marina Bay, Singapore River and the Merlion Park.  There are shops and restaurants at the base with another opportunity to the the famed Chili Crab.

Catch some live music at the Crazy Elephant Bar – situated by the river on Clarke Quay.  Great atmosphere with good quality blue and jazz bands.

Spend Sunday lunchtime / afternoon at Muddy Murphy’s Irish bar with the ex-pats downing Guinness at the top of Orchard Road.  This is a great place (the only place) to hang out when there’s an international rugby match on!

Last thing I would recommend is to get off Singapore Island and take a ferry to the Indonesian Island of Bintan to visit the wonderful Banyan Tree resort spa. I will post a separate blog on this soon.

This entry has been viewed 166 times.

READER COMMENTS:

No comments yet.