Uniquely Singapore?

[DikkieD]

Perhaps not that appropriate in here, but still the question. If not tolerated, please remove.

A couple of years ago I've visited Singapore for the first time in life. Me and my gf enjoyed ourselved that much, that we are planning for a trip this august. Now after our last trip we concluded that we simply didn't see enough of this awesome city, and that we should do better upon return.

In the meanwhile were are planning our trip, bought and read a rough guide of Singapore, and learned a lot more about the country. Most of the activities are set in our agenda's already, but I was wondering if you guys/gals know of any great things, that would be really awesome to check out over there. I'm not talking about the many tourism attractions, but more those really cool places, which I for example would never find without any intel up front.

I have to admit that, luckily, we know a guy (from The Netherlands) who lives/works over there. We made arrangements to meet eachother, so he can show us some good spots. He however lives there for like 5 years, so perhaps even he doesn't know every good place in town

Perhaps you could enlighten this n00bish tourist, so I can really go home with some awesome memories......

p.s. we'll be visiting Malaysia too for quite some time....(4th time)

Thanks...

DikkieD

 

[SnapON]

welcome to Singapore!
this august, well, u probably will enjoy to see how Singaporeans celebrate "national day" if u visit during the 9th-August period

 

[DikkieD]

blimey, I will arrive around the 29th of august, so I will miss that event I guess...too bad...would have liked something like that....

 

[simon.edward]

31st aug is the malaysian national day if i am not wrong.

Of course there are many tourist places to go, the zoo is great, sentosa on a sunday for beach fun is nice(weekedays its nice and quiet) birdpark, if your into nature you can swing by sungei buloh nature reserve to see a mangrove/river system or bukit timah nature reserve for a forrest type experience (but i think malaysian mountains beat ours!)

For a more cultural feel, china town is always great but try and slip out of the normal areas and wander around duxton to get a feel for the old buildings of singapore, then walk over to the city and see what we have become. U can alos take a river cruise along the singapore river which is pretty cheap. Kampung Glam is an area that surrounds an old mosque and was mainly a mulism/malay section of singapore. They have restored many of the shop houses in the area and there is plenty of good cheap meals to be had there. there is also a walkign tour that you can take.
Little India as its name implies a place of indians. Many many little shops and back alleys. dont go on weekends cause it is very very crowded.
Try a day in the heartlands, take a bus and visit one of our many estates just to get a feel of what the regular singaporean lives like. non of the fancy house with gardens or condos, most of us live in flats 1500sq ft and below. get lost in singapore, wont happen and if it does wave a cab down.

Most of these areas you have prob covered on your first trip, let me try and dig up some ideas for you guys. i am sure there are many members in this forum who will have loads of ideas !

pardon any typos in this rather long post.....it was a long night!
cheers

 

[afbug]

What you need is a food guide in Singapore. Where and what to eat! There are food guides selling in local bookstores, but not sure if you can find any in The Netherlands stores. Some of the best local food are found in the residential areas of Singapore.

http://www.makansutra.com/index.php
http://www.eatshiokshiok.com/
http://www.sbestfood.com/

If your're into nature, you can explore SG's surrounding islands.

BTW, what is 'really cool places' and 'every good place in town' to you? I mean what are you interested in? Almost everything in Orchard is cool. lol. Try the Singapore River cruise. Quite nice, esp at night.

You might want to check out events/conventions/exhibitions that interests you.

 

[ortega]

basically we need to know what tickles your fancy
in order to point you to the right directions.

how about a tour around the whole island via MRT train

 

[Feinwerkbau]

Hi Dikkie,

What Ortega said.

Seeing that you have been to Asia (or at least Singapore and Malaysia), you're probably more familiar with the usual tourist attractions.

If it's 'Uniquely Singapore' you're looking to experience, such 'attractions' wouldn't be so obvious, but deeply embedded in the normalcy of 'everyday' life. What simon.edwards suggested sounds like a great idea - TAKE A BUS, any bus and get off whe you feel like it. Walk around; sample and savour the surrounds and hop on another bus. Do that for the entire day ... you get what I mean.

Also, at the risk of raising some eyebrows, may I ask what is your definition of 'awesome memories'? Everything you read (and) everything we suggest here would probably have to be squeaky clean.

Give us something to work on and I'm sure many here would be able to cue you with suggestions! Since you have already drawn up a list of your own, why don;t you post it here so that we can see what you have covered?

Also, we have no idea how long you're going to be here. If your time is tight, like as in you have only 2 or 3 days here, then I'd suggest doing 1 full day of the bus thing from dawn to afer dusk, and go by cab the next day. Just ask the driver to take you to all the 'untouristy' places. All you have to do is tell him or her that you want to go where there are NO tourists or where no tourists normally ask to go to.

CHEERS!

Oh, the greatest adventure you could ever have here would definitely involve FOOD, FOOD, FOOD and EVEN MORE FOOD!!! :bsmilie:

Another suggestion: Check out the foreigners and expat forums here to see their perspective of local appeal. Sometimes they have discovered things that even we didn't know about, or found something to be attractive that we are blind / numb to.

 

[DikkieD]

Wow guys/gals, you made me look at it from a different perspective. As they always say, the best ideas are often the most simple ones. That tip about taking the bus is indeed a thing that I would have never thought of .. Will do that one for sure.

About the food remark. Last time we were in Singapore, we went to foodcourt below a shopping mall at Orchard Road. The court was extremely large and also extremely crowded (which is probably usually the case ). We had the best meal ever, though that was mainly because we didn't eat anything that day untill then. I forgot the name of the place, I do know there was a Coffea Bean at the entrance level. The foodcourt was in the basement.

Anyways, last time we were there for two days, we did some shopping, went to the Nightsafari. Did some more shopping and spend most of the time in the hotel, since my girlfriend was lying in bed, feeling quite sick at the time. Still, we had a great time.

Since then, we both have been looking for ways to find a job in Singapore, so we can reside there for a longer time. My girlfriend will prolly have more luck then me, she's rounding up a Biomedical Science Master and can work in almost every country at almost every organisation. I however, am a project manager in the Healthcare sector (IT). It's very difficult for me to find a suitable job in Singapore, since my knowledge basicly is way too focussed on the dutch healthcare environment. I will have to work a little harder to get a nice job in Singapore, jobs are not for the taking.

Anyways, I'm wandering off right now

On our upcoming trip we'll stay in the city for 7 or 8 days. We'll have plently of opportunity to check out the whole city, look under every rock, and of course photograph my ass off (while my gf is shopping I guess hehe). As mentioned, a friend of ours will take us to some places, with him we'll do that rivercruise, perhaps even at night.

I was hoping to check out a special event, gonna check up front if there are any special appearances that time.

The thing I like most about being a guest in a different country is just simply walking between all those 'locals'. Living life like you guys are, not the life of some spoiled tourist. The best thing I remember from my last trip in Singapore, was simply sitting in the front of the hotel (was Royal Plaza on Scotts) and just mingle with the crowd. My gf was lying in bed that time, so I was there alone. Such awesome impressions. Here in the Netherlands you sometimes get a little bit tired of another black/white cow in the fields. If I look out of my window right now I see nobody on the streets (23H00), a thing that will not often occur in Spore .

This time we will probably stay in Hotel Bencoolen. I heard it wasn't the best hotel in Singapore, but it is great location for all trips. Right in the city centre, close enough to all the important malls (like funan etc )

Thanks for the hints and tips, will remember them.......