What to do in Singapore besides eating and shopping. Here:
Replies: 23 - Last Post: Feb 5, 2006 3:10 PM Last Post By: guideraven
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What to do in Singapore besides eating and shopping. Here:
In response to the countless posts about how boring Singapore is, that there is nothing to do except eating and shopping etc, here's a short guide as to what else is there to do:The other things to do in Singapore besides eating and drinking
1. Go to the beaches at Sentosa or the Southern Islands.
2. Go biking/hiking in Pulau Ubin, an island full of walking trails, forests, wildlife and a quarry lake where you can swim in. Or canoe around the island.
3. Visit Sungei Buloh, a huge nature reserve bringing you through a natural (YES, IT'S NATURAL) Mangrove habitat.
4. Bukit Timah hill: Get a compass and a map, and try to get lost inside it. As you get out, see huge spiders, monkeys, komodos, snakes, hares and giant tortoises (yeah,a nd you thought you'll never find wildlife in the Singapore mainland).
5. Go into the chinese temples, observe the rituals of the people and predict your future by throwing the temple sticks (watch the people shaking this huge bottle containing many sticks numbered at the ends, shaking the bottle until one stick falls out and then throwing two kidney shaped things to determine if their fates have been predicted).
6. Take a ghost tour of Singapore wiht the Singapore museum. Visit the fort canning hill with the tour group and find out why so many Singaporeans dare not venture into certain parts of the hill at night. Also find out the relationship between banana trees and nails with red strings etc.
7. Go to a waterpark: Take a ride on the huge, whoozy water slides with the locals at the Jurong swimming complex for a fraction of the price you'll pay at similar parks in other countries. I dare say that this is the cheapest waterpark in the WORLD: S$1.50/US$0.90/GBP0.50 for entry. How about that?.
8.SKI. Yes you can ski in Singapore, at Snow city in Jurong.
9. Stroll: Visit the incredible parks of Singapore: East Coast, Marina bay, Botanic Gardens, Labrador Park etc etc. Bring some kueh, nasi lemak and a book/footie etc to keep yourself occupied.
10. Watch the airplanes land at Changi, on the coast near the SAFRA Changi terminal.
11. Watch a play at the esplanade, substation etc. For good insights into local culture watch a local play. Look for for DIm Sum Dollies II.
12. Fly a kite at Marina Bay park.
13. Club at Zouk, Centro, Liquid Room, three reknowned clubs in the country.
14. Satisfy your food lusts at Geylang at night, but more importantly, people watch. Lots of interesting characters go there at night. Stay around the Lorong 7-12 area for maximal fun.
15. Take a sip at Equinox, the highest bar in Singapore, at 72 storeys up in the air, with stunning views of the colonial district and quiet corners for doing other stuff.
16. Get a canoe at Pasir Ris, and canoe up to the house on stilts in the water (called a kelong), and say hi to the "uncle" there. After, eat by the beach at 'fisherman's village', an open air hawker centre in Pasir ris park. And Pasir Ris Park is a huge playground for everyone: Climb the spider web and take the "flying fox".
16. Plus do other touristy stuff like the Zoo, the night safari etc etc.
And of course, this list is not exhaustive.
Peace
Marc
2004
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18. After Michelle'sGo to the Bukit Batok Gardens for seeing the turles/toiteses.
19. If you have, take a flight out of Selatar to see the island from up there.
20. Go troppo and ride the MRT all day.
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Someone in the past wanted to make something like this a sticky thread, to be kept up top of the first page, but did not work out.
Lots of people replied that time.
RomanB, can we set something up. Something like what the Aust & NZ branch has.
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I fell victim to boredom in singapore. So, i bolted out even if I had a great job, and met some good friends there. Anyway, additional things to i did:- swim in the many public pools
- voluteer as museum guide- friends of museum or something
- learn a language. (BTW, i took french, and it had such an impact on me to learn more abt the french culture and language, that it's one of the reason i moved to France.).
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As a Singaporean who lived outside Singapore for nearly 10 years and returned to stay, I have to say that Singapore is certainly not boring. However, what it depends on is the traveller who may or may not be interested to find out more about Singapore.My take:
A) People watch in a Housing Estate:
over 80% of Singaporeans live in highrise purpose built estates know as HDB estates (Housing Development Board). Each estate is pretty much self-contained and have everything that the typical family may need. Most Singaporeans do not spend their weekends shopping or dinning in Orchard Road, they stay in their estates. What to expect there; apartment blocks with lots of communal spaces to encourage locals to socialise, cineplexes, religious places, sporting facilities, parks and of course food and shopping centres.
Let me explain why this is interesting: high population density, high rise living, harmonious multi-racial/ multi-religious environment. Singapore has 4.3 million people and of this 3 main races are Chinese, Malay, Indians and 4 main religions are Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. There is no racial or religious problems here... perhaps its due social architecture by our gov ... like playing S1mm City. UN World Habitat Award for Excellence in Housing Design in 1993 went to Tampines; which is typical of such a housing project.
My favorite is Toa Payoh. Go in early and stroll around the bus/ train interchange, feel the rhythm of the community, rushing to get to work. Then around 10am, move to the markets and watch the grannies and aunties do their food shopping, around 11am, the OAPs gather around the Toa Payoh Library and play chess and banter of days gone by. Lunch time, go to a hawker centre and watch the working crowd get rush for their one hour break. After lunch, move to Shuang Lin Shi, a large chinese temple with monastry and watch the proceedings. Evening time, do a run at the stadium or jump into the swimming pool. Later, wander up to the top floor of an apartment block and check out the paranomic views.
Hey, if not for anything else, you actually learn how majority of real Singaporeans live. The guide books and this forum can't give you that, you just got to experience it for yourself and be a traveller for a change.
Here's another for the uninitiated,
B) Cycling.
Singapore is only about 60km by 40 km. If you are adventurous, you can rent a bike from one of the local hostels and just go cruising for the whole day. Try some trails like eg the famous WW2 POW forced march from City to Changi Village. or around Bukit Timah Hill where its highly regarded for its primary rainforests; there is even a hectarce of forest that is reserved for permnament study by UN as a regional pollution indicator. The longest public beach is east coast beach (about 7km worth), and you even have fun on the 4 stories high slides at Big Splash for free from 10am-6pm. Perhaps a spot of Sailing, Wind Surfing, Canoeing, bbq on the beach
C) Something for the arts lover;
Personally, I don't fancy the Singapore Art Museum at Bras Basah. My favourite is at National University of Singapore. At the cultural centre, there is 4 floors of art work; permanent as well as temporary collections. My favourite local artist, Ng Eng Teng, has bestowed his collection to NUS. Only his last commerical work is seen at the Singapore Art Museum.
The amateur art scene is thriving more than ever; the new Arts House along the Singapore River, theatre groups, and even cultural groups such as the Peranakan Association of Singapore. Go watch various Chinese Opera Troupes practise; its totally unlike Opera as you heard or seen... it has acrobatics, extreme makeup and elaborate period costumes.. how about watching kungfu flicks in one these cinemas in the housing estates. Yes, they are all subtitled in English and Malay..
D) Fads, Curios and Architecture
This is abit like shopping but not quite. If you are into design, collectibles and alternative arts perhaps anime or manga, you can check out Clarke Quay's Cannery building. Or if you are into artefacts or second hand stuff, perhaps drop by Kallang River near the indoor stadium where the largest secondhand market is happening on the weekend.
If you like architecture, check the mix of styles available in different districts eg Katong for its peranakan shophouses
, Tiong Bahru for its Art Deco walkup apartments, Bugis Square and Far East Square for its fusion of modern and traditional styles and finally modern designs such as the Esplanade Theatre.
Thats it for me from now. For anyone who is bored in Singapore or "plan to be bored in Singapore"... perhaps try getting off the computer, go outdoors, chat to the locals...
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I'm just curious,Why hasn't anyone mentioned the Lazarus and Sister Islands in their must-see places in Singapore? I'm going there this Friday, and when I read at the visit singapore site that it's got quiet beaches and is a great destination for snorkeling and diving, I thought I've found my island gettaway in Singapore. But curiously, no one has ever mentioned them in the forums as wonderful places to snorkel or dive. All that I see is Sentosa and Pulau Ubin.
I was just wondering-are the waters polluted in Lazarus and Sister Islands, or it's not that great of a place to visit? Are the islands worth my time? And what's the travel time if I take a water taxi from Clifford Pier?
Cheers,
BTB
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Besides all these fun stuff does anyone know WHERE to really camp out in Singapore? I heard it is all build up and the Police watches for illegal .... R we okay for camping? Out door camping is the greatest fun I miss in Sinapore since boys scout days!10
Camping in Singapore yeah?Pasir Ris camping ground. East Coast camping ground blah blah. You may get permission to camp in Pulau Ubin.
BUT, before camping you must get a license from someone. Maybe you can try calling the national parks board.
I don;t have the number now but you can try this website
Singapore Government Webbie
and do a search for national parks.
And sister islands and lazarus:
here:
25. Sister and Lazarus Island: Our preserved Southern islands with clean waters and secluded chilling areas.
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thanks ! MarcmarsHonestly,I did tried out Pasir Ris but not Ubin, and I also tried a few places for camping (secret haunts) and those of you guys brave enough to endure the nites out, along with music provided by nature as well possiblities of any "close encounter(!)" by some .>? can try out, it is really a wonderful starry experience if you know where and how to! U need not ask for permission in places where even the police will never attempt to go looking 4 U! now I got a bicycle i can cycle to many places to do it. If U need a tent (not double tent) just to spent the nite, there is a place in woodlands near the check point where you can purchase a tent for only Sing $15.oo and I have been using it 2 for many months and still okay to use! the store is upper level where the old NTUC used to be,opposite & next to the KFC.
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another vote for the zoo - if you have time, allow one full day to visit Mandai Orchid Gardens (one bus stop previous to the zoos, open 08:30-17:30) and then both the "daytime" Zoological Gardens (open 08:30-18:00), and the "Night Safari" zoo as well (open 19:30-00:00), if you like that kind of thingit's a lot of zoo but it's really really good - I thought it was well worth doing the Night Safari "train" ride and then walking the entire footpath too
there's a place to eat between the day zoo closing and the night zoo opening; take drinking water with you (it's expensive when you get there); make sure you don't miss the last bus/MRT (underground) back as taxi fares shoot up after that - the MRT stop is Ang Mo Kio, and the bus is the 138
