My list of places to visit in Singapore

[Tina G]

Does anybody have experience with Gardens by the Bay in Singapore? It is very new, and it is hard to find information about it. Thanks.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Does anybody have experience with Gardens by the Bay in Singapore? It is very new, and it is hard to find information about it. Thanks.

 

Yes. We were there in March. It's lovely. We did not spend much time outside, so I can't tell you much about the outdoor garden areas, except for the food court, which is great. We did the two indoor dome environments. Both are extraordinary, especially the Cloud Forest. They are also both blessedly cool. Admission to each is on separate tickets, although I'm sure there are special deals around.

 

We went in late afternoon into the evening, and had dinner at the outdoor food area, when it was cooler.

[wangeling gal]

Does anybody have experience with Gardens by the Bay in Singapore? It is very new, and it is hard to find information about it. Thanks.

 

Hi Tina G,

 

I just had a look on Tripadvisor. Type Gardens By the Bay in the search engine and it will pop up. You can look at everyones reviews and up the top is a website line and if click on that it will take you too their website and this has a heap of information on it. Hours of operation, admission, how to get there and what the different pavilions have to show you. It looks like you would need quite a few hours to see it all, so this information may help you to choose what you really want to see.

Hope this helps and I wish you a fabulous time in this wonderful city.:D

[gator489]

Thank you everyone for so much information about Singapore. Even though my husband I won't be there until March, 2016, I like to find out as much as I can as early as I can. You all are helping a lot.

[Ashland]

Yes. We were there in March. It's lovely. We did not spend much time outside, so I can't tell you much about the outdoor garden areas, except for the food court, which is great. We did the two indoor dome environments. Both are extraordinary, especially the Cloud Forest. They are also both blessedly cool. Admission to each is on separate tickets, although I'm sure there are special deals around.

 

We went in late afternoon into the evening, and had dinner at the outdoor food area, when it was cooler.

We are going to be there in March also...sounds like you found the weather during that month HOT :eek:

 

What hotel did you stay at....this is the problem I'm having :confused:

[ASing1Cruise]

Instead of taking the Cable car from Harbour Front, you should try taking it from Mt. Faber (it goes through Habour Front cable car station).

 

You will see the tree tops first then the concrete roads and building before seeing the sea at the bottom of your feet.

[wangeling gal]

We are going to be there in March also...sounds like you found the weather during that month HOT :eek:

 

What hotel did you stay at....this is the problem I'm having :confused:

 

Hey Ashland.

 

What's most important to you when you look at hotels?

Is it

Location?

Price?

Star rating?

Breakfast/wifi ect included?

All of the above!!

 

If ever you were gonna find the right hotel for you it will be in Singapore. :o

 

Singapore is hot and humid all year round. After all it is only 10 miles or so from the equator. Thankfully it stays open late and the areas of Chinatown, little India and Kampong Glam (Arab quarter) are fabulous at night, when it's coolerish. The trick is plenty of water, sunscreen and a hats.

Hope you find the right hotel soon :)

Edited October 27, 2014 by wangeling gal

[Widebay]

Wangeling Gal - You forgot to mention - its important to have a swimming pool at your Hotel, a great way to cool off, and head down down Silosa Beach on Sentosa, and head up East Coast Parkway to Mana Mana Beach Club.

 

DW & I will be in Singapore in 2-3 weeks time, looking after our grandson whilst his parents go for a beach holiday break at Da Nang, Vietnam.

 

We have a list of interesting places to visit, that we haven't visited before eg. Kent Ridge Park Walk, and a list of interesting Cafes we haven't been to also.

 

Should be a lot of fun, doing stand up paddle boarding with our grandson at Mana Mana Beach Club (we taught him the sport on his last visit to Australia)

 

Well, must get off this Chat Board, and get some sleep, regards to all the Cruise Critic Members who reads these posting/replies, have a nice day wherever you may be on this beautiful planet.

[wangeling gal]

Yes Widebay. You are quite correct a nice pool is important too!

Have a fabulous time with your grandson and family, enjoy all your activities. I am envious of how you get to visit this amazing city so often ;) look forward to you letting us know which were some of the better cafés you visited :D

[Widebay]

Wangeling Gal - We often visit a cafe in Bukit Timah Plaza, just up the road from our son's Condo, called "Fringe", its probably the best cafe close to his place.

 

Here is a list of Cafes, we hope to visit this November - Carpenter & Cook Cafe, Drury Lane Cafe in Tanjong Pagar Road, then much closer to our son's place are these cafes (not yet visited) - "Living Cafe", "Little Diner" and "Vicky's Cafe, these 3 cafes are Bukit Timah Road, so hopefully, you should be a short walk.

 

There are two other Cafes in the city, we will probably visit, that is, "Vanilla Bar & Cafe" & "Shots" Cafe, the first one is not far from Thian Hock Keng Temple, and Shots is 90 Club Street, Chinatown. Also one more - Little Drom Store Cafe, 7 Ann Siang Hill.

[Widebay]

I should have mentioned that coffee & the cafe scene is growing "fast" in Singapore. Not only to brand name coffees, but also guest brands, like my favourite cafe here in Hervey Bay, Qld, Australia, called "DeliBay Cafe", the owner/barista, is "Ulf" (he is Swedish - and I call him the master barista of our city, no one can compete with his coffee. He is passionate about making good coffee for everyone, and he explains how he does it)

 

Actually, I am going there now.

[frantic36]

Wangeling Gal - You forgot to mention - its important to have a swimming pool at your Hotel, a great way to cool off, and head down down Silosa Beach on Sentosa, and head up East Coast Parkway to Mana Mana Beach Club.

 

DW & I will be in Singapore in 2-3 weeks time, looking after our grandson whilst his parents go for a beach holiday break at Da Nang, Vietnam.

 

We have a list of interesting places to visit, that we haven't visited before eg. Kent Ridge Park Walk, and a list of interesting Cafes we haven't been to also.

 

Should be a lot of fun, doing stand up paddle boarding with our grandson at Mana Mana Beach Club (we taught him the sport on his last visit to Australia)

 

Well, must get off this Chat Board, and get some sleep, regards to all the Cruise Critic Members who reads these posting/replies, have a nice day wherever you may be on this beautiful planet.

 

 

Hi Widebay

 

With your experience I am hoping you can help me.

 

We have been to Singapore a few times but have never got to East Coast Park Hawker Markets. We thought it might be a nice change to go to this area for a few hours around lunch time, go for a walk along the beach and just enjoy tasting some more yummy Singaporean Food. Does this sound reasonable? Also you mention stand up paddle boarding........do I take it the water/beach is good for swimming?

 

Thanks,

 

Julie

[Widebay]

Frantic36 - firstly, in regard to Singapore & sightseeing, this tiny nation keeps re-inventing itself, with "new" attractions.

 

The eating establishments on East Coast Parkway starts from about Still Road and runs parallel to East Coast Parkway Road. The parkway itself is not for motor vehicles, only for walkers & cyclists. Cycles can be hired at various points along the Parkway. A friend of mine who lives nearby said he rode his cycle right along the Parkway, then up to Changi Airport to watch the jets landing or taking off above him.

 

There is a jetty on East Coast Parkway called Bedok Jetty.

 

There are a handful of restaurants/eating places along the Parkway, and lots of coconut palms, little sandy beaches. There is even a lagoon you can swim in.

 

To put you in the picture, imagine loads of shipping tankers bringing goods/etc into Singapore, and having to wait for days to get a berth to unload their gear, hence they anchor some distance from East Coast, however, the problem with Singapore is that people on these ships sometimes dump some rubbish, which ends up on East Coast Beaches. The beaches are cleaned regularly, but myself, I wouldn't swim in the area, only, do Stand Up Paddle Boarding at Mana Mana Beach, which is situated at the northern end of East Coast Parkway. The beach there can get quite choppy, which makes it unfavourable on those particular days to do a bit paddling.

 

If you had plenty of days to spare, before or after your cruise you could always book a trip to Bintan Island, & stay a few days (we did this 3 years ago) quite a nice break away from Singapore, at a very nice resort, which looked out to sea, and at night whilst dining in their outdoor restaurant, one could see the lights on the Kampongs (little timber shacks on stilts, where they fish from & also sleep) - sorry to ramble on, hope something in this reply helps.

[Widebay]

I forgot to mention, that Singaporeans like to visit East Coast Parkway, also for the "cooling" sea breezes & have a picnic.

[wangeling gal]

Wangeling Gal - We often visit a cafe in Bukit Timah Plaza, just up the road from our son's Condo, called "Fringe", its probably the best cafe close to his place.

 

Here is a list of Cafes, we hope to visit this November - Carpenter & Cook Cafe, Drury Lane Cafe in Tanjong Pagar Road, then much closer to our son's place are these cafes (not yet visited) - "Living Cafe", "Little Diner" and "Vicky's Cafe, these 3 cafes are Bukit Timah Road, so hopefully, you should be a short walk.

 

There are two other Cafes in the city, we will probably visit, that is, "Vanilla Bar & Cafe" & "Shots" Cafe, the first one is not far from Thian Hock Keng Temple, and Shots is 90 Club Street, Chinatown. Also one more - Little Drom Store Cafe, 7 Ann Siang Hill.

 

Lol I forgot you were a real coffee lover, Widebay! I mentioned once before I wanted a more authentic food experience last time I was in Singapore and I went to the Tiong Bahru food centre. The area is being done up and there is lots of little cafés and restaurants in the area. One in particular, Tiong Bahru Bakery, has had some good reviews on Tripadvisor. Maybe you might find time...........:D

Actually I googled Tiong Bahru patisserie and there were lots of names popping up

Edited October 29, 2014 by wangeling gal

[frantic36]

Thank you Widebay for the detailed information :). That is one of the things we love about Singapore.......they keep putting in new things. We haven't been to see The Gardens by the Bay yet and will visit in the afternoon/evening to see the light show, we have an overnight stay on the ship.

 

Interesting you mention Bintan Island. We won't have time this February but were thinking of visiting this July. I have to have a foot operation in March and we wanted a place we could just relax in July and get a break from our Winter. We looked at Club Med but some recent reviews mentioned lots of noise and mayhem at breakfast so that put us off. Could you recommend the resort you stayed at or any others?

 

Wangeling gal - the Tiong Bahru food centre looks good, thank you for mentioning it. We are trying to put together a mini food tasting list. We were going to go with Singapore Food Trails but they aren't available the first two weeks of February. So we are putting a list together of some of our must tries and see how many we can tick off. We have already ticked of Durian - one we loved but the next time.....hmm not so much.......it must have been the variety we had. :eek::D

[Widebay]

From memory, the resort on Bintan we stayed in, was, "Bintan Lagoon" Resort Hotel. (I will do a web search, to see that's right)

[Widebay]

Bintan Lagoon Hotel was okay, nothing out of the box, if you know what I mean. We stayed, I think 3 days, and that was enough.

 

There is another island, more upmarket I believe, called Nikoi Island, which is reached from another ferry from Bintan Island. Look Nikoi Island on the web, it

looks quite good.

 

The ferry to Bintan Island leaves from Tenah Merah Ferry Wharf on the east coast of Singapore. Bintan & Nikoi Islands are part of Indonesia, and thus you will be required to pay a small amount money to visit Indonesia, and also you need to bring your passports, to be stamped. When we visited, there were two very nice ladies, like tourist representatives or guides, who assisted visitors in the paying & having your passports stamped.

 

If you want to travel to islands further afield, there is always Rewa Island, situated just up the east coast of Malaysia.

 

Just remembered my son, wife & grandson, when they first visited Singapore on a holiday, they visited a very swanky resort, which I think was called Japalama? I must ask him when I speak to him again.

[wangeling gal]

Thank you Widebay for the detailed information :). That is one of the things we love about Singapore.......they keep putting in new things. We haven't been to see The Gardens by the Bay yet and will visit in the afternoon/evening to see the light show, we have an overnight stay on the ship.

 

Interesting you mention Bintan Island. We won't have time this February but were thinking of visiting this July. I have to have a foot operation in March and we wanted a place we could just relax in July and get a break from our Winter. We looked at Club Med but some recent reviews mentioned lots of noise and mayhem at breakfast so that put us off. Could you recommend the resort you stayed at or any others?

 

Wangeling gal - the Tiong Bahru food centre looks good, thank you for mentioning it. We are trying to put together a mini food tasting list. We were going to go with Singapore Food Trails but they aren't available the first two

weeks of February. So we are putting a list together of some of our must tries and see how many we can tick off. We have already ticked of Durian - one we loved but the next time.....hmm not so much.......it must have been the variety we had. :eek::D

 

 

G'day fellow Sandgroper, frantic36

 

Hope the operation on your foot goes well and that it heals properly and quickly.

I 'discovered' Tiong Bahru food centre after reading that it was the best place to get a certain Singaporean dish(which I just had to try!;))......who's name has escaped me for the time being, but I do remember being delicious! :mad:

While trying to recapture the name of this dish on Google, I came across these sights ' top ten hawker centres' and ' the 5 best wet markets' that mention Tiong Bahru on their list. One also mentions Bukit Timah markets, which I believe is not far from Widebays sons' place. There are so many to choose from and so many we sights you would need a year to try/read them all!

It wasn't only the hawker centre that impressed me, it was the lovely, interesting surrounding area, which had heaps of personality on offer.

Enjoy planning your fabulous holiday:D

[frantic36]

Widebay and Wangeling gal thank you for all your help and information. I have been having fun Googling all your suggestions. :D

 

Widely could the resort your son's family stayed out been JapaMala? That looks amazing but curious as to how they got there........I am assuming a regional flight? At the moment my favourite though is Nikoi Island, it looks gorgeous and so easy to get to from Singapore.

 

Wangeling gal I know what you mean about needing a year to check out all the various markets. That is why I never find it a chore to travel anywhere via Singapore........it gives me a chance to try out new places :).

 

Julie

[Widebay]

Frantic36 - yes it was JapaMala, and its situated on Tioman Island.

A few years ago, you could fly from Singapore to Tioman Island, but that small airline company folded or stopped flying there, so now I believe, its a bus trip from Singapore to Mersing in Malaysia, then a boat trip across? - unless you know of a different way of getting there?

[frantic36]

Frantic36 - yes it was JapaMala, and its situated on Tioman Island.

A few years ago, you could fly from Singapore to Tioman Island, but that small airline company folded or stopped flying there, so now I believe, its a bus trip from Singapore to Mersing in Malaysia, then a boat trip across? - unless you know of a different way of getting there?

 

No other way to get there I can see. I think we will confine our choices to Nikoi, Bintan and even Sentosa Island due to ease of getting there from the mainland.

 

Hope you all had a good weekend :).

 

Julie

[ibfern]

I recently returned from Singapore (and SE Asia) and thought I'd share my travelogue since I use the port boards for info gathering. I visited for 5 days, then got on a ship and visited it again for one day off the ship. Here are the things I wrote about Singapore:

 

12/13/14 to 12/19/14

Singapore

 

We arrived well past midnight in Singapore, after a grueling 20 hours of flights from Los Angeles. I had arranged for a pick up through our hotel Shangri- La and our driver was waiting as we exited with our luggage. Our driver was quite informative as we drove 25 minutes to the hotel. We were all exhausted and happy to finally be here. Check in was quick and easy, we asked for an upgrade from our hardly basic room to the resort like garden area and for SG 80 we got a deluxe room with balcony on lush grounds, breakfast, and evening cocktails and snacks. This was a great deal, breakfast was divine and massive with a choice of two places to eat, one more intimate and quiet and the other huge with massive choice. We enjoyed the smaller waterfall cafe most days. The juices were fresh squeezed and wonderful, I got watermelon, guava, pineapple, tomato, and orange on various days, what a treat.

 

Anyway we all slept like logs the first night, the pillows were to die for comfortable and so was every aspect of the room. The amenities were incredible, everything about this hotel was impeccable and perfect, including the incredibly helpful staff. After four nights I didn't want to leave ever. We all decided that we loved Singapore's Shangri la hotel, it was more than I had expected.

 

Our first day in Singapore was fun. We walked to the closest MRT station at Orchard mall, bought a three-day pass, and quickly learned how to navigate the very clean and pleasant subways. It seems like we went everywhere, we walked and walked, rode many subways, found the port, and walked some more. Downtown reminded me of New York City, with all of its skyscrapers and business people! Here you could hardly see the sky for the buildings were blocking most of it. By the end of the first day our feet were aching and we all went to bed early and exhausted.

Over the next several days we used our MRT passes extensively, and as we got the hang of it, we fanned out over Singapore and saw a lot. We visited old Chinatown, which was amazing and filled with such character, and many people. We learned here that this is one of the protected places in Singapore where you cannot build tall buildings, the character of this place remains as it was 100 years ago, and it is really a taste of old Singapore. Within old Chinatown, we found a Mosque, which was very interesting, although most of us did not go in, one did and he enjoyed it. There are many different streets in Chinatown, many of them covered so you can shop, walk, and avoid the rain.

We also discovered Bugis center, which was easy to get to from the subway and also the closest place to get off for Arab Street and Little India. We noted that this is where the Hotel Intercontinental is located, so if you like shopping it is the premier place to be. You never even have to go out side, for the most part the shopping mall is covered and protected from the rain. I found one of my favorite stores here, Desigual, and of course had to buy something there! We also found Starbucks and this became our go to place for resting and re-fueling!

We spent a lot of time on Arab Street, buying lovely fabrics and all sorts of clothing, purses, perfume, and more! This was my favorite place in all of Singapore, another protected area where small buildings prevailed and there were no skyscrapers in sight. A lovely area for shopping, people watching, and eating! We ate at a lovely restaurant specializing in Persian food and had a great meal. All the restaurants looked good to me, I adore this food so much!

We did a Christmas lights tour with FunVee in Singapore the night before we embarked on the ship. We met many cruise critic friends on this tour and had a lovely time seeing Singapore all lit up for Christmas. This was a delightful tour and included many sights like the Gardens by the Bay, a bus ride through the festively lighted places in the city, coupons for dinner, and a boat ride around the bay and river. This fully guided tour was reasonably priced at about $40SNG pp and well worth it.

Singapore in Transit

12/29/14

 

Had a great day in Singapore today. We had already spent 4 days here and still had many places to visit. Before we used an MRT pass to get around the city, this time we hired a private driver who took us to all the places we missed, and some places we didn't know about.

 

Khuhan (khuhan.sg at gmail.com) met us at 8am in his comfortable Mercedes limo cab and off we went to conquer Singapore. The weather predicted rain so I created an itinerary that took that into consideration however, it really never rained. Lesson learned, lose expectations and use a knowledgeable driver!

 

We started at the Gardens by the Bay, choosing to visit the Flower dome. It was all decked out for Christmas and frankly it was very cool at 59 F perfect for a hot humid day for me but cool for Ken. We walked through the dome, amazed at the wide variety of plants and surprised that there was cactus, Mediterranean climate flowers, and no tropical flowers at all. At the very bottom of the dome was fake snow and a pretty snow scene, snowmen, and several large Christmas trees. Of course at the end it led right into a gift shop, which we browsed through but bought nothing. I called Khuhan ringing him but hanging up as we had arranged so I would not incur any charges and he was waiting as we exited the gardens.

 

We drive by the Lau Pasat Festival Market, which we had walked past several times in our first days but did not know what it was. Khuhan explained about how it used to be on the shore but now landfill, used to enlarge the downtown area so more skyscrapers could be built, made the market nowhere near the shore! This market is where many locals and visitors go to eat, each stall is rated for health purposes (A,B,C,D) and it is built in old Singapore style. We also drove by Raffles, which also used to be at the shore but is now far from it!

 

The weather we looking pretty good to we headed to Mt. Fabor, a high point in Singapore where you can see the whole city and surrounding green areas, resorts, and neighborhoods. We bought Cable Car tickets, Khuhan would meet us on Sentosa Island where it left off and gave us instructions about what to see before the ride including the "loo with a view" which was a trip! I could see all of Singapore from the loo. The glass was so clear, our friend Chris had accidentally walked into it and he came out with a huge bump on his head. Thankfully he healed quickly thanks to a topical medicine Khuhan suggested we buy.

 

The Cable sky ride was spectacular, we could see all over Singapore including our ship, the Sapphire Princess. We snapped away, picture after picture of the amazing sites including a pool filled with Dolphins at a resort on Sentosa Island. Amazing views, don't miss this. As we exited, we followed Khuhan's instructions about where to meet him and there he was waiting for us. We visited a resort owned by Shrangi-La, then drove around a wealthy neighborhood to see how the other half lives! You should have see the cars in the driveways. At a lookout point we got a great picture of our ship.

 

We left Sentosa Island and went back to Singapore. Our next stop was Arab Street where we ate lunch at a rip off restaurant called Sufi Corner Turkish restaurant. The food was good, I got falafels and a spicy dip called Esme, but the prices were outrageous. Our friend Pat bought a coffee and a piece of Baklava, which was the size of a quarter, and cost $8! Avoid at all costs. Earlier we had eaten at a much better place, I'll tell you about it later.

We walked around Arab street, famous for its beautiful materials, alcohol free exotic oils, and lovely clothing. Of course I bought several hand sewn chiffon tops and a lovely linen dress, all for about $150, which I though was a great price. There is not much bargaining in this area, btw. This is also the place to buy beautiful rugs, the one I loved costs $12,000 and was well worth it but Ken said no. Glad he did, otherwise I might have bought it. Yikes.

 

Next we headed for Little India, and a famous store called Mustafa, opened 24 hours a day and huge with 4 floors. This store sold everything imaginable from medicine and food to jewelry and clothing. Amazing place, perfect for jet lagged folks who find themselves awake in the middle of the night.

 

Throughout the day Khuhan stopped at several places which were not on our list, Hindu and Buddhist temples, historic buildings, and even a synagogue! It was a lovely day and we really got to fill in the gaps of places we missed, the places we wanted to revisit, and even places we did not know was there. Khuhan was a brilliant driver, knowledgable on history and architecture and knew all the shortcuts. We had a fantastic day, got back to the ship at about 4:30 and was back on the ship within 15 minutes.

[Tara Jane]

Ibfern

thanks for your great report. Would you mind telling me what the cost was for your driver. We are a group of 4 arriving on rhapsody 6am and flying out 9pm the following night. I am trying to decide whether to get around with the 2day transport ticket covering train and bus, or go hop on hop off or private driver. Am concerned the heat might get to us if we go the train bus way. I have been looking at the funvee hop on hop off which includes the bus train and a trip on the river. Down side to that is we have to get ourselves to a place in orchard road to purchase the tickets. Not very visitor friendly. Would love to know where the loo with a view is located too. We are there beginning of may.

thanks heaps

[Iluvcruising2]

I recently returned from Singapore (and SE Asia) and thought I'd share my travelogue since I use the port boards for info gathering. I visited for 5 days, then got on a ship and visited it again for one day off the ship. Here are the things I wrote about Singapore:

 

12/13/14 to 12/19/14

Singapore

 

We arrived well past midnight in Singapore, after a grueling 20 hours of flights from Los Angeles. I had arranged for a pick up through our hotel Shangri- La and our driver was waiting as we exited with our luggage. Our driver was quite informative as we drove 25 minutes to the hotel. We were all exhausted and happy to finally be here. Check in was quick and easy, we asked for an upgrade from our hardly basic room to the resort like garden area and for SG 80 we got a deluxe room with balcony on lush grounds, breakfast, and evening cocktails and snacks. This was a great deal, breakfast was divine and massive with a choice of two places to eat, one more intimate and quiet and the other huge with massive choice. We enjoyed the smaller waterfall cafe most days. The juices were fresh squeezed and wonderful, I got watermelon, guava, pineapple, tomato, and orange on various days, what a treat.

 

Anyway we all slept like logs the first night, the pillows were to die for comfortable and so was every aspect of the room. The amenities were incredible, everything about this hotel was impeccable and perfect, including the incredibly helpful staff. After four nights I didn't want to leave ever. We all decided that we loved Singapore's Shangri la hotel, it was more than I had expected.

 

Our first day in Singapore was fun. We walked to the closest MRT station at Orchard mall, bought a three-day pass, and quickly learned how to navigate the very clean and pleasant subways. It seems like we went everywhere, we walked and walked, rode many subways, found the port, and walked some more. Downtown reminded me of New York City, with all of its skyscrapers and business people! Here you could hardly see the sky for the buildings were blocking most of it. By the end of the first day our feet were aching and we all went to bed early and exhausted.

Over the next several days we used our MRT passes extensively, and as we got the hang of it, we fanned out over Singapore and saw a lot. We visited old Chinatown, which was amazing and filled with such character, and many people. We learned here that this is one of the protected places in Singapore where you cannot build tall buildings, the character of this place remains as it was 100 years ago, and it is really a taste of old Singapore. Within old Chinatown, we found a Mosque, which was very interesting, although most of us did not go in, one did and he enjoyed it. There are many different streets in Chinatown, many of them covered so you can shop, walk, and avoid the rain.

We also discovered Bugis center, which was easy to get to from the subway and also the closest place to get off for Arab Street and Little India. We noted that this is where the Hotel Intercontinental is located, so if you like shopping it is the premier place to be. You never even have to go out side, for the most part the shopping mall is covered and protected from the rain. I found one of my favorite stores here, Desigual, and of course had to buy something there! We also found Starbucks and this became our go to place for resting and re-fueling!

We spent a lot of time on Arab Street, buying lovely fabrics and all sorts of clothing, purses, perfume, and more! This was my favorite place in all of Singapore, another protected area where small buildings prevailed and there were no skyscrapers in sight. A lovely area for shopping, people watching, and eating! We ate at a lovely restaurant specializing in Persian food and had a great meal. All the restaurants looked good to me, I adore this food so much!

We did a Christmas lights tour with FunVee in Singapore the night before we embarked on the ship. We met many cruise critic friends on this tour and had a lovely time seeing Singapore all lit up for Christmas. This was a delightful tour and included many sights like the Gardens by the Bay, a bus ride through the festively lighted places in the city, coupons for dinner, and a boat ride around the bay and river. This fully guided tour was reasonably priced at about $40SNG pp and well worth it.

Singapore in Transit

12/29/14

 

Had a great day in Singapore today. We had already spent 4 days here and still had many places to visit. Before we used an MRT pass to get around the city, this time we hired a private driver who took us to all the places we missed, and some places we didn't know about.

 

Khuhan (khuhan.sg at gmail.com) met us at 8am in his comfortable Mercedes limo cab and off we went to conquer Singapore. The weather predicted rain so I created an itinerary that took that into consideration however, it really never rained. Lesson learned, lose expectations and use a knowledgeable driver!

 

We started at the Gardens by the Bay, choosing to visit the Flower dome. It was all decked out for Christmas and frankly it was very cool at 59 F perfect for a hot humid day for me but cool for Ken. We walked through the dome, amazed at the wide variety of plants and surprised that there was cactus, Mediterranean climate flowers, and no tropical flowers at all. At the very bottom of the dome was fake snow and a pretty snow scene, snowmen, and several large Christmas trees. Of course at the end it led right into a gift shop, which we browsed through but bought nothing. I called Khuhan ringing him but hanging up as we had arranged so I would not incur any charges and he was waiting as we exited the gardens.

 

We drive by the Lau Pasat Festival Market, which we had walked past several times in our first days but did not know what it was. Khuhan explained about how it used to be on the shore but now landfill, used to enlarge the downtown area so more skyscrapers could be built, made the market nowhere near the shore! This market is where many locals and visitors go to eat, each stall is rated for health purposes (A,B,C,D) and it is built in old Singapore style. We also drove by Raffles, which also used to be at the shore but is now far from it!

 

The weather we looking pretty good to we headed to Mt. Fabor, a high point in Singapore where you can see the whole city and surrounding green areas, resorts, and neighborhoods. We bought Cable Car tickets, Khuhan would meet us on Sentosa Island where it left off and gave us instructions about what to see before the ride including the "loo with a view" which was a trip! I could see all of Singapore from the loo. The glass was so clear, our friend Chris had accidentally walked into it and he came out with a huge bump on his head. Thankfully he healed quickly thanks to a topical medicine Khuhan suggested we buy.

 

The Cable sky ride was spectacular, we could see all over Singapore including our ship, the Sapphire Princess. We snapped away, picture after picture of the amazing sites including a pool filled with Dolphins at a resort on Sentosa Island. Amazing views, don't miss this. As we exited, we followed Khuhan's instructions about where to meet him and there he was waiting for us. We visited a resort owned by Shrangi-La, then drove around a wealthy neighborhood to see how the other half lives! You should have see the cars in the driveways. At a lookout point we got a great picture of our ship.

 

We left Sentosa Island and went back to Singapore. Our next stop was Arab Street where we ate lunch at a rip off restaurant called Sufi Corner Turkish restaurant. The food was good, I got falafels and a spicy dip called Esme, but the prices were outrageous. Our friend Pat bought a coffee and a piece of Baklava, which was the size of a quarter, and cost $8! Avoid at all costs. Earlier we had eaten at a much better place, I'll tell you about it later.

We walked around Arab street, famous for its beautiful materials, alcohol free exotic oils, and lovely clothing. Of course I bought several hand sewn chiffon tops and a lovely linen dress, all for about $150, which I though was a great price. There is not much bargaining in this area, btw. This is also the place to buy beautiful rugs, the one I loved costs $12,000 and was well worth it but Ken said no. Glad he did, otherwise I might have bought it. Yikes.

 

Next we headed for Little India, and a famous store called Mustafa, opened 24 hours a day and huge with 4 floors. This store sold everything imaginable from medicine and food to jewelry and clothing. Amazing place, perfect for jet lagged folks who find themselves awake in the middle of the night.

 

Throughout the day Khuhan stopped at several places which were not on our list, Hindu and Buddhist temples, historic buildings, and even a synagogue! It was a lovely day and we really got to fill in the gaps of places we missed, the places we wanted to revisit, and even places we did not know was there. Khuhan was a brilliant driver, knowledgable on history and architecture and knew all the shortcuts. We had a fantastic day, got back to the ship at about 4:30 and was back on the ship within 15 minutes.

 

What an awesome report! Thanks for sharing. I am a local but I don't think I have been to ALL the places that you visited in your time here. Cool!

 

Yes, the Shangri-La is a very famous hotel. I recall this is the hotel that the US Presidents would stay at, when they visited Singapore.

 

Question - during your visit to Singapore, I think the Sapphire Princess docked at Harbourfront? I see this year that the Sapphire Princess now docks at the Marina Bay Cruise Center. I don't think we can see the ships at MBCC from the Cable Car which is right next to Harbourfront.

Edited February 21, 2015 by Iluvcruising2