|
Hi hi,
So I want to make a trip to Singapore early next year. Ive never been there, but from what Ive heard its a really nice city and the food is very good  The only problem Ive seen so far is that the hotels are quite expensive, for example, we are going to Thailand afterwards and there you can get way better deals for some nice hotels. Ive found some, but sometimes the reviews are a bit scary ^^.
The best one so far, which seems reasonably priced, is located in Geylang. I read that this is the Red District but that at the same time has the best food in the city. I know that Singapore is in general very safe but anyone knows how it is in this zone? Is it advisable/safe to stay there, even if Im travelling with my girlfriend? Or if youve been/live there do you have recommendations of a better zone where we should stay.
Any travel tips, activities, places to see, and most importantly restaurant/street food recommendations are also welcomed. We would like to try as much food as possible, and get to eat at nice local places that might not be as easy to find in the typical travel guides.
Thanks for your help!
 
|
Beware of Singaporean women if you are a westerner.
Honestly there is nothing special about Singaporean food as you find them tastier and cheaper in Malaysia.
Casino in Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Night Safari seem to be the only tourist attractions there.
|
On November 30 2012 10:59 ppshchik wrote:
Beware of Singaporean women if you are a westerner.
Honestly there is nothing special about Singaporean food as you find them tastier and cheaper in Malaysia.
Casino in Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Night Safari seem to be the only tourist attractions there.
Why beware Singaporean women?
Do they really, really hate westerners? Or are they very, very eager to get a free ticket to a strong, first-world country?
|
I'm from Singapore, and moved to the USA. I want to go back pretty soon since Singapore is overall better than USA in my opinion.
You will love it there, just be careful if you're foreign since some people will stare at you. Singapore is more of a tourist attraction than anything really.
|
On November 30 2012 11:12 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote:Show nested quote +On November 30 2012 10:59 ppshchik wrote:
Beware of Singaporean women if you are a westerner.
Honestly there is nothing special about Singaporean food as you find them tastier and cheaper in Malaysia.
Casino in Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Night Safari seem to be the only tourist attractions there. Why beware Singaporean women? Do they really, really hate westerners? Or are they very, very eager to get a free ticket to a strong, first-world country?
Singapore is a first-world country lol
|
On November 30 2012 11:12 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote:Show nested quote +On November 30 2012 10:59 ppshchik wrote:
Beware of Singaporean women if you are a westerner.
Honestly there is nothing special about Singaporean food as you find them tastier and cheaper in Malaysia.
Casino in Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Night Safari seem to be the only tourist attractions there. Why beware Singaporean women? Do they really, really hate westerners? Or are they very, very eager to get a free ticket to a strong, first-world country?
lol.
very.
|
On November 30 2012 11:12 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote:Show nested quote +On November 30 2012 10:59 ppshchik wrote:
Beware of Singaporean women if you are a westerner.
Honestly there is nothing special about Singaporean food as you find them tastier and cheaper in Malaysia.
Casino in Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Night Safari seem to be the only tourist attractions there. Why beware Singaporean women? Do they really, really hate westerners? Or are they very, very eager to get a free ticket to a strong, first-world country?
LOL, Singapore is a strong, first-world country. Cleaner, richer and more modern than pretty much every OECD country.
Beware of Singaporean women seems like a random cliche, especially without the explanation. From an outside view, I'm guessing that they are just more dressed-up, made-up, materialistic and calculated than most.
|
The hotels in Geylang are good? Hourly rate hotels???
I suppose if you stay in budget hotels instead of crazy 5 star ones like Swissotel, Carlton, Ritz, you can save money? Maybe around Sgd200 a night last I checked? Anything lower might be a hostel.....
Beware Sg women = Beware Sarong Party Girls (SPG)?
They only go for expats residing in SG no? Not visitors?
Maybe the zoo/ night safari perhaps? Or the bird park?
There is also a Universal Studios in Sentosa. Much of the urban attractions are concentrated near the southern portion aka Central Business District area.
Shopping is also close by. The most commercialised is Orchard and its quite a big stretch to walk as well.
I think this is quite succinct and gives a good idea on what to do
http://wikitravel.org/en/Three_days_in_Singapore
Enjoy your trip.
|
Okay first it's probably true that you can get better food for cheaper in Malaysia.
Singapore is basically a nice place to start off in south east Asia since everyone speaks some English, it's very safe and clean. The food might not be as great as other places but you might encounter safety or language issues in the less developed ASEAN countries ( right now there's been a spike of crime across in Malaysia targeting Singaporeans so even locals think twice about. Driving up to Malaysia for a holiday).
Gaylang is really safe don't worry. Only some parts are where the prostitutes are at, and even then prostitution is heavily regulated in Singapore so it's reasonably safe. Just try to stay some place central since you can safe on travel time (not that it's a huge hassle to commute the trains are reasonably ok)
For food go to maxwell food court near tanjong pagar mrt station. It's central and it has some pretty decent food. Just got renovated too! As for specially what food to get that depends on your tolerance of spicy foods.
|
What's your budget like? Here's a site you could use: http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore-hawker/
I pointed it to the 'hawker' page because that's the 'frontpage' of Singapore cuisine. But if you are looking to try good food that's non-local cuisine, there are plenty of establishments as well. I think the Korean BBQ buffet is still the in-thing among Singaporeans now. I could come up with a list but I'm halfway through exams so I'll come up with a list for you next week.
With regards to stay, I'm not too sure. But I'd suggest you come nearer to Chinese New Year 2013. 10th and 11th Feb are the public holidays. You could try to rent a hotel nearer to the countdown event for one night. And during the 2 days of Chinese new year, most hawker places won't be operating. But I guess you could take the chance to try popular non-local food (we have quite a few good international-food places).
Shopping wise, the usual city areas for the popular brands. If you are looking to grab IT stuff, let me know first, there are popular places which try to rip you off very badly.
Tourist place.. Probably check out Sentosa. You can enter Sentosa via cable car (expensive) or monorail. Gardens by the bay at Marina Bay sands. Chinatown will be bustling during Chinese New Year week (Festive food season!).
I'll update my post later when I can think of more stuff.
|
On November 30 2012 11:18 PiGStarcraft wrote:Show nested quote +On November 30 2012 11:12 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote:On November 30 2012 10:59 ppshchik wrote:
Beware of Singaporean women if you are a westerner.
Honestly there is nothing special about Singaporean food as you find them tastier and cheaper in Malaysia.
Casino in Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Night Safari seem to be the only tourist attractions there. Why beware Singaporean women? Do they really, really hate westerners? Or are they very, very eager to get a free ticket to a strong, first-world country? Singapore is a first-world country lol
What can I say lol
I'm clueless when it comes to everything in Asia that isn't China or Japan.
|
|
|
konadora
Singapore66358 Posts
The "hotels" (or motels, rather) in geylang are cheap. you can get a decent one for around SGD70-100 a night afaik. Most of the good foods are at geylang and/or around it. Try the more SEA/singapore exclusive stuff like DURIAN. Safety wise, as far as you don't disturb the "ah bengs" (or hooligan gangs) by avoiding eye contact, showing too much cash in the streets, etc, you're fine.
for places to visit, you might wanna try chinatown shophouses (ann siang hill area), tanjong pagar (good food stuff here, but slightly expensive), dempsey (good food, expensive), marina bay sands (club Avalon, skyview garden thing), gardens by the bay, sentosa, universal studios singapore, just to name a few.
|
On November 30 2012 12:07 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote:Show nested quote +On November 30 2012 11:18 PiGStarcraft wrote:On November 30 2012 11:12 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote:On November 30 2012 10:59 ppshchik wrote:
Beware of Singaporean women if you are a westerner.
Honestly there is nothing special about Singaporean food as you find them tastier and cheaper in Malaysia.
Casino in Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Night Safari seem to be the only tourist attractions there. Why beware Singaporean women? Do they really, really hate westerners? Or are they very, very eager to get a free ticket to a strong, first-world country? Singapore is a first-world country lol What can I say lol I'm clueless when it comes to everything in Asia that isn't China or Japan.
Funny thing is, if you knew a thing about China or Japan, you certainly would not be ignorant of Singapore, one of the most important countries in Asia.
|
Get ready to see how invasive a government can really get.
|
|
|
Geylang is still a very safe district, you just may see a lot of "street walkers" at night or in your hotel. I honestly don't think the food is great in Geylang, it's much better in places like Newton Circus.
|
Aotearoa39261 Posts
On November 30 2012 13:20 konadora wrote:
Try the more SEA/singapore exclusive stuff like DURIAN. lol
That will make an impression one way or another.
|
On November 30 2012 15:01 Plexa wrote:Show nested quote +On November 30 2012 13:20 konadora wrote:
Try the more SEA/singapore exclusive stuff like DURIAN. lol That will make an impression one way or another.
pretty sure all non-Asians hate durian..or so i think..:p
|
Chinatown has a lot of decent, affordable hotels in the middling range (not super nice, not flophouses) and is very convenient in terms of public transport. I usually stay at this one when I don't want to stay with family (I'm from Malaysia, but like many Malaysians, have business and family in Singapore).
The Keong Saik Hotel
but there are others in that area that are fine, and the deals vary:
a booking site I sometimes use, although if you go for, say, The Porcelain, make sure to ask for a room with a window. I forgot to make sure of that, and it was the first time my in-laws (Americans) had ever been there. That... was bad planning on my part.
Food's been covered extensively above; I leave it alone but for this: Singaporean food isn't quite the same of Malaysian food - the food in the region is extremely diverse and can vary significantly even over short distances (despite carrying the same name). Singaporean food is good in its own right.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
