Dayna

My boyfriend and I are going to Singapore this August for 12 days... Do you have any advice on what tours we should take? What not to waste our time with? Any SCUBA divers out there that had great experiences? Any surrounding islands that we should/shouldn't visit? Any great restaurants? We are staying at the Westin Stamford, anyone else? Thanks for responding!

Les

Dayna, <BR>We stayed at the Westin Stamford. It's a very nice hotel. Be sure you go to the restaurant on the top floor, if not for dinner, then at least for a drink in the evening. The view is very nice. There's a fairly large shopping mall attached to the hotel, in case that interests you. Also, it's right across the street from the Raffles hotel. Walk over and see their Long Bar, maybe even get a Singapore Sling (the Slings at the Stamford were better, just without the history). <BR>We took a dinner cruise on what they called a "Chinese Junk" (but it sure didn't look like what we pictured a junk to be - this was much bigger and motorized). It left the harbor in the early evening, while it was still light, and returned after dark. On the way out, you could see the ships (we saw more than a hundred) anchored outside the harbor, waiting their turn to come in and unload. Our boat anchored near some outlying islands, and we had a wonderful buffet dinner. Then we returned after dark past the container port (amazing how much passes through Singapore), and a wonderful view of the city from the water. <BR>We also took a day tour of the city, which took us to Little India, Chinatown, the Botanical Gardens. You don't need a tour to see these, transportation via subway or bus is very easy. We also took a bus to Sentosa Island, the city's recreational area. Sentosa wasn't that impressive, but the aquarium was nice. <BR>12 days seems a bit long for Singapore. We only spent 3 days. But you should have plenty of time to take a side trip to Malucca - I haven't been there, but it might be interesting.

lynn

Hi - <BR> <BR>Definately do drinks/dinner upstairs in The Compass Rose. Great view. Food is quite good for a "touristy" view-type restaurant. <BR> <BR>If you like Italian try Bice (pronounced bee-chay) at the Goodwood Park Hotel. In a word, excellent. A much less expensive place but still very good is a place on Boat Quay called Al Dente. We were hesitant to try it because the area is so touristy but, this was about the only place that didn't have someone out front trying to "capture" customers. We thought this might be a good sign and it was. The food was very fresh and had excellent flavor. We tried a pizza and some bruschetta. <BR> <BR>A great place for breakfast is the Raffles Bakery. It's not inside the hotel but "attached" to it on the back. It's kitty corner from Chjimes. I had the most amazing ginger cake I've ever had. Not gingerbread. Ginger cake. It's different. I could see the little pale yellow fibers of ginger all throughout it. It was superb. <BR> <BR>If you have 12 days, I would seriously look into doing a 3-4 day trip somewhere else. Singapore is O.K. but I must say it's not my favorite SEA destination. Very sterile, westernized city. Not alot of exotic feel that you would think. Just my opinion. <BR> <BR>No matter what, have fun! <BR> <BR>Lynn <BR> <BR

Rose

Dayna, <BR>12 days seems a bit long . I would suggest doing side trip to Phuket, Koh Samui, Langkawi, or Bali for diving. <BR>How about to Borneo? <BR> <BR>rose

Reg and Myrna

Agree that 12 days in Singapore is a bit long, but don't worry - this small city has an excellent ferry service to the nearby Riau Islands - departing hourly from 8am to 6pm. <BR> <BR>If we had 12 days iin this area, we would spend the first 2 days in a resort hotel to rest after the flight - probably the Batam View in Nongsa. <BR> <BR>We would most certainly go back and do a three day trip in the Riau Islands, after which we would spend a night in Batam Island's main town of Nagoya. <BR> <BR>Then back to the Batam View for a few days diving. Prices in these islands are FAR cheaper than Singapore (e.g. draft beer in Nagoya's pubs for as cheap as $1). The locals are very friendly and make you feel at home. <BR> <BR>Nongsa is about 40 minutes from Nagoya. <BR> <BR>Do a websearch using keywords like Batam, Riau, nightlife, adventure and should get all the ino you need. <BR> <BR>We were there last February and would go again.

yipsy

12 days in Singapore is definately too long a time to spend! <BR>You could try the islands of Malaysia eg Redang or Pehertain for diving experiences. I really enjoyed Redang. It's not as commericalised as the other many islands in Malaysia. <BR>Being a Singapore, I'm very amused by Lynn's comments about Singapore "Very sterile, westernized city. Not alot of exotic feel that you would think". Lynn, where else in the world can u find a Hindu temple in Chinatown? A multi-cultural society where many different races live harmoniously is hard to find anywhere else! The are no guns here nor any welfare system. Sterile I think not.. efficient maybe!

Diddle

12 days is definately too long. I would suggest that you go to Tioman Island, Rendang Island or Langkawi in Malaysia for some sun, sand and sea. Tioman Island is rather near to S'pore, probably about 3hrs. Bintan Island in Indonesia has alot of beach resorts too and I would recommend Angsana. Checkk it with the local tour agent there. You must try the local food here. Go to Lau Pat Sat in the evening and you can try alot of local fares there. Visit Mustafa Shopping Centre at Little India too... you can get almost anything under the sun except branded stuffs. It's a place worth visiting. Oh yes, Mount Faber at night is a picturesque place. Get a drink there and enjoy the view !!

lynn

Sorry Yipsy, I disagree. Singapore is VERY sterile. <BR> <BR>That's great if everyone gets along and there is a Hindu temple in Chinatown but this does not change the overall feel of the city or make much of an impact on a visitor. To me, and to many people I've talked to, Singapore just reminds you of many other big cities with big business and lots of shopping malls. Of course, Singapore has more shopping malls and is much cleaner. I guess it's just not what you picture when you hear someone say "Singapore." <BR> <BR>I prefer places with a little more character and some of that "other world" feeling like Hong Kong and Bangkok. Hey, it's just my opinion and I know not everyone agrees. <BR> <BR>That's O.K. with me! C'est la vie! <BR> <BR>Lynn <BR>T-118

Dode

It is a very clean, nice place to visit, with little crime. We were there in November for about 3-days. We enjoyed visiting Raffles, Arab Town & the great Mosque. The Zoo is fantastic & good for photograpy. Night Safari is interesting, but not for pictures. We will be there overnight, this year & return to Clarke Quay & Boat Quay in the evening. Take a ride in a bike shaw, it is fun. The people are very friendly. A trip into Malaysia would be rewarding for you. We regret we didn't go. Hope you have a great time. Dode

Sabine

In my opinion Lynn is absolutely right! For me Singapore is sterile in comparison to Hongkong. On the other hand side my husband prefers Singapore to Hongkong, so that we visit both whenever we travel to Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei. <BR>Although I prefer other cities, there are a lot of interesting things to see. Of course the botanical garden is great, the Jurong bird park as well. Additionally I like Sentosa and the butterfly exhibition, the aquarium is also nice. Try the food on the night market, which you can easily reach by metro. <BR>There is the possibility to make a night tour through the zoo. I always wanted to do but never did. <BR>1 day fo shopping is fine, 2 days? <BR>But 12 days are too long. <BR>A 1-day trip you can make to Johor Bahru, which is the Indonesian border city. The city is not nice but nearby is a fantastic waterfall (in the moment I don't know the exact name), where you can have a bath. <BR>A trip to Malacca might be interesting. <BR>But the better idea would be to check whether and where your airline allows stopovers, so that you split your 12 days for 2 destinations.

Laura

Like what the others said, 12 days is too long for Singapore. Luckily, it is really easy to go to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia from there. I'm not too sure about scuba diving, but I know for sure that Ko Samui would be a good choice although most of the nearer Malaysian and Indonesian islands would be cheaper. As a Singaporean who studies in America and does lots of travelling, I'd like to add my two cents worth on the little "debate" about the "sterileness" and "exoticness" about Singapore. <BR> <BR>Firstly, it is clean, but for us Singaporeans, it will never be clean enough, as long as there is litter on the ground. Very much cleaner than most Asian countries (sterile is indeed the word if you want to compare it with other Asian countries) and cleaner than most modern cities. What the heck, it practically is the cleanest country in the world, but I would never use the word sterile, because to me, it applies to how a hospital should be, not the streets. <BR> <BR>As for Singapore being exotic, I have to agree that it doesn't fare very high compared to other Asian countries, simply because it is so modernised. Most people prefer to use the word "cosmopolitant" than "exotic" to refer to Singapore. But no matter what, to me, the beauty of Singapore is that it is a cross between Asian culture and Western modernisation. Of course, it is like that in Hong Kong and Japan too, and most other major capitals in Asia. <BR> <BR>Ok, one thing I noticed wasn't mentioned was that you should try the hawker stalls in Singapore. Most of the others have mentioned excellent Western restaurants, so I thought I'd share about hawker stalls, where you get to try authenic Chinese, Malay and Indian food. Newton Hawker Centre is well known for being a tourist trap, so avoid it if you cannot stand touristy stuff. The food there is good, but you can get the same thing anywhere else. My favourites are Zion Rd Hawker centre and Lavender Street Food square. I'm not sure if those are the exact names, but I'm sure you won't have problem finding them, although I have to add that these places are where locals eat and is not as "foreigner friendly" as Newton, though you should do fine because there are English signs everywhere and the hawkers speak basic English. The same goes for the many "coffee shops" there. Coffee shops are samller versions of hawker centres located at ground floor of some housing flats. <BR> <BR>Westin is a lovely place, do check out Compass Rose, & Inagiku there has heavenly Japanese food, although it is very much more expensive than most Japanese restaurants. If you do not get to the hawker centres, Kopitiam in Westin would be a good substitute. it is a restaurant style hawkwer centre. Cleaner, more expensive, but hey, you get better service there. <BR> <BR>Personally, I would say don't waste time with the Merlion or Haw Par Villa, but I know that those into super-touristy stuff would not miss it.