Hi folks,

I will be in Singapore for 8 days beginning this Saturday. I've never been and I'm looking forward to it very much. I will be staying with relatives in East Singapore and I know they're not the active types, but I'd like to counter with exercise all the food I predict I'll be eating, so what are my exercise options? Are there plenty of parks I can jog in or would it be too hot for me (coming in from cold and rainy Seattle)? If not parks, are the neighborhoods suitable for jogging or some fast walking? How about nearby gyms? (I'm not seeing any on a google search.)

Thanks in advance for your responses!

There are lots of parks, many with little exercise areas. If you're not accustomed to the heat, walking may be better than jogging. Also, keep in mind that shopping in Singapore is practically a contact sport, that can easily equal a few hours in the gym.

Failing that, there are a lot of gyms in Singapore. Fitness First and California are the big chains, with lots of branches all over the city, but you may not be able to use these unless you have a membership back home that allows it. I believe there are some other gyms that have day passes, and a few exercise centers in the large housing developments as well.

Coming from Seattle, I expect you'll find it too hot to jog. But do get out to one of the lovely parks at dawn and walk, do tai chi, etc. There is also a rainforest park (the name eludes me) for hiking. And, as Michael says, the shopping malls - all air conditioned - are a great exercise venue.

Plenty of parks and green spaces. I jogged at dawn, but agree walking might be best for you.

You might want to ask your relatives if they belong to any golf club, swimming club, clan association or other clubs which have fitness facilities which you could use. Their apartment complex may have a gym. Otherwise, as noted above, you can jog in East Coast Park, assuming your relatives live nearby, or ask them about the nearest local park, as jogging is a pretty popular activity there. They may live near Pasir Ris, which also offers jogging opportunities. (Jogging in the evening may be a better option than the morning if you are like me. It’s cooler then. Your relatives may tell you it is “not safe”, please do not listen to this. As there is virtually no crime in Singapore, when a crime does occur, even if it was like 15 years ago, everyone remembers it and considers it still to be dangerous. I lived in Singapore for 5 years and really it would be hard to find a safer place.)

You can also rent bikes and also rollerblade in East Coast and other parks, not sure about where you get the rollerblading equipment. You can rent bikes on the island of Pualu Ubun as well, which is reached by a little boat from near Changi on the East coast. You can explore the little bit of wild jungle and wildlife left in Singapore. Pulau Ubun is part of the park system, the website for national parks in Singapore is http://www.nparks.gov.sg, you can find info on East Coast Park here as well.

There are also many public swimming pools, you should be able to use them by having your relatives to get you access, see http://www.singaporeswimming.com/pools for a map and you can choose the nearest locations. Swimming outdoors in Singapore is delightful.

I agree that the local gyms are unlikely to give you access, but if you belong to a gym at home, check to see if they have reciprocity with any club chains and then check to see if those clubs are in Singapore. Many better hotels will let you use their gym if you buy a spa treatment, but this can become expensive if you plan to do it daily. But have a pedicure and then workout and take a steam.

There are many yoga studios in Singapore, you might try a search or again ask relatives. I just ran a Google search under “yoga studio Singapore” and came up with a list of about a dozen places, including a site which lists many yoga places, see http://www.yogadirectory.sg/ Studios listed here may offer other types of fitness classes. There also appears to be a place to take Pilate on the East coast, see http://www.thepilatesplace.com.sg/ .

The local YMCA or YWCA may also offer you access to some facilities, see www.ymca.org.sg which is the website for the main YMCA on Orchard Road (there are others), and http://nof.ywca.org.sg/ for the YWCA on Outram Road
or again ask your relatives. There do not appear to any YMCA or YMCAs on the East Coast, so this may require some transport to get to these which are more in the downtown area.

Lots of joggers in the Boatnical Gardens in the mornings. Even at the crack of dawn, its busy.

Like Lcuy, the Botanical Garden is where I'd go!

Thank you all for the responses and suggestions!! And thank you for all the links - especially to the yoga ones. I appreciate it.

I forgot to ask this initially, but are there public tennis courts around or is it also too hot to play tennis outdoors? I'm debating whether to pack a couple of my older tennis racquets to gift to my relatives (to entice them to tennis), and when I do, if it's even reasonable to hope that I could also get some hitting time.

I played early in the morning. It was humid, but bearable. Playing during the high heat of the day would not be any fun. Guess it depends on how much you like the sport.

I played tennis lot in Singapore, mostly at night. Some people also play early in the morning. I agree that often during the day it is too hot, but Jan and Feb are the rainy season, so it is more overcast during the days and it may be possible to play. I would certainly bring the rackets if you can fit them into your luggage.

Your relatives' apartment complex may have a court. Also, in addition to many private clubs with courts (again ask your relatives), there are public courts, almost all of which are lit for night play. I used to play at courts in Little India, but these are probably not convenient for your location. You have to reserve (and pay a fee) for court time (this is Singapore), your relatives should be able to tell you where the closest public courts are and make a booking for you. See http://www.ssc.gov.sg/publish/Corpor..._facility.html for information on courts and booking fees.

On the comments on running in the Botanic Gardens, that of course would only really work assuming you will be near the Gardens. As your relatives on the East Coast somewhere, it could be a long subway, taxi or bus ride to the Botanic Gardens in central Singapore to take a run. However, Singapore has many public parks spread all over the island, so I don’t doubt that you would find something closer to your relatives on the East Coast.

Thanks again for the responses - esp yours Cicerone! That link you gave is fantastic. And I am now packing for my flight tomorrow, and your information has been the most helpful.