Pls help me lay out my 2 meager days in Sinapore!
Jan 24th, 2008, 01:35 AM
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Pls help me lay out my 2 meager days in Sinapore!
I know, I know it is not enough, but a girl can't do everything and I want to make the most out of the hand I am dealt! Here's is what I am interested in:
1. Shopping-shoes & handbags
2.Little India
3.Chinatown
4.Night safari-transportation tips for solo woman pls-should I buy tickets ahead online-was not comfortable with the requested passport # information
5. Cable car to Sentosa
I am really not a museum kind of girl.
Staying at Raffles the Plaza based on recommendations for the underground transit system [which I hear is now the Fullerton] What is the best way to transit from the airport? Many thanks in advance!
1. Shopping-shoes & handbags
2.Little India
3.Chinatown
4.Night safari-transportation tips for solo woman pls-should I buy tickets ahead online-was not comfortable with the requested passport # information
5. Cable car to Sentosa
I am really not a museum kind of girl.
Staying at Raffles the Plaza based on recommendations for the underground transit system [which I hear is now the Fullerton] What is the best way to transit from the airport? Many thanks in advance!
Jan 24th, 2008, 03:34 AM
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If you don't have a lot of luggage you could take the MRT from the airport to City Hall station. From there take the exit to Raffles City.
Taxi's aren't expensive here. Unless you are busy shopping at the duty free you should be at the hotel within an hour of touching down.
You could do Chinatown in the morning. From there go to Vivocity to shop for shoes and handbags. The station there is Harbourfront if I remember correctly. Sorry I hardly take the subway. From there you can go to take the cable car to Sentosa. The cable car station is nearby.
Can't say much about the night safari as I've never gone to the place. LOL.
Jan 24th, 2008, 05:19 AM
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Your itin seems very reasonable, but I'd suggest that you ignore Sentosa, and spend the time either strolling the Colonial district, spending a bit of time in the Arab distict, or along the Esplanade.
Raffles is very centrally located, and you should NOT be lost for things to do nearby. Night safari is safe, no problem whatsoever. No need to buy tix ahead of time, just do it there.
If you like hawker food, you are very close to a convenient and reasonably good center which is called Gluttons Bay at Esplande.
Have fun!
Dave
Raffles is very centrally located, and you should NOT be lost for things to do nearby. Night safari is safe, no problem whatsoever. No need to buy tix ahead of time, just do it there.
If you like hawker food, you are very close to a convenient and reasonably good center which is called Gluttons Bay at Esplande.
Have fun!
Dave
Jan 24th, 2008, 06:01 PM
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1. For shoes and handbags, I am not sure you will find a whole lot in terms of bargains, is there something in particular you are looking for? Designer brands aren't any cheaper, and you may just find fairly low quality at lower prices. You can try the series of shopping malls connected to your hotel for a start, they will have sort of generic discount shoe shops and some designer brands (Nine West, Tods, etc). You may also want to try Orchard Road malls. For new and vintage bags and shoes I would try a shop called Quintessential Handbags & Accessories in the Mandarin Gallery Mall on Orchard road. Paragon Shopping Mall just about accross the steet from that has a few shoe and bag shops. You will find Chinese slippers, Indian sandals, those Arab flat leather shoes, etc in the various ethnic districts you are visiting, so maybe that is what you mean. I used to live in Singapore and would never have called it a good place to buy shoes and handbags in terms of price, or even to have them made (that's what Hong Kong is for).
2. You can walk to Little India from your hotel, which is very well located for this and for Arab Street. You could do both in the same day, or do one each morning, depends on how much walking you want to do, how hot it is, etc. Neither are huge, Little India is larger. A guidebook with a “walking tour” and map would be all that you need. Try the Fodors book which generally has good self-guided walking tours. I am betting that the Singapore Tourist Authority already has one or more on their website at www.visitsingapore.com. They probably also have info on guided tours and walks there as well. During the wandering, great things to pick up would be glass and metal bangles at the shops in Little India (and things like saris, Punjabi suits and even bidis if you want to be really funky) and incense (including Oudh) and perfume oils in the Arab Street area. You can actually have your own perfume made in Arab Street or along North Bridge Road. A shop I always like in Little India is called Handlooms at #01-18 in the Little India Arcade at 48 Serangoon Road (corner of Campbell Lane). Little India has some excellent extremely casual restaurants, in particular Apollo Banana Leaf Curry (78 Race Course Road, Tel: 6293-8682). There are also casual street-side restaurants in the Arab Street area.
3. Chinatown, is in the other direction from your hotel, parts of it are walkable (a longish walk), but I would take a taxi to the main street areas, i.e. Temple Street, Pagoda Street and the Duxton Road shop house area for the more interesting bits. I believe some shops in the Duxton Road area are closed on Sundays (rare for Singapore) so do check on this if one of your days is a Sunday. (Tangs Dept store is also closed on Sundays.)
4. Ask your hotel if they can reserve night safari tickets for you. E-mail, fax or call them now, or ask when you arrive. I think for one person you should not have a problem getting a ticket, esp if you go on a weeknight when you are not competing with locals so much.
5. Hmm, with only 2 days, I am not sure the cable car to Sentosa is worth the time and effort of going out to Sentosa. Is there a particular reason you have chosent to do that? If you want a good view, go have lunch, dinner or a drink at Equinox Restaurant or the bar on top of the Swisshotel next door to you and you will get a great view. Or take one of the very first rides on Singapore's version of the London Eye, called the Singapore Flyover, which is opening next month, see http://www.singaporeflyer.com.sg/. That should give you a great view, and you can walk to it from your hotel. Sentosa is good for families, but on your own I don't know. It has an aquarium and some history museums, but you say you aren't a museum person; otherwise it is a theme/water park like Disney. If you are just going to ride the cable car and come back, IMO that's not really worth it and will eat into your 2 days quite a bit.
For the subway from the airport, I agree it's not hard to do, but if you have a lot of luggage, by yourself it may not be than enjoyable (there are escalators and elevators everywhere however, you won't be lugging suitcases upstairs.) There are also hotel shuttle bus services, check the Changi Airport website below. A cab to your hotel will cost about US$35. See the website for Changi airport for all the info you need on transport to and from at http://www.changiairport.com and the mart website at http://www.smrt.com.sg/
There is a new transport card for tourists called something like the Singapore Tourist Pass which for a set price gives you unlimited or discounted subway and bus rides for a period of time, you should probably look into that. The subway is very easy to figure out, the buses a bit harder (but just ask, level of English is excellent). Taxis are cheap and you are going short distances, they can be hard to find in the rain and at rush hours.
There is also a hop-on hop-off tourist bus that goes around Singapore that might be useful to you to get the lay of the land, see sights and get to various areas of town.
Too bad you are not a museum girl, because Singapore has the best in Asia, IMO, and are running a really great exhibit now at the Asian Civilizations museum on Buddhist art. Their permanent collection is great as well. Might be good for a rainy hour or two. The museum is very well located in the colonial area along the river and has a pleasant restaurant with some outdoor seating and river and city views, good for lunch or a stop to cool off. They also have a pretty good gift shop with a good book selection on Buddhist art and religion. http://www.acm.org.sg/home/home.asp
2. You can walk to Little India from your hotel, which is very well located for this and for Arab Street. You could do both in the same day, or do one each morning, depends on how much walking you want to do, how hot it is, etc. Neither are huge, Little India is larger. A guidebook with a “walking tour” and map would be all that you need. Try the Fodors book which generally has good self-guided walking tours. I am betting that the Singapore Tourist Authority already has one or more on their website at www.visitsingapore.com. They probably also have info on guided tours and walks there as well. During the wandering, great things to pick up would be glass and metal bangles at the shops in Little India (and things like saris, Punjabi suits and even bidis if you want to be really funky) and incense (including Oudh) and perfume oils in the Arab Street area. You can actually have your own perfume made in Arab Street or along North Bridge Road. A shop I always like in Little India is called Handlooms at #01-18 in the Little India Arcade at 48 Serangoon Road (corner of Campbell Lane). Little India has some excellent extremely casual restaurants, in particular Apollo Banana Leaf Curry (78 Race Course Road, Tel: 6293-8682). There are also casual street-side restaurants in the Arab Street area.
3. Chinatown, is in the other direction from your hotel, parts of it are walkable (a longish walk), but I would take a taxi to the main street areas, i.e. Temple Street, Pagoda Street and the Duxton Road shop house area for the more interesting bits. I believe some shops in the Duxton Road area are closed on Sundays (rare for Singapore) so do check on this if one of your days is a Sunday. (Tangs Dept store is also closed on Sundays.)
4. Ask your hotel if they can reserve night safari tickets for you. E-mail, fax or call them now, or ask when you arrive. I think for one person you should not have a problem getting a ticket, esp if you go on a weeknight when you are not competing with locals so much.
5. Hmm, with only 2 days, I am not sure the cable car to Sentosa is worth the time and effort of going out to Sentosa. Is there a particular reason you have chosent to do that? If you want a good view, go have lunch, dinner or a drink at Equinox Restaurant or the bar on top of the Swisshotel next door to you and you will get a great view. Or take one of the very first rides on Singapore's version of the London Eye, called the Singapore Flyover, which is opening next month, see http://www.singaporeflyer.com.sg/. That should give you a great view, and you can walk to it from your hotel. Sentosa is good for families, but on your own I don't know. It has an aquarium and some history museums, but you say you aren't a museum person; otherwise it is a theme/water park like Disney. If you are just going to ride the cable car and come back, IMO that's not really worth it and will eat into your 2 days quite a bit.
For the subway from the airport, I agree it's not hard to do, but if you have a lot of luggage, by yourself it may not be than enjoyable (there are escalators and elevators everywhere however, you won't be lugging suitcases upstairs.) There are also hotel shuttle bus services, check the Changi Airport website below. A cab to your hotel will cost about US$35. See the website for Changi airport for all the info you need on transport to and from at http://www.changiairport.com and the mart website at http://www.smrt.com.sg/
There is a new transport card for tourists called something like the Singapore Tourist Pass which for a set price gives you unlimited or discounted subway and bus rides for a period of time, you should probably look into that. The subway is very easy to figure out, the buses a bit harder (but just ask, level of English is excellent). Taxis are cheap and you are going short distances, they can be hard to find in the rain and at rush hours.
There is also a hop-on hop-off tourist bus that goes around Singapore that might be useful to you to get the lay of the land, see sights and get to various areas of town.
Too bad you are not a museum girl, because Singapore has the best in Asia, IMO, and are running a really great exhibit now at the Asian Civilizations museum on Buddhist art. Their permanent collection is great as well. Might be good for a rainy hour or two. The museum is very well located in the colonial area along the river and has a pleasant restaurant with some outdoor seating and river and city views, good for lunch or a stop to cool off. They also have a pretty good gift shop with a good book selection on Buddhist art and religion. http://www.acm.org.sg/home/home.asp
Jan 24th, 2008, 07:03 PM
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On shoes: I discovered a store at Cathay Mall on the end of Orchard called Lilica. If you are into those cute Korean style shoes, you may want to visit this store. price range is from USD70 and up....
MRT is a good mode of transpo. Night Safari.
I also have stayed at Raffles the Plaza before. Remember to take with you those ginger-scented toilet complimentaries - i found it nice
MRT is a good mode of transpo. Night Safari.
I also have stayed at Raffles the Plaza before. Remember to take with you those ginger-scented toilet complimentaries - i found it nice
Jan 26th, 2008, 01:18 PM
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Cicerone,
Don and I will be in Singapore (as you know via the "long way around"
for 5 days....We do like museums and off the beaten path events. Do you some addititonal recommendations...moderately priced restaurants, etc. We'll be staying at the St. Regis. We will go to the Asian Civilization museum as you suggested.
Thanks for all the input.
Don and I will be in Singapore (as you know via the "long way around"
for 5 days....We do like museums and off the beaten path events. Do you some addititonal recommendations...moderately priced restaurants, etc. We'll be staying at the St. Regis. We will go to the Asian Civilization museum as you suggested. Thanks for all the input.
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