Singapore/Penang
 

Will be in Singapore for eight nights during the Chinese New Year holiday. Have spent time in China and SE Asia over the past three years but, this will be our first time in Singapore. Staying at Royal Scotts Hotel located at Scotts Road and Orchard Road, which was recommended by a friend who travels there with Shell Oil. Eight nights will allow us to experience the holiday there as we did in Hong Kong in 2008.

Our plan is to then fly to Penang for five nights staying at the G Hotel and return to Singapore for two nights before returning home.

Is five nights to much time in Penang? How is the location of the G Hotel for sightseeing, etc? What is the best way to get around? We may spend one day at the beach just relaxing. Let me here your thoughts.

Thanks again to all and have a healthy holiday season.

If you look on trip advisor the G gets good reviews except for 1 person. From the maps it looks in a good central area. We will be interested in any comments you have on Penang and Singapore , as we are going in May, so do a trip report please.

you might also look at the penang hotel called clove hall....we will be staying there in may.. it is small but looks very nice...

i have contacted a guide in penang by the name of PG [email protected]
i will be using him during my stay in georgetown and maybe you would be interested too...

i think i would find 8-10 nights way to much for singapore....you might consider adding something to your stay there like a two day trip to melecca, malaysia or one of the coastal resorts...

I responded to your other post... I think 5 days in Penang is fine. Persoanlly, I'd opt for the E&O or Clove Hall. I see no reason to get a guide in penang. Mostly, you can walk to the places you want to see or catch taxis or rickshaws.

Eight to ten days in Singapoare is a lot, though I've spent a week there a couple of times. There is lots to do and see. You could opt for a short side trip, maybe add a few days at the beach in Langawi before or after Penang.

Thanks for the ideas. I did look at Clove Hall and it looks wonderful. We may still stay there. Does anyone know how the location is? I am not planning on a guide in Penang. If needed I will hire a car and driver and he/she can be our guide to our destination.

I was a little concerned about the length of time in Singapore but, there is a lot going on during the new year period and it is also a public holiday which may slow us down a little. If it is like Hong Kong was it will be an exciting time to be there. On day in Sinapore we will take the ferry to one of the outlying islands for some biking and/or hiking.

I have planned this trip around air fare bargins both to and from Singapore and then back and forth to Penang. That also influenced our schedule as it relates to the number of days being spent at each location. Actually, our flight to Singapore stops in Moscow but a lay over in February does not work for us. Moscow will be to cold for us Texans

i noticed today that singapore is making lots of changes to their flights....i did see that one from houston that stops in moscow or the return does....interesting.... a couple of days stop would be nice, even if cold... it must be very beautiful in winter...

You may have lots to do in Singapore depending on what you have planned. Malacca Straits was a great day tour and well worth doing, have you thought about spending a few days on Sentosa and just relaxing. Penang is a lovely spot, the Spice Cafe at the Rasa Sayang and the open air food market just up the road from the Golden Sands Resort are well worth a visit . I found a small tourist style office across the road from the start of the hotels in Batu Ferringhi which seemed to be the only spot for currency exchange and arranging drivers/ cars etc. Just on your way out of BF there is a shopping centre called Gurney Plaza which has lots of places to visit , be it a Starbucks [ coffee is very hard to find in Penang ], bookshop,chemist , spa centre on the top floor and lots of shops for browsing. It is a cab ride, just a little too far to walk even for those of us who enjoy a stroll. Went to Georgetown many times over the past few years and found a great bargain shopping centre , the name of which escapes me but I do remember there was a Starbucks located on the ground floor . The E&O is a must for accomodation or even just a cool drink and lunch.Also found some great fabric stalls alongside the mall area.

I totally disagree with rhkkmk about the length of time spent in Singapore being too much. I have visited many times and 2 weeks is too short!
You are going at a time when most of the Malaysian tailors head home so if you are banking on getting some garments made??
We too love staying in Scotts Road - at the Holiday Inn (recently revamped in the last couple of years). We have friends in The Far East Plaza who own a jewellery shop called Solani Jewellers.
A little walk from your hotel will take you to Newton's Circus - a food court outdoors.
Do take the MRT train system from the station in Orchard Road and stay on it for the 90minutes or so while it makes it way right around the island. You will pass through little enclaves of flat dwelling in neat pristine condition. Get off if you fancy and then back on to complete your journey. Most of the track is above ground so is a great way to relax and watch the sights go by.

I am sorry to say our trip to Pulau Ubin was a waste of time. It's very backwater with nothing to see really. The restaurant (if you can even call it that)is shabby and we only ordered something to eat because we were starving.
The boatride there and back was an experience in itself!

Kusu island trip in an old Chinese Junk (well kinda) was nice but again, nothing to see except turtles.

We have gone over the bridge which spans the Straits of Johore to Johore Baru for some shopping. The imitation big brand names like Levi which the teenagers HAVE to wear are cheaper than anything in Singapore. We took the bus there and back - advice: DON'T go on a Saturday morning like we did! My Oh my! Organised chaos at it's best.........

Last - the restaurants around Clarke & Boat Key look so romantic but that is a huge tourist trap. Our friends even warned us that the restaurant owners like to serve you small helpings so that you will have to order another dish to satisfy your appetite.

I am so green with envy......can't I carry your suitcase??LOL!

Tod, good info. We have given up the idea of Penang and will be spending nine nights in Singapore. There are at last three events for the new year holiday which are going to be wonderful. If you have ever been in Asia at this time of year you will understand. (We are not Chinese).

We are not shoppers, as a matter of fact my wife purchased a watch in Houston that we saw in Shanghai for $1000 more. For knock offs yes, top quality probably not. Suits, I do not work so jeans and a t-shirt serve me well. I am sure you can also find better quality clothing at home and if there is a problem you can return to the store for some type of satisfaction.

Sorry you were unhappy with you trip to Palau Ubin. What did you do there? We plan on a little hiking and biking. Part of the travel experience is eating with the locals so the restaurant should be fun. It is the rest rooms that we usually are concerned about.

Again, thanks for the imput and keep your thoughts and ideas coming.

My husband and i went to Pulau Ubin in October. Took the Mrt & a taxi to get to the boat. We rented bikes on Ubin...Do compare the quality of the bikes and we negotiated a 2 hour price vs all day. It was a lovely ride through the quiet forest, and then we did the boardwalk. My only recco would be to check the tide charts before going. We were there at a very high tide, so saw nothing. It was still a nice break from the city though. Including the ride to/from our hotel, I'd guess we spent about 4 hours total.

We didn't eat on the island as our taxi driver had told us that the stalls across the street from the boat docks were really good. We had a great lunch there!

How do we check the tides?

Also, which boat docks are you refering to? Do you mean the ferry?
Do you remember the name of the restaurant?

Here's a tide chart site....you can google singapore tide chart and find others as well.

By boat docks, I do mean the ferry. As you come out of the ferry when you return, cross the main street to the food court there. We got our food from the restaurants on the end closest to the ferry.

The nice thing about Singapore hawker stalls is that you can check out their photos and the expressions on other patrons before you sit down or order.

BTW, if you like food, here is a fabulous Singapore food blog:
http://ieatishootipost.sg/

If you go a bit down on the right column, there is a food directory. you can look up places by type of food ("Black Pepper Crab", "Do not miss", "Top Ten", "Malay", etc), by location or even by things like "late night". He's a great writer, and a lot of fun to use for planning your trip!