Essential Singapore
Essential Singapore:
-------------------------
Just back from the 'fine' country of Singapore - there is a popular T-Shirt that you get there in Chinatown and other markets too, which says that Singapore is such a fine country that you get fine(d) for everything - fined for littering, fined for jaywalking, fined even for chewing gum - can you imagine! ... So apparently the country does not have chewing gums. They also do not have crows - it seems they did not like crows, so they shot them down to the last bird!
Anyway, there is just too much written about Singapore these days - some official and guided by the tourism ministry, while some unofficial. In fact, Singapore is perhaps the most exploited and over-exposed destination in terms of holiday writeups - all full of juicy descriptions of the shopping, Bukit Timah Zoo, Bird park, other tourist attractions like the Universal Studio at Sentosa, the Merlions on Marina Bay, and the glitzy Clarke Quay (pronounced 'Clark-key').
So rather than adding to this, I thought I will just pen down some of the references - names and locations - and their speciality, especially the eating places - just in case I get to revisit the place again (which should be soon) or if someone else wishes to plan a quick trip:
Wheelock Place - Next to Ion Orchard mall. By the way, everything on Orchard Road has an 'orchard' in the name. Very original. They must have required a real out-of-the-box thinking to come up with 'Paragon' - another mall on the Orchard Road. Must be part of the local government's drive that everyone should be 'innovative'. Hehe! ... But I am digressing.
So - Wheelock Place - For a large multi-cuisine food court in the basement. Authentic Vietnamese chicken wings grilled on charcoal, Chinese fish ball soups with freshly made fish balls, nice Laksa lemak places, even an Indian tandoori joint. There are some sit-in places that are nice too - like a Japanese ramen place called Aoba.
Orchard Road - mostly for window-shopping. The malls are huge and nicely lit with dancing lights in the night. Area around 'Orchard Concord' hotel is a little shady and has a bad name, especially with girly bars and adult toy stores. But the rest of the area is quite posh and new. Lots of malls. Orchard road is also very central, and so expensive for any kind of shopping. The only cheap place for eating is Takashimaya food court, close to MRT Orchard.
At Somerset, there is a small lane in the right - I think it is called Cuppage road. This has an old-world charm. Some nice bars and restaurants. At the end of the road, you have the famous 'Gajaali' - seafood restaurant from Mumbai. Needless to say that I did not venture there. But the rest of the place is nice and quaint.
Plaza Singapora - Next to Dhobi Ghaut (!) station, this one has a host of shops of different ranges, and is perhaps your best bet for shopping. This also has a big Carrefour. There is a Thai express on the third floor (i.e. second floor - they do not have 'ground' floor), which is quite nice. The waiters are a little spaced out though. So keep an eye on what you order.
The Cathay - For catching up with the movies - late night shows are cheaper. Next to SOTA - School of the Arts. Also has a conveniently located Starbucks at the ground. The area around this (Bras Basah road I think) is nice for a walk. There is the Singapore Art Museum across the street, and the rest of the area has old colonial buildings (which don't look old as they keep painting them every now and then). But the place is good for a stroll. Closeby, there is a place called Chimes - a courtyard with a meadley of restaurants, bit expensive, but nice.
This area also has some 24 hour food courts - called Kopitiam - literally means a 'coffee shop'. This is a food court chain in Singapore, and quite popular. So you won't go hungry in the middle of night.
Little India - If you feel home-sick. The banana leaf restaurants - typical Tamil eateries with rice, sambar, etc. Some also serve fish head curries - Kerala style, and then there are the Andhra places too for mutton. The place is only slightly unclean - which, by Singapore standards, is grossly filthy as the rest of the city is really clean. There are also some Bangladeshi shops. One sells Keema and Rotti.
Mustafa center - in Little India. Known for good bargains. This has three floors and you can get lost in the merchandise. There is a belief in general population that you can get anything you want in here if you search long enough. You will most likely buy a suitcase from around here, as by this time your own suitcase would be overflowing with all the shopping.
Bugis Street - from Bugis Junction, or simply 'Bugis'. A couple of streets with flea market, lots of shops with good bargains. Some nice fruit juice shops. You will get exotic fruit juices for like a dollar-fifty. Also a few nice street-side eateries. We got an excellent Laksa - with clams - at a little Chinese shop. And also the famous Malay 'pulled tea' - tea that you pull from one jar to another so that it becomes frothy - equivalent to our Indian Chai. The food court is nice too, but the Wheelock one is the best.
At Bugis, there are some roadside shops. Also some shops on the second and third floor. You can buy shoes, bags, clothes - but mainly for ladies. Very few choices for men. But I guess that's true for all shopping across the world.
Chinatown - Much cleaner than the Chinatowns across the world (case in point - the one in KL Malaysia just across Johar strait, which is quite dirty). Don't miss the Tintin shop to the left if you are a fan.
There is a Chinatown Seafood Restaurant at the corner where you have plastic chairs. You can sit there, have black pepper crabs, clams, sip in some ice tea - for hours, and simply watch the world pass by. You can hear the world slowly turning on its axis, in the hussle and bustle of the street.
There are some sit-ins as well. Some specialize in specific Chinese cuisines like Hunan, Schezwan etc. (esp. if you crave for spicy fare). The fish-head curry is awesome. Strangely, Chinatown hosts a Buddist pagoda, and the famous Tooth Temple, as well as a big Hindu temple.
Crossing the Chinatown (Smith street), you can go to the other side. Bit of a climb (Ann Siang Hill), but the place is full of nice sit-in restaurants, pizza places, bars, karaokes etc. I think it is called Club Street.
Marina Bay Sands - Great view of the city, and the strait, even better than what you get from the Singapore Eye just across the water body. There are three towers, out of which you can go to the top of one. The other two are for residents. On the 55th floor they have built a deck resembling a ship - called the SkyPark. It's got the world's most elevated swimming pool. The site is spectacular even from below. The casino is one of the world's largest. There is no entry fee for foreigners with foreign passports, but it costs some 100 sing dollars for locals just to get in. Yet, locals have this in their blood and they go gamble their fortunes away.
The place also has some very high end designer shops. In some, you have to go using a yatch. Completely out of league for us hoi polloi. I am told a leather bag can start at 20,000 dollars!
Esplanade - Just across the Marina Bay. One of the few places left in the world where you can take a can of beer and sit next to the water on the stairs of an open amphi-theater, overlooking the Singapore skyline on the other side of water. Essential for closing a day well spent in the city. This place is known as 'Durian domes' among the locals and taxi-drivers, because of the two large dome-shaped theaters. There are always some shows going on here for the arty kinds.
Esplanade also has a lot of sit-in restaurants. Famous among them is the 'No Signboard' seafood restaurant. It is in a lot of other places too. Before the nice sit-ins, Esplanade also has a street of small shops that can make nice crabs and sting rays and prawn for you. Pretty good. These places are called 'Hawker centers'. Seriously, Clarke Quay is so over-rated. This area is so much better.
East Coast Village - This is the utlimate home of the chilly crab. The place has multiple shops. Some sell dinner, some only Satay, some fruit juice, while the others sell dessert (like the famous ice candy with fruit toppings). You can order from different shops. The chilly crabs are heavenly. The sting ray fried / grilled is nice too. The satays are charcoal-grilled and so have nice earthern taste. Absolutely not to be missed.
So there you are. Not the most exhaustive list, as Singapore has so much more. But this will do for the time being. In case you need to know about the touristy places, go on Wikipedia.
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
Best,
Shreekant
Singapore Changi Airport
27-May-2012
-------------------------
Just back from the 'fine' country of Singapore - there is a popular T-Shirt that you get there in Chinatown and other markets too, which says that Singapore is such a fine country that you get fine(d) for everything - fined for littering, fined for jaywalking, fined even for chewing gum - can you imagine! ... So apparently the country does not have chewing gums. They also do not have crows - it seems they did not like crows, so they shot them down to the last bird!
Anyway, there is just too much written about Singapore these days - some official and guided by the tourism ministry, while some unofficial. In fact, Singapore is perhaps the most exploited and over-exposed destination in terms of holiday writeups - all full of juicy descriptions of the shopping, Bukit Timah Zoo, Bird park, other tourist attractions like the Universal Studio at Sentosa, the Merlions on Marina Bay, and the glitzy Clarke Quay (pronounced 'Clark-key').
So rather than adding to this, I thought I will just pen down some of the references - names and locations - and their speciality, especially the eating places - just in case I get to revisit the place again (which should be soon) or if someone else wishes to plan a quick trip:
Wheelock Place - Next to Ion Orchard mall. By the way, everything on Orchard Road has an 'orchard' in the name. Very original. They must have required a real out-of-the-box thinking to come up with 'Paragon' - another mall on the Orchard Road. Must be part of the local government's drive that everyone should be 'innovative'. Hehe! ... But I am digressing.
So - Wheelock Place - For a large multi-cuisine food court in the basement. Authentic Vietnamese chicken wings grilled on charcoal, Chinese fish ball soups with freshly made fish balls, nice Laksa lemak places, even an Indian tandoori joint. There are some sit-in places that are nice too - like a Japanese ramen place called Aoba.
Orchard Road - mostly for window-shopping. The malls are huge and nicely lit with dancing lights in the night. Area around 'Orchard Concord' hotel is a little shady and has a bad name, especially with girly bars and adult toy stores. But the rest of the area is quite posh and new. Lots of malls. Orchard road is also very central, and so expensive for any kind of shopping. The only cheap place for eating is Takashimaya food court, close to MRT Orchard.
At Somerset, there is a small lane in the right - I think it is called Cuppage road. This has an old-world charm. Some nice bars and restaurants. At the end of the road, you have the famous 'Gajaali' - seafood restaurant from Mumbai. Needless to say that I did not venture there. But the rest of the place is nice and quaint.
Plaza Singapora - Next to Dhobi Ghaut (!) station, this one has a host of shops of different ranges, and is perhaps your best bet for shopping. This also has a big Carrefour. There is a Thai express on the third floor (i.e. second floor - they do not have 'ground' floor), which is quite nice. The waiters are a little spaced out though. So keep an eye on what you order.
The Cathay - For catching up with the movies - late night shows are cheaper. Next to SOTA - School of the Arts. Also has a conveniently located Starbucks at the ground. The area around this (Bras Basah road I think) is nice for a walk. There is the Singapore Art Museum across the street, and the rest of the area has old colonial buildings (which don't look old as they keep painting them every now and then). But the place is good for a stroll. Closeby, there is a place called Chimes - a courtyard with a meadley of restaurants, bit expensive, but nice.
This area also has some 24 hour food courts - called Kopitiam - literally means a 'coffee shop'. This is a food court chain in Singapore, and quite popular. So you won't go hungry in the middle of night.
Little India - If you feel home-sick. The banana leaf restaurants - typical Tamil eateries with rice, sambar, etc. Some also serve fish head curries - Kerala style, and then there are the Andhra places too for mutton. The place is only slightly unclean - which, by Singapore standards, is grossly filthy as the rest of the city is really clean. There are also some Bangladeshi shops. One sells Keema and Rotti.
Mustafa center - in Little India. Known for good bargains. This has three floors and you can get lost in the merchandise. There is a belief in general population that you can get anything you want in here if you search long enough. You will most likely buy a suitcase from around here, as by this time your own suitcase would be overflowing with all the shopping.
Bugis Street - from Bugis Junction, or simply 'Bugis'. A couple of streets with flea market, lots of shops with good bargains. Some nice fruit juice shops. You will get exotic fruit juices for like a dollar-fifty. Also a few nice street-side eateries. We got an excellent Laksa - with clams - at a little Chinese shop. And also the famous Malay 'pulled tea' - tea that you pull from one jar to another so that it becomes frothy - equivalent to our Indian Chai. The food court is nice too, but the Wheelock one is the best.
At Bugis, there are some roadside shops. Also some shops on the second and third floor. You can buy shoes, bags, clothes - but mainly for ladies. Very few choices for men. But I guess that's true for all shopping across the world.
Chinatown - Much cleaner than the Chinatowns across the world (case in point - the one in KL Malaysia just across Johar strait, which is quite dirty). Don't miss the Tintin shop to the left if you are a fan.
There is a Chinatown Seafood Restaurant at the corner where you have plastic chairs. You can sit there, have black pepper crabs, clams, sip in some ice tea - for hours, and simply watch the world pass by. You can hear the world slowly turning on its axis, in the hussle and bustle of the street.
There are some sit-ins as well. Some specialize in specific Chinese cuisines like Hunan, Schezwan etc. (esp. if you crave for spicy fare). The fish-head curry is awesome. Strangely, Chinatown hosts a Buddist pagoda, and the famous Tooth Temple, as well as a big Hindu temple.
Crossing the Chinatown (Smith street), you can go to the other side. Bit of a climb (Ann Siang Hill), but the place is full of nice sit-in restaurants, pizza places, bars, karaokes etc. I think it is called Club Street.
Marina Bay Sands - Great view of the city, and the strait, even better than what you get from the Singapore Eye just across the water body. There are three towers, out of which you can go to the top of one. The other two are for residents. On the 55th floor they have built a deck resembling a ship - called the SkyPark. It's got the world's most elevated swimming pool. The site is spectacular even from below. The casino is one of the world's largest. There is no entry fee for foreigners with foreign passports, but it costs some 100 sing dollars for locals just to get in. Yet, locals have this in their blood and they go gamble their fortunes away.
The place also has some very high end designer shops. In some, you have to go using a yatch. Completely out of league for us hoi polloi. I am told a leather bag can start at 20,000 dollars!
Esplanade - Just across the Marina Bay. One of the few places left in the world where you can take a can of beer and sit next to the water on the stairs of an open amphi-theater, overlooking the Singapore skyline on the other side of water. Essential for closing a day well spent in the city. This place is known as 'Durian domes' among the locals and taxi-drivers, because of the two large dome-shaped theaters. There are always some shows going on here for the arty kinds.
Esplanade also has a lot of sit-in restaurants. Famous among them is the 'No Signboard' seafood restaurant. It is in a lot of other places too. Before the nice sit-ins, Esplanade also has a street of small shops that can make nice crabs and sting rays and prawn for you. Pretty good. These places are called 'Hawker centers'. Seriously, Clarke Quay is so over-rated. This area is so much better.
East Coast Village - This is the utlimate home of the chilly crab. The place has multiple shops. Some sell dinner, some only Satay, some fruit juice, while the others sell dessert (like the famous ice candy with fruit toppings). You can order from different shops. The chilly crabs are heavenly. The sting ray fried / grilled is nice too. The satays are charcoal-grilled and so have nice earthern taste. Absolutely not to be missed.
So there you are. Not the most exhaustive list, as Singapore has so much more. But this will do for the time being. In case you need to know about the touristy places, go on Wikipedia.
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
Best,
Shreekant
Singapore Changi Airport
27-May-2012
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