Singapore more questions

knightstyle

Thanks to everyone who answered my previous queations, we have now booked our flights to NZ with Singapore Air. We have 6hrs in Singapore on the way out and 6 days on our return.
Questions: We have heard there is a swimming pool at the airport, can we use it?
Would like to buy a string of pearls good idea in Singapore? Best place to buy?
We have also heard it is a good place for glasses, UK sight test? Best place to buy?
We will be staying in Park Royal on Beach Road, best rooms?
Do we have to book to have a Singapore sling at Raffles? (Couldn't afford to stay there)
Any other ideas bearing in mind my wife has back problems, so nothing too physical please?
Think that is all the questions, Happy money saving to all.

Party_Animal

You don't need to book a sling, just call in the bar. Sentoza is worth a trip and the zoo's very good too.

fishing-girl

raffles do a buffet lunch reasonably priced (£25 ish all you can eat) in the billiards room, you can sit and enjoy your sling sitting on the veranda.
specs are a lot cheaper but do take your uk presciption as the opticians over there have only just been regulated in the last couple of months.

acjc

The cable car from Mount Faber to Sentosa and back again is good for views over Singapore. More interesting than taking the ferry, though more expensive of course.

Sentosa itself has a bus system that takes you round all the various attractions, such as the aquarium, light show/musical fountains, pink dolphins etc. So you don't have to do too much walking if you don't want to. But it really is very touristy, too much so to my taste, but one man's meat is another man's poison and all that. Details at http://www.sentosa.com.sg

In addition to the zoo, there is also the night safari, which is just next door, starting at around 8pm I think. They have trams to take you round the different animals if you want, but for me it was more interesting to walk the various trails. Details at http://www.nightsafari.com.sg/

There are lots of shopping malls, but most seemed full of designer boutiques and UK high street shops, with prices similar to or above UK, so not very moneysaving. However, they are all very well airconditioned, so it's very refreshing to pop into one every now and then just to cool off with a cold drink, as evey mall has a food court, usually in the basement.

A trip around the Singapore river and harbour either on a bumboat or one of those amphibious trucks (ducks I think they're called) is good. They were building a big ferris wheel (like the London Eye) near the harbour when I was there, so it may be finished by the time you go.

Singapore is good for some electronics like digital cameras, computers, peripherals and mp3 players since Creative is a Singapore company (though they are all made in China nowadays). The Sim Lim mall is six or seven floors chock full of the stuff, so you could go from store to store comparing prices. Don't know about glasses, now that the UK internet suppliers are so cheap.

The local food is outstanding and cheap (Chinese, Indian, Malay, Asian fusion etc), so I'd eat out all the time if I were you. Go to local food or hawker centres for the cheapest prices, and usually the best taste as well.

To be honest, I don't think Singapore has enough attractions to keep you occupied for more than three or four days, so I'd think about a side trip to Malaysia or one of the nearby Indonesian islands as well.

Enjoy!

acjc

Forgot to say, if you spend over a certain amount in one go (100 singapore dollars I think), you can claim back the Government Sales Tax (GST, which is their equivalent of VAT).

However, you have to get the shop to fill out the paperwork when you buy (so the shop may ask to see your passport, so it is worth carrying it with you if you're planning a big purchase), and then claim at the GST refund desk at Changi Airport when you fly back.

Andfolate

knightstyle wrote: »

Questions: We have heard there is a swimming pool at the airport, can we use it?
Would like to buy a string of pearls good idea in Singapore? Best place to buy?
We have also heard it is a good place for glasses, UK sight test? Best place to buy?
We will be staying in Park Royal on Beach Road, best rooms?
Do we have to book to have a Singapore sling at Raffles? (Couldn't afford to stay there)
Any other ideas bearing in mind my wife has back problems, so nothing too physical please?
Think that is all the questions, Happy money saving to all.

I'm from Singapore so will try to help as much as I can!

Glasses: It is a fantastic place for glasses - if you don't trust the opticians there, bring your own prescription like others have suggested and they'll make up the glasses for you within 3-4 days. Myopia is the most common eye problem amongst Singaporeans (especially children) and I've always found opticians to be very good and professional, without any of the palaver you get with UK opticians who make everything seem so much more difficult than it is! My husband goes to an optician at Holland Village Shopping Centre when we go home to visit. If you aren't after designer frames and the prescription is straightfoward i.e. you don't need super-thin lenses etc. you are looking at maybe $30-40 for a pair of glasses. That's about £10-12?

I would suggest that you make a day of it if you go to Holland Village and take the opportunity to have an explore - the shopping centre itself is filled with little curio/antique shops and there's a roof-top cafe which we always go to called Cafe 211. The prawn linguine there is out of this world (if you like garlic!) Great coffees and cakes. The 'village' itself is plonked in the middle of a typical Housing Development Estate (HDB) for locals and you'll get a feel of how the locals live. There's a wet market there where hawkers sell all sorts of fresh produce - live chickens? - and local fruits. Mangoes, papayas etc are much cheaper there and you've got to try dragonfruit, rambutan, durian, whatever's in season! If you're after electronics/electrical goods, Paris Silk in Holland Village has a reputation for being one of the cheapest in the country.

Raffles Hotel: The best place to have a Singapore Sling is at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel - go in the evening where there is live entertainment - lovely atmosphere. Also, everyone gets bowls of monkey nuts - the 'thing' to do with the empty shells once you've extracted the nuts is to thrown them on the floor! What a treat for Singaporeans who would otherwise have to pay a fine for littering!

I would also highly recommend "high tea" at the Tiffin Room - it's on daily from 3.30-5.30pm and it's a "eat as much as you want" buffet with a spread of Western and Eastern dishes. Costs about $30 and remember men have to wear trousers (not shorts) to get in. The Fullerton Hotel does a similar high tea thing which is also good as is the one at Marriott Hotel (highly recommended by my friends) at the ground floor of Tangs (Singapore's oldest department store).

The tourism office is in Raffles Hotel and you can get maps and suggested walking tours (leaflets) there - itineraries for Chinatown, Little India, the civic district etc.

Food: acjc is right about the food - go to the hawker centres for cheap and delicious food. Closest to your hotel would be Lau Pa Sat which is a humongous hawker centre with a great variety of food. The other one which is a 'don't miss!' is Newton Hawker Centre though you have to check if it is still open as there were threats to close it down (it's on prime land so developers were calling for housing to be built there). You definitely have to try the seafood there - what you call jumbo king prawns here are shrimp compared to the size of the prawns you get in Singapore! Try local dishes like char kway teow, laksa, nasi lemak, hokkien mee, wanton noodles, rojak, mee goreng, chilli crab and/or pepper crab, roti prata.

On the other side of the spectrum - make a booking for "My Humble House" at the esplanade as soon as you land. It's an absolutely fantastic restaurant (slightly more expensive but worth it!) that does a modern take of Chinese food - it's at the Esplanade (have a little explore there too).

Go to Boat Quay one evening as well - nice pubs and good food along the river. Nick Leeson's watering hole at Harry's. There's a new-ish museum there as well called the Asian Civilisations Museum which does guided tours. I've heard good things about it (I used to guide at the Singapore Art Museum and the History Museum which were under the same consortium). Check to see when the guides do their tours. The History Museum has recently been refurbished and is looking good (according to my mother) - while you're there, you might want to walk up to Fort Canning which is where the old Sultans were buried. The locals call it the Forbidden Hill as it is considered sacred but there's now a country club there!

Remember to plan your days around the heat - if you're planning on doing walking tours, avoid doing so around 10am-3pm as it's just too hot to do anything. That's when the museums and shops come in handy! Stay indoors at that time and venture out when it's not boiling.

Pearls: I'm not sure about the best place to buy pearls. I know that shops in Lucky Plaza and Far East Plaza along Orchard Road display strand upon strand of pearls in their showcases but they're well known for cut-throat prices and rude salesmen! You need to bargain hard and unabashedly slash 50% off the starting price, which I'm never comfortable doing! You might be better off at more established chain-store jewellers like Lee Hwa or Goldheart (Singaporean chains). Let me ask some of my friends and I'll get back to you on this one!

knightstyle

WOW, Thanks for taking the time and giving me all this.
This certainly proves the value of the site!

Andfolate

You're very welcome!

I've asked a few friends about pearls and the general consensus is that it's best to go to Takashimaya (huge departmental store along Orchard Road, the main shoppin district) for Mikimoto Pearls. I'm not sure how much you know about pearls but Mikimoto has a good reputation for quality:

http://www.mikimoto.com/uk/about_jewellery/pearls/index.html

There's an online store (UK prices) on that website so you might want to note down a few of the prices before you get to Singapore to do a comparison! Takashimaya is a fixed price store (I suppose the equivalent would be John Lewis here) so probably won't be ripped off. If you're still keen to try for a bargain, you could go to Lucky Plaza and haggle. Conveniently, Lucky Plaza is across the street from Takashimaya so you could go armed with a rough idea of quality and prices.

Hope this helps - enjoy your holiday!

beduth

Make sure you have your S.A. boarding cards handy. You get lots of freebies and cheap deals, just by flying SA.:cool:

pusscat

Great advce from Andfolate!

The other thing I always try to do is go over the border in Malaysia - Johor Baru. You can take a bus from downtown and it takes you up to the bridge that is the border crosing. You cross the bridge and then take either a bus or a taxi to the closest shopping centre - there are quite a few and things are usually even cheaper than Singapore.

There is great food, you can buy European brands of clothes at far lower prices, electronics and food. There are loads of Singaporeans who go over every day for shopping.

If you are feeling flush you can take a taxi all the way to the borer, but I like the bus with the locals.

the other thing you need to do is go to the Chatterbox Cafe at the Madarin - it does the best chicken rice in town - it is not expensive either http://www.mandarin-singapore.com/dining/the_chatterbox.htm
If you are a bit squeamish then remember to ask for it without the skin....it is basically boiled chicken, but boiled chicken skin is an aquired taste in my opinion. Laksa is another fantastic dish, as is Pepper crab.

mmm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Puss
xx

Sam_Bee

pusscat wrote: »

Great advce from Andfolate!

The other thing I always try to do is go over the border in Malaysia - Johor Baru. You can take a bus from downtown and it takes you up to the bridge that is the border crosing. You cross the bridge and then take either a bus or a taxi to the closest shopping centre - there are quite a few and things are usually even cheaper than Singapore.

Make sure you've read up on Johor Baru - parts are exceedingly seedy - it does double as a brothel / casino town for Singaporeans, and there are stories of violence abound! I hated it when I went. But I hadn't researched properly..

If you're feeling flush in Singapore, try the Chocolate Buffet at The Fullerton (Thu - Sat evenings I think!). It's very, erm, tasty!