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Old 5th August 2007, 16:36   #16
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I guess it's all a question of what you like in Singapore.

I love Singapore. And the food there is outstanding. Here's a few suggestions apart from what has already been suggested, up to you.
  • Sure, there's Mustafa and little India and udipi restaurants, but do you want to go to chennai in Singapore or singapore itself?
  • Food is everywhere in Singapore, it is expected for you to enjoy the local food
  • Even the tamil food in singapore is outstanding, since you are from chennai, you can have fun with people of Tamil Origin, one of the national languages. Many of the chinese speak it too.
  • Eat at Kopitiams, they are awesome. The chief food of Singapore is Chicken Rice and Duck Rice. Watch the other eat it and enjoy. There are other things like carrotcake (not sweet), Mee Foon, beef ball soup and more. Don't forget the Tiger Beer.
  • And early morning breakfast can be of Roti Prata (A kerala pratha with mutoon curry) or mee goreng, spicy WONDERFUL noodles
  • There are a million exotic options at local eateries ranging from horsemeat to frog porridge to turtle soup, try what you can. Remember, you can get forks at the kopitiam, but not at the local eateries, you will be expected to eat with chopsticks.
  • Orchard makes a fantastic walk. Don't forget to visit Takashimaya, the massive Japanese mall
  • Lucky plaza is not very nice, but cheap bargains can be got. Be careful though.
  • Go to the far east plaza, find Johnny two thumbs, tell him sam said hi and get yourself a tattoo. He is one of the best tattoo artists in the world.
  • Go to Orchard towers, if that's your cup of tea. 5 floors of sin. Not the chocolate kind, the real kind, lol.
  • On bencoolen street (opposite sim lim square) is a little lane that goes to BUGIS (pronounced boogies) street. Ask anyone where it is, fantastic tee shirts (cars, bikes, rock) and fun stuff to buy and eat.
  • Buy some local fruit. Mangosteen, Rumbutan and the local mangoes. Try the durian and see if you can handle it.
  • Visit the Ministry of sound. Paul Johnson is the DJ there. Tell him youre a buddy of Sam and Richard from India.
  • Go to Mohammed Sultan Road and pop into atleast 7 bars in one night. Start early. End Late.
  • Go to Zouk and party like an animal.
  • Go to Clarke Quay and sit on the reverse bungee, in the night.
  • Walk into a 7-11 and ask for the Maggi mashed potato machine. Place your cup in and press a button. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

There is more, but it's not coming to me right now, lol.
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Old 5th August 2007, 18:42   #17
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Bike freak..!
The best possible person who can advice u for a Singapore trip has done that above.
Sam..!
U just reminded me of the KL trip and your Thailand adventures.
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Old 5th August 2007, 20:25   #18
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@sam.. bikefreak is from mumbai .
Bikefreak you can contact Firstsynn ,he stays there as a student.
Ask Sksy_biker ,few weeks back he raided singapore from malyasia and got lots of biker stuff .

Last edited by black12rr : 5th August 2007 at 20:27.
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Old 5th August 2007, 20:54   #19
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Sam and others, thanks..

I am going to try a DIY tour. Doing some basic research. What are the good hotels to stay at in KL and Singapore? 3star and 4star preferred. Can we reserve from here and pay in advance?
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Old 5th August 2007, 21:15   #20
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Sam, it would take 3 years to try out all the things you have listed out. I have tried many, but you seem to know more. cheers
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Old 5th August 2007, 21:18   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by esteem_lover View Post
Sam, it would take 3 years to try out all the things you have listed out. I have tried many, but you seem to know more. cheers
John, when you go to Singapore and how?
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Old 5th August 2007, 22:39   #22
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aha singapore.................spent half a year there as a tourist, lemme give you some useless advice
my 2c...

firstly, it my utmost pleasure to crticise you, for asking not to be criticised.
dude, you put a post in shifting gears,put the damn thing and be unapologetic.
if your post sucks, they'll delete it. if if doesnt, it will continue to exist!

now back to singapore.....
what do you want out of it??
if its shopping, for most purposes the place is expensive.

but there a few good deals you can get.

sim-lim square.. you may land a car deck at a price that you cant match in india.
some good prices on stereo amps too.

its good for small nick nacks.

wanna drink and party, its expensive, but check out One night stand in clark quay, and if you like blues then crazy elephant is great .

chinatown in nice to roam around for a bit.
night safari sucks
the beaches at sentosa are decent esp on the weekends

boat quay is so ..so
but dempsey road has some really nice places

have fun
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Old 6th August 2007, 12:05   #23
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Thanks for the info on shopping and sight seeing.

What I am particularly interested in is the good 3 and 4 star hotels to stay in KL and Singapore. Appreciate your advice on this.
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Old 6th August 2007, 13:28   #24
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Ok, some additions here,

If you go shopping in places like Sim Lim square, better to go prepared, as it is almost maddening and overwhelming with too many stores and too many things to buy (atleast I went crazy here !) But this is like the Burma Bazaar or Palika bazaar of Singapore. So dont expect excellent service that you would get in other malls.

If you are the type who doesnt mind spending more money and want better service, then Funan digial mall has some nice shops. Also check out harvey norman chain of stores. (remember they are more expensive)

Check out www.hardwarezone.com® :: HardwareZone Singapore PortaLite :: Connecting IT To You for price guides. They are updated regularly and give an idea of the prices for computer parts.

Orchard road is best for Window shopping and to see Lamborghini Gallardo's and Ferrari's. Definitely worth spending time there and money, if you have enough! The food court in Takashimaya is really good!!!!!Orchard towers was best explained by Sam!

For Mobile Phones check out Naranjan Trading (I got my pioneer HU and mobile phone from this store) at Serangoon road. They provide the best prices. I think the stuff this guy has is got from Hong Kong.

I found Mustafa expensive for Electronics. But if one is pressed for time and needs a one-stop shop, thats the place to go.

GST refund is really simple and they give you cash at Singapore airport. You get 15% more if you want to buy perfumes at Duty free (only perfumes and books !!).

Be careful with customs. My policy is not to be the first person who is caught. Let them get their share and then you go to the green channel Trust me there are loads of people getting lcd TVs etc etc...that too in carton boxes...find some bakra like this and go behind them!!
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Old 6th August 2007, 17:25   #25
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Oh yes and look for NitinBhag, a wonderful, friendly and kind BHPian who lives there with his wife in Singapore. You can try PMing him.
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Old 8th August 2007, 09:17   #26
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Tourist Attractions & COMEX Show

Quote:
Originally Posted by mail4ajo View Post
I am visiting Singapore-Malaysia in September through a tour package. The hotels given by the operators seems to crappy although they are 3 star category. They are Quality Inn or Grand seasons in KL and Hotel Fortuna or Golden Landmark in singapore

Please suggest alternatives in both places. Please let me know if anyone is visited these places recently. Would like to get a few details.
Hi,

According to this website -> Fortuna Hotel Singapore, Singapore - Singapore Hotel - Information & Reservations Hotel Fortuna is quite near to Mustafa, Komalas, Farrer Park MRT Station & Naranjan, which makes it a good place to stay. If you stay in some hotels in Orchard Road, it might be very expensive and food might be a problem [unless you are used to local food].

You can check more hotels @ Uniquely Singapore - Singapore Hotels

And be careful, when you visit small Electronics shops in Malls in Orachard Road [except the big ones like Best Denki, Courts]/ Sim Lim Squre for buying Electronics Items. They take you for a ride if you dont know the actual price or if you dont negotiate properly. Do your home work before you buy. Browse www.hardwarezone.com® :: HardwareZone Singapore PortaLite :: Connecting IT To You

And Naranjan does'nt give Local / International Warranty for all the items. So, if you are buying costly item from them, think twice.

Hotel Fortuna is very close to Ferrer Park MRT station. That is a very big advantage. You can take train to where you want to go. http://www.smrt.com.sg/trains/routemap/routemap.pdf & Welcome to SBS Transit

Some Places to visit

1. Jurong Birds Park : if you like Bird watching : Jurong BirdPark
2. Zoo & Night Safari : You can give it a miss : Welcome to Singapore Zoo
3. Singapore Science Center : If you like IMAX movies : Singapore Science Centre: Omni-Theatre|IMAX Movies
4. Sentosa : for cable car ride [the one in Genting Malaysia is much better], Under water world, Fountain show and the new attraction is 4D movies : Welcome to Sentosa
5. Snow City : if you have not visitied one before : SnowCity Singapore

and many more here -> Uniquely Singapore - Snow City

AND IF YOU CAN, DONT MISS THIS ONE -> COMEX 2007 Singapore - The IT Event of the Year! You can buy all your electronics items here @ best deal.

My 2 cents

Regards!
Nithi.
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Old 8th August 2007, 12:42   #27
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Wow. such a fantastic thread!

I have few questions

How many day's are enough just for the singapore sightseen?

Which way can be best? Going through operated tour or your own?

Apart from shopping what can be the approximate expense for this trip for say 2 person, and 4 persons?
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Old 8th August 2007, 15:13   #28
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Budget Estimate

Quote:
Originally Posted by hrishig View Post
How many day's are enough just for the singapore sightseen?
How many days enough depends upon what you want to do. Basically you can break down like this.

1. Birds Park -> 1 day. [Dont miss the Bird Shows.]
2. Zoo & Night Safari -> You can give it a miss. -> 1 day
3. Sentosa -> cable car ride, underwater world, dolphin show, musical fountain, 4d movie -> 1 or 2 day
4. Science Center & Snow City -> 1 day
5. And other attractions like duck tours -> Ride the wacky Duck! OR chinese junk cruize -> City Tours Singapore - Singapore Tour Specialists :: Chinese Junk Cruise [3 hour trip. they take you to a small island and show around singapore port - which is one of the busiest in the world] and other activities -> 1 day
6. Shopping -> Mustafa , Suntec City Maals -> depends on what you want to buy - 1 day.

You can chcek out the enterance fees in the respective web sites and you can also find how to reach there. So, 1 week should be sufficient. You can get budget hotels from S$100 a night near mustafa.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hrishig View Post
Which way can be best? Going through operated tour or your own?
I'm not sure how much will the tour operators might charge. But it is very very easy to navigate around Singapore. Just pick up a map , check the website and get a taxi. Do the home work and you are good to go on your own. And crime rate is very low.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hrishig View Post
Apart from shopping what can be the approximate expense for this trip for say 2 person, and 4 persons?
Say, you want to stay for 1 week. Twin Bed Sharing will cost S$100 per night and that works out to S$700 for 2. Add S$100 for each attraction + taxi fare and + food each day and that will be S$700 for 2. So, for about S$1500 [this execludes your shopping budget] should be ok for 2 persons, spending a week in Singapore. It is just my estimate. May not be true for you.

And I heard Tiger Airways is starting to fly to Singpore from October and it is a budget airlines offering two way tickets for around S$300.

Recently I heard lot of tourists are showing interest in Singapore Cruises like this -> http://www.starcruises.com.sg

Regards!
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Old 8th August 2007, 17:08   #29
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@ kpzen & black12rr
I think sam was replying to mail4ajo's query
I've already visitied singapore more than 2 years back and that is when I had started this thread LOL

But then let the info pour in for the benfit of others.


My experience

- I too went in a package tour and was offered landmark hotel but I insisted and got Holiday Inn instead, for the same cost. Holiday Inn seems to be a 4 star and was quite a nice place to stay.

- We were supposed to go sight seeing in tour buses with some others but we opted to go independently by cabs which were pretty affordable and friendly. I also had the helpline nos of the cab companies and all I had to do was call, and the nearest cab would report to where ever we were in 15 mins. This gave us a lot of flexibility to spend as much time as we wanted and where we wanted.
Of course, I had the maps with me and had the plan for the day ready beforehand.

- Do take a gsm mobile handset and put a prepaid card for use over there.

- Did not buy any electronics, as I found them to be of the same cost as the grey market here, more or less.

- Did buy a quite few reasonably priced artefacts and gift items for folks back home mainly from china town, road side vendors and small curio shops in small lanes. This included dragons, fans, brass items, statues and an exqusite 4 panel artwork with mother of pearl inlay. Ultimately had to buy another bag to take all this extra stuff back

- Orchard road was a waste of time and energy and it felt just like being in one of the large malls of Mumbai.

- The sentosa island, zoo and bird park are quite impressive and u could buy a combined ticket for a decent discount. After visiting these places our Jijamata udyan and Taraporewala aquarium seem pathetic :(

- Mustafa was a huge let down. When inside, u feel that u're back in India . . .
No it is not only because of the number of Indians there, but because of the litter, the congestion, the smell, the heat, the crowd, the sad state of the washrooms, the spit marks . . . .

- All said and done, I would summarize it as just "a very expensive zoo trip"
& a good learning experience for kids.
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Old 8th August 2007, 18:10   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mail4ajo View Post
Thanks for the info on shopping and sight seeing.

What I am particularly interested in is the good 3 and 4 star hotels to stay in KL and Singapore. Appreciate your advice on this.
If in Singapore stay ONLY in the orchard road or near by areas like dunarean street (i think i got the spelling right) The only second option can be Serangoon Road or Little India near abouts where Mohd. Mustafa stores are situated. Incidently this is also the best place to change your currency.
The prices in the singapore hotels range from affordable (within Sg.$ 100) and the other (ranging from 125 Sg.$ -300 Sg.$)

A good bet is the strip on orchard road or the road parallel to it with a walking time to Orchard road of about 5 minutes.

In Serangoon road one will find even more affordable options to stay i.e. better hotels at cheaper prices.


Regards KL the I stayed at a place called the Seasons Hotel which is a very good and affordable 4 star hotel. One can see the Petronas Towers form the window (like every other hotel in K.L.) and the rooms are very plush and comfortable. While in KL hunt for a hotel which is near the skybus or the elevated rail as you will need to travel via this mode of transport.

I have virtually roamed Singapore and explored its lenght and breadth and will be only to glad to help with shopping tips and eating out places of all cuisines. Just ask !!
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