I’ve always wanted to share my itineraries for when I go on trips because I really take great care in making them. I research extensively and budget my schedule accordingly – down to the last minute. But of course, life would always happen and my itineraries would be forgotten – as should be. As they are really nothing but mere suggestions. So what I will share now are the things one must not miss when one is in Singapore. Granted, some of these places I’ve never been too myself but have always included them in my itineraries in the 3 times I’ve been to Singapore. haha maybe next year.
1. Maxwell Road Hawker Centre – I think it’s one of the biggest hawker food centre in Singapore (if not the biggest) and has over 100 stalls. So needless to say, you will not run out of food options here. I suggest breakfast or lunch here so it’s not too crowded. Have some chicken rice or prata with curry and a glass of milo and then you’re good for the next few hours. This baby’s in Chinatown so after chow, burn the calories by walking around Chinatown.
2. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple – still in Chinatown. And it’s beautiful (at least from the outside coz I never really got to go inside). There’s a dress code so make sure you’re skirt and shorts are not above your knees and you’re shirt has sleeves or else you can’t go inside. At the back of the temple, there’s a small area where you can find old Chinese men playing some sort of board game (checkers, Go, i dunno)
3. Universal Studios – actually there’s really nothing much to see in Universal Studios. The rides are pretty lame (except for Transformers and Battlestar Gallactica) but it’s worth going to just to see what it’s all about. Plus the little things are always amusing: like the street performers, the guys dressed up as Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, etc. Just be wary that everything is expensive here – the food especially. One thing’s for sure in Universal, you will never run out of “Kodak Moments”.
4. Red Dot Museum – for the love of all things beautiful, you should go to this place. It’s quite amusing how they gave us a map, once we got in. The whole compound has more stores than displays in the museum but that’s ok. And the museum displays were actual working products, albeit designed not just for function but for aesthetics as well. Spend at least half a day here. We spent only 2 hours and we missed a lot of things.
4. Have your picture taken with the doorman at Raffles – and have a Singapore Sling while you’re at it :)
5. Haji Lane/Bugis – for your bottomless pit of pocket money. Don’t forget to bring a reusable tote for your shopping loot! Recently scored a fine looking satchel (not one of those Cambridge knock offs we can find here in Greenhills or in Facebook stores) for only SGD 29!
6. Chjimes Church – This was a pleasant surprise. It’s an old church restored to house pubs, restaurants and shops. The general look of the church has been kept and the courtyard home to pubs with happy hour rates, mexican restaurants and izakayas. Mostly expats come here considering it’s a pretty expensive place but worth visiting at least once.
7. Art Science Museum at Marina Bay Sands – ok. Marina Bay Sands in itself is woah-inducing. It’s big. It’s swanky. It’s shiny and it smells nice and expensive (that’s because everything in it is expensive). I didn’t get to go inside the Museum but I did take loads of pictures outside of it haha. But you should go, there’s always an interesting exhibit going on.
8. Orchard Road – shopping mecca! Check out Ion Orchard, the half-nekkid boys of Abercrombie and Fitch, the sex shops, the luxury goods in Takashimaya, of course there’s also H&M and Forever 21. Don’t forget to have a slab of ice cream sandwiched between wafers, ok?
9. Singapore Zoo/Night Safari – I’m not the biggest fan of caged animals but this zoo’s pretty cool. The animals have wide enough spaces. The animals seem well fed, and well taken care of. The white tigers and the polar bears were my favorites :) This place is huge! Spare a day for the zoo and then the night safari afterwards :)
10. Sentosa – I can’t remember much from when I went to Sentosa 5 years ago. I remember the aquarium which isn’t as impressive as Hong Kong’s ocean park but still quite cool. I remember walking around but I never got to to the man made beach since I just had half a day to spare. But don’t forget to try out the Luge Rides!
12. Esplanade – I actually prefer it at night when it’s empty of people and the lights are on coz it really is beautiful and offers a great view of Marina Bay Sands. The Makan-Sutra beside it also has a decent variety of food. Don’t forget to have some CHILI CRABS! One time I was there, in the underpass beside it, there was a group of kids dancing in public, just for fun I guess. They just had a boom box (yeah, a boom box) and they were taking turns street dancing. It was pretty cool :)
13. Last but not the least: GET LOST! Seriously. Ride the train and get off at a random station. You will be surprised at the things you might discover. Like this place here: It’s very youth-oriented and promoting art to get kids to stay off drugs and keep straight.
I still have a lot of things on my list (and I haven’t even gotten to the restaurants and the shops yet) like the National University Museum, the National Museum, The Science Centre, Battle Box (for the war and history buffs), Toy Museum, High Tea at Equinox Swissotel, Tony Tan Foodwalk, Go to Kappar Road and catch a free film (drive in style), X-Factor, Dempsey Hill, etc. But the ones above are I guess a must for every first time-Singapore visitor.
Have fun, eat a lot, and make sure you have enough money to spend (especially if you’re coming from the Philippines where SGD1=PHP 33 (at least) ). But if you don’t plan on shopping, you’ll be alright. Food is awesome and cheap!
It’s pretty easy to get around Singapore. Just know how to read a map and train signs. :)
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