Singapore

Partly as a result of seeing ScubaSi's post about purchasing a photo vest at a photo shop in Sim Lin Centre, I'm on the verge of making a decision to spend an extra day in Singapore. Ken at Ultimate Dive Travel tells me there is a program called Singapore Stopover which makes it easy for the traveller to spend extra time in Singapore (free travel from airport to hotel and return). There is a hotel called Allson and it's apparently a 10 minute walk from Sim Lin Centre. I have two questions:

1) Would it be a good idea to spend a day in Singapore seeing the sights, shopping, etc?

2) What are the places that you recommend that I spend my time at?

As it turns out, I have to spend one night in Singapore anyway. My flight from Manado arrives in Singapore at 5:05 PM and departs for San Francisco the following morning at 9:15 AM. If I didn't add on an extra night in Singapore, I was told there's not really enough time to see Singapore.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Ellen

Uhh... eat, sleep, eat some more, sleep some more then eat even more!

Singapore is a metropolitan city that is as developed as you want a city to be. Nightlife is decent but the food is about the best thing this city offers me. Other than a walk in the Botanical gardens before dinner at Au Jardin Les Amis (great French food) or the local food (mostly chinese and regional) at various local restaurants, it's really rather boring a place.

At Sim Lim, you can probably buy little stuff for cellphones you can get in the US but for cameras, electronics etc, it's still cheaper to buy online in the US... especially now with the US$'s value. Nikon cameras are still slightly cheaper in Singapore than the US but Canon is price controlled there. The lenses are more expensive though.

As for shopping, the euro branded stuff is about the same as the US or slightly cheaper since you get back tax when you leave. Clothing is a bargain except for high end stuff. Tailored stuff is still cheaper but I find the workmanship to be below Hong Kong.

Go to the Long Bar at Raffles' and get a Singapore Sling.

All the best, James

The transit hotel, located inside the Singapore airport is a good option.

It's easy to get to town from the airport. The next morning, you won't have to get up at god-awful AM to schlepp your bags to the airport - you will already be there. If you can, it pays to check your bags all the way through to S\F when you board Silk Air in Manado.

The transit hotel, located inside the Singapore airport is a good option.

 

If you can, it pays to check your bags all the way through to S\F when you board Silk Air in Manado.

Hi Jim,

I'm planning on staying at the transit hotel when I'm in Singapore on the way to Bali. My flight arrives at the ungodly hour of 1 AM and I depart the next morning at about 9 AM. So, it'll be a six hour block of time for me.

Thanks for the tip on checking my bags all the way to SFO when I board in Manado. I'll see if that's possible.

Cheers,

Ellen

If you have an evening do the night zoo. As someone said most things are more expensive there, I just

stay at the transit hotel, get some good sleep and a shower and shop through out the airport, no bargains tho

Terry