There are many places of interests, not necessary "tourists attractions"
if you get what I mean. There are literally hundreds of them,
many with interesting historical background, cultural background etc.
While I talked about eating and shopping, I have already mentioned
some of them. In this section, I will try to be more comprehensive.
Personally, I am not one for those "commercialized" areas, where
they are specifically "tourists attractions". However, I am not
going to discriminate such places since this is a general guide.
But I will also include certain areas which many (even locals)
have not visited. Again, it depends on one's interests. There
are many things to do, unlike what many say, Singapore is a
concrete jungle, while not actually true, to be perfectly honest.
Unlike what many would like to think, Singaporeans are not that
boring after all (ok, I must admit I do have my fair share of
boring friends). There are many after-hours spots in Singapore
where you could go for your round of drinks and partying. There
are nightclubs, discotheques, pubs, wine bars etc. etc. You name
it, you can find it here. I will be featuring some of them here
as well.
Animals/Nature:
You can find many facilities where you can see animals, birds and
even reptiles! There are also several places where you can enjoy
the mother nature and see plants and flowers. If you are an animal
or bird lover, remember to visit Singapore Zoological Gardens,
Jurong Bird Park, and if you like reptiles (and I cannot understand
why!! ), visit Jurong Reptile Park. There is also
the Night Safari which opens only at night, where you can experience
being close to animals which comes out only during the night time.
For those keen on underwater live, you must not miss (although I
feel it is kind of expensive for entrance fees) the Underwater World
at Sentosa Island.
Historical:
If you like to see some historical places in Singapore, there are several.
Two areas primed for tourists would be the Fort Canning Park and
Fort Siloso.
HOWEVER (!), you can visit the Chinatown for old buildings and
facade of Chinese buildings and architecture, Tanjong Pasar (now
reburbished and housed many pubs and drinking holes), the Malay
Village (not 100% authentic since it was build intentionally only
recently but they tried their best), Little India etc. places.
You can find old buildings which are decades old (some over 100 years
old), some reburbished, some still intact.
Island:
More adventurous visitors may want to try hiking at Pulau Ubin
(an island off Singapore), where you should still find nature and old
huts on the island. However, the recent work on making it a recreational
island has made Ubin (as what locals call it) loose its natural
shape. I remembered I always visit the island for my camping and hiking
trips almost 20 years ago. Back then, we always hunt for wild chicken,
and catch fish for our meals. We had a lot of fun back then. But I
have not been there for almost 10 years, so the place may have changed.
Last I heard is that Ubin has been "upgraded" to be a recreational
island, and I feel that the natural part of the island would have been
spoilt by the upgrade, which is why I stopped going. Then again, I may
be wrong on this, but I am quite sure it is not the same place as it
used to be (from the pictures I saw from the newspaper a few years back).
How to get to Ubin: Take bus service no. 2 heading towards
Changi Depot, and alight when reaching the depot. You should be able
to see the jetty (Changi Jetty) from the place you alight. Just walk
towards the jetty and the boat owners will ask you which island you
are heading, just say "Ubin" and you will be led to one of
the boats (actually, the experience of riding in one of the boats
is an experience by itself).
The boat will reach Ubin Jetty where you can start your trekking. Road
signs are clearly displayed, so it will be quite hard to be lost.
Experience the rural lifestyle once you are on the island.
If you are one for the more commercialized area, Sentosa Island is
the place to visit. You can take a bus to World Trade Centre, where
you will have a choice between taking the boat and the cable car.
Signs are displayed quite clearly on where to take the boat or the cable
car, so have no worries.
Relevant Links:
Places.Online Singapore - a web site which gives you all the information to places in Singapore.
Click here for information on places of interests
in Singapore and click here for the main site.