Singapore Delights

This 5-star hotel is very conveniently situated in the heart of Singapore’s shopping center, Orchard Rd. The sidewalk of Orchard Rd is separated from the lobby by a walkway with fountain structure to keep out the noise and discourage wanderers looking to rest in the somewhat dark reception area and lobby. The ground level had a small bakery, ‘deli/café’, as well a tailor, jewellery store, and small sundries store. The first room we were given was quite small and faced the 24 hour construction so we asked to be moved. The second room was slightly larger, brighter, and much quieter. The bathroom is a good size and well stocked with the usual toiletries.

The executive floor had its usual free Internet and delicious food served twice a day. If you don’t have access to free Internet, there are several places around – Borders Books across the street, as well as coffee houses in the area that offer free Wi-Fi.

The spa and gym are the basic gym offered in most hotels. Once again, like the lobby area I found the spa reception area a little dark – almost as though the dimmer was set too low. The spa was quite comfortable and cozy, housing a sauna, steam room, and both hot and cold whirlpool.

The hotel is surrounded by malls and food courts – both fancy and local. The great thing about this hotel, is that you don’t have to cross the street, but can make your way through malls and the underground to get from one building to the next – although it can get somewhat confusing.

The wide sidewalks, courteous drivers and lifts around Singapore make getting out of the hotel and around the stores on Orchard street an easy outing. There is a grocery store and bakery directly under the hotel lobby, accessible by a staircase to the left of the hotel (as you face the hotel lobby). There is also indirect access via the train lifts and escalators for those with strollers. Again, once you have figured out the direction and location of the entrances and exits of the mass rapid transport, it is easy to get from the hotel to many places to go shopping or have dinner – with or without children, in rain or shine.

A side note: though somewhat discrete, the weekend and nights bring out skimpily, dressed up women who are looking to be your playmate for the night. It seems that there are three blocks that prostitution is “permitted” and women approach single or groups of males.

I recommend this hotel to most people who are looking for convenient location to drop off shopping and head out again, be close to stores and the transportation.

We switched hotels half way through our trip to avoid the rate change at the Marriott. The Regent Hotel is located about three blocks away from the Marriott hotel, about two blocks parallel Orchard St, in a quieter, more ‘residential’ area.

The lobby of the Regent has a spacious yet cozy feeling. The sound of the small fountains, plants, large floral arrangements, four glass walled elevators, and open brightly painted hallways accessing the rooms all lend themselves to an atmosphere of simple, and unusual elegance. The rooms are spacious, as are the bathrooms. There are some of the usual toiletries provided – shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, but not refilled as decadently as at the Marriott.

There is a $35 fee to use the business center or have Internet access, but you can easily hit one of the local coffee shops to access their free Wi-Fi.

This hotel is stroller friendly, and the lobby is large and interesting enough for children to walk around and explore, not to mention to ride those glass elevators! There is a bakery in the hotel, but right outside the hotel, there are a couple of Tudor style stores, restaurants, and the small food court and grocery store in the Tanglin plaza (not to be confused with the larger Tanglin Mall on Orchard street).

The hotel is about a 5-10 minute walk to Orchard Rd’s shops and about 10-15 minutes to the mass rapid transit Orchard Rd station. The walk around the block on the wide sidewalks is a nice treat for parents with toddlers or children who want to get out and stretch their legs without bumping into the hustle and bustle of shoppers.

If you are looking for a hotel that is away from the hustle and bustle of Singapore, but still leaves you in relative proximity to the craziness when you want it, this is the hotel for you.

This is one of the best zoos that I have seen. Rather than just caged animals, a great deal of effort has been placed to replicate the natural environment of the animal. Also the displays are varied – from open air cages and trees that seem to hang out over the cages (why don’t those monkeys jump out?) to walk through reptile and butterfly and bat exhibits (we did see a bat who managed to escape) and learning areas with displays and interactive features. There are also photography with animals stations where for a $5+ donation, you can pose with a monkey or ride an elephant.

The zoo also has a diverse food court that is surprisingly reasonably priced. Bathrooms are relatively clean and there are changing stations for parents with toddlers. There is a tram ride that goes around the zoo, available for an extra $5, but I would not recommend it. It uses the same path that everyone walks on, doesn’t give you any extra view, you have to be at a specific station in order to hop on or off and the train doesn’t make a full circle, so even if you get on towards the end, you have to walk around to get to the first station in order to ride around. I found it more inconvenient, especially when you have to fold and unfold a stroller to load onto the tram.

The zoo admission is $15 Singapore (about $10 US) and well worth the money to maintain the high quality of the animal’s living condition. It is very family and stroller friendly with ‘cooling stations’ (air-conditioned rooms) to help you cool off and manage the heat and humidity.

I would recommend either taking a taxi directly to the zoo. We took the MRT to a station close by, and then waited for a cab for about half an hour. Getting taxis in Singapore can be hard if you aren’t at a major hotel or if it is raining. The bus from the MRT station was packed – no standing room. Not a fun trip you if have a family and stroller with you.

On the way home, we stood in line for an hour before we got one (there was a festival going on that day), so be prepared to call a taxi to avoid the queue. There is a combined admission that includes the night safari. Although we have heard this is a great experience, we didn't think it was going to make an impression on our young toddler.

For more info, check the zoo's detailed website: www.zoo.com.sg. Have fun.

VIVO City, Harbourfront MRT station. This is a huge, huge, state of the art shopping center at the Harbourfront MRT station. It is really like being in a city – a clean, futuristic city with a big range of stores – fashion, household, electronics, for kids and adults. It is more than a shopping mall. Not only is there a brilliantly lit and enticing 15 screen movie theatre, there is a food court with diverse and reasonably priced food. If you have children, there is an outdoor open roof garden area with large sculptures, wading pool and fountains and a view of the cable cars heading to Sentosa Island. This area gave our toddler a safe and large space to roam and stretch his legs. If you can see the open area at night, the lights of the cable car are fun. This is a fantastic place to spend a rainy Singapore day. Recommended for shoppers and non shoppers alike just for the interesting interior and just the state of the art feeling of the whole center.

Check out my Sentosa Island for more detail on how to get to Underwater World. Basically, it's on Sentosa Island, a bus, monorail, or cable car ride from the Harborfront MRT station. Once on Sentosa Island, you can get a free bus to Underwater World.

Underwater world showcases a tank filled with sea turtles by the admission booth, this one is free. There is a touch tank containing a small shark, manta ray, among other fish. There is a feeding tank and for $3 you can buy a tub of food to feed the hungry manta ray.
There are a few tanks of colourful fish and jellyfish, but the main attraction is a moving walkway that takes you through a tunnel in which you are surrounded by ocean life – sharks, rays, fish, eel.

It was amazing to see the underbelly or sharks as they swam overhead, their crooked teeth jutting out. We also were lucky enough to see the fish being fed – by divers. Although it looked like the whole area was connected, there were some very natural looking barriers to keep the sharks away from the other fish.

That is it in the underwater world. We were a little surprised not to find anything else, but considering $20 gave us admission to Dolphin lagoon as well as maintained the habitat of the tunnel, I didn’t mind parting with what it would have cost to go to a movie in the US.

We walked through the tunnel twice and then headed quickly past the gift shop to another bus which took us to Dolphin Lagoon.

Check my review on Dolphin Lagoon for more info. The word limit on these reviews is far too small for my talkative nature...

Hop onto the MRT to the Harborfront Station. After a little walk through a small mall and over some overpasses, you reach the cable car entrance to Sentosa Island. The cable car costs $10 round trip and gives you a good view of harbour, shipping port and boats, not to mention the Merlion appearing on the mountain. However, if you don’t like heights, you can take a rapid train or a bus – or mix and match for variety.

The cable car windows were a little stretched up, but I managed to get some decent shots. Thankfully it was not too hot, because the small barred windows did not send much of a breeze through the stuffy cable car.

Sentosa Island is a treasure of little fountains, museums, attractions like butterfly and insect garden, dolphin lagoon, underwater world, a walk, a lookout and the Carlsberg tower which gives a 360 degree view of the area. All are separate admissions – it costs $2 to get onto the island itself.

The island is packed with activities for the whole day - from the free buses taking you from one attraction to the next. If you can't afford to go from one attraction to the next, the air-conditioning free buses can take you to the beach and various locations, lookouts, and places for photos and some free sights (the turtle tank outside Underwater World) and you can just spend the day relaxing and exploring.

Bring water to have until you can find a place to stock up, hat, sunscreen and change of clothes if you want to go swimming. There are clean showers and changing rooms by the beach.

Check out my Underwater World and Dolphin Lagoon review for more info. I couldn't fit everything on one review.

This is a continuation of my Sentosa Island, Underwater World review . . .

After Underwater World, we hopped on a free Sentosa Island bus and headed to Dolphin Lagoon. We were about an hour too early for the next show so we walked along the man-made looking beach to the large food court. Again the price of food was reasonable and there was a good range of food to please any palate.
I ate chicken teriyaki with rice and opted for the traditional chendohl (shaved ice with colourful jelly, green and red beans covered with coconut milk and some brown sugar) for dessert.
Just a tip – use the bathroom at the food court, or on the way to the lagoon (about 50km from the dolphin lagoon entrance) since there is no bathroom once you get in.
I was surprised to see that the dolphins in this man-made lagoon were pink. Apparently this species of dolphin starts off pink but turns grey as they mature.
You can make use of your sunscreen, hat, and glasses here. Although the audience sits under a canopy on simple, plastic chairs, the sun can still reach you at spots. Also, make sure you have water to sip on since the half hour show can make you a bit hot. Best spot to sit is in the center of the canopy, right at the front, but if you sit at the edges, you’ll still see pretty well since there is a dolphin at each end of the lagoon to demonstrate their tricks. Although minor, there is some feedback from the speakers when you sit at the edge of the lagoon. Still, best recommendation is to get there first and grab a seat in front, especially if you have children or they will have difficulty seeing the dolphins.

The show is pretty short, with the usual dolphin tricks. It is a great opportunity not only to see the dolphins, but to have the chance to wade in and touch one – if you are a lucky volunteer picked. If you’re not picked, you can always pay the $15 to have your photo taken with them after the performance.

After this show, you can walk through the gift shop (most of the gift shops on Sentosa Island were lacking in quality of item in my opinion) and take a bus back to the cable car or to the next stop. All buses are free so you can just hop on or off and the stations around the island. Just remember to bring sunscreen, hat, water, and a change of clothes if you want to check out the beaches along the island.

We headed back to the cable car and back towards the hotel since the heat had us beat. Of course, we revived a little when we got into the air-conditioning of Vivo City . . . but that’s another review . . .

We ate our way from one end of Chinatown through the other, stopping at the numerous bakeries and foodstalls to eat anything from steam barbeque pork buns, to deep fried sesame balls to egg tarts and hot red bean soup or ice cold chendohl. Perfect for a hot day wandering around Chinatown buying wrap around skirts, batik looking dresses, knick knacks, window shopping at snuff bottles, statues, Tibetan bells and hundreds of other items.

Chinatown is also a great source of photo opportunities. From the moment you step out of the station (the escalator lifts you right into Chinatown), you are greeted by smells of great food, colourful shophouses (downstairs are the shops, upstairs are the houses) and stall and shop upon stall and shop with colourful fashions and trinkets galore.

About two blocks walking straight from the Chinatown Metro is the Sri Mariamman Hindu temple, an ornate (that is an understatement) structure that is not only one of Singapore’s oldest temples but is considered to be a National Monument. We had our stroller with us so did not venture inside the temple (you have to remove shoes to go inside), but we wandered around outside and were quite amazed by all the detail on the statues around the temple. A definite must see!

We wandered around the area weaving in and out of streets and stumbled across a food court. It was 11am and some of the stalls were just opening. The food court is relatively clean and, as always, reasonably priced.

We wandered a little off the beaten path and didn’t see too much so headed back into the main part of town where we ventured towards the newer part of town, an airconditioned mall – bathrooms were cleaner than the MacDonalds bathroom I used near the station and not unisex!

On the way back to the MRT, we came across a local department store on Smith Street where I stocked up on some sarongs ($7) and short sarongs ($3), as well as some shampoo – all at local prices. Can’t beat the shopping in Chinatown.

If you are planning to have lunch, don’t expect most of the restaurants to be open and ready to serve until noon. However if you like to snack, get ready to snack. There is
also a huge food street, but open only at night.

Here are some gift ideas from Chinatown (besides those wrap around skirts and Chinese style tops:

Pick up a golden coloured ‘lucky money cat’ with it’s waving arm for $3, go into a tea store and sniff some Chinese tea (make great gifts for tea connoisseurs back home –especially the fragrant jasmine tea), or pick up some great Tiger balm ointment for achy joints and back pain. I find the scent to be much more appealing than those menthol rubs that smell more like chemicals than herbs.

Have fun!

Once again, thanks to Singapore’s organized subway system, another charming area is easily accessible to visitors and residents alike. The district of little India is located at the, Little India MRT station. There is a large market selling produce and food on the ground level, and on the second level it looked like there were many clothes and fabrics. Unfortunately, I was not able to make my way upstairs because I could not find an elevator. It is hard for me to imagine that Singapore would not have thought of having an elevator though...I did manage to shop to my heart’s content at a small store at the foot of Tekka market where I bought free flowing dresses, batik fabric knee length dresses and a couple of brilliantly coloured skirts each less than $10.

Although the food court at the foot of Tekka Mart did not seem to be as clean as Chinatown’s food court, I bought a mango lassi to consume as I wandered around Little India. Once again, I arrived just around 11am so stores were just starting to open and my senses were inundated with the smell and smoke of burning incense at the small altars outside the opening stores. It was ironic to see store owners standing barefoot in front of their altars, even though they were standing on the street.

Little India has many stores that resemble those in Little Chinatown, except the smells, the spices, and the colours are different. Henna tattoos, Indian trinkets, beaded jewellery boxes, Indian style dresses and lots of fabric stores ready to sell you fabric for custom made saris. Also there were a number of stores with brass and wood artifacts, knick knacks. Many resembling some of the stores in Chinatown.

My trip was cut short by the torrential downpour. Rather than wait it out to try out the opening curry houses, I opted to return to the hotel.

Once again, I had my stroller with me, and like Chinatown, it was slightly hard to get around some of the small stores, and I found myself going up and down the pavement, however, for the most part I was able to get around the streets and smaller stores. If you are sensitive to smells and smoke, I would wait until after 11am to avoid the burning incense, but definitely, Little India, like so many of the other places in Singapore, is filled with colour and local culture worth capturing on film and in your memory.