So I'm going to Bali, Singapore and Jacarta (sp?) for work. I think I should have at least an afternoon off at each city. I know nothing about these cities. If anyone knows if there is something that is a must do/see, or if you know of things to avoid, let me know. Thanks
-Ryan
avoid spitting on the street in singapore
i hear its a caning offense....
bringing drugs in carries a slightly larger penalty.
I've been to Singapore several times. What kinds of things are you interested in?
Quote from: herm on December 02, 2008, 01:15:05 PM
avoid spitting on the street in singapore
i hear its a caning offense....
bringing drugs in carries a slightly larger penalty.
Thanks, I'll swallow my spit and leave my sleeping pills at home.
Quote from: msincredible on December 02, 2008, 01:18:50 PM
I've been to Singapore several times. What kinds of things are you interested in?
Anything really, besides going to a beach, unless the beach doesn't have sand. Maybe some ancient building, or good place for shopping, or a place where aliens landed in 1957. I usually just walk around cities and get lost for while then head back to the hotel. Typically, I get home and find out there was something really cool there, I just wandered in the wrong direction.
Singapore is all eating, and all shopping. Seriously.
Eating is awesome. Beach? I'm not sure, but I'd think it would be very "safe" (sterile?) like a lot of things in Singapore.
But shopping is a definite plus. Best of Europe and Asia on one island.
And just about everyone speaks English, so it's very easy to get around.
Oh, and it's usually hot. Sweaty hot.
Singapore's beach is kinda yucky. And definitely has sand. However, the aerial tram you take to get there is pretty groovy.
Bali has alllllllll sorts of cool ancient-type stuff to check out.
I've only spent one day in Jakarta, but I'm sure there's something worth checking out.
Yeah, Singapore is all about the shopping. It's kind of like a giant Chinatown. You can also find really cheap electronics in Little India.
The beach isn't that impressive, but over at East Coast Park there are some other fun things, like a cable water ski park (water skiing but towed around by overhead cables instead of by a boat), and an RC car race track.
Everybody likes to go to Clarke Quay, it's got a bunch of cool restaurants and bars and a reverse bungee jump (they pull you down and then you go shooting up into the air like a slingshot).
Some people love to go to Raffles and get a drink, mostly for historical reasons.
If you like the outdoors, you can go to Bukit Timah and see the Nature Reserve and the reservoir; or else you can take a ferry to Pulau Ubin and rent a mountain bike there and go riding around.
Feel free to PM me if you have specific Singapore questions.
Oh yeah, and as weird as it sounds, the bar in the Singapore Hyatt is really cool. Actually, the restaurant you walk though to get to the bar is cool too. It's designed by a Japanese firm called "Super Potato". Very cool.
Thank you for your responses.
I got my itinerary today, looks like I leave tomorrow and I've got a full day off in both Singapore and Jakarta. Only going to be in Bali for about 12 hours :-[. Hopefully there's stuff near the Hard Rock Cafe to check out. I think I'll check out Little India and then try to head to the Nature Reserve. If I'm near the Hyatt I'll stop in to get a drink and check out the restaurant.
Quote from: somegirl on December 03, 2008, 10:34:15 AM
Some people love to go to Raffles and get a drink, mostly for historical reasons.
I'm staying at the Mandarin Oriental which is at 5 Raffles Ave. Is Raffles the name of a place or just the street?
Quote from: R2 on December 03, 2008, 01:37:38 PMI'm staying at the Mandarin Oriental which is at 5 Raffles Ave. Is Raffles the name of a place or just the street?
It's a hotel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffles_Hotel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffles_Hotel)
Go to Mustafa Center in Little India for your electronics shopping.
As mentioned, Singapore's really about shopping. Personally I found it a bit sterile with its cleanliness in places; something just felt artificial about walking around there, as if I was in Disneyland. To each is own. As they like to say, it's a "fine" city. ;)
I didn't find much in Jakarta as it's nothing more than a humongously crowded city. But then again we didn't have the time to explore it in depth.
If you have the chance, definitely consider visits to the temples of Borobudur (http://wikitravel.org/en/Borobudur) and Prambanan (http://wikitravel.org/en/Prambanan) near Yogyakarta (pronounced JOE-jakarta). About an hour by plane and an eternity by train midway between Jakarta and Bali. These are UN World Heritage sites, and realize that you will lose about 200 pounds walking around Borobudur's black rock under the sun set to broil and its 10,000% humidity.
Also for StairMaster needs, nearby was a proverbial 1,000-step climb to a hilltop temple / monastery that I cannot recall its name.
Bali is nothing but hanging out. And that's a good thing. [thumbsup]