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| The CBD seen from the Marina Promenade / Esplanade |
Showing posts with label Singapore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Singapore. Show all posts
Sunday, 23 June 2013
Monday, 28 March 2011
Travel costs for Singapore
Singapore is a fantastic destination, but cheap it ain't. So how much should you realistically expect to spend in Singapore?
Here's a summary of my spending (you can see my travel style in this post on travel costs in Thailand, so you can calculate how your likely spending would match up to mine).
30 January to 7 February = £550 in total for 8 nights
Average costs per day = £69
Accommodation
I only stayed in one place – Hangout at Mount Emily. It's classified as a budget hotel, but feels decidedly mid-range. SIN$117 (£57.50) got me a huge, ensuite room, with pillow-topped mattress and fluffy duvet. After 2 months of budget travel, it felt like absolute luxury.
You can find cheaper accommodation if you're willing to stay in a dorm or go a bit lower-rent, but even a bed in a dorm will cost you at least £10 to £12 a night (and for that price you'll probably be in a 10 or 15 bed dorm), and a private room will cost you at least £30.
Sightseeing and transport
£4.53 average per day.
Surprisingly reasonable for a city with a reputation as expensive.
Food and drink
£5.73 average per day.
Most expensive meal – £4.40 for lunch at the zoo (high prices because you're a captive audience).
Cost of a plate of food at a hawker centre – £1.50 to £2.00.
Cost of an iced coffee – £1.00 to £3.00.
Cost of a 500ml bottle of water – never bought any (tap water's drinkable in Singapore).
Singapore has lots of expensive restaurants and cocktail bars, but you can still eat reasonably if you're careful.
I made full use of the included breakfast and free tea and coffee in my hotel. Lunches tended to be either an iced coffee or fresh fruit shake, and perhaps some fruit or buns bought in the local grocery store. Dinner was at a hawker centre most nights.
If you like a drink or want to eat in "proper" restaurants every night, I'd budget three times what I spent (at least! If you're looking for rooftop cocktails and trendy restaurants, budget 10x what I spent).
In summary, accommodation costs ensures Singapore is several times more expensive than other SE Asia locations, but it doesn't have to break the bank if you're careful.
Here's a summary of my spending (you can see my travel style in this post on travel costs in Thailand, so you can calculate how your likely spending would match up to mine).
30 January to 7 February = £550 in total for 8 nights
Average costs per day = £69
Accommodation
I only stayed in one place – Hangout at Mount Emily. It's classified as a budget hotel, but feels decidedly mid-range. SIN$117 (£57.50) got me a huge, ensuite room, with pillow-topped mattress and fluffy duvet. After 2 months of budget travel, it felt like absolute luxury.
You can find cheaper accommodation if you're willing to stay in a dorm or go a bit lower-rent, but even a bed in a dorm will cost you at least £10 to £12 a night (and for that price you'll probably be in a 10 or 15 bed dorm), and a private room will cost you at least £30.
Sightseeing and transport
£4.53 average per day.
Surprisingly reasonable for a city with a reputation as expensive.
Food and drink
£5.73 average per day.
Most expensive meal – £4.40 for lunch at the zoo (high prices because you're a captive audience).
Cost of a plate of food at a hawker centre – £1.50 to £2.00.
Cost of an iced coffee – £1.00 to £3.00.
Cost of a 500ml bottle of water – never bought any (tap water's drinkable in Singapore).
Singapore has lots of expensive restaurants and cocktail bars, but you can still eat reasonably if you're careful.
I made full use of the included breakfast and free tea and coffee in my hotel. Lunches tended to be either an iced coffee or fresh fruit shake, and perhaps some fruit or buns bought in the local grocery store. Dinner was at a hawker centre most nights.
If you like a drink or want to eat in "proper" restaurants every night, I'd budget three times what I spent (at least! If you're looking for rooftop cocktails and trendy restaurants, budget 10x what I spent).
In summary, accommodation costs ensures Singapore is several times more expensive than other SE Asia locations, but it doesn't have to break the bank if you're careful.
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Singapore botanic gardens
Singapore's 52 hectare botanic gardens are just beyond the end of Orchard road. You can walk there from the centre, if your legs are feeling sprightly, or take a city bus.
Entry is free, and on any given day you'll see lots of locals enjoying the outdoors - lovers strolling hand-in-hand next to the koi pond, children running about on the lawns, dog-walkers, joggers, old men reading newspapers in the shade. It's lovely.
There is a restaurant and one or two snack shops, selling cold drinks, if you need refreshments. Best of all, there's the orchid garden (entrance fee of SIN$5 applies - that's about £2.50)
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| I have absolutely no idea what this is |
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| Nope. Still no idea. |
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| Finally one I recognise! |
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Singapore sling
I like the contrasts of Singapore, the old and the new rubbing shoulders.
In the central business district, 21st century skyscrappers tower above you, housing thousands of bankers and businessmen, with their Blackberries and suits. But tucked between the buildings you'll find a traditional hawker centre, selling pork-bone tea. Five minute's walk away there's a massive Hindu temple, or a chinatown shopfront selling paper funeral offerings.
And the food! Don't get me started or we'll be here all night. From comforting chicken rice to zesty rojak. From kaya-toast to popiah. I think I gained half a stone in the eight days I was here.
Must. Return. Soon.
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| Sri Mariamman Temple |
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| The central business district (CBD) |
In the central business district, 21st century skyscrappers tower above you, housing thousands of bankers and businessmen, with their Blackberries and suits. But tucked between the buildings you'll find a traditional hawker centre, selling pork-bone tea. Five minute's walk away there's a massive Hindu temple, or a chinatown shopfront selling paper funeral offerings.
And the food! Don't get me started or we'll be here all night. From comforting chicken rice to zesty rojak. From kaya-toast to popiah. I think I gained half a stone in the eight days I was here.
Must. Return. Soon.
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Singapore zoo
Anyone who's been reading this blog will have noticed by now that I love looking at and photographing animals. But like many people I worry about animal welfare issues, which is why I loved Singapore zoo.
The open-concept zoo means almost no cages. Animals are kept away from humans and other species by a series of moats and tree lines, and judging by the number of babies visible during my visit, the animals are well-looked after and content.
The zoo is easy to reach from the centre. On public transport you've got two options: either take the MRT to Ang Mo Kio station (or Choa Chu Kang station), and grab a bus from there. Or you can take the slightly-more-expensive but more direct "tourist" bus that picks up along Orchard road (stops are at some of the big hotels), and goes all the way to the zoo from there.
You can get more information on the zoo's animal welfare policies, plus detailed transport information on their website: http://www.zoo.com.sg/
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| Baby cotton-topped tamarind |
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| Flying fox having his lunch |
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| One pissed-off lemur (a sloth had just stolen his perch) |
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| Baby probosis monkey |
Sunday, 30 January 2011
A small rant about authenticity
I like Singapore.
I know not everyone does. Some don't like big cities, or prefer beaches. No harm in that.
But one of the most common things I hear from Singapore's detractors is the claim that it's "not the real Asia".
That attitude makes me want to smack them.
Because a lot of the time, what they really seem to mean is: "It's not poor enough for me, not different enough from what I'm used to, so I don't feel brave (and superior to the people back home) in coming here."
Bit harsh?
Ask yourself that person pictures when they say "the real Asia" and you'll probably get a litany of cliches:
- Farmers in conical hats, standing knee deep in a rice paddy. Maybe a water buffalo pulling a plow.
- Tin roof shacks and open-air wet markets (probably with flies trying to land on everything).
- Old ladies washing their brightly-coloured saris or dishes in the river.
- Wizenned, tiny women who are 65 but look 110.
- Young men transporting giant loads of lumber on the back of motorcycles.
What do all those images have in common?
Poverty.
The young man is using the motorbike to carry lumber because there isn't the money to buy a truck. Chances are the woman is washing clothes in the river, making her hands red and worn, because she can't afford a Maytag washing machine.
People are the same the world over; we all want exactly the same things. Good health. Enough money to provide a decent standard of living for our families. The potential to give our children more opportunities for the future than we might have had ourselves. This idea that the signs of obvious poverty are somehow more "authentically Asian" is about as arrogant and patronising as the idea of "the noble savage" was.
Singapore (or KL, or Bangkok) is immediately familiar to us Westerners, with its shopping malls, towering glass skyscrappers, freeways and metro system. These cities may not provide the sense of personal superiority that the tourist is looking for ("I'm better than my neighbour who went to Spain on his holiday because I went to the third world and hung out with the tribesmen"). But make no mistake: it's just as "real" as the rice paddy is. Those are real Asians living in the city, getting on with their real lives, their real jobs, and raising their real families.
And the Westerners who think otherwise can go do something real impossible to themselves.
I know not everyone does. Some don't like big cities, or prefer beaches. No harm in that.
But one of the most common things I hear from Singapore's detractors is the claim that it's "not the real Asia".
That attitude makes me want to smack them.
Because a lot of the time, what they really seem to mean is: "It's not poor enough for me, not different enough from what I'm used to, so I don't feel brave (and superior to the people back home) in coming here."
Bit harsh?
Ask yourself that person pictures when they say "the real Asia" and you'll probably get a litany of cliches:
- Farmers in conical hats, standing knee deep in a rice paddy. Maybe a water buffalo pulling a plow.
- Tin roof shacks and open-air wet markets (probably with flies trying to land on everything).
- Old ladies washing their brightly-coloured saris or dishes in the river.
- Wizenned, tiny women who are 65 but look 110.
- Young men transporting giant loads of lumber on the back of motorcycles.
What do all those images have in common?
Poverty.
The young man is using the motorbike to carry lumber because there isn't the money to buy a truck. Chances are the woman is washing clothes in the river, making her hands red and worn, because she can't afford a Maytag washing machine.
People are the same the world over; we all want exactly the same things. Good health. Enough money to provide a decent standard of living for our families. The potential to give our children more opportunities for the future than we might have had ourselves. This idea that the signs of obvious poverty are somehow more "authentically Asian" is about as arrogant and patronising as the idea of "the noble savage" was.
Singapore (or KL, or Bangkok) is immediately familiar to us Westerners, with its shopping malls, towering glass skyscrappers, freeways and metro system. These cities may not provide the sense of personal superiority that the tourist is looking for ("I'm better than my neighbour who went to Spain on his holiday because I went to the third world and hung out with the tribesmen"). But make no mistake: it's just as "real" as the rice paddy is. Those are real Asians living in the city, getting on with their real lives, their real jobs, and raising their real families.
And the Westerners who think otherwise can go do something real impossible to themselves.
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