Singapore advice please

[mouldycheesefan]

Hi we are considering doing a two centre holiday Singapore and langkawi. We have been to langkawi before but not Singapore. It looks like there is a lot to do in Singapore and in sentosa island for kids. Where is it best to stay, sentosa or Singapore, and how easy is it to get from one to the other? How expensive is eating, drinking and visiting attractions?
Thanks

Ooooo now I like the look of Borneo too.
Any thoughts?

Hello! Can't help but will watch with interest as I am considering a holiday Singapore and Borneo too!

Great a holiday planning buddy!

You are right there is loads to do in Singapore - really recommend the Night Safari and strolling around Little India.I have stayed several times in the Orchard Road area which has good access to the metro and is easy to get around the city and surrounding areas. Never stayed on Sentosa. There is an interesting museum there detailing the occupation of Singapore during WW2 and of course Universal Studios - but not been there :(
Singapore is that land of the plus plus - all meals and drinks in restaurants have taxes and service added to them and it can get quite expensive, especially when compared to the rest of SE Asia. Hawker areas are pretty cheap for food and no added taxes. Food in Singapore is excellent.
Borneo - Kuching is a good base and you can see orangutans in the wild, go kayaking and visit longhouses. The town itself has some interesting museums, lot of little shops and back streets and some fabulous restaurants - prices are also good.
Alternative - Kota Kinabalu as a base - good for the national park and Mt Kinabalu.
Easy to combine a trip to Malaysian Borneo with a couple of days in Brunei - good for rainforest treks. Not very much happening in Bandar.

Thanks Shanghai diva. Would you recommend Singapore as part of a two centre holiday? I have heard sentosa island is tacky, is that the case?

I have never stayed on Sentosa - just visited for the day, but enjoyed the history museum and my dc liked the cable car trip to get there. I would not stay on the island as it makes it more difficult to visit other places.
I would recommend Singapore as part of a 2 centre holiday - loads to do:
Little India - temples and great food
China town
Raffles hotel
I liked the Asian Civilisations museum
Night Safari
Zoo
Also you can get some decent budget flights out from Singapore - Tiger Air, Scoot and Air Asia.
Some visitors say that Singapore is not really Asia as it is too sanitised. Certainly, there are plenty of rules regarding what you can and can't do (no gum on the subway eg) but frankly, as I live in China, I do love sanitised Asia with its clean toilets, abundance of toilet paper and edible street food!

God, where to start! Singapore is a great city.

Sentosa is great for kids and a nice break from the biz of the city. It's easy to get to. My favourite way to do Sentosa is to get a taxi to Mount Faber. Enjoy the green leafyness more in keeping with Singapore of days gone by and get the cable cars across to Sentosa - great fun.

At the top of Sentosa there are several things for the kids - just google. Then take the Luge (go carts) down to the beach where there are some nice chill out beach bars for a drink or some lunch - People aren't always keen on the sea for swimming but not sure how safe the water actually is but the kids will enjoy playing in the sand and paddling. Of course you also have Universal Studios (just remember how hot it gets and jet lag) and a Water park. You can catch the monorail back across to Vivocity City, a lovely shopping mall with cinemas, foods courts, cinema, playground and splash area for the kids.

Sentosa would be more peaceful but you have lankawi for that. You could stay more central so you can walk and be in the biz more.

Singapore zoo is fantastic, best I've seen and cheap compared to similar attractions in the UK. It has a great play area and water park for the kids.

Botanic gardens at the top of Orchard Road is lovely for breakfast and a stroll before hitting Orchard Road if you fancy some shopping. It also has a special children's garden with hands on stuff and some play based things.

The river is nice to walk along down to the bay to see the Merlion. You can go to the Skydeck at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel for an amazing view of the city. Chinatown is probably better to visit at night. Lots of cheap little shops and you can eat fairly cheaply.

The East Coast Park is lovely if you want to go for a bike ride and catch some lunch. It stretches miles along the coast and the hundreds of ships moored just off the coast is a sight to see.

Eating can be very expensive in Singapore (and drink). You can eat very cheaply though if you go to food courts and pick little cheap cafes - usually plastic talbles and chairs but the food is great and cheap and fun.

Fabulous thread for me to happen across today!

We're off to KL, Malaysian Borneo, then Singapore in a few weeks ok so it's 7 weeks but still time, so all planned in minute detail.

For the experts on thread, how is Singapore for dealing with allergies? I've got pretty bad allergies to fish and shellfish, and I'm a tad wary of eating on the whole trip. We're staying at raffles and I've already been communicating with the F&B manager regarding allergies so I'm fairly certain I'll be fine in the hotel, but how about round and about? My Malaysian colleague has been teaching me to say 'I am allergies to all types of fish' in Malay so I'm hoping that'll come in useful for the first couple of weeks of the trip!

Whereabouts is the WW2 museum? Is that on sentosa as well? Would it be walkable from universal? We're heading over to sandakan in Borneo to visit the memorial there family ties so would love to see this too.

Any restaurant suggestions? We like good food, we don't mind paying top dollar if it's great, and we're used to Dubai prices. We like most things no fish for me though so suggestions would be gratefully received!

I'd say it depends on your budget to be honest. You're not going to find anything budget around Sentosa area - both hotel and food however there will be loads for the kids to do and they have an artificial beach there too. The only thing with sentosa is well, it's all a bit, artificial. You could be anywhere in the world.

Singapore mainland is a bit more cultured. There are budget options and a lot more food options. We stayed in little india, on the MRT line so good transport links. We ate at two food courts, one in little india that served curry on banana leaf plates. There was also one in China town that did the most amazing crispy noodles and banana fritters. We only had one or two sit down meals. One in Little India where we had a sampling dinner in a local curry house. The convenience stores are very expensive. Not sure where actual Singaporeans do their shopping.

The Night Safari was fantastic and the gardens in the bay was a really lovely walk too. We were unfortunate to have 3 months worth of rain in a few days whilst we were there. We enjoyed just strolling through China Town and things. We bought two umbrellas in ChinaTown. It starting raining. They had holes in and fell apart shortly after. Moral of the story - take a decent umbrella.

Oh forgot to add -

If you happen to be in Langkawi over a weekend and have a car then there is the most amazing Chinese resturant in Kuta town. It's called Teo's. It's got big luminescent fairy lights and plastic tables and chairs, it's on the main road. It's full of local people - how I decide if a place is good. It's one of my favourite restaurants in the world - even better it's about £3 a head for a feast. Mmm Chicken in plum. It's only open on weekends though.

Wonderland Seafood is good in Kuta too.

We did a Catamaran day tour in Langawi. It set off from Resorts World and took us around the islands and we had a sea jacuzzi and did some kayaking. It was an amazing day. They were called Rampant Sailing - it was run by an expat couple.

As for Borneo we stayed in Kota Kinabalu and did a day trip to Sandakan to see the orangutans etc. Air Asia do perfectly timed flights for a day trip. KK was good. We did a boat trip out to the islands which were really nice too. If you go to KK there is a good chinese restaurant there too called 'Fatty Kee'.

I'm Malaysia dreaming now - I love Malaysia.

We are going back to SE Asia this year too but not sure we'll be stopping in Malaysia this time.

I'd be very very very weary of eating. Sorry.

Even if things are visible seafood free they tend to contain things like shrimp paste for flavour. Especially in Chinese cuisine.

You should be able to find some Vegetarian Indian places and more westernised Vegan places that are more likely to be allergen friendly.

I think you'll struggle to eat local foods.