Trip Report

My husband and I just spent two nights in Singapore after a vacation in Malaysia. It was our second time in Singapore so we had already done a lot of tourist things.

We stayed at the Furama Riverfront, and I have posted a review separately. I would probably stay in a different area of town next time, but the MRT is so great that it doesn%26#39;t really matter where you stay as you can get around very easily. I love that about Singapore.

The first day we went for a short walk and found a massage place at a mall near Chinatown so had a massage. Prices have gone up since we were in Singapore two years ago, but it%26#39;s still a bargain compared to home. That night we went to a place in Clarke Quay called Cuba Libre for dinner and live music. The Cuban band was fantastic - very enjoyable - but the food was almost inedible. We get very good Mexican and other Latin food here in California so maybe it was just us but we didn%26#39;t like the food at all. However, it was a nice, friendly place and the band was great and the drinks were reasonable, so it was fine.

The second day we really packed it in - in fact, I had scheduled too much so we were pretty exhausted by the end of the day. The first thing we did was have a cooking class at Cookery Magic which I highly recommend. It was a three-hour class in the instructor%26#39;s home and we learned a lot about spices and Asian ingredients. This was definitely the highlight of our trip to Singapore and we%26#39;ll probably do it again when we go back next year. It was also very interesting seeing what a Singaporean home looks like.

After a rest, we went on the Chinatown walking tour. Because of the lunar New Year, it was a complete mob scene in Chinatown and there were a ton of people on the walk. The guide did a good job but it was just too much for us so we lasted about an hour and 15 minutes and then decided to bail. If I had to do it again, I would go on a different walking tour other than Chinatown. It is just too crowded there and we had to strain to hear the guide.

We then went to Cafe le Caire on Arab Street for dinner, which we really enjoyed. The food was delicious, service was great, and we loved the atmosphere. After that, we went to Blu Jaz for drinks and to hear the band. Again, an excellent experience. The trouble began when we wanted to take a cab back to the hotel because we were tired. It was impossble to catch a cab, even though many of them did not say they were hired. They just whizzed right by us. This happened last time in Singapore also. What is going on with cabs at night in Singapore? Anyway, we ended up taking the MRT. We felt perfectly safe taking the MRT and walking ten minutes to our hotel, even though it was almost midnight. Another great thing about Singapore.

Thanks for your help and suggestions. It really helped me plan our trip.

Trip Report

Shario,

Great trip report! Thanks for posting it.

It is nice to hear about both the ups and downs when traveling. Always makes for great life experiences.

They really got it right when it comes to public transportation.

Trip Report

Hi shario,

Thanks for sharing. Glad you had a great time in Singapore!

As for the whizzing-cab-phenomenon, well, I guess it must be around 11pm plus or close to midnight when you tried to hail a cab. I heard from a friend that during this time, it%26#39;s either the cab driver is on his way for the next change of shift or he%26#39;s simply waiting for the clock to strike midnight before picking up a passenger coz of the midnight surcharge. That%26#39;s why, it%26#39;s hard to get a cab during that particular time.