Answers:
~**~mmm ~**~
Holland Village
Hi, I dont mind to meet you up..just let me know when you arrive.
Anyway, this chewing gum thing is seriously been OVER-exaggerated by foreigners…Esp. from countries that are known to be corrupted? It’s not true that you can’t chew. For anyone’s knowledge, you can CHEWGUM in Singapore, it just that you can’t find any stores selling it because it’s BANNED here. The govt did not say you can’t chew, so long as you learn THEMANNER of not spitting! I chew it all the time, and so does every body I know, including my young nieces and nephews. So there is a BIG diff here. If you chew and then SPIT, don’t you think that person is asking for trouble here?
This
“u’ll end up in a room cutting paper for like 3 hours.” Totally untrue! Bunch of boloney from this woman from Manila :)…What are we, communist country? I would very much doubt her integrity as to what kind of well mannered friend she has since he got caught for SPITTING. I think it’s pretty suspicious to believe anyone esp from Philippines….not sure if you dare to trust what they said. I won’t bet on their credibility if I were you.
It also pretty vicious for anyone who OVER-EXAGGERATE a situation they are not even familiar with(not forgetting they were all trying to ‘PROMOTE’ their country at e same time to you, notice that?)
IT’S ALWAYSWISER TO BELIEVE from people who live here for a long time, be it locals or foreigners.
But I do know the owner of Creperie Ar-men, owned by a French man who’s based in Singapore..had held function there before..IF I remember correctly, his galfriend is from Philippines(she wasn’t that friendly person though),..so I dont’ know how she got this strange idea from…probably she wants to scare you not to come to Singapore?? There are alot of Philippinos working in Singapore as a domestic maid(about 50,000 of them), so is probably something she doesn’t like to see and feel sorry for her country fellowmen…and probably against Singapore?
I also notice that this ‘chewing gum’ thing is a fav thing to pick on so to scare ppl that its not all perfect in e country or out of jealousy..? I’m yet to find out more.
Anyway, if anyone is so desperate for chewing gum when they travel(there’s other types of refreshing sweets available e.g. Mentos), then perhaps they could bring some along from other places or better yet, choose another country to visit, since chew guming is what they are looking for when they travel, don’t you agree?
~**~mmm ~**~ has gotten 3 cheers on this answer.
Lee LeFever
Seattle
Hi Stylish.
We’re coming to Singapore tonight and we’ll be there for about 5 days starting on the 26th of February. Let me know if you’d like to get together with us.
~**~mmm ~**~
Holland Village
Sorry just saw yr message!
Hi, I already have plans hanging out with few friends at Holland Village tmr afternoon for coffee chat..so if you like to meet us, I guess its ok as well…just leave yr contact in my mail box, I’ll then contact you later.
When you first arrive, the best is to pick up a copy of Straits Times-our local paper (esp on sat & sunday times)..you could find some good travelling packages-about 3-5 full pages on e paper(esp if you’re thinking of doing more regional travelling )
Our local paper is also a very good read of finding out what’s going on locally & internationally..half of e news are world news. You could see our paper are pretty neutral as we’ve correspondents from all over e world, and not just local reporters reporting on local stuff. As compared to other papers I’ve seen from other countries..esp so in United States & most asia countries, which mostly talk about their own affairs based on their own views.
Also the local paper usually features no. of latest hang out or interesting places to go or latest festival to attend.
Some tips on e places of interest;
1. Singapore Zoo-(a one of its kind & first in e world to have NIGHTSAFARI)
2. Sentosa Island(beaches, musical fountain & other indoor entertainment-UNDERWATERSEAWORLD is a must see-has been around for at least a decade)
3. The cable cars to / from Sentosa Island…Mt. Faber is nearby(where e “Amazing Race” was shot)
4. Orchard Rd(its a long stretch of shopping experience-more on higher end & Singapore Tourism Board is located there) & Tanglin area-Singapore Botanic Garden is not too far from e area(some weekends might have FREE outdoor concert)
5. Chinatown & Raffles place(business district). The Raffles Place MRT station is my favorite station as they’ve tons of UNDERGROUND shopping!
6. Little India( Stretch of india food & COLOURFUL india stuff & there’s 24 hrs Mustafa shopping centre). The FISHHEADCURRY is a MUST try as it’s a local India cuisine that you can’t find in India!
7. Arab Street & Bugis street(these 2 are some of my favorite places to go)
8. Tons of Museums(e.g are national, art, history, empress place, asian civilisation) in e city hall area. Nearby are the famous RAFFLESHOTEL- (where e singapore sling was born) and CHIMJES (old church converted to hip eateries & entertainment).
9. Boat Quay & Clark Quay area-whole stretch of int’l dining area & cafes. There’s also plenty of cool clubs in that same area. E.g Ministry of Sound(Org. from London), Crazy horse Paris(org. from Paris), & outdoor Bungee Jump! If you like rave funky music club is ZOUK & Velvet(a Singapore brand which we’ve also opened up another Branch in K.L. Malaysia)…another chic & hip dining club(main branch is at club street) that’s inspired by e artifacts from S.E.A, is a Singaporean club called INDOCHINE (My fav so far, I think they’re planning to open one in K.L. again).
This Clark Quay area has a historical site called Fort Canning where you might want to check it out and take a nice walk in e park!
10.Suntec City(A HUGE mall which links to another UNDERGROUND shopping, called “city link”-in e city hall mrt station area). Espanade & Merlion icons, Fullerton Hotel(formerly a historical post office bldg) & old Anderson Bridge(built during colonial time), are all not too far away from this same area(City Hall & Clark Quay), which is known as Elizabeth Walk.
11. ALSO do visit our BIG Kinokuniya bookstore- Supposed to be e largest in Asia, which opens in e late 90s..
http://www.kinokuniya.com.sg/site/?m=100&f=100
And the huge NATIONALLIBRARY in Ngee Ann Shopping centre in Orchard Road & get a FEEL of a modern & classy library! There is also another new National Libary, a whole bldg by itself, is located in e Bras Basah area(near Raffles Hotel).
Another one you’re probably familiar with is the Borders bookstore.(first store outside of the U.S. opens in Singapore in 1997-almost 10 yrs now)
12. Holland Village & Chip Bee garden-rows of European cuisine where you feel like you’re not in Singapore.
13. If you’ve e extra time then go for this last nature reserve in singapore where you could go for some interesting bike tour on e island of Pulau Ubin.
Most places I mentioned are mostly around the same area, you might want to joint down and plan acccording..& most of them are near the MRT stations(Subway system) that take you right to their doorsteps! There’s also aircon public buses (come with mobile T.V.) that connect with e MRT system by using e same electronic translink card.
Taxis are vy cheap(because govt is trying to discourage e locals from buying cars)…& they’re all meter run(sometimes e taxi drivers here won’t even bother charging for e few cents & will round up e taxi fare). Unlike in Malaysia & China where you do need to bargain hard with e taxi drivers, and won’t know how much you ended up paying!
More info can be found from here ;
http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/index.html
