Travel tips for Sydney & Singapore

Agree with the above comments about Clarke Quay but thought it worth mentioning as a safe, familiar kind of place with that easy access touristy nightlife type thing going on.
Also the Hawker Centres mentioned are a must too, can’t believe I forgot to add them.
 
Jonny Ingbar said:
What were your highlights from what you saw? Sounds like you saw a lot of the city.
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The guide firm was "indie singapore" and the guide was called Serene, a very elegant and educated Singaporean. Just checked and the cost was half what I said, just £180. Though I would have gladly paid more. Stayed at the Amoy. A hotel that's reception is an old temple . Originally this was on the harbour edge but since reclamation its now " moved " inland.
 
Osboro said:
Agree about Clarke Quay, could be anywhere. Preferred little Arabia ( beer street??)
Don't bother with shopping , prices and choice better in London as our guide said.
Didn't go but the night zoo got lots of recommendations.
Couldn't see the point of the theme park for us. Just another theme park.
Find the public parks on top of the tower blocks. Some fantastic buildings old and new.
Street food is heavily regulated and a valuable business to the families who depend on it , so , it very safe to eat.
Walk a lot . A road licence is about £20k a year ( we got transit, you use transit!) so if you can afford that you splash out on the car. Some fantastic vehicles on show.
On a more sober note whilst a beautiful city ( I normally hate modern cities) one resident references to it as " Disneyland with torture". A nice place if you have money and stay within the rules( e.g. chewing gum is banned by law). Early morning you see the people tasked to keep the city clean being trucked in and out. A reminder how blessed we are.
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Yeah, chewing gum is banned, littering is illegal and you will get caught, as is jay walking. It's an incredibly strict and conservative country. The flip side of that is it feels incredibly safe. I got lost one day whilst exploring the GP track, and wandered down an underpass and through an alleyway I probably would have avoided in any other big city.
 
Little India and Chinatown in Singapore was a highlight for me.
The light show in Marina Bay every night
Supertrees grove on a night also do a light and music performance.
The gardens by the bay is a big meeting point right at the end of the walk. The local fly kites off there.
 
Hugely grateful for all the advice on here and especially the time people have taken to write it.

Lonely Planet has nowt on this forum 😁
 
Some good ideas so far. Here's some more:
Singapore
Bali Lane/Arab Street area with Sultan Mosque. Interesting area for food/souk style shops.
Emerald Hill off Orchard Road. Nice area of bars.
Go up Mount Faber on the cable car. Nice to be there when the sun goes down.
Asian Civilisations museum. Very interesting, they have free guided tours and a good cafe. Something to do during the day when it's too hot.
Long Bar at Raffles for a Singapore sling and free nuts.
The Buddha tooth relic temple in China Town, this has been mentioned already. Main temple at ground level but if you go upstairs there's the actual tooth relic area.
Bulkhaul office on Beach Road. Pop in and say you know Steve Gibson.
Orchard Towers for an eye opening couple of beers.
 
Centralscrutinizer said:
Some good ideas so far. Here's some more:
Singapore
Bali Lane/Arab Street area with Sultan Mosque. Interesting area for food/souk style shops.
Emerald Hill off Orchard Road. Nice area of bars.
Go up Mount Faber on the cable car. Nice to be there when the sun goes down.
Asian Civilisations museum. Very interesting, they have free guided tours and a good cafe. Something to do during the day when it's too hot.
Long Bar at Raffles for a Singapore sling and free nuts.
The Buddha tooth relic temple in China Town, this has been mentioned already. Main temple at ground level but if you go upstairs there's the actual tooth relic area.
Bulkhaul office on Beach Road. Pop in and say you know Steve Gibson.
Orchard Towers for an eye opening couple of beers.
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EMARALD HILL!!!! Thanks for that. I was trying to remember the name of that place.

Also, if they still have it, the long bar at raffles does it's own version of sip smiths gin. Much better than the tourist trap singapore sling with the ludicrous "machine" that makes it!
 
Sydney
Get an OPAL travel card and stick 50 dollars on it. This gets you on the ferries and buses.
Ferry to Watson Bay then walk up through Gap park to the cliffs. Optional, very expensive, fish n chips at Doyles Try and time it to get the last ferry back when the sun is going down.
It's worth going up the tower if you've never been before. Gives you a good overview of the place.
Get the ferry over to the Zoo ferry terminal then walk to Balmoral, it's nice and tranquil along the harbour edge with small beaches and good views before you go up and over to Balmoral past the old fort then on a raised walkway. Get the bus back over the harbour bridge.
If you don't want to do the whole bridge walk thing just walk to the tower on the bridge nearest circular quay, you can go to the top for good views.
Cockatoo island on the ferry. An interesting old navy base and docks you can wander around. Watch out for the aggressive seagulls.
Manley on the ferry. Some nice walks from there.
Get the bus to Bondi.
Actually go and see a performance at the Opera House. If you're there when the Opera on the harbour is on there is a kiosk in the park near the stage area that sells off returned/surplus tickets for that evening performance, the box office in the Opera House will tell you when it's open (I've forgotten)
Go to the 3 pubs that claim to be oldest in Sydney. The Hero of Waterloo, The Fortune of War and the Lord Nelson. The food in the last 2 is pretty good.
Walk to Pyrmont fish market.
There's a big food hall on Pitt street that's good for a cheap feed during the day.
Hang around under the bridge near the Dorman Long sign and tell people you come from Middlesbrough.
 
Someone recommended the walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Bay and I would second that, especially if there's a live band playing Coogee Bay Hotel at all. An excellent night out. I even saw The Cat Empire from Melbourne go down an absolute storm on one trip.
 
SmallTown said:
EMARALD HILL!!!! Thanks for that. I was trying to remember the name of that place.

Also, if they still have it, the long bar at raffles does it's own version of sip smiths gin. Much better than the tourist trap singapore sling with the ludicrous "machine" that makes it!
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It's a bit disappointing to see that the Singapore sling is all pre mixed but it's been like that at Raffles since at least the 80's pre rebuild/new long bar.
 
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Centralscrutinizer said:
It's a bit disappointing to see that the Singapore is all pre mixed but it's been like that at Raffles since at least the 80's pre rebuild/new long bar.
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It wasn't last time I was there (Post refurb). It was when I first went but now they make a big show and dance about making it. I felt the same as you when I first ordered one and they reached for a premix bottle. It was ery poor.
 
Have lived in SG.

I could add many recommendations to the above but my main one not mentioned yet is this- if you are interested in the history of the place/world history.

www.visitsingapore.com

Former Ford Factory

Head down to the historic Former Ford Factory and discover how Singapore survived the Japanese Occupation at the museum exhibition.
www.visitsingapore.com www.visitsingapore.com

It’s where the British surrendered to the Japanese in 1942.
 
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