christep

An excellent post, and clearly when you live somewhere you get to see lots of aspects of it that tourists or business visitors don't.

But for me there are still two key problems: no real countryside, and no major variation in weather through the year. For me those are the over-riding factors why Hong Kong "wins".

(He says, having just got home after a great 20km hike over a 400m pass and including a couple of kilometres of serious "bushwhacking", much of it in the pouring rain at 16 or 17 degrees so that at the end of it I felt seriously cold.)

Freebird

I <heart> Singapore. I love arriving in Changi - and will do so again just over 2 weeks from now.
The whole place just works, although it's a bit too sanitized in places.

I try to take Singapore for what it is and that helps. Also having lived in Bangkok and traveled to every country in SE Asia, except the Philippines gives you a good comparison and lets you appreciate Singapore's pluses. They key for me is to find a reason to return and take what Asia has to offer.

For example, I love my raw silk tailored shirts from the Russian market in Phnom Penh. My glasses are from there as well (most expensive lenses and nice frame for $53), I now know a good eye doctor there now and a good dentist.

For my next visit in Singapore, I will have a full medical check up at Camden Medical center (they had a sale for just S$190 - cheaper than at Bangkok Christian on Silom Rd.) and have a dental appointment to see how they do it in Singapore.

This place is like an old friend. Has anyone ever gone to the Sikh temple and had the free food? OK, maybe I'm a bit more adventurous than most but strolling up & down Orchard Rd. is not the key to unlocking the charms of SIN city. Thank you for the Bollywood farm link, jpatokal. I will try to check them out.

Chapel Hill Guy

Excellent post jpatokal and I wholeheartedly agree with this last bit of advice.

It wasn't until my third visit to SIN that I started to realize there was a lot more to it, some of which required a bit more work to discover.

uk1

I'd be interested to hear your pro's and con's comparing BKK with SIN as I found BKK quite tough and mrs uk1 has reinforced my lack of desire to return.

I guess the sanitised part of SIN is exactly what many really like. I love the edginess of street food but with the reassurance of the food outlets hygeine rating proudly displayed ..... my last visit to BKK left me several stone lighter on my return having had the most awful bout of food poisoning.

jpatokal , lovely post - very interesting.

kitsura

Singapore might not be for all tourists (read those wanting authentic Asian experience). But it's still one of the most liveable city in Asia for expats.

Paul Garner

Admittedly it has been 5-6 years since I have been to Singapore with the family, but last time we decided to lay over in KL before continuing on to the Philippines. (We usually fly MAL which hubs out of KL ) We had decided to spend a week in KL, but when we found we could take the train (Yeah, I know, train is a "wash your mouth out with soap" word on Flyer Talk) especially when we found that Malaysia offers Senior Citizen discounts to everybody even if you are not a Malaysian citizen (and they tell you about it!!!). We decided to take the train down there for a couple of days and the cost was very cheap. I don't remember the exact cost, but as I was paying they gave my wife the Senior rate also. My wife and I paid less than my then 10 year old daughter. What a deal. http://www.flyertalk.com/thumbsup.gif A short ride down to Singapore and on to the hotel (a boutique hotel in the old part of Singapore where the old 2 story shops are being made into upscale things. Booked a tour the first day, then spent the second day looking around on our own. On the 3rd day we returned to KL, via train (there's that word again). Three days later we went out to the KL airport and flew on to Cebu then Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao to visit family and friends. We really had a great time.http://www.flyertalk.com/cool.gif

Would I recommend Singapore? A definite Yes, especially if coupled with a vacation in Malaysia. The two of them together can be a wonderful experience.http://www.flyertalk.com/biggrin.gif

By the way, many places in Singapore give Forces discounts ranging from 10% to 30%. They generally extend the courtesy to members of foreign military including retired members. Loved that!!!! http://www.flyertalk.com/thumbsup.gif

Paul Garner
The Old Sargehttp://www.flyertalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

beergut

Having been to SIN 6 or 7 times and DXB about a dozen, I can tell you you've even got the part about the weather wrong

jiejie

Yeah, I was scratching my head over this SIN = DXB weather comment as well.

BEYFlyer

^ ^

Singapore has really become a "home away from home" for me. Yes I make the effort to go out there as often as I can, especially when I happen to be in the neighborhood (i.e. India or Philippines for business). It's just a good place to visit with lots to do and see. Don't know how else to put it

kitsura

From CIA World Factbook

Climate
Singapore: tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon (December to March) and Southwestern monsoon (June to September); inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms

UAE: desert; cooler in eastern mountains

How does desert climate = tropical rainforest I will never know.

BEYFlyer

Oh if you are in one of the malls in Dubai or in that Ski thing, it's more arctic really

uk1

It always puzzles me as to why when some of us - in the true FT spirit - take some trouble and try to bring something to our fellow Ft'ers that we've enjoyed that they may not have noticed - that people will then go to to so much negative vibe trouble to trash it. Why is it neccessary to say "No you're wrong because I know somewhere that suits me better". Absolutely puzzling.

Still. Onward and upward. Nil desperandum. There's beer to be frozen, wine to be glugged and food halls to be explored ..... and people to be avoided .....

HIDDY

We had a week seeing BKK and and the usual attractions outside of it. It was okay but nothing too memorable I have to say and I thought we wouldn't be back. However last year we had a 24 hours stopover and surprisingly I really enjoyed it but I was still glad to be leaving the next day.

Hong Kong was revisited last year after a 10+ year gap and I found my second visit pretty boring to be honest...like BKK okay for a holiday on your first visit but for me subsequent visits only good for a stopover . Must say HKG in summer is not my idea of fun either - far too hot to do anything physical but winter is nice.
Singapore other than the airport I have not been to and judging by the humidity I experienced whilst having a fag outside in the airports smoking terrace I doubt I ever will....it was horrendous. Everyone I know who has been to Singapore always rave about the great food and the efficiency of the container terminal but nothing else......make of that what you will.
My favourite city in the Far East is Beijing......

aurigakb

Interesting thread/ discussion.

Having spent many years in Singapore, I am rather surprised to read that there are people who want to visit Singapore repeatedly!

I am not sure I would want to visit if I did not have family (and a place to stay) there.

uk1

Most of us feel something similar about the places we live in or have lived in. I think the place you enjoy visiting is often not the place you'd like to live in ..... and vice versa.

Singapore for some is a tremendous antidote to what they have.