Finally booked my flight for Australia. I am flying via Singapore. I arrive in Singapore early on a Monday morning in Feb and fly to Oz just after after midnight on the Friday morning. I have booked a hotel just by the Bugis metro station.

So what would you recommend to do with my time? What are the must see's? Also should I just stick to Singapore or have a full one day trip to some place in Malaysia? Fly up to KL for the day?

I am a non drinker. Travelling by myself. Love food and seeing a different side of life.

Also on my way back from Australia I have a connecting flight via SIN midweek. Getting in about 10pm and I fly back to London the following day at 9am. Should I just grab a meal in the airport and book into the Transit Hotel or what would you suggest?

First, I'd check this thread, entitled "Four days in SIN: what to see/do?":

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=813789

On the way back, if it was me, I'd get a hotel in town. It's only about a 20-25 min cab ride and I'd rather have in town hotel and entertainment options than the airport (although it is a nice airport.) YMMV.

Hi stockcub, Singapore is also the sort of place you wake up in, have breakfast, and walk out the front door and keep walking. I have spent a whole week in SIN with no forward plans and enjoyed it. I have also flown to PEN and to KUL, loved it, but a bit tiring, the best day trip is to Malacca. I have spent a day on Sentosa, everybody said i would hate it, I didn't and I loved the area around the terminus of the rail, great shops and food. Seek out the very big food markets with intricate iron lace work, and you buy the product you fancy, move along then plan how you would like it cooked. I have spent hour and half on my own, with fresh orange lime and papaya juices being replemished on a 10 minute basis. i think you will have a lot of fun, master the underground and you can whip from one area to another. regards bkkrop

Well, if you like seeing a "different side o' life" along with good food, I'd suggest spending a weekend night in Geylang. It's the red-light district mixed up with several legit seafood restaurants & food courts. Even locals head there...for the food!

And speaking of food, hit the hawker centres. Tekka Centre is right in front of Little India MRT, Newton Centre (a bit touristy but iconic nevertheless), which is about 10 minutes stroll from the Newton MRT, Maxwells Food Centre which is near Tanjong Pagar or Chinatown MRTs or if you have a fren with a car, get yourself to Chomp Chomp.

And of cors, ask a local about their favourite Hainan Chicken Rice stall. They may just get tired of telling you about it and will just take you there. Also, visit No Signboard Seafood (I like the one on the East Coast). They have a branch in Geylang too.

Good to know ... I want to go to Singapore next year and this gives me an idea as to what's there to see ... thanks for the tips.

FYI, Tekka Centre is under renovation at the moment (not sure when it'll end, but not anytime soon).

One of the best chicken rice joints in Singapore -- and that's saying something -- is Tian Tian at Maxwell, but get there by lunchtime because they sell out fast.

i think 4 days in Singapore is too long, but if ur coming during festivities like the F1 season, Chinese new year or christmas, be sure to stay a few more days to experience the local culture.
Also try visiting places like toa payoh and jurong. These are places where u can immerse yourself in the local singaporean culture. Being a Singaporean myself, these are places where i grew up and provide me with the inspiration to do what i do.

Having looked into it I think :

How much would a taxi be between Malacca and Singapore. Can one cross over to Singapore anytime or does the border close at night?

Should I buy my train ticket(s) when I arrive or use the Malaysian State Railway website to buy one online (Not that I have figured out how to use the site. It does seem not very user friendly)?

With the basic iitinerary what would you add to it or advise me are must does. Especially in a gastronomic sense ;-)

You can't take taxis between Malaysia and Singapore, except at to/from one designated point on each side. You'll thus want to take your taxi from Malacca to JB and cross the border by bus... or, better yet, take a direct bus from Malacca to Singapore; there are plenty and, if you opt for one of the slightly more expensive ones that use the 2nd Link, it's much faster than the ever-congested Causeway. The borders are open 24h/day, 7 days a week.

Buying online works fine. However, beware that you'll be charged double for any tickets originating from Singapore! (That is, a ticket that costs 10 ringgit in Malaysia will cost 10 Sing dollars if bought in Singapore.)

Rather than starting a new thread, I'll reply to this one. We are doing a mileage run to Singapore soon and will arrive around midnight on a Friday night. We turning this into a long weekend, with some pool time at a nice hotel and going out to restaurants, with a little exploring. We don't need this to be a big a sightseeing trip.

I'm deciding whether to stay three nights or four nights -- i.e., have two days in Singapore (Sat and Sun) or three (Sat, Sun, Monday). Thoughts?

You're flying half way round the world. I'd say you might as well stay an extra night if you can.

Certainly no shortage of things to do in Singapore and if you're taking it easy with some pool time too then it's even better to stay longer.

Yeah, stay the extra day. First time I went on a MR there, I did the three night, two day thing and wished I had another day to relax.

Posted to the wrong forum

OK, relaxation it is! Now I cross fingers for upgrades...

Good planning you have there.
lol i agree with you , the Malaysian Railway KTM website doesnt seem user friendly,i dont expect it to be very user friendly........

well if you dont want to book online , make sure you go to the train station early in the morning to get your ticket there !!!

There is no taxi between Malacca and singapore , but there are coach service and plenty of them to choose from , if you need help to choose which coach company to take , please tell me and i'll be most willingly to help you!!
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4 days in Singapore
Shop and eat,vibrant nightlife along Clark Quay,St James Power Station,go to the Night Safari,Singapore Zoo , Singapore Flyer

a visit to the museum , check out some shows and concerts , chilling out on Sentosa

a day trip to Batam Island,Indonesia which is a short ferry ride away

a day trip to Johore Bahru Malaysia

a visit to the heartlands of Singapore - housing estates,MRT ride around the island

a visit to Bugis, Jalan Sutlan, Chinatown,Little India Serangoon
(not on a Sunday though,packed on Sundays)