What to do in Singapore

Most people in Singapore I know complain that there is nothing much to do on the island. I got to admit, I do that too sometimes. Other than eating and shopping, are there other things to do? The weather has unfortunately prevented a lot of us from venturing outdoors. Hot and humid means people stay indoors more. Let me try to come up with as many options as possible.

Visit the parks. We have the nice Botanical Gardens that has nice cafes and spots to rest. Stroll in the early morning or late afternoon. Au Jardin serves a wicked Sunday brunch! Fort Canning is full of history, though, admittedly, I don't fancy it so much. Oh, and now we have the park connectors, linking several parks together. Start walking from the Mount Faber all the way to West Coast, or cycle in Eastern Coastal park connector network. Try going to Sungei Buloh, seeing migrating birds and big fat monitor water lizards.

Like to get away from all things urban? Hop on a boat and head to one of the offshore islands. The most popular being Sentosa! HAHAHAHAHHAHA. Please ignore the last sentence. The second most popular then, will have to be Pulau Ubin. It has a very laid-back rustic air about it. Most visitors seem to cycle around the island but we opt to walk the last time we went. There is Chek Jawa which is pretty fascinating, and you can join this tour in the morning which allows you to walk around with a guide below the boardwalk. Pulau Ubin is great for spotting wildlife. We saw a hornbill and some wild boars! We got so excited, being the city slickers than we are. Other than Ubin, there is St John's island, Kusu island, Sister's Island. This is the most remote and rural as far as Singapore goes.

We have museums! Not exactly the Museum Mile, but I love the new National History Museum. It is very interactive and plenty to learn. It is my favourite museum in Singapore. Art buffs can head down to Singapore Art Museum, which in my opinion, isn't that fantastic, with exhibits pretty badly presented without putting in too much effort, in a haphazard fashion. I like the Asian Civilisation Museum too. Very well, put together and pretty interesting. There is a Philatelic museum that houses stamps dating back to the early 1900s. Haven't been there, but I should, since I like looking at stamps (yet another of my nerdy indulges). Next to it, is the new Peranakan Museum which tells you all you need to know about the Peranakans. That said, there is a Malay Heritage centre in Kampong Glam, and the Hua Song Museum inside Haw Par Villa (yes the place is still there), which showcases the rich heritage of the overseas Chinese.

We have a lot of little museums scattered around the country. There is a toy museum, a design museum (Red Dot), a few of history museums like the Memories at the Old Ford Factory and Reflections in Bukit Chandu. There is some kind of SAF museum somewhere I think, and a Navy one too! Oh, I remember seeing some kind of Sun Yat Sen memorial of sorts in Ah Hood road, just off Balestier. I would love to see more art museums. I love looking at paintings, for now, I guess I can just go to Opera Gallery. Talking about galleries, there are quite a few around, Husband and I even stumble upon one in Little India.

It is nice to break away from the usual town area and explore the other parts. I love walking about in Little India, so much things to see, and so unsingaporean! I was in Chennai a couple of years back and read this article in a magazine saying that our Little India is pretty darn authentic. I am quite surprised how many of my friends have never been to Mustafa centre let alone walk around Little India. There are hidden gems around that part of town, with nice eateries and such. My favourite Briyani place is there - Blue Diamond and they serve a mean cup of teh.

I used to visit the Geylang Serai market when I was still living in Eunos. It is very interesting. I heard there is a renovation, can't be sure, can anymore clarify? When Hari Raya is around the corner, I would walk to Eunos MRT station to meet a friend and we will start walking through the pasar malam. So much stuff to eat! I like the buzz, and the crowd. It is the same reason why I visit Chinatown near Chinese New Year, buy some food, enjoy the crowd and to soak up the festivities. As much as how "ethnic" it is, Chinatown doesn't feel as authentic, more like a tourist spot.

Know how we visit places of worship when we are holidaying? We can start visiting ours. There is Thian Hock Keng Temple, the Hajjah Fatimah Mosque, the Armenian Church, the Maghain Aboth Synagogue - yes there is one here! The Sri Mariamman Termple, St Andrew's Catheral and so many more.

If all that doesn't rock your boat, can always catch a performance at the Esplanade, or the Victoria concert hall, the DBS auditorium, even Fort Canning. Be it a musical, a play or dance or an orchestra or some free performance. There is always something going on.

We do not need to get to Bintan or Batam to go for spas. Just go to Spa Botanica. Most times, it is pretty quiet. Apart from the spa treatments, it has a pool with what looks like a waterfall, for you to soak in, a swimming pool, a mud treatment outdoors. There is a jacuzzi too indoors. Why then, do you need to go Batam and Bintan for massages???? Unless you are going to Banyan Tree or Club Med or the seedy ones. But we have the seedy ones here to!

I can go on and on, but it may take me ages, I might as well write for the tourism board. I haven't even touch on the zoo yet! Sometimes, we just need to put in that little bit more effort to find the things to do in Singapore.