Singapore - Beach Road/Bugis Street area

[slimboyfat]

Well this afternoon I was on a mission to buy some new Christmas decorations, and as the shopping centre was in a fairly interesting part of the city, I thought I would take a walk around and take some pics.

So what? I hear you all cry. Well maybe you might like to consider Singapore as a visa run destination - and this area has some budget hotels, a bit of history, and some good eating and drinking places, good shopping and ofcourse Golden Mile (Mecca for Thais in Singapore).
Impress your mates who have never been anywhere in Singapore apart from Orchard Road and Changi Airport.

First up, some hotels in the area (we are talking budget here but all pleasant, clean and safe, and in great locations)



^ Hotel 81 Bugis - Hotel 81 is a big chain of budget hotels which started off in the more seedy areas of town but are now branching out in better areas.
+ welcome to Hotel 81 +



^ Beach Hotel. Located just on the corner of Beach Road and Liang Seah Street. Seems quite popular as the No Vacancies sign is often displayed.

Beach Hotel Singapore - Asia Travel Hotels Resorts Reservation



^ Park View Hotel - This is one place I know very well from my adulterous adventurtes in this past year. Very reasonably priced, clean rooms etc. Breakfast is included in the room price but it is a bit samey though.

Park View Hotel Singapore



^ Golden Landmark Hotel. Getting on a bit now, but still a fairly good hotel but room costs double the previous three hotels i mentioned.

Golden Landmark Hotel Singapore - Asia Travel Resort & Hotel Reservation Services


So anyway, on with my stroll which started at the Park View Hotel bus stop. First thoughts - damn its hot, why did I start this at 1 oclock in the afternoon.
Walked past the Beach Hotel and into Liang Seah Street.






This road is pretty happening at night, especially on weekdays with the people finishing work at the nearby offices as there are quite a few pubs and many good (and cheap) local restaurants. Some of the restaurants stay open until 4am.

For those into that kind of thing, there are a few dodgy massage parlours on the second storey of some of the shophouses.

[kingwilly]

cheers mate - i'll be looking them up quite soon.

i know i've promised to visit a few times (but my flakey missus is the one causing the problems)

but i'm pretty certain i'll be there last weekend of Jan.

last time i was in sing i stayed in the Excelsior (i think) - bit pricey but it was only one night and i was feeling too lazy to search for a cheaper option.

ended up stayin in and watchin the world cup on the boob tube

[slimboyfat]

Out of Liang Seah Street we are in now in Bugis. This used to be a very famous area for ladyboys etc, but has been cleaned up in recent years and now boasts fantastic shopping centres (so I am told, I don't really like shopping centres) and a thriving market area.







^ although you don't see it on the television, there are some people who haven't benefitted from Singapore's wealth.



^ Bugis Street market. Now there is no way I am going in there in this heat today.

So i just walked around to the other side and took this pic.





^ Across the road there is another market outside Fu Lou Shou complex. This area specialises in selling Buddhist stuff.



^ Trishaw man waiting for another bus load of Japanese tourists.

[slimboyfat]

Next was a walk from Bugis to Kampong Glam.



^ If you feel like throwing your money away, you can take a trip on the DHL balloon and get a birds eye view of the city.
Note - the balloon only moves vertically as its on a rope or something.



^ Park View Square - a new imposing building amongst the old. Some say it looks like something from Gotham City. Personally I think Ghostbusters.



^ Bali Lane, some nice cafe/pubs along here, notably Blu Jaz which is incredibly popular with locals and foreigners. Just behind this lane is another street with Arabian style joints - with those funny bong things. Yes I know they have them in Bangkok too - but here is better because there are no Arab customers.

[stroller]

Thanks for this info, slim, but goodness, the rooms are expensive in these places.

Isn't there anything really seedy for $10 a night or so?

[slimboyfat]

Hang a left at Bali Lane and I was in the Kampong Glam area. This was where Arab traders settled in Singapore many years ago.

Sultan Mosque is the centre for the Muslim community in Singapore and was built in 1928.









Just opposite the mosque is Zam Zam, probably the most famous Muslim restaurant in Singapore. Simple good food - roti, biriani, murtabak etc at a price thats right - ie very cheap. I have eaten there many times and have survived so far.

[slimboyfat]

Originally Posted by stroller

Thanks for this info, slim, but goodness, the rooms are expensive in these places.

Isn't there anything really seedy for $10 a night or so?

backpacker accommodation?

https://www.the-inncrowd.com/ratesnreservations.htm

but really if you only want somewhere for S$10 a night you had better look in another country. The taxi from the airport into town will cost you S$20!

[Boon Mee]

Originally Posted by stroller

Thanks for this info, slim, but goodness, the rooms are expensive in these places.

Isn't there anything really seedy for $10 a night or so?

You could have stayed free down on Bugis Street across from the pisser where the infamous Dance of the Flaming Assholes took place but they ripped it down a few years back.
Bugis Street used to be fun...

[slimboyfat]

anyway, now i have lost stroller and the teaching readers, i will continue into Kampong Glam with some pics of the shophouses and cafe/restaurants.

I went here once with my Thai GF and she really liked all the Malay dresses etc on sale. Quite a bazaar feel here, but I was a bit to early to catch all the activity. It was only mad dogs and Englishmen out in the midday sun.











^flash motor



at this point i was looking at the skies and regretting my decision not to bring an umbrella.



^ so now you know where you can see Bollywood dancers in Singapore

[slimboyfat]

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

You could have stayed free down on Bugis Street across from the pisser where the infamous Dance of the Flaming Assholes took place but they ripped it down a few years back.
Bugis Street used to be fun...

even in Geylang, $10 will only buy you an hour at a sleazy hotel. erm so i heard

[slimboyfat]

about 30 minutes walk (or 2 hours if you are with a Thai girl who is wearing heels) away from my original start point is Golden Mile Complex.

This place is almost all Thai. Don't really care for it much especially on weekends when the Thai construction workers gather here to drink, sing and stab each other. As a result I went through here at a rapid pace as I was getting strange looks from dodgy blokes wondering why I am taking pictures.

You can get Isaan food here. I know this because of the bad drains smell that permeates from some establishments.

Entertainment varies widely from awful Thai karaoke joints to the rather high class Thai disco (24 bucks to buy a lady a drink!!!). I believe Tata Young performed there last month but i missed it. Aw shucks.

Anyway this is the place to go if you have one of those ladies who won't eat anything apart from Thai food cooked by a Thai.



^ Damn trees everywhere so can't get a decent shot of the outside. Incidentally Golden Mile is where most of the coaches to Malaysia and Thailand depart from.



^ Biggest Thai supermarket here. Everything a Thai person may need is here. Yes even nice packs of bugs in the refridgerated section.



99% of the shops are owned/run by Thais. A lot of them seem to cater for the prostitutes working here at Geylang or Orchard Towers. Around 6pm you can see them all eating at the restaurants and getting their hair/face done at the beauty salons.





and thats it.

oh one more thing. on the 3rd floor there is a Vietnam mail order bride shop. Recently there was one old bloke got into trouble because after 2 weeks of shagging the poor girl the company realised his cheque had bounced.

[slimboyfat]

Originally Posted by kingwillyhggtb

cheers mate - i'll be looking them up quite soon.

i know i've promised to visit a few times (but my flakey missus is the one causing the problems)

but i'm pretty certain i'll be there last weekend of Jan.

last time i was in sing i stayed in the Excelsior (i think) - bit pricey but it was only one night and i was feeling too lazy to search for a cheaper option.

ended up stayin in and watchin the world cup on the boob tube

The cheapest hotels are in Geylang and Joo Chiat Road areas. But as these are real sleaze zones it becomes a bit unpleasant. Everyone giving you a 'nudge wink' kind of attitude to you and your missus. And then its not really nice for her to go and look around on her own either, unless she has very thick skin.

[kingwilly]

Originally Posted by slimboyfat

The cheapest hotels are in Geylang and Joo Chiat Road areas. But as these are real sleaze zones it becomes a bit unpleasant. Everyone giving you a 'nudge wink' kind of attitude to you and your missus. And then its not really nice for her to go and look around on her own either, unless she has very thick skin.

hell no, i dont want the cheapest - i just meant that $200 on a suite was possibiliy a little pricey.

i'd sooner stay at chumking towers in HK .......... NOT!

and dont think i'll bother taking the missus, she bin giving me the shits of late...

i think i need to upgrade.

[Marmite the Dog]

Originally Posted by kingwillyhggtb

i think i need to upgrade.

Didn't tell you that months ago, did I....?

[kingwilly]

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Didn't tell you that months ago, did I....?

no idea mate!

perhaps ya did....

but then i am a bit of a sucker and all that....

[Old Croc]

How much does a beer cost in Singapore these days?

[slimboyfat]

Originally Posted by Old Croc

How much does a beer cost in Singapore these days?

Varies widely from place to place.

Large bottle of Tiger at the hawker centre (no aircon food court) with your meal will cost about $6.

In pubs.
Average is about $5-$7 for a mug, $22-$26 for a jug.
Some places sell pints, but they are usually aimed at foreigners so the price can get expensive - usually around $14 for a pint at Boat Quay/Clarke Quay pubs.
At Orchard Towers etc you will usually pay around $30 for a jug of Tiger. This price at OT has stayed the almost the same since I first came to SIngapore in 1991 so thats pretty good.

And if you want to buy a six pack to take back to your room and replace the expensive beers you drank from the hotel minibar before the hotel staff do a check, a six pack of Tiger or Carlsberg will cost around $16.



I usually drink in cheapskate places at happy hours etc so usually buy a jug during 1 for 1 offers and end up paying $12-14 for each jug of beer.

[reinvented]

SBF

can you recommend an inexpensive area to drink?
i got to go for work next month b ut have no idea where i'll be to be honest?

maybe near good injun food would be good to

[slimboyfat]

Originally Posted by reinvented

SBF

can you recommend an inexpensive area to drink?
i got to go for work next month b ut have no idea where i'll be to be honest?

maybe near good injun food would be good to

what kind of place are you looking for (do you need girls and loud music or just a quiet place where no-one will bother you) - and what do you consider to be inexpensive, bearing in mind my earlier post about beer prices?

[Boon Mee]

Shopping's great in Singapore but I prefer Hong Kong - most electronics are cheaper there and the food to my taste is better too.

Singapore is one big sterile place to be - even the shipyards are tidy!

[Fabian]

Originally Posted by slimboyfat

Varies widely from place to place.

Large bottle of Tiger at the hawker centre (no aircon food court) with your meal will cost about $6.

In pubs.
Average is about $5-$7 for a mug, $22-$26 for a jug.
Some places sell pints, but they are usually aimed at foreigners so the price can get expensive - usually around $14 for a pint at Boat Quay/Clarke Quay pubs.
At Orchard Towers etc you will usually pay around $30 for a jug of Tiger. This price at OT has stayed the almost the same since I first came to SIngapore in 1991 so thats pretty good.

And if you want to buy a six pack to take back to your room and replace the expensive beers you drank from the hotel minibar before the hotel staff do a check, a six pack of Tiger or Carlsberg will cost around $16.



I usually drink in cheapskate places at happy hours etc so usually buy a jug during 1 for 1 offers and end up paying $12-14 for each jug of beer.

8 Euros for a six pack,, now this is robbery. seem slike I won't drink much when I go there.

[kingwilly]

get used to german!

[slimboyfat]

KW is used to uber expensive places like MOS. how much is a beer there mate? or do you drink bacardi breezers?

[kingwilly]

Originally Posted by slimboyfat

KW is used to uber expensive places like MOS. how much is a beer there mate? or do you drink bacardi breezers?

fek u bastard, and i suppuse u dont like Zouk either??

[slimboyfat]

Originally Posted by kingwillyhggtb

fek u bastard, and i suppuse u dont like Zouk either??

been a few years since i have been there. not really into nightclubs any more.