What to see in Hong Kong and Singapore?
Discussion
Hong Kong is more like China and Singapore is more like Malaysia in my experience.
I would allocate equal time to both - best way of finding out more about the place was to get on a hop on /off open top tour bus and go see what each city has to offer.
Both have very varied cultures, Singapore seemed to have a lot less poverty - Hong Kong had more neon.
I felt safe in both places and both of them were expensive.
Enjoy!
I would allocate equal time to both - best way of finding out more about the place was to get on a hop on /off open top tour bus and go see what each city has to offer.
Both have very varied cultures, Singapore seemed to have a lot less poverty - Hong Kong had more neon.
I felt safe in both places and both of them were expensive.
Enjoy!
See Hong Kong Extras for all things to do in Hong Kong.
I have been to Hong Kong a fair few times, and when you scratch the surface it is Chinese (understandably), however I find Hong Kong markedly different to Mainland China. Never been to Singapore as besides the women, I have zero interest.
I'd say that a must-see in HK is the Symphony of Light on top of Victoria Peak in the evening. The view from the Peak Tram, and the bus are both stunning.
All the best for your forthcoming trip.
I have been to Hong Kong a fair few times, and when you scratch the surface it is Chinese (understandably), however I find Hong Kong markedly different to Mainland China. Never been to Singapore as besides the women, I have zero interest.
I'd say that a must-see in HK is the Symphony of Light on top of Victoria Peak in the evening. The view from the Peak Tram, and the bus are both stunning.
All the best for your forthcoming trip.
Edited by putonghua73 on Wednesday 18th October 13:09
If you want to add some car-related activities to your itinerary, you can check out my blog post which I introduced several places in Hong Kong (I am from Hong Kong) for car lovers to check out. Feel free to ask me more about Hong Kong 
https://gjgarage.net/blogs/news/where-to-visit-in-...
https://gjgarage.net/blogs/news/where-to-visit-in-...
plenty to see and do in Singapore and surroundings to fill anything from a long weekend to a week.
Starting with the obvious stuff
- Food, Singapore is a serious foodie place, with lots of areas to explore as you go from hawker to shophouse. Areas like Geylang, Joo Chiat, Little India, Arab Street, Tiong Bharu, Chinatown etc etc (plenty of beer too)
- some very nice bars, OneAltitude, Marina Bay Sands, CafeRouge (used to be New Asia Bar) being the rooftop ones to start with.
- Kids stuff all over Sentosa, night safari, Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park, Universal Studios etc.
- Outdoors stuff, ridge walks along kent ridge, or into go for a jungle hike around Mt Macritchie and Bukit Timah, hire bikes and cycle around Pulau Ubin
- Visit Gardens by the bay and Singapore Flyer
- See a show / sporting event / other at the Esplanade Theatre, Marina Bay Sands or indoor stadium
- Shopping - lots of that everywhere, it a national pass time along with eating.
- chill on one of the beaches on Sentosa, (its not quite Bali but still a very pleasant afternoon in the sun with a bucket of corona)
If thats not enough, you could take a flight / coach to Kuala Lumpur for a few nights, thats more food, the Twin Towers, Chaingkat Bukit Bintang and Chinatown, etc etc.
thats a good 7 days covered.
Uber & Grab work very well here, as does Bus and Underground (MRT), get an app called Moove to figure out best routes.
Its hot and humid so people tend to do the indoors stuff during the middle of the day then head out at night (sunrise 7am, sunset 7pm, +/- 15 minutes every day.)
Starting with the obvious stuff
- Food, Singapore is a serious foodie place, with lots of areas to explore as you go from hawker to shophouse. Areas like Geylang, Joo Chiat, Little India, Arab Street, Tiong Bharu, Chinatown etc etc (plenty of beer too)
- some very nice bars, OneAltitude, Marina Bay Sands, CafeRouge (used to be New Asia Bar) being the rooftop ones to start with.
- Kids stuff all over Sentosa, night safari, Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park, Universal Studios etc.
- Outdoors stuff, ridge walks along kent ridge, or into go for a jungle hike around Mt Macritchie and Bukit Timah, hire bikes and cycle around Pulau Ubin
- Visit Gardens by the bay and Singapore Flyer
- See a show / sporting event / other at the Esplanade Theatre, Marina Bay Sands or indoor stadium
- Shopping - lots of that everywhere, it a national pass time along with eating.
- chill on one of the beaches on Sentosa, (its not quite Bali but still a very pleasant afternoon in the sun with a bucket of corona)
If thats not enough, you could take a flight / coach to Kuala Lumpur for a few nights, thats more food, the Twin Towers, Chaingkat Bukit Bintang and Chinatown, etc etc.
thats a good 7 days covered.
Uber & Grab work very well here, as does Bus and Underground (MRT), get an app called Moove to figure out best routes.
Its hot and humid so people tend to do the indoors stuff during the middle of the day then head out at night (sunrise 7am, sunset 7pm, +/- 15 minutes every day.)
Berw said:
Love your post john, your advice for visit to kl was, visit my office building, and go to the street I live and drink at my local, never realised I had such an idilic life. 8000 miles for that?
well, it is one of the most iconic buildings in SE Asia .....
And well, the food and booze is good around where your local is .....
I can thing of worse office locations / local bars ....
And well, the question was about Singapore and HK first
Robertj21a said:
It's also less humid than Singapore - which I find an excellent place, but too modern and lacking in character.
i think these two points tend to go hand in hand with Singapore, yes it is bloody humid, which makes it less appealing to explore, so people tend to stay close to the malls / MRT / Offices (understandably, they have aircon, Singapore is after all a sea level city that is only 55 miles north of the Equator).There is a lot of history, character etc but its usually not directly connected to the Public Transport networks so having your own transport / time / leads / tips are the only way that most people will get out to these places.....
Singapore is also generally flat, so the geography doesnt have quite the same first impression impact that HK island has
Copied and pasted my reply to another HK thread.
Some things to do:-
Lantau and Big Buddha
Victoria Peak
Star Ferry
Po Toi
Lamma
Stanley beach
Ladies Market
Kok Market
Symphony of Lights
Wan Chai for a wild night out
Tram from Kennedy Town right across the island
HK Museum
Shopping in TST
Shek O and Deep Water Bay for the beach
Man Mo Temple
Heritage Trail
HK Botanical Gardens
Ritz Carlton for afternoon tea
Some things to do:-
Lantau and Big Buddha
Victoria Peak
Star Ferry
Po Toi
Lamma
Stanley beach
Ladies Market
Kok Market
Symphony of Lights
Wan Chai for a wild night out
Tram from Kennedy Town right across the island
HK Museum
Shopping in TST
Shek O and Deep Water Bay for the beach
Man Mo Temple
Heritage Trail
HK Botanical Gardens
Ritz Carlton for afternoon tea
buzzer said:
One question... my wife is Veggie... will she have any problems finding food?
just how "veggie" is she? almost a vegan, eats seafood, if its hidden in a sauce its ok ..... Many Indian eating places in Singapore are Veggie (by religion) so can be 100% sure there, In the Business and Shopping districts can get salads and wraps and stufff like that which are full on veggie. Also loads of fresh fruit everywhere.
Chinese and Malay/Indonesian do lots of veggie stirfry and noodle dishes, as well as loads of tofu options.
However, stir fry's and stuff like that will probably have fish stock / sauce in them,
Basically, as long as just tell her its a vegetable sauce and she will be none the wiser
buzzer said:
We are going on a cruise in Feb from Singapore to Honkong and have the opportunity to spend a few days in each.
Any recommendations what to visit while we were there? Which place should we allocate most time to?
buzzer,its going to be cold in Hongkong in February. We did a cruise a few years ago in February,starting in Singapore finishing in Hongkong,may be the same one as you?Any recommendations what to visit while we were there? Which place should we allocate most time to?
Singapore was hot and humid,went on a trip "following the footsteps of Raffles", boat ride, walks, museum, Raffles Hotel then a rickshaw ride. Our cruise stopped off at Thailand (hot) South Vietnam (Hot and humid) Central Vietnam (dull and damp) Halong Bay (overcast and cold). By the time we got to Hongkong it was bloody freezing. We had booked an open top bus tour,silly me, got off after a while at that old mountain railway, quite a view from the top.
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