Singapore - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 681

9

Armani might like to try Lucky Plaza
or Far East Plaza (located on the
perpendicular Scotts Rd). Both offer
good prices on fashion, tailoring and,
particularly at Lucky Plaza, electronic
goods. Bargaining is expected.
After all the mall-hopping, you'll be
glad of the open space afforded by the
Singapore Botanic Gardens (daily
5am-midnight; free) on Cluny Road,
a ten-minute walk from the western end
of Orchard Road. Founded in 1859,
the vast enclave of parks and gardens
features a mini-jungle, rose garden,
topiary, fernery, palm valley and over
10,000 species of plants. here's also the
National Orchid Garden (daily 8.30am-
7pm; S$7) containing sixty thousand
flower varieties and one of the world's
most prestigious collections of orchids.
Look for the “Margaret hatcher”.

taxi (no more than S$30); make sure that the driver uses
the meter. Singapore is one of the busiest hubs in the
region, with regular flights all over Southeast Asia and
the rest of the world. Airlines connecting Singapore to
Thailand, Malaysia, UK, Australia and Indonesia include
AirAsia ( W airasia.com), Tiger Airways ( W tigerairways
.com), Jetstar ( W jetstar.com), Firefly ( W fireflyz.com.my),
Malaysia Airlines ( W malaysiaairlines.com) and Singapore
Airlines ( W singaporeair.com), as well as major inter-
national airlines.
Destinations Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (2 daily; 2hr
30min); Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (10 daily; 55min);
Kuching, Malaysia (2 daily; 1hr 20min); Langkawi,
Malaysia (3 weekly; 1hr 25min); Penang, Malaysia (6 daily;
1hr 10min); Pulau Tioman, Malaysia (daily; 45min).

BY TRAIN
Trains from the Singapore Train Station in Woodlands
(take the MRT to Woodlands and then bus #856) run
either to Kuala Lumpur or up through the interior of
Malaysia to Wakaf Bharu in the northeast, near Kota
Bharu. Unfortunately, none of the trains to Kuala Lumpur
connects conveniently with northbound services up
the west coast, including the international express to
Bangkok. If travelling between Singapore and Bangkok,
it's a good idea to book a berth on the overnight leg
between Butterworth and Thailand's capital.
Destinations

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
BY PLANE
Changi Airport ( T 6595 6868, W changiairport.com) -
regularly voted the best in the world - has three terminals.
The airport is located at the far eastern end of Singapore,
16km from the city centre. The easiest way to reach central
Singapore is to take the MRT from terminal 2 or 3 (S$1.60)
or a door-to-door shuttle bus (S$9). Alternatively, take a

Johor Bahru (6 daily; 1hr); Kuala Lumpur
(4 daily; 7-9hr); Wakaf Bharu (for Kota Bharu: 1 daily;
13hr).

Far East
Plaza Paciic

Plaza

Royal
Plaza

Orchard
Hotel

Orchard
Towers

Thai
Embassy

Mount
Elizabeth
Hospital

Hyatt

Deli
Orchard

Shaw
Centre

Scotts
Square

S I M

Palais
Renaissance

Shaw
House

Forum The
Shopping Mall

Tang's

Liat
Towers

Lucky Plaza The

Paragon

Tanglin
Shopping
Centre

Far East
Shopping
Centre

Orchard

TicketCube

1

Wheelock
Place

ION
Orchard

Wisma Atria

Tanglin
Place 2

Ngee Ann City

Tanglin
Mall

Mandarin
Orchard

0 200

metres

ORCHARD ROAD