Nightlife

What do you want to do tonight? Do you want to go out for a cultural experience and find a traditional dance or music performance or a Chinese opera, or do you want to put on your finery and rub elbows with society at the symphony? If it's live performance you're looking for, you have your choice not only of the local dance and theater troupes but of the many West End and Broadway shows that come through on international tours. Or you may want to try a local performance -- smaller theater groups have lately been hitting nerves and funny bones through stage portrayals of life in the Garden City. Singapore has been transforming itself into a center for the arts in this part of the world and is striving to achieve the level of sophistication you'd come to expect from a Western city.

If partying it up is more your speed, all kinds of nighttime revelry are going on. Society may seem puritanical during the daylight hours, but at night, the clubs get crazy.

Increasingly, Singapore's nightlife has been clustering around nightlife hubs. On of the earliest hub, Boat Quay, is a strip of renovated shophouses along the Singapore River that turns into a veritable parade of small bars, karaoke lounges, discos, and cafes after 9pm. As you stroll along the river, you can hear the hip-hop, reggae, jazz, blues, rap, techno, disco -- you name it -- pouring from each door.

Upriver, Clarke Quay has recently had a shot in the arm from the Ministry of Sound, which opened in 2005 (covered later in this chapter). In December 2006, a handful of new clubs opened up, promising to be the ultimate trend-setters in all the land. But at the time of writing they were really too new for me to decide if they're a hit or not. Check it out at www.the-cannery.com.sg. Try at your own risk.

Farther upriver, near Robertson Quay, find Mohamed Sultan Road, a hub of clubs and bars that popped up in the mid-'90s. While the bars here still hop on weekends, most of their glitter has faded to newer joints elsewhere.

Also opened in late 2006, the St. James Power Station, 3 Sentosa Gateway (tel. 65/6270-7676; www.stjamespowerstation.com.sg) looks very promising, with 9 different clubs, serving up everything from Mandarin pop to karaoke to world music to live bands and DJ dance music. The nearly 5,600-sq-m (60,000 sq.-ft.) space occupies Singapore's first coal-fired power station, built in 1927. With the opening of Vivo City, Singapore's biggest shopping mall, just next door, plus the building of the integrated resort across the water, St. James Power Station has a bright future.

Then there's Orchard Road. The area around the Scotts Road and Orchard Road intersection has a tremendous number of nightclubs, each with its own favorite clientele and all with high admission prices. Also fun, and with a high concentration of nightlife options, is CHIJMES.

Information -- Major cultural festivals are highly publicized by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), who will give you complete details at their Visitors Centres or on their website (www.stb.com.sg). Another good resource is the Life! section of Straits Times, which lists events for each day, plus theater and cinema listings. The freebie I-S Magazine promotes Singapore's clubbing lifestyle.

Tickets -- Two ticket agents, TicketCharge and Sistic, handle bookings for almost all theater performances, concert dates, and special events. You can find out about schedules before your visit through their websites: www.ticketcharge.com.sg and www.sistic.com.sg. When in Singapore, stop by one of their centrally located outlets to pick up a schedule or call them for more information. Call TicketCharge at tel. 65/6296-2929 or head for Centrepoint, Forum The Shopping Mall, Funan The IT Mall, Marina Square Shopping Centre, or Tanglin Mall. For Sistic bookings call tel. 65/6348-5555, or see them at the Victoria Concert Hall Box Office, Parco Bugis Junction, Raffles Shopping Centre, Scotts, Specialists' Shopping Center, Suntec Mall, or Wisma Atria.

Hours -- Theater and dance performances can begin anywhere between 7:30 and 9pm. Be sure to call for the exact time, and don't be late -- at Esplanade they don't let latecomers in. Many bars open in the late afternoon, a few as early as lunchtime. Disco and entertainment clubs usually open around 6pm but generally don't get lively until 10 or 11pm. Closing time for bars and clubs is at 1 or 2am on weekdays, 3 or 4am on weekends. A few have extended hours until 6am.

Drink Prices -- Because of the government's added tariff, alcoholic beverage prices are high everywhere, whether in a hotel bar or a neighborhood pub. "House pour" drinks (generics) are between S$8 and S$14 (US$5.10-US$9/£2.65-£4.60). A glass of house wine will cost between S$10 and S$15 (US$6.40-US$9.60/£3.30-£4.95), depending whether it's a red or a white. Local draft beer (Tiger), brewed in Singapore, is around S$10 (US$6.40/£3.30). Hotel establishments are, on average, the most expensive venues, while stand-alone pubs and cafes are better value. Almost every bar and club has a happy hour in the early evenings and discounts can be up to 50% off for house pours and drafts. Most of the disco and entertainment clubs charge covers, but they will usually include one or more drinks. Hooray for ladies' nights -- usually Wednesdays -- when those of the feminine persuasion get in for free and sometimes even drink for free, too.

Dress Code -- Many clubs will require smart casual attire. Feel free to be trendy, but stay away from shorts, T-shirts, sneakers, and torn jeans. Be forewarned that you may be turned away if not properly dressed. Many locals dress up for a night on the town, usually in elegant garb or fashionista threads.

Safety -- You'll be fairly safe out during the wee hours in most parts of the city, and even a single woman alone has little to worry about. Occasionally, groups of young men may catcall, but by and large those groups are not hanging out in the more cosmopolitan areas. You can always get home safely in a taxi, which fortunately isn't too hard to find even late at night, with one exception: When Boat Quay clubs close, there's usually a mob of revelers scrambling for cabs. (Note that after midnight, a 50% surcharge is added to the fare, so make sure you don't imbibe your ride home!)

The Bar & Club Scene

Singaporeans love to go out at night, whether it's to lounge around in a cozy wine bar or to jump around on a dance floor until 3am. This city has become pretty eclectic in its entertainment choices, so you'll find everything from live jazz to acid jazz, from polished cover bands to internationally acclaimed guest DJs. The nightlife is happening. Local celebrities and the young, wealthy, and beautiful are the heroes of the scene, and their quest for the "coolest" spot keeps the club scene on its toes.

The Hard Rock Cafe in Singapore, #02-01 HPL House, 50 Cuscaden Rd. (tel. 65/6235-5232), is just like the one in your hometown, so why bother on vacation? The resident band is pretty good and, of course, so are the burgers, but beyond that it's not much more than a tourist pickup joint.

Gay Nightspots -- Singapore's gay clubbing scene is alive and well but still very underground. Bars come and go, so to get the absolute latest happenings you'll have to go beyond mainstream media. The Web has listings at www.utopia-asia.com where you'll find the best updated information about the most recent parties and hangouts. For the latest info, I'd recommend one of the chat rooms suggested at the address above, and talk to the experts. Velvet Underground, part of the Zouk complex , welcomes a mixed clientele of gays, lesbians, and straight folks.