Skating - Singapore Return

Singapore is a very good place for rollerbladers, except for a couple of issues for us out-of-country visitors (heat and humidity). There are skate paths built with skaters in mind, not 1 mile boring circle tracks, but long 20+k tracks. Along the shoreline, tree covered. Every few k there are resturants where you can stop and get a drink (Diet Coke - NOT wine, never drink wine and skate - I tried and have the scars to prove it. Gabriel warned me, but did I listen?? No) Skaters heaven! Singapore is so cool. AVI1 AVI2

Ok, and there is the MRT station downtown, where you can go, and there is this huge empty area, used by skateboarders and skaters to skate out of the sun, heat and humidity. Excellent!! MRTAVI1 MRTAVI2

There is a great staking organization here Skateline. They are so helpful. Before I can I sent them email, they answer question about where were good places to skate, where to get new wheels, everything. They arrange weekly group skating tours. They are wonderful. http://www.skateline.com.sg And they publish a monthly newsletter If you are going to Singapore, or are in Singapore, and want to skate, hook up with these guys. They are terrific.

In regards to street crime, It is probably the safest place on the planet. BUT - Singapore is hot, (it is on the equator) very sunny, except when it is raining, which seems like is fairly frequently. It is very Very humid! You need to be careful skating in the daytime. You can become dehydrated or have sunstroke easily. The official Singapore weather sites describes Singapore seasons as “The climate of Singapore can be divided into two main seasons, the Northeast Monsoon and the Southwest Monsoon season, separated by two relatively short inter-monsoon periods.” That means expect rain.

And the humidity is always high. My last week there, the humidity everyday was around 95%-100%. Again according to the official Singapore weather site. “RELATIVE HUMIDITY: Mean value is 84%, During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100 %.”

This means the weather, sun intensity, and humidity may be much more difficult to deal with than we are used to. So keep that in mind when blading in Singapore.

For an example on the high humidity, I was skating on the sidewalks here. One side of the street was shaded by trees, the other was not. The side that was not was fine, the other side was wet and covered with mould it made the sidewalk extremely slippery I could barely stand up.

I notice most people here skate in the evenings or after dark, or indoors.

A very good skating resource in Singapore can be found at http://www.skateline.com.sg/index.htm. I have found them very useful and friendly. They have responded to each and every email question I have sent, and helped me find parts for my skates. They also run some night skates and other skating activities.

Great places to skate are on the East Coast Parkway. http://www.nparks.gov.sg/parks/loc/par-loc-eas_coa.shtml Shore-side of the parkway they have the best rollerblade skate-way I have ever seen. 15k long (Blade track is 12k, then you have to move over the jogging track) It goes on for several miles, great surface, is mostly tree covered, and every mile or so you pass a nice collection of restaurants. There are lots of places to rent skates to!!. Wednesday night we pretty much had the track to ourselves. Saturday late afternoon and evening, there were hundreds of skaters. It was great fun, talking and joking with the other people on skates. Came up on one young lady, her boyfriend was teaching her to skate, she had just had a crash, and of course NO PADS, she was a little bloody at the contact points, elbows, knees and wrists. WEAR PADS, even on the track. I had a hard crash in a Singapore park. Some kind of nut from the park trees slipped into my skate between the wheel and frame and locked me up tight. I slid for a few feet, but I was wearing my pads. No blood shed.

The problem we had with the East Cost Parkway was how to get there from the city. Our philosophy is you need to get to where you are going on your blades. Getting to the East Cost Parkway from the city was difficult. Perhaps there is a better way, but we could not find it. We started from the Raffles Drive, skated around until we got onto the highway heading to the ECP, there was a sidewalk next to the highway. Ok fine. Up the bridge, down the bridge. But then the sidewalk just ended, with a set of stairs leading to a heavy brush area. It was either skate on the highway – at rush hour – marching through the brush. We pushed our way through the brush until we found a housing area, and finally (heading east again) found our way to ECP.

I had figured we had just picked a bad way to get there. So after skating to the very end of the parkway (and Singapore) we headed back, until the skate-way ended in a construction area. We stopped a guy on a bicycle and asked how to get back to the city. Well it was back on the highway and over the same bridge, but this time we had to skate in the highway. Finally the sideway started again, so we climbed over the fence and got on to the sidewalk. Up and down the steep bridge. The sideway again ended, again in the middle of other brush area. Wet and muddy. We waddled, skates on, for a bit and finally made it to a road and back to the hotel.

The ECP Parkway is great, perfect, getting there is a bit of a trial. Take a cab to and back. Ask the taxi to drop you at Car Park C3, East Coast Park (Next to McDonalds). That is a good place to look for a cab too.

I am not sure how we did it, we were trying to skate back to ECP from the City, we took the wrong set of stairs up to the highway cross over bridge(s) and ended up in Marina City Park. http://www.nparks.gov.sg/parks/loc/par-loc-mar_cit.shtml Except for being totally confused how we got there, we found it to be wonderful for skating. Lots of outside restaurants, with great food, and lots of diet coke.

Marina City Park is close to the City, built on reclaimed land, The park has a 2-tiered large pond with the fountain jetting up water. The park is lit from 7:00 pm to 12:00 am, and from 5:00 am to 7:00 am. Lots of places to skate here.

Embarrassingly we had to take a Taxi back as I had one of my Salomon wheels fall apart on me. (That is two Salomon wheels I have had come apart on me!!! We took a taxi to skateline http://www.skateline.com.sg to get some new wheels, then skated back to the hotel.

There is a jogging path in front of the Ritz and Mandarin Oriental Hotel that is close to the waters edge and has a nice view. However a large part of it is made of bricks, so it gets a bit bumpy.

Another place near those hotels and close to Raffles hotel that was cool was the underground crossing at Nicoll Highway and Raffles Boulevard. At the corner. you have to go underground to cross the street. And once down, there is big area used by skate-boarders and is great for rollerblading – out of the hot tropical sun.

We did not get to try it but I heard Sentosa island is very roller-blade friendly. http://www.sentosa.com.sg/a_leisure.htm

Bishan Park also received lots of complements from Singapore skaters.

http://www.nparks.gov.sg/parks/loc/par-loc-bis.shtml

General Information

About Singapore

Singapore is not just one island but a main island with 63 surrounding islets. The main island has a total land area of 682 square km and a population of 3.7 million people.

Singapore's strategic location, excellent facilities, fascinating cultural contrasts and tourist attractions contribute to its success as a leading destination for both business and pleasure. In recent years, Singapore has gone through a spate of demolition and reconstruction, as old buildings fall and make way for the steel and glass towers that dominate its skyline. However Singapore is at its most remarkable in its little alleyways and colourful shops in Chinatown, its incense-filled Buddhist temples and noisy street operas. The whole place is a colourful, living, breathing hub of intriguing activity.

For more information on Singapore and its many attractions please go to http://www.newasia-singapore.com/index_main.html

Category	Category Description	Graph	Explanation
Road Surface	Describes road surface conditions		The road surfaces here we experienced were pretty good. Obviously you have to keep focused and alert for the odd crack or hole, but overall some of the best in Asia. But there are so many paths and sidewalks to skate we rarely had to use the roads. Which of course is both good and bad.
Road Conditions	Is there enough room for skating on the road? Are intersections crossable?		The roads were pretty busy, but we never had a problem skating. For the most part we used the great sidewalks and skatepaths. Where we had to use the roads, they were wide enough for the most part so we could share with cars. Traffic always was friendly towards us. Traffic can be heavy at times so we had to keep our eyes, and ears, open.
Traffic Conditions	Describes level and condition of traffic. Is the traffic heavy, fast or erratic.		Traffic was heavy, so we had to keep our eyes, and ears, open. But everyone was friendly and unlike the USA no cars tried to frighten us or make as to hit us. The roads were often busy, but we never had a problem with cars when skating.
Driver Attitudes	Describes how drivers react to and treat skaters		We were polite skaters in Singapore, (as always) and everyone was friendly and unlike the USA and no cars tried to frighten us or make as to hit us. The roads were often busy, but we never had a problem skating.
Danger Level	Describes overall danger of skating in this location. Everyplace is dangerous to street skate. Street skating means crumbling roads, bad drivers (or worse), air pollution and even nature. But some places are more dangerous than others		We never had a problem.. Most of the main roads are in good condition, but there are still a few cracks and rough areas around.
Criminal Factor	How serious is crime in this location.		What Crime? This is a safe place. Have not seen anything, have not heard anything, overall very friendly people.
Cool Factor	Is this a cool place to skate.		Good. Lots of places to skate, and on East Coast parkway, on the weekends (especially in the evening) you will see HUNDREDS of other skaters. Something I have not seen anywhere. Good skaters, great skaters, beginners, everyone.
Fun Factor	Is this a fun place to skate.		Yes, skating through Singapore is lots of fun. Everyone, even the police were very nice to us.
Sidewalks	Are there sidewalks, and if there are what are they like? Often having sidewalks can be worse than not having them. With a bad sidewalk drivers may assume you should be using it - no matter how dangerous it is to use, and react very badly when they see you on the road instead of the sidewalk.		Excellent sidewalks all over. We were able to use these as much more than the roads. Well done Singapore. You are Great!!!
Misc	Any other conditions or issues that were found while skating here
Summary	A summarization of the skating experience at this location.		This is a great place, fun city, cool places to skate to and through. I love it here. I have skated here several times and I can not wait to go back!!
Desire to Return - Overall Rating	The bottom line. Is the place good enough that we want to return here to skate it more. With all the above taken into consideration how much are we looking forward return and skate this location further.		Return? As soon as I have a chance!! The city is fun, the people are great, the traffic friendly and fun. Great places to see and skate.
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Services
Airport Tax	Airport tax is included in price of airline ticket.
Business Hours	Most private offices are open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Banks are open on weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Malls are generally open the whole week from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Clothing	In business settings, lightweight conservative clothing, like dress slacks, a long-sleeved shirt, and a tie will fit in well. Suits are reserved for important meetings and formal events. Businesswomen generally wear knee-length or longer skirts with blouses, and understated make-up.
Currency	SGD (Singapore Dollars)
Custom Rules and Regulations	Alcoholic Beverages: 1 litre of wine, 1 litre or spirits and 3 cans of beer for passengers aged 18 and above, having spent more than 48 hours out of Singapore and are not entering from Malaysia.
Entry Requirements	Singapore Immigration Authorities require travellers to have at least six months' validity on their passports. Likewise, visitors intending transiting Singapore to neighbouring countries should ensure that their passports are valid for at least six months. Travellers may be refused entry or be turned away by airlines if their passports do not meet this requirement. Visas are not required for stays of up to two weeks for Commonwealth citizens, British passport holders, and citizens of the Republic of Ireland.
Health Risks	Singapore is generally epidemic-free, but hepatitis is not uncommon and may be caused by contaminated seafood and street food. Use common sense before eating anything from street vendors. Singapore's water is clean and safe to drink from the tap, and need not be boiled.
Language	Malay is the national language. Chinese (Mandarin), Malay, Tamil and English are the official languages. English is the language of administration and widely used for business dealings. Singlish -- a Singaporean version of English that has its own grammar -- is also widely used.
Local Climate	Singapore is in the equatorial monsoon region of Southeast Asia, and its climate is characterized by uniformly high temperatures and nearly constant precipitation throughout the year. The average monthly temperature varies from about 81 F (27 C) in June to 77 F (25 C) in January. The daily range is somewhat greater, averaging about 13 F (7 C). Singapore's maritime location and constant humidity, however, keep maximum temperatures relatively moderate: the highest temperature ever recorded was only 97 F (36 C).
Miscellaneous	Visitors to Singapore should note that there are severe penalties for all drug offences including, in some cases, the death penalty. Enforcement and punishment are very strict. Smoking in public buildings, littering, jaywalking, spitting, feeding birds in public places, failing to flush public lavatories are civic crimes, which attract instant fines. Don’t smoke in any air-conditioned public place or indoor restaurant. It is banned. Failure to observe this regulation attracts an immediate fine. Don’t chew gum on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. It is forbidden and the penalty can be a heavy on-the-spot fine. Don’t litter. The penalty is an on-the-spot fine. Most tourist publications on Singapore give further details.
Name of Airport	Singapore Changi Airport. It is about 20 km. from the Central Business District. The airport is linked by two expressways -- the East Coast Parkway and the Pan Island Expressway -- to other parts of Singapore, providing easy access by taxi, public bus, or car. Travel time to the city is about 25 minutes by car or taxi, 45 minutes by bus.
Phone adaptors
Power adaptors
Tipping	Tipping is actively discouraged by the government. It is prohibited in the airport and not encouraged in hotels that already charge a 10% service charge, as well as restaurants that charge GST. However, bellboys are generally tipped $1 per luggage. You are not obliged to tip taxi drivers.
Useful Links	Singapore Government Online Portal CJ Koh Law Library Singapore Business Singapore - Best.com Singapore Changi Airport Streetdirectory.com Singapore Tourism Board
Useful Numbers	Police 999, Ambulance 995 (toll-free) Airport Coach Service (AIRBUS) 542-1721 or 542-1732
Voltage	220V