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The top 10 most boring things to do in Singapore
Singapore is boring, we all know that, but what are the definitive 10 things that will deliver you to snoresville? Read on ...
You don't know it but your dealer is stifling a yawn internally. Old habits die hard, in spite of Singapore’s efforts to shed its boring image, a lot of what happens here remains, well, boring.
Should you ever feel the urge to utterly bore yourself silly Singapore-style, there are, ironically, plenty of things to do.
We pick the dullest of the lot.
10. Go to the cinema
Movies are meant to entertain but in Singapore expect to be bored.
Here mainstream Hollywood blockbusters are king and indie movies, art house films or anything that doesn’t star one of the brat pack are relegated to small film festivals, DVDs bought overseas or whatever is streamed available online.
When you do decide to go to the cinema, prepare to put up with a slew of irritations: the endless rustle of snack-filled plastic bags, glaring mobile screens, inane chatter between people etc …
And if the movie is really, really good, there’s a chance that it has been snipped to shreds by the censors.
9. Take a drive
Just like the country, the roads in Singapore are straight and orderly.
Think of it as being stuck in a driving school’s road circuit until the end of time. You are forced to remember all the rules all the time, someone is always waiting to haul you up for doing wrong, you can’t speed, there’s a traffic light, speed camera or stop sign on every corner and there’s really nowhere to go.
On the few roads that you could possibly speed on, you have to pay the minute you start your engine. No wonder all the road fun takes place in Malaysia.
8. Have dinner at the airport
In any other country on this planet, going out to dinner at the airport would seem incredibly strange. In Singapore, people do it in the hundreds, especially on the weekend.
What's the appeal? Perhaps it’s the space. Changi Airport is one of the most spacious, uncluttered buildings on an island where most live in small flats. Walking down the cavernous passenger halls in the terminal buildings might just provide Singaporeans with a rare feeling of openness.
And while they’re at the airport, they might as well do what Singaporeans do when they go anywhere: eat.
7. Listening up at Speakers’ Corner
The sound of the crickets are louder than the sound of the protesters.
Just the sign stating Speakers’ Corner kills its spirit and worse, replicating the name of the London oratorical spot only serves to amplify the emptiness of the one we have here.
This supposedly public space for open discussion currently falls under not one, not two, but three legislative acts -- the Public Order of 2009, the Public Entertainments and Meetings Order of 2008 and Parks and Trees Regulation (what, in case the trees get offended?).
For a space intended to allow more free speech, these web of rules just strangle it instead.
6. Day camping in East Coast Park
Why bother pitching a tent if you’re not actually going to camp in it overnight?
What exactly is the point of pitching it for just the afternoon? It's pragmatic -- you have your own shelter on hand -- but it can’t really be called fun.
And it’s not like you’re parking yourself somewhere to enjoy a stunning view or beautiful countryside. We’re talking supertankers, oil-streaked waters, man-made breakwaters, dirty beaches and fast food restaurants.
The whole experience is about as interesting as having a picnic in a void deck.
Still awake? Follow on to page two for the top five most boring things to do in Singapore.
