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Singapore's burgeoning bar and pub scene means there is now a wide range of drinking holes to choose from, with the Colonial District, Boat Quay and Orchard Road areas offering particularly good pub crawl potential. With competition hotting up, more and more bars are turning to live music to woo punters, though this is usually no more than cover versions performed by local bands. Clubs also do brisk business; glitzy yet unpretentious, they feature the latest imported pop, rock and dance music, though don't expect anything like a rave scene - Ecstasy isn't in the Singaporean dictionary. |
It's possible to buy a small glass of beer in most bars and pubs for around S$5, but prices can be double or treble that, especially in the Orchard Road district. During Happy Hour in the early evening, bars offer local beers and house wine either at half price, or "one for one" - you get two of whatever you order, but one is held back for later.
Unlike their London and New York counterparts, Singaporean clubs are refreshingly naive, their customers more intent on enjoying themselves than on posing. European and American dance music dominates, and many feature live cover bands. Clubs tend to open around 9pm, and most have a cover charge of S$10-30, at least on weekends.
If you walk around Singapore's streets for long enough, you're likely to come across some sort of streetside cultural event , most usually a wayang , or Chinese opera, played out on tumbledown outdoor stages that spring up overnight next to temples and markets, or just at the side of the road.