Singapore/North and West

The northern and western parts of Singapore are the city's hinterlands, consisting of jungle dotted with public housing blocks and a significant industrial area in Sungei Kadut and the reclaimed area of Tuas. In addition there is a reclaimed island, Jurong Island, made from the merging of 7 previously smaller islands, but this is devoted to the petrochemical industry and off limits unless you have a permit.

Get in
The western junction of Jurong East is 20 minutes away from the city center on the MRT East-West Line. Traveling there by the North-South Line will take closer to 60 minutes as it goes one big loop to Woodlands and the North.

See Johor Bahru for information on crossing the Causeway and the Second Link from Malaysia.

See
The sights of Singapore's hinterland can be easily divided in two: there's the zoos, and then there's everything else.

Wildlife


Without a doubt the top attraction in the area, the Mandai Wildlife Reserve comprises four separate wildlife parks, all located next to each other: Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Wonders and Bird Paradise. In addition to individual tickets, you can buy multi-park "ParkHopper Plus" tickets valid for one week, ranging from $80/50 adult/child for two parks to $110/80 for all four. Each park is quite large and it's hot out there in the jungle, so the best strategy is to pick one per day, head out early in the morning and aim to wrap up by lunchtime. True to the name, the Night Safari operates only at night and is best tackled as a separate excursion.

For most visitors, taking a taxi/Grab is the easy option, but if you're not in a hurry, you can take the North-South Line to Khatib MRT and hop on the Mandai Khatib Shuttle ($3 return, every 15 min). Alternatively, take Bus 138 from Ang Mo Kio bus interchange, Bus 927 from Choa Chu Kang bus interchange or Bus 138 from Springleaf MRT. To travel between the West and East zones, you can take the Mandai Khatib Shuttle for free.

When leaving the zoo, queues for taxi/Grab can be quite long, so it may make sense to hop on a bus/shuttle out first. If you do catch a cab out, there's a $5 surcharge after 1pm.



Gardens




Historical
Quite a few sites related to World War II are scattered around the island, but most will appeal only to war history buffs.



The Sembawang area was also home to a British naval base until 1970, with a large number of colonial houses in the area that survive as a reminder of that era. Most of these are still occupied as residences and cannot be entered, though they can be viewed from the outside. Today, the British naval presence has been reduced to a small logistics detachment, though the port of Sembawang frequently host port calls by vessels of the American, British, Australian and New Zealand militaries.





Other




Do
To find out what a sauna full of bugs feel like, go for some steamy jungle hiking. Best times are very early in the morning or in the late afternoon.



And there are a few things to do that don't involve stomping about in the jungle:



Buy
There is little noteworthy shopping in the north or west. The major shopping malls are Jurong Point at Boon Lay MRT, Westgate, IMM Mall and Jem around Jurong East MRT and Northpoint at Yishun MRT. A stroll around the HDB heartlands may uncover interesting finds, though, not to mention an authentic taste of ordinary Singaporean life.



Tourist attractions such as Singapore Zoological Gardens, Jurong Bird Park and Singapore Botanic Gardens have gift shops overflowing with cute plush toys and tacky local kitsch.



Budget
Hawker food is cheap in the boondocks, and there are a few culinary gems to be found &mdash; if you can find them, that is. There are also clusters of good western cafes and restaurants in Holland Village and Dempsey Hill.



Splurge
The Bukit Timah area to the west of the city is one of Singapore's poshest residential districts featuring many high-quality restaurants, particularly in the expatriate enclave of Holland Village. Another good option is Dempsey Hill, a convenient cluster of British-era army barracks converted into restaurants for the expat set, just ten minutes from Orchard Rd.



Another small cluster of upscale restaurants is nestled on the grounds of the Botanic Gardens.



Drink
Except for the odd karaoke TV pub, beer at your favourite hawker stall and a few low-key hangouts in expat enclave Holland Village, the north and west of Singapore were long virtually devoid of nightlife. However, since 2006 there has been a veritable boom of colonial black & white bungalows being repurposed into upscale dining and drinking complexes, with areas like Portsdown Rd, Rochester Park and Tanglin Village (Dempsey Rd) now buzzing on weekends.



Sleep
There are very few choices when it comes to accommodation in the west and the north of Singapore, and you are probably better off staying in the centre and taking the train out from there. If you really want to stay in this region though, there are a handful of choices: