(Free) Things to Do in Singapore when You're Alone

Take a (long) walk along Orchard Road. It's Christmas in the Tropics, and almost all of the shops and department stores along Orchard Road are fully decorated. Visa even put up these dancing Christmas trees at the four corners of the Scotts-Orchard intersection. Try doing it late at night when all the lights are ablaze, and there's fewer tourists to get into the way of your pictures.

Explore the Esplanade Roof Terrace at night. Right across the Fullerton Hotel and Merlion Park, the views from here are just spectacular. You can see the Esplanade "bug eyes" up close and personal, too. Find a nice spot among the plants and trees and enjoy the night breeze blowing in from the sea. If you're lucky enough to have a companion, hang out at the waterfront promenade where most of the couples are.

If you want to make the most of your free time (while resting your feet), why not visit the local libraries? There's library@orchard and another one at Esplanade called library@esplanade (what else). Both have an impressive collection of DVDs, CDs, books, magazines, and newspapers. There's even an in-house cafe. I prefer the one at Esplanade. For one, it's newer. There's less people. It has dedicated CD sampling stations and DVD screening rooms. According to my friend, it even has a soundproofed piano practice room. And the best part? It closes at 10pm.

Hop on the topless HiPPO bus. From Nov. 13, 2004 to Jan. 2, 2005, the Singapore Tourism Board is offering visitors free rides on the HiPPO bus as it goes around Orchard Road. Go to the upper deck an take in the panoramic view of the night city lights. Just pray it doesn't rain. Last time I took the 30-minute tour, the guide was getting people to sing Christmas carols in exchange for Duck Tour tickets. Yeah, it drizzled a bit that night.

Free entrance to museums on Friday nights. Most of the museums in Singapore open from 10am to 7pm. On Friday nights, however, some open till 9pm, and entrance from 7pm onwards is free. Choices include Singapore Art Museum, Singapore History Museum, and Asian Civilizations Museum. Now, who would want to go on a museum tour on a Friday night, you ask? I, for one. Except that I had a chicken rice dinner with a friend, plus ice kacang for dessert. So, no contest.

Catch the nightly laserlight shows at Sentosa Musical Fountain or Suntec City's Fountain of Wealth. Did I mention that both are free? The Magical Sentosa show is quite awesome. There's music and water fountains that sway and dance to the beat and fog machines and bursts of fire so hot you can actually feel the heat on your face. I'm sure Sentosa took this idea from Suntec's Fountain of Wealth. Now, Sentosa's Musical Fountain show also have this machine that creates a blanket of water onto which laserlight is projected to create a color image, much like how a regular office projector work. The last time I went to Sentosa, which was a couple of years ago, the show was called "Rise of the Merlion" which tells of the history of Singapura and how it was discovered. Now, the show is about some magical creatures in Sentosa and other baloney. Nice effects, though.

Strictly speaking, the Sentosa show is not exactly free because you have to pay a S$2 entrance fee to enter the island. (Used to be S$6.) What you need to do is to get your friend to book his hotel either at Shangri-La or The Sentosa. The hotel will issue him an entrance pass, which you can then use to enter the island at will. From there, all bus and monorail rides within Sentosa are free. At the end of the day, you can even catch the complimentary bus back to the city.