What to wear in Singapore and Langkawi

[johnannemarie]

Originally Posted by Jangofett

You must have never visited the tropics before.
With the weather blazing hot, your suits would be soaked wet and stinking to high heaven.
If you are there to chill, bermudas and tanktops will do.
If you are a clothes horse, polo shirts and bermudas will do.
As long as you are filthy rich, the SA will fawn over you even if you are a nudist.

If you want to gamble and dine at the swanky restaurants, especially for the latter, slacks and long sleeve shirts will do.

MBS aint casino royale you know. Its more alike Macau or the medium range Vegas joints.

I actually lived in the tropics for 6 years (north aus). I assumed being in an air conditioned environment I could wear most items. I presumed being a 6 billion dollar hotel their would be certain dress standards in the restaurants, theatre etc. I purchased some new board shorts for the pool/beach yesterday, so some Bermudas will be on the hit list, it's hard ATM because winter season is coming in Australia

 

[Jangofett]

Originally Posted by johnannemarie

I actually lived in the tropics for 6 years (north aus). I assumed being in an air conditioned environment I could wear most items. I presumed being a 6 billion dollar hotel their would be certain dress standards in the restaurants, theatre etc. I purchased some new board shorts for the pool/beach yesterday, so some Bermudas will be on the hit list, it's hard ATM because winter season is coming in Australia

Australia aint' the tropics or Asia, even if they want to, for sports or other reasons.

Just saw the news that Singapore has its hottest weather this week in years, so you can kind of figure what to wear.

Yep, most places would be air-conditioned but their air-conditioning would have no effect on someone who spent years in the winter, even if you are in Bermudas (pants not country). It would be like drinking their watered down beer. Your bladder would erupt before you get tipsy.

Some formal wear would be needed if you intend to visit some swank places but I think most normal restaurants would accept polo T and denim as acceptable dress code. Unless you are those who must wear a three piece suit to go down to the corner shop to buy a paper, then by all means knock yourself out!!

I think Singapore lack a dressing up culture like say Hong Kong.

 

[porschemad911]

Originally Posted by Jangofett

I think Singapore lack a dressing up culture like say Hong Kong.
Yeah, from my experience (3 trips over in the last 18 months) it's mostly pretty casual. And very, very almost-unbearably-cannot-ever-get-used-to-it humid and hot. I guess you can take refuge in the hotel / shopping malls mostly, but then you'd be missing out on seeing all the local sites / sounds / smells. I spent most of my time exploring in light weight button up shirts / polos / tees, with shorts + leather thongs / sandals (slippers over there). Check out Chinatown, Little India (awesome banana leaf curry), the hawker centres, the museums, the shopping malls. The botanic gardens are really nice too, especially the orchids. And definitely go to Geylang to buy durian ... many people don't like it, but I love it. It's a love / hate thing, and if you love it ... well you really love it! And Mt. Faber (more like a big hill) has some nice walks and views (and monkeys if you're lucky). Singapore's great, it's lots of fun just doing what Singaporeans do, getting stuck in crowded MRT carriages and shopping malls, eating and shopping. And I find Singaporeans are really interesting, the accent is cool and it's cool just seeing how a different group of people talk / think / interact / behave Actually the food is by far the best thing, over there it's not so much 'I'm hungry, think I'd better eat something', but 'Oooh I think my tummy's settled just enough to squeeze some more food in, wooooohoooooo what to eat next?!?!' And unlike Aus, they have Uniqlo Not sure if you'd be interested, but I think the Ion Orchard store is the best. Edit: I've probably described a holiday quite different from what you've got planned, so feel free to ignore! But just thought I'd share some of my experience, hopefully there's something useful there for you.

 

[marmaladecorgi]

+1 to all the above. Save weight and ditch the jackets. Polo shirts for days. Good linen shirts for nights. Cotton or linen trousers. Bermuda shorts. Swim trunks. Tods loafers or deck shoes. You're on holiday after all, and yet you'll look better than 90% of everyone you're likely to come across.

Even a good short-sleeved linen shirt with khaki trousers will gain you entry into the casinos and the best restaurants in town.

 

[johnannemarie]

Originally Posted by Jangofett

Australia aint' the tropics or Asia, even if they want to, for sports or other reasons.

Just saw the news that Singapore has its hottest weather this week in years, so you can kind of figure what to wear.

Yep, most places would be air-conditioned but their air-conditioning would have no effect on someone who spent years in the winter, even if you are in Bermudas (pants not country). It would be like drinking their watered down beer. Your bladder would erupt before you get tipsy.

Some formal wear would be needed if you intend to visit some swank places but I think most normal restaurants would accept polo T and denim as acceptable dress code. Unless you are those who must wear a three piece suit to go down to the corner shop to buy a paper, then by all means knock yourself out!!

I think Singapore lack a dressing up culture like say Hong Kong.
Darwin certainly is regarded as the tropics, as it has a dry and a wet season. I have 33kg worth of luggage capacity so i guess ill take a bit of everything.

 

[ciadd40]

Originally Posted by johnannemarie

Darwin certainly is regarded as the tropics

 

[Jangofett]

Originally Posted by johnannemarie

Darwin certainly is regarded as the tropics, as it has a dry and a wet season. I have 33kg worth of luggage capacity so i guess ill take a bit of everything.

You are not gonna save some space in your luggage so you can bring back your shopping and casino earnings?

 

[yeeth]

Originally Posted by johnannemarie

So far i will be taking 2 different half canvassed suits (for warmth sake)
are you serious?! just fyi - this is the hottest time of the year for us Singaporeans. 2 or 3 days ago it hit 35.3 Celsius which, combined with the perpetually high humidity, is just insane. Even locals are starting to avoid non air-conditioned places. It's either blazing hot sun or the occasional rain here. You might not even get to wear 1 suit. If you didn't mention "casino" or "fine dining" i'd have told you to pack only tshirts, polos, singlets, shorts and slippers. and yes, bring swimwear for the infinity pool.

 

[Icehawk]

Originally Posted by yeeth

and yes, bring swimwear for the infinity pool.

Because it is SICK

 

[Jangofett]

Originally Posted by Icehawk

Because it is SICK

Er, you dont really fall off the building at the edge you know.

 

[Icehawk]

Originally Posted by Jangofett

Er, you dont really fall off the building at the edge you know.

The optical illusion when you get off the elevator is quite stunning and it looks like people are going to swim right over the side! It's hard to see in the picture but there are two tiers below the pool to allow for water collection & maintenance - you'd be hard pressed to go overboard - I thought you guys would be more interested in this view. On the other side are hot tubs that also have a somewhat similar effect.

Best hotel I've ever stayed at and, at the time last summer, pretty reasonable in US dollars. I really miss SG and hope to go back.

 

[johnannemarie]

Originally Posted by yeeth

are you serious?!
just fyi - this is the hottest time of the year for us Singaporeans. 2 or 3 days ago it hit 35.3 Celsius which, combined with the perpetually high humidity, is just insane. Even locals are starting to avoid non air-conditioned places.

It's either blazing hot sun or the occasional rain here. You might not even get to wear 1 suit. If you didn't mention "casino" or "fine dining" i'd have told you to pack only tshirts, polos, singlets, shorts and slippers.

and yes, bring swimwear for the infinity pool.

I'm a bit of a suit "sicko", as I wore one when it was 46.1C in Perth, although I only wanted to wear one whilst dining, theatre etc.

 

[invadernick]

I hope I'm not too late, I'm a local in Singapore too. It's true we don't have a culture for dressing up but I can't help myself from doing so. I usually find it quite comfortable with a cotton jacket and a very light leather one. The leather is great because it protects you from the occasional tropical showers. Because of the warm weather it can get chilly indoors with the air conditioning so a light weight jacket is definitely what I would recommended. I feel naked without a jacket too.

As for restaurants, Pizzeria Mozza in MBS was opened by Mario Batali and is said to have the best pizza in Singapore and at a damn good value too at about 20 SGD. As for local eats try the hawker centres (not the food courts) for the best authentic stuff Maxwell and Lau Pa Sat are some good choices that are located around the town area. You can also find restaurants in Dempsy Hill and Duxton Hill. You'll find a nice cluster of French, Italian or Chinese restaurants there. My personal favorite Chinese place is Lei Garden located in Chjimes which is in the city area as well. (Don't order the fried rice! Try the double boiled soups and bamboo clams if they have those in stock)

I hope you will enjoy your stay!

 

[johnannemarie]

Originally Posted by invadernick

I hope I'm not too late, I'm a local in Singapore too. It's true we don't have a culture for dressing up but I can't help myself from doing so. I usually find it quite comfortable with a cotton jacket and a very light leather one. The leather is great because it protects you from the occasional tropical showers. Because of the warm weather it can get chilly indoors with the air conditioning so a light weight jacket is definitely what I would recommended. I feel naked without a jacket too.

As for restaurants, Pizzeria Mozza in MBS was opened by Mario Batali and is said to have the best pizza in Singapore and at a damn good value too at about 20 SGD. As for local eats try the hawker centres (not the food courts) for the best authentic stuff Maxwell and Lau Pa Sat are some good choices that are located around the town area. You can also find restaurants in Dempsy Hill and Duxton Hill. You'll find a nice cluster of French, Italian or Chinese restaurants there. My personal favorite Chinese place is Lei Garden located in Chjimes which is in the city area as well. (Don't order the fried rice! Try the double boiled soups and bamboo clams if they have those in stock)

I hope you will enjoy your stay!
thankyou for your informative post, we have booked mozza in for pre-theatre menu!!