See & Do
West Coast
While Singapore’s West Coast is dominated by its port activities, it has a wide variety of interesting spots, from the expatriate enclaves and landed houses of Holland Village and Sixth Avenue, to the scenic stretch of Pasir Panjang and Jurong. While listed as an outer island, Sentosa is also part of this area, making the West the best area for family attractions. With the National University of Singapore campus and the ever-growing Science Park nearby, the West is also a centre of learning in Singapore.
Residential
Reflections at Bukit Chandu in Pasir Panjang (6375 2519) is worth a visit if you’re interested in military history. It is built in memory of the 1,400 soldiers of the Malay regiment who fought 13,000 Japanese soldiers in World War II. Out in the Choa Chu Kang area are a number of farms where you can often spend a pleasant morning strolling around and maybe buy an ornamental fish, an exotic bird, hydroponic veggies, orchids or even a couple of frogs. Do make time to visit Jurong BirdPark, it’s truly beautiful and Mount Faber Park will also give you a great panoramic of the island, as well as a great spot to dine and have a few drinks.
For something a little different, although not for the squeamish, take a visit to Haw Par Villa, an Asian mythology theme park. For some history and some cutting edge technology and fun, head to teh Singapore Discovery Centre or the Singapore Science Centre.
Residential
From Holland Village to Sixth Avenue to Pasir Panjang, the mid-West is extremely popular with expatriates, and as such attracts more adventurous dining and cafe concepts. These areas feature more tree-lined streets of landed properties or two-storey terrace houses than elsewhere on the island. You’ll find more alfresco dining, magazine stores, wine bars and organic food outlets here than in the rest of the island too. A generous mix of HDB apartments gives the area a nice mixed feel despite some of the land values.
Retail
Holland Village is the current centre of retail for the west, specialising in arts, crafts, clothing and electronics. The next largest malls are towards Queensway, where the hugely popular IKEA store lives, and then further out to Jurong. The new VivoCity opposite Sentosa, which opened near the end of 2006, is now the largest mall in Singapore and has boosted shopping in the West considerably.
Places of Interest
While National University of Singapore isn’t the world’s prettiest university, it does have good sports facilities and three small art museums on campus that are well worth exploring. West Coast Park next to Pasir Panjang Wharf is great for space to throw a frisbee in, while the isolated houses of Portsdown and Woking Road are a fascinating look at life in the 1930s. Right next to the railway line, they were army barracks back in the days of hushed neighbourhoods surrounded by trees and colourful parrots. As the Science Park spreads, this lovely area isn’t likely to be here forever.
Reflections at Bukit Chandu in Pasir Panjang (6375 2519) is worth a visit if you’re interested in military history. It is built in memory of the 1,400 soldiers of the Malay regiment who fought 13,000 Japanese soldiers in World War II. Out in the Choa Chu Kang area are a number of farms where you can often spend a pleasant morning strolling around and maybe buy an ornamental fish, an exotic bird, hydroponic veggies, orchids or even a couple of frogs. Do make time to visit Jurong BirdPark, it’s truly beautiful and Mount Faber Park will also give you a great panoramic of the island, as well as a great spot to dine and have a few drinks.
For something a little different, although not for the squeamish, take a visit to Haw Par Villa, an Asian mythology theme park. For some history and some cutting edge technology and fun, head to teh Singapore Discovery Centre or the Singapore Science Centre.
