How does Singapore’s nightlife stand up to the rest of the world’s?

Question

Having lived and travelled all over the world, I have witnessed first-hand the different types of nightlife each country has to offer. With Singapore putting itself on the map as a nightlife capital with exciting new initiatives such as St James Power Station and The Cannery, I want to know how you think we measure up to the rest of the world.

Answer 1

1. Singapore is too small... Only 4 mil people living here. NY 10 mil, Paris 10 mil, London 10 mil , Tokio 10 mil? There s crowd for it there, not here.

2. Creativity : There s no music and trends creativity in singapore, we just follow with sometimes few years delay from the major cities in the world... I think singapore is at the stage of followers. It is not like those kind of cities who can create trends and fashion. There's no real scene in Singapore. Not even asia wide (Tokio) and not globally (NY,Paris,London).

From these 2 comments i think Singapore will remain as a nice and enjoyable city but never a leading city in terms of partying.
Singapore is often compared as the switzerland of Asia, why coz it s safe and rich. Switzerland has never been a party place...
I guess we should leave this to big cities like Shangai, Tokyo, Bangkok in Asia.
I would add a comment, Singapore by being so safe and also so protective to its citizens, it kills what can initiate creativity. Personnaly i don't mind as i lived long enough in places not as safe and now i feel good here :)

Answer 2

Singapore Nightlife Red Light

Answer 3

Nightlife. It is a very generic term. Does not necessary means the clubbing scene. In fact, i happen to find Singapore's nightlife moving very much ahead than most countries. Nightlife could mean anything that happens in the night. Take a few colourful e.g. Newton, the hussling and bussling of crowd. Midnite movie, ppl gathering outside, say cineleisure, lining up for popcorn etc. Mr bean at Selegie rd. Ardent fans crowd the 24hr joint. Even at amk central, S-11 still commands a crowd, with up to 5 buzzers clearing plates and cutleries. Of course with the addition of St James and the Cannery, the nightlife in Singapore just got heated up a notch. Not only do we measure up, it seemed that size does matter, super clubs, hypermarkets, with NTUC trying to get a share of the hypermarket pie. Singapore is forever changing, maybe that is the strength Singapore has, the differentiation. One closes, another one springs up. We never keep trying. We just keep fine tuning.

Answer 4

I was taken back that many responses assume that 'nightlife' is plainly restricted to clubbing. If you think clubbing is all there is to nightlife, then I must say ... GET A LIFE! Having been living in and out of Singapore regularly, I still find Singapore one of the best night spots in the world. In terms of finding food, a quiet place to hang out with your friends other than your home, or catching some entertainment, Singapore definitely ranks somewhere high up. Of course we can't match up with the mega-cities of the world like LA and New York, where their basic populations are probably twice, if not thrice of Singapore's. I think a lot of people are frogs in the well here, especially since they haven't really travelled, and are passing judgement from what they have seen or read off the internet, TV and magazines. These mediums only emphasise the glamourous parts of life outside the world, but what they fail to include are the ugly ones. Often times, the ugly sides far outweigh the good, and a lot of Singaporeans don't get to see those until they actually step out of the country to see for themselves that some things are not as beautiful or cool as they previously thought. For your information, I am now in Australia, and we have the smoking ban too if that so pleases you. In fact, Australia is even more stringent on certain laws than Sinagpore (save capital punishment :P), so I don't understand the big hooha over restrictions back home. Having stayed away from home so long, I was almost as foreign as a tourist when I went home the last time. And what I discovered was that there were attractions that I never bothered to explore, thinking that they'll always be there. I guess I took them for granted having stayed in Singapore for the past 21 years of my life. However, when I did visit or revisited some of these places, I was actually impressed.Our zoo, underwater world...etc are actually way better than the ones here at the Cold Coast, and we don't pay crappy dollars for the sights back in Singapore for crappy facilities and services. Ever visited a zoo with 6 crocodiles and 2 alligators??? That's the Steve Irvin Australian Zoo. You could have seen WAAY more at our Crocodile Farm. I must admit there are aspects of Singapore that loses out and needs improvement, but definitely not the clubbing scene. I have seen far too many drunkard nuisances here in Aus who drink Thursdays-Sundays. You probably find more vomit than pick-ups along the clubs and streets. And in Australia and America, many places are out of reach without a car, and there are areas that taxis will refuse to take you if you are too far out into the suburbs. Oh yes, and try paying fares like $10-15 for traveling distances like from Clementi to Holland V. In Singapore, taxis at night are no problem, and even with the midnight charges. I think it's all these little things that contributes to nightlife, making life almost no difference and just as convenient as during the day.

Answer 5

I have been to many night entertaining establisments from young till now, but so far, i can only say that most of the so called hot spot do not last long enough compare to many others in neighbouring countries. The only reason that i could tot of is that the changes and upkeeping of those establisment in singapore was not as good as to last, in fact, given a period of time, the once popular hangouts fade off totally or took over in popularity by another and eventually the ball keep passing out until it became so unpopular and much lesser crowd were seen. there was never a lack of local supporters on almost all night places but it doesn't seem to be exciting enough to attract foreigners to return. Compare to places like.........take for example Pattaya in Thailand(a sub urban night life) was all the years, popular to foreigners who travels there to hang out, of cos some may say that the place is more than just night entertainment, a lot more hidden agenda is undisclose, but jus imagine the years of stable income contributed from minority locals and majority foreigners had been so successful that the number of locals who depends it for a living had never been disappointed even after the threats of Asian Tsunami. I am not saying that night life in singapore should follow exactly the same style of that Pattaya, but don't you think that our local night life should always come out new ideals every now and then that will excite and attract all walks of people especially foreigners to return back for more expenditure? So that the legend will continue and not die halfway. I believe that in this night life, it should be more 'in' and continuously updated at a more faster pace compare to other industries so that people who hang out there will feel more enjoyable and thus return more often. Not jus simply music, drinks, some with pool tables and probably some with pole dancing...................That practically almost describe all for night life.

Answer 6

Monotonous, lacking in variety would be my main complaints. Sure there are the zouks, the canneries and the powerhouses that seem to come and go every few years, but besides clubbing, we have nothing much left to do. Just watching discovery channel tells you a little bit of how other countries keep their citizens entertained; 24 hr cafes, hangouts, game centers, outdoor activities are just some of what others get to enjoy. For us, due to our very small and competitive population, our schedules are just not flexible enough for these businesses to be sustainable.
So back to your question about the nightlife in singapore; i would give it a 6. Zouk will still be my favourite hangout, the rest are just fads, coming and going like pretenders on stage.

Answer 7

Too old to party now. Busy making more money to buy my next Lambo or Ferrari to add to my collection, but I can tell you this: Growing up with Zouk, Fire and all the limited clubs at that time like Xanadu and HRC, Singapore has definitely come along ways. At one point time, we would have dropped to our knees if we had heard MOS was coming to town. Last time I went back to Spore with my wife, I was shocked, in complete disbelief as to how much Singapore's nightlife has transformed. Let's hope no one takes it for granted and Singapore continues to improve the house and party scene. We live in Seattle and the nightlife is nothing compared to Singapore. I am pretty sure New York and Boston's nightlife would be comparable. - 360 CS :)

Answer 8

Wow, such a responce both good and bad but here is my my own thoughts on the matter.

Since moving here i have seen the party goers move one place to another, what every is new works here for a while then it dies off like Boat Quay has from just a a few years ago. now St. James and Clarke Quay are the hot spots but for how long that is the question?

I find the night light here in Singapore pretty good for it's size. you can not in anyway compare Singapore to L.A or the other larger cities in the world, that just isn't fair at all to me. Look at what we have in the numbers of perople that do party in the clubs. The over all numbers are a very small percent of the population. So with that in mind clubs have to redo them selves to make it in the F & B industry. Prices, are not that bad really when you compare to other places like Japan so don't complain about that.

The rules by the government, well what can you say, "Welcome to Singapore". give it time and there may be some changes over time i'm sure but don't hold your breath. But i do have to add that over the past 4 years changes have happen so we can only hope for the best.

Smoking band - I don't know any second hand smokers who need to run in to a club to get a fit, do you?

Our behaivor - if you dont like it don't do it is a matter of choice, stay home and have your party with your up straight friends and watch Disney movies it is ok. Everyone has a right, I think, to live as they want as long as are doing what they want to and not hurting anyone. if some decides to pick up or be picked up it is a personal choice and we have no right to judge others on how they live their lifes.

Singapore has a lot of offer in the way of places to party so there is something for everyone here. Over 1000+ clubs, pubs and Ktv's and lounges for a small place that is alot.

But this is just my opinion, i could be wrong!! (WEC)

Answer 9

It's great that Singapore now has Cafe del Mar, Hed Kandi, MOS, Fashion Bar, St James Powerhouse....but it lacks the vibrancy of other nightlife capitals such as New York, London and Europe. It may bring in these 'big brands' but when you don't have the international DJ cred gracing the decks plus the curtailing of nightlife at 4am, then you don't attain the sort of vibe or experience it should evoke. Hedonistic individuals will testify that it takes the wind out of their sails.

Pete Tong's recent stint at Cafe del Mar was mediocre. It wasn't his best. He has done better ones when I was in the UK and Ibiza. And where are the lesser known underground DJ acts? Zouk seems to be a magnet for them, so why aren't the other clubs roping them in? Singapore clubbers are also to be blamed, opting for mainstream dance music like cheesy mixes of Top 40 hits. I would say the underground dance music scene in SG is niche, and only some can truly appreciate Drum & Bass, Progressive House, Deep House, et al. And even if we brought in these underated acts, would we know how to party hard?

Having a big name club in Singapore like MOS is just a pretty 'shell' on the outside, but what it contains - a mix of people, attitudes, energy, & vibe - is another story altogether.

Lexicon72

Answer 10

I believe a few others have already answered the night scene at clubs. What I would dare say, though many will not be happy to know, is that our nightlife in the red light district is very much 'world class'! No joke ... ask yourself, where else in the world you can find legal brothels and illegal street walkers lining up along the many lorongs of Geylang? It is a sight to behold, attracting many tourists from our neighbours and those from much further overseas alike. Activities go well into the wee hours of the morning. The best thing is, you don't even need to be 'involved' to soak in the atmosphere! Personally, I have not seen anything like this in any other parts of the world ...