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Besides finding a way to block Pirate Kings game requests for an eternity, having nowhere to go in Singapore is another perennial first world problem that haunts us to no end.
Planning a group outing is the greatest headache in the Universe, especially with constraints like that one friend being everlastingly broke, or another who will end your friendship if you were brazen enough to expose her to the sun.
I’m sorry if you’re the chosen one to plan these things. The pain is real, guys. Because we empathize, here’s a list of 14 group outing ideas that kick ass so you don’t end up doing something lame.
Gallop Stable (Punggol Ranch) is where you can have your wealthy Bachelorette moment on a horse a la Taylor Swift in Blank Space.
Apart from horseback riding, you can rent one of these ridiculously photogenic Wagons for a staycation!
Price:
Horseriding
One-Time Trial Lesson: $85 (weekdays), $95 (weekends)
Joy Rides: $10 (2-3 mins), $64.20 (30 mins)
Staycation in family room (1 queen-sized bed & 1 single bed)
Weekday: $190/night
Weekend: $230/night
($60 for every extra bed)
If you just want to relax and chill out with your friends, Playnation is the ultimate hangout where you can both play and enjoy free flow of drinks and popcorn. Picking a video and board game at Playnation was an overwhelming experience for me. The selection is so massive that I never even knew some of them existed!
Playnation takes gaming as a very serious affair, featuring specially curated art pieces that transports you into the gaming realm. Every shop is brightly and comfortably lit – unlike LAN shops that are so dark that gamers sometimes fade into oblivion and forget which year they’re in.
Besides day-to-day patronage, Playnation cafes can also hold company retreats, family days, and even wedding proposals for 30 to 1000 people. From production to games, the entire event will be customised for you independently without outsourcing.
Promotions:
We were last there during their happy hours (2pm to 6pm) where you get 4 hours of gaming + free flow drinks for just $10! Customers get to play for free in celebration of the Playnation Monkey’s birthday (14th December) every year. If all the other ideas on this list didn’t appeal to you, this one must! Check out their website for more information.
Address:
In March 2015, they will be moving into a new HQ at 58 Prinsep Street.
For years, I’ve sighted strange ropes in the backyard of my school but never knew what they were. It turns out these high elements make up a Forest Adventure course with 4 sites and 34 obstacles including bridges, trapezes, wobbly logs and a tarzan swing to mould you into a true ninja. If ziplining across the beautiful Bedok Reservoir at sunset doesn’t excite you, I’m not sure what will!
Price: $44 for adults, $42 for students (weekdays only)
Though renovated, Pasir Ris Park remains home to large play areas and fond memories – where children played and scraped their knees before the invention of iPhones and iPads. The legendary Spiderweb alone is enough of a reason to revisit the place, especially when it now has a version that comes with a slide to reward climbers who make it to the peak!
Besides cycling, rollerblading and playing water sports at the park, you can apply for a permit to pitch a tent and camp overnight, gather around the campfire to sing a campfire song.
In the same instant I saw this on Instagram, my mind went “omg what’s this” and my fingers Googled the daylights out of it. At Bubble Bump, your group of friends can play football in giant bubble suits at only $15/hour per person. You’ll look ridiculous but that’s kinda the best part. Have fun knocking each other over!
I love that most of our primary school excursion spots make great attractions without being tourist traps. Catch a film at the Omni-theater in Science Center, watch farmers milk goats at Hay Dairies or buy fresh eggs at the Quail Farm in Farmart Center. You can even spend the day at Haw Par Villa – a theme park about Chinese mythology and folklore dating back to 1937 that’s almost completely forgotten and deserted now.
Price: Omni-Theater: $12/pax
A novel twist to the original game, Kovan Sports Centre offers the option of Water Soccer – playing soccer in an inflatable court with ankle-deep water. Time to lose the soccer boots and have a splashing good time! Speaking of inflatables, also check out the previously featured super-awesome Bossaball – volleyball on an inflatable trampoline.
Price: $110 for adults, $70 for students (weekdays only)
Food in JB is so cheap and good, it’s a problem! Apart from pigging out, activities like movie-watching, paintball, cafe-hopping and karaoke cost a lot less. At City Square Mall, shopping at Watsons and buying cakes from Secret Recipe are way more affordable too. I’m running out of ways to paraphrase “cheap”.
Most importantly, everyone loses 3G connection. Woo! Now friends in a relationship with their phones can finally talk to us when we eat.
Keep your eyes peeled for the next big event so you never miss another adventure! In November 2014, Sentosa hosted the world’s first and largest Adult Playground – home to 22 different rides that’ll make anyone feel like a joyous kid again.
Alternatively, you can pay to run a themed marathon and get splashed with neon paint, or have your guy friends affirm their masculinity with cutesy tattoos at the Hello Kitty Run.
People who weren’t student leaders back in school will only hear of how incredible OBS is – climbing, kayaking, sailing and trekking. Did you know that you can easily organize it for your own group of friends? Definitely not your regular group outing.
If you and your friends are highly outdoorsy, have deep pockets, and have 21 days to spare, sign up for the camp at $540. That’s approximately the amount you’ll spend on a 5-day shopping trip to BKK – except OBS is pretty much the mother of all bonding activities.
Price:
5-day camp on 30/11/15 to 04/12/15 (For 14-17 years old)
$535/pax (Singaporeans) and $749 (PR/Foreigners)
21-day camp on 01/12/15 to 21/12/15 (For 17-35 years old)
$540/pax
Note: This information is not on the OBS website, so you’ll have to e-mail them to find out more!
Always complaining about the MRT crowd in town, right? Take your pick from the deserted and abandoned places in Singapore and explore them with your friends. Take this opportunity to snap tons of photographs before the gahmen tears them down to build yet another shiny mall.
As a nineties kid who existed before Sentosa was cool, class gatherings at ECP was a customary post-exam practice. If you’re willing to forgo air-con for a day, venture out of your fancy restaurants and quaint cafes, and have yourselves an awesome barbecue party! You get to make all the noise you want AND save money. BBQ Pits can be easily booked via AXS machines.
Price: $16 (4 metre pit), $20 (6 metre pit)
Dubbed Singapore’s Wild West, Kranji Countryside is home to a cluster of vegetable and animal farms, aquariums and fisheries. You can take a farm tour, learn how to cook, or dine there! Every quarter, a farmer’s market selling fresh local produce and artisan-made jams and sauces is held over the weekend.
Clearly, whoever said there’s nothing to do in Singapore besides shopping is either looking in all the wrong places or allergic to the sun.
Wild Wild Wet recently introduced “Torpedo”, a new ride that “ejects you from an 18-metre-high capsule right into a heart-stopping free fall, which propels you straight into a manic trajectory of hair raising twist and turns at mind-numbing speed of up to 70km/hr.”
It’s basically something designed to make you wet your pants. I took a similar ride while on holiday in Bali and though I still don’t know why I did it, I can vouch for the thrill level. It’s off the charts.
Prices:
$20 for Off-Peak (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)
$24 for Peak (Saturday, Sunday, Gazetted public & school holidays)
A concrete jungle she may be, some parts of Singapore makes her a real treasure trove for novel adventures so your group outing does not end up in the mall. We may be a tiny city, but you’ll be surprised to discover that not every place is packed and not every activity costs a bomb.
This post was brought to you by Playnation.
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