Bored of parties at restaurants, bars or clubs? Why not shake things up with a wacky venue? Sabrina Lee has the master plan for getting together a memorable get-together

Ship ahoy! St John’s Island
Okay, this is an unlikely place for a party. It was a quarantine site for Chinese immigrants stricken with cholera in 1874, a deportation centre for the Chinese Mafia in the ’50s and a rehab centre for opium addicts. But hey, that was in the past. These days, you’ll find holiday camps, lagoons, public toilets, payphones (yes, they still exist), bungalows… just about everything you need for a campout.



Hook up with 45-year-old Havi Tubagus (the man behind the ship’s wheel), climb onto the Seawind, and you and 14 of your closest friends will be ferried to the island. You will set sail from Marina @ Keppel Bay, past turtle love spot Kusu and on to St John’s; while onboard, you can entertain one another with an acoustic guitar, a game of cards and a dip in the water with a rubber dinghy (all provided). Forty-five minutes later, when you’ve docked at St John’s, you’ll be given the number of the captain and crew who will ferry you back to the mainland. As the island isn’t well lit, plan your party for an early-evening start. You can stay on till 10.30pm and then it’s all aboard!

Where it’s at: Happy Cruises (6463 7463, www.happycruise.com.sg); $1,400 includes four hours boat rental (last pick-up 10.30pm), buffet meal worth $500 and island drop. Alternatively, York Launch (6265 3620, www.yorklaunch.com.sg) ferries leave regularly from the Marina South Pier; $15; children (3-12 years) $12. Set sail from Marina @ Keppel Bay, Keppel Bay Dr (6303 8448, www.marinakeppelbay.com).

TOS recommends: Mosquito repellent, a video camera, seasickness pills, a boom box and CDs like Tom Middleton: The Trip (with various artists), Mellow Out & Acoustic by Cro-Magnon and Guaranteed Niceness by Sonar Kollektiv Orchester.

Viva Las Vegas! Casino Night
Calling all high-rollers: want to experience your very own private casino? You’ve hit the jackpot with Casino Nights Singapore. After just one or two meetings with experienced event planner Stephanie Kite, 41, you’ll have your very own tailor-made version of Monte Carlo’s Le Grand Casino right in your living room.



You’ll be given a sum of ‘fun’ (read: fake) money to exchange for chips, go to a variety of casino-style tables (games include blackjack, baccarat, roulette and poker) and try your luck. If you don’t know how to play the game, don’t worry as there’ll be qualified croupiers to explain the rules of engagement. At the end of the night, your guests will exchange their chips for a surprise gift of your choice/budget and the guest who had a date with Lady Luck will leave with the most expensive gift.

Charges are solely dependent on how many tables you need, how many hours you want the event to last and how bespoke the services are (you may request croupiers who speak English, Mandarin, Malay, and dialects such as Cantonese and Hokkien). An event with three games for under 100 people, with Englishand Mandarin-speaking croupiers, will cost between $2,000 and $3,000. ‘Rather than having the same conversations over and over again, we provide people with pure, harmless fun,’ says Kite of the charm of Casino Nights. ‘We are ready two to three hours before the event, so that when the guests arrive everything is where it should be. Our client has nothing to worry about.’

Where it’s at: Casino Nights Singapore (9834 3044, www.casinonights. com.sg); POsh (9007 0014, www.eposh.net for delicious cakes, cookies, coffee and tea. Prizes, alcohol sold separately.

TOS recommends: Dressing up like Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe to distract your opponents. Find outfits at No 1 Costume Costume (32 Aliwal St; 6333 9440).

Divine intervention: Haw Par Villa
You’ll need to start the party early at Haw Par Villa, Singapore’s Chinese folklore theme park, as it shuts its doors at 7pm. You can choose to frolic in the open-air park or wallow in the Ten Courts of Hell for a dollar. As you’re not allowed to bring food from other establishments, give canteen keeper Sandy Ng a call and she’ll be happy to prepare some tasty nibbles: egg, tuna or ham-and-cheese sandwiches, chicken nuggets, French fries, hot dogs or sushi. The canteen is big enough to hold 100 people so if you’re bringing a small group, there will be ample space. When you’re done eating, go on the prowl for the Tiger Car (made from an actual car owned by the Tiger Balm family, who are also the proud owners of the theme park) in front of the Ten Courts of Hell. Once you spot it, go to the nearby studio, where for $6 each you’ll get to put on ancient Chinese costumes and take pictures (camera not included). Unfortunately alcohol is not sold on-site, so bring your own beer (and just beer). Park manager Lawrence Na strongly advises that you run your concept party by him first before sending out invitations. ‘I discourage intensive activities as this may upset the statues,’ says Na. We wonder if the statues are the only things that might be disturbed.

Where it’s at: Haw Par Villa (6872 2780). Open daily 9am-7pm. $100 for canteen rental and fi nger food for up to ten people; call Sandy Ng (6775 2665). For party planning, call Lawrence Na (6872 2003, 9735 3790).

TOS recommends: For $8.60, learn about your ancestors’ past with a guided tour of the Hua Song Museum. Located inside the theme park, the museum houses pictorial exhibits and multimedia displays, realistic wax replicas of Chinese cuisine and a traditional Chinese kitchen.

Rumble in the jungle: Singapore Zoo


There will be no sleeping in the jungle tonight; go wild and plan your next birthday party at the zoo. You can choose from all-year round indoor venues Forest Lodge (pictured) or the Pavilion-by-the-Lake to have a sitdown meal or stand-up cocktail party. Your family and friends will never forget this night as you make your grand entrance on elephant-back, and after a little curtsy (by the elephant, not you) the festivities begin. The zoo officially closes at 6pm, but that doesn’t mean the party has to end. You can boogie till 11pm or head over to the Night Safari for its ‘Halloween Horror’ special, where you’ll be greeted at the gate by things that go bump in the night. Then you can board the Train of Terror into the ‘Eternal Torture Chambers’ while sipping on specially brewed concoctions like the ‘Bloody Eye Cocktail’. While you’re sinking your teeth into the ‘Scary Sausage Platter’, be careful not to spill anything on your favourite top as a tale of terror gets amplified through the loudspeakers. If you’d rather go on foot, the ‘Bridge of Hell’ at Forest Giants Trail will make this a walk to remember.

Where it’s at: Forest Lodge $35++ per adult; children (ages 3-12) $30++; Pavilion-by-the-Lake $35++ per adult; children (ages 3-12) $25 ++ (6269 3411, www.zoo.com.sg). Prices vary depending on your party; email catering_sales@zoo.com.sg. From 12 Oct-1 Nov: Night Safari’s ‘Halloween Horror’ special $50; children $40 (6360 8643).

TOS recommends: A bib to keep the stains away, a silver dagger, mercury from a thermometer and a wooden stake – just in case you’re attacked by a flesh-ripping werewolf. Just kidding.

Bikini a go-go! East Coast

Skip the stuffy club scene for something more refreshing. Connect with nature as you rent a chalet along the breezy East Coast and cook some seafood over the barbecue. Depending on the size of your posse, make yourself at home at the one- or two-storey villas available. Each villa has an allocated barbecue pit so there’s no choping needed. Go for a stroll along one of their walking trails, or cycle across the beach along a ten-kilometre track overlooking the horizon. Don’t worry about bringing your own bike, inline skates or even rollerskates; for around $10 dollars, you can hire them at any of the many rental shops located along the beach. If the charcoal has been put out and you night birds are still keen to jazz things up, make a quick bike ride down to East Coast Parkway where there are bars like Bernie’s that offer live music and drinks.
Where it’s at: Island resort. For one- or two-storey chalets: sea view $248; garden view $228 (6445 0267, www.islandresort.com.sg). Bernie’s (1000 East Coast Parkway; 6244 4434).

TOS recommends: Create the right mood by lighting your chalet with Tiki Torches, available at $22 each (Home-Fix; Marina Square, 6 Raffles Blvd, 6883 2038). Also purchase a box of fire starters or a bottle of oil at Home-Fix or Carrefour (6333 6868, www.carrefour.com.sg) to make sure you’ve got enough fuel for the fire.