A constantly evolving place. Every time I visit this city I realize that it has changed. It changes very fast. It is a city that I love to visit, and I am lucky to go there quite frequently. It offers so much and is constantly reinventing itself. It is always growing upwards. You can enjoy the new experiences that have been created. But at the same time you can enjoy the flavour of the past, the heritage that is very well preserved in many areas of the city.
There is a big contrast between modernity and traditions that live all together in this City. The Chinese, the Malay, the Indonesian, the Indian and the Arab all live here together. The city has different corners you can visit and feel these cultures and their flavours, which are very well represented in their restaurants and in their shops.
In the Arab area you can visit a Mosque and can eat Arabic food and buy Arabic clothes. In the Chinese area there is a large China Town, full of shops, restaurants, bed and breakfast, massage parlours, Chinese pharmacies, taylors and a big Chinese temple. There is a big Indian Hindu Temple. It really is a multicultural city.
If you love to explore different cuisines this is the place where you can try an enormous variety of them. A nice option is to get a cooking class so as to be introduced to local food and the ingredients for its preparation. I have had many courses around the world and it is always interesting to taste the real flavour of the local food, which is generally different outside its country of origin. These courses are generally well organized and guided by experienced chefs. In Singapore you will learn how to prepare local dishes, like coconut noodle soup, the famous Singapore Chilli Crab, Laksa and some local sweets.
Singapore is famous for its teas. It was once the main trading hub for tea leaves in the region. Its diverse cultures, traditions, identities and beliefs have helped the local tea business to succeed, thanks to the country’s love for tea.
There are interesting tea tours that will give you a deeper understanding of Singapore’s rich tea origins through different cups of tea. You get real a real understanding of the entire tea making process from leaf to cup.
My favorite tea shop is TWG Tea, a fantastic place where you can try and buy dozens of different varieties of tea and enjoy great cakes and also savoury dishes. A luxury treat.
The best way to see all of the city is by taking a hop-on hop-off bus, which takes you to all the must-see places in the city. This way you see the most important sites and have a commentary on the places and their history. You can alight at the places that interest you most and save money on getting around. Check prices and which bus has a stop near to your hotel.
Taxis are a little complicated. Different coloured taxis have different prices. Look at the price on the door of the taxi. The taxi rates vary quite a lot. During the morning and evening rush hour they are more expensive, since there is road pricing. The middle of the day and the evening is cheaper. Best time to leave your hotel is around 10 in the morning. The taxi to the airport is quite expensive and costs more than double what it costs to go to the zoo which is much further.
Shopping in the historic part of Singapore
Visit China Town with its lively streets full of souvenir shops selling Chinese and Malay products, lots of restaurants and fruit shops where you can try the terribly smelly, but lovely, durian fruit. By the way hotels don’t allow you to take Durian to the rooms. Try mangosteen, which is a fruit with a black skin. Inside the fruit is white and tasty and is one of my favorites, together with the rambutan, which you must to try during your stay.
What are very nice to buy in China Town, and we did with my niece, are Chinese Kimonos. They are very beautiful. There is a shop on Temple Street, one block from the Indian Temple. He is a taylor and has a big variety and very good priced Chinese Kimonos. There is also a shop that sells fantastic tassels in lots of colours and shapes. You can put them on doors or bags or wherever you like. There are also beautiful and decorative Chinese paint brushes.
There are shops that sell reproduction antiques, which although they are not genuine are very decorative pieces. For instance, nice jade necklaces. There is a market that is open until late.
You will find very nice silk lamps. During the years I have been buying beautiful ones around the world. The Vietnamese silk lamps are beautiful and decorative. I found many beautiful shops full of them in Hoi An in Vietnam. You can find a lot of them in the market. They are also very nice in white. I have about 10 in different shapes in the corridor of my house and a whole ceiling of coloured ones in the living room. During my stay in the Nam Hai hotel in Hoi Ann I took a lesson in how to make them and I made several of these lamps. It was a lot of fun. Also, in this fantastic hotel they have classes of embroidery of straw Vietnamese hats.
Look for the very nice silky or linen embroidered underwear bags that make great presents for friends or as bags to put presents in them.
There is a little shop with very nice dresses for small children that are not expensive in Pagoda Street and also in the other roads around China Town. Look for the Chinese jade pendants and nice straw bags. There is a Tin-tin shop, with memorabilia of all of his adventures.
Visit the shop of my friend Sheeron, in Pagoda Street PS 18, who makes beautiful jade pieces into necklaces, using colourful cords. She makes a lot of things for me: all kinds of necklaces and bracelets with different materials that I take to her. When I arrive in Singapore the first thing I do is to go and visit her with the pieces that I want made into necklaces and bracelets. She finishes, exhausted, by the time I leave a few days later.
Years ago, on our way to Bali, we stopped 2 days in Singapore and planned to stay 2 days on the way back. I took her a lot of things to do and left for Bali, where we had planned to have 2 weeks of vacation: one in Seminyak and one in Ubud. The first week we had a fantastic stay in the Legian Hotel in Seminyak, that we really enjoyed, although the beach is not the type I like particularly. The town has very good shopping and is a place for young people. It started as hippy place and keeps this atmosphere.
We went by car to Ubud that I really liked and installed ourselves in the Four Seasons, an incredible structure on different levels in the forest. The only problem is that it is very difficult to move around if you have mobility problems. No lifts and lots of stairs. We arrived in our room and had not even unpacked the luggage when my husband received a call saying that due to a serious problem in the company he works for he had to go to Houston in Texas immediately.
Well, from Ubud to Houston is a long way and it is not that easy to get from one to the other on short notice. Anyway, we got on a plane to Seoul and then to Houston, via Dallas. Husbanito promised me that I would have my second week of vacation in Ubud, which we did later on in the year. In any case after we finished in Houston, rather than flying straight back to Europe we went the long way around the world, since I had to collect a piece of luggage and my necklaces and bracelets in Singapore. So we stayed 2 days in Seoul and a day in Singapore on the way back. A long journey, but I was able to recover all of my belongings!
You should visit the Hindu Temple and the Chinese Temple.
Visit the Arabic and Indian areas of the city. Arab Street is full of fabric shops, haberdasheries, boutiques, a shop that sells Malaysian clothes, others that have inexpensive pashmina shawls, which are obviously not precious ones. Those ones you can find in any of the Pashmina shops around the city. The pure cashmere and cashmere and silk are very good. They come in many colours. There are different models of good quality and reasonably priced sweaters, scarves and ponchos. There is also a shop in Changi airport.
Crossing Arab Street is North Bridge Road, visit the mosque, and maybe go to one of the many restaurants in the area. At the back of the mosque there is a very nice pedestrian street full of interesting shops. Last time, with my niece, we found some very nice dresses and camisoles, Camille style, but at reasonable prices.
Running parallel with Arab street is Haji Lane, where you will find very nice bars and restaurants, boutiques with lots of interesting things to buy. You can sit to eat and drink something. It is nice in the late afternoon.
When you finish of walking around the area you can have a nice food massage in the Green Apple, 765 North Bridge Road. An hour for approximately 40 US dollars. The place is clean, with very comfortable chairs and a big cinema screen where you can watch a movie. It opens at midday. All of this area is very interesting and varied.
The houses in this area are very traditional and colourful and kept in good condition.
Shopping the new part of the city
Another interesting place to visit is Orchard Road, where you can certainly shop until you drop. There are all the well-known and less well-known luxury brands. There are also the other brands that you know and love. The variety is infinite, and prices are generally good, especially during the sales. Save some money for when you visit this part of town, I am sure you will find nice things to take back home.
See also my comments on the Marina Bay Sands shopping mall a little further on. More great shopping!
Hotels
Another treat is to have a delicious high tea in the historic Raffles hotel (with prior reservation). It offers a good opportunity to visit the shops in the galleries of the hotel, which are great to look at, if a trifle expensive. You can have a light lunch in the Courtyard, which offers tempting light dishes and where you can try the famous Raffles drink, the Singapore Sling.
Maybe you are tempted to buy something nice that will remind you of your visit to Singapore when you are back home. There is a big variety of products at many different prices. The hotel and the galleries have been recently refurbished and if you can afford to stay there, it is a fantastic taste of colonial Singapore. It is the most historic hotel in the city. If you don’t want to stay there you can also go there for dinner (prior reservation necessary) or have a snack on one of the many restaurants and bars.
Singapore offers many hotels of all prices.
The Mandarin Oriental, with its pool that has a fantastic view of the bay and the best service you can expect from a hotel. It is one of my favorite hotel chains in the world.
Marina Sands, with a pool on the top, where you can swim with a great Singapore view or have a drink or dinner with Singapore at your feet.
Parkroyal collection (formerly the Marina Mandarin) is a large, well-located hotel. The pool and many of the rooms have recently been refurbished and there are plans to update the interior of the hotel, which is showing its age. There are a number of good restaurants in the hotel. The main restaurant, which has an excellent buffet, is spoilt by its horrible decoration.
Then there are all the chains and types of hotels and boutique hotels you will need. Just look in the internet and find what suits your pocket and taste.
Museums
Another must do is a visit to the National Museum of Singapore, the oldest museum of the city, dating back to 1849. It was built in Neo-Palladian Renaissance style and was started as a section of a library, known as The Raffles Library and Museum. It moved a few times until in 1887 it ended up in its current location, at 93 Stamford Road. The museum is fascinating and explains well the history of Singapore from its founding, through the Japanese occupation in the second world war, to the current day. There is a very interesting collection of old pictures of the city when it was founded and a fantastic collection of prints from William Farquhar’s drawings of Flora and Fauna. Last time I was in Singapore I wanted to take my niece to visit the museum, but it was closed for refurbishment. It has been refurbished several times since it was opened.
Other museums worth visiting are: the Asian Civilizations Museum at the Empress Place; the Peranakan Museum in the former Tao Nan School; and the Singapore Art Museum in Queen Street.
Singapore has same great places to visit for both fauna and flora.
Singapore Botanical Garden
I love this garden: the vegetation is luxurious, there is a big variety of tropical trees, plants and flowers and then there are the famous orchids, which come in all the possible colours and sizes. Last time I was there which was in February 2020 the orchids were beautiful. I wanted my niece to enjoy this jewel of nature at its best.
The Botanical Garden was founded in 1859 by an Agri-Horticultural society in the English Landscape Movement’s style. Although the first idea of a Botanical garden in Singapore was during 1822 when Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore and a naturalist, developed the first botanical and experimental garden at Fort Canning. In 1874 the garden was handed over to the British Colonial Government.
In the beginning the garden played a very important role in fostering agricultural development in Singapore and in the region. One of the first and most important successes was the introduction of experimentation of Para Rubber, Hevea Brasiliensis, which became a major crop that brought prosperity in the early 20th century to the South East Asian region. From 1928 the Gardens started breeding and hybridising orchids. The hybridisation program was facilitated by the then new in-vitro techniques pioneered in its laboratories.
The gardens have a very important place in the history of the city and the region during their 150 years of existence. Today they have an important role today as a leading tropical Botanical Institute.
The garden is on 82 hectares. On 4 July 2015 the Garden was inscribed as a UNESCO Heritage Site. The Garden is the first and only tropical Botanical Garden in UNESCO’S world heritage list and it is the third botanical garden after the Royal Botanical Gardens Kew (London, UK) and Orto Botanico of Padova, Italy.
Orchids. The orchid family (Orchidaceae) is the largest family of flowers in the world. They are 10 per cent of all the species of flowering plants in the world, there are around 20 to 25 thousand of them. Incredible!
A typical flower consists of 3 sepals and 3 petals. The petals are usually the same shape, but one of them is different of the other two. It is called the labellum or lip for pollination. Each of the orchid flowers has an Anther (male) and a Stigma (female).
In Singapore the orchid program entered in a new era when the R E Holttum came to Singapore during 1922 and started the hybridisation program and produced the Garden’s first hybrid in 1929. During 1995 the National Orchid Garden was opened. It was planned as the most extensive permanent exhibition of orchid culture in Asia. It covers 3 hectares.
You can walk through this garden for hours; the nature overwhelms the visitor. The variety of the orchids, the rainbow of colours in their natural environment is a paradise for those who visit the Gardens It is a feast for the eyes and for the soul. Every time I visit it, it amazes me and surprises me and it is as if I am seeing it for the first time. I am a tropical nature lover. I am sure that you will enjoy it like me!
You can also drink and eat something and there is a very nice souvenir shop, with a big selection of local products. Don’t miss it.
Gardens by the Bay
If you like the botanical garden, you will love Gardens by the Bay with its spectacular futuristic architecture, great location and fantastic collection of plants. It is located on the sea front, by Marina Bay and has a good view of the city of Singapore. It has two large domes where you can find many different plants in their natural habitats from all around the world.
My absolute favourite is the amazing Cloud Forest Dome. You enter and you are transported with the imagination to a real rain forest. You can feel the mist on your face from the waterfalls and your eyes can feast on the resplendent green vegetation. You walk along circular pathways up to the top of the building, several meters high, where you have a spectacular view of the sea and the city. It is really breathtaking and when you consider that it is man-made it is something incredible.
Don’t forget to wear very comfortable shoes to go to the park, which covers 101 hectares all together. Of course, you don’t need to visit it all. However, there is a lot to see and if you want to see it all there is some walking to do. It is possible to take a little train from one point to another, for the people that have less walking autonomy.
Last time I was there was in February 2020. I wanted to take my niece to see the Cloud Forest Dome, however it was closed for maintenance the whole week. What a disappointment! We were cheered-up by the Dahlia Festival in the Flower Dome. An incredible exhibition of flowers, one more beautiful than the other. During my previous visit there was an exhibition of orchids, very splendid flowers on display. But I prefer to see them in the old Colonial Botanical Garden of Singapore, where they are in their own habitat, in the midst of luxurious vegetation.
Going back to the Gardens by the Bay in the larger Flower Dome there is an enormous variety of cactuses from desert areas all around the world. There are many rare trees such as the fascinating Baobabs. The design of the dome and temperature and moisture-controlled atmosphere keep these plants healthy and beautiful. Descending from the desert area you pass through the more temperate zone with many plants and trees from the Mediterranean type climates, on your way to the flowers in the lower part of the dome.
Outside of the domes you can walk around the gardens and see different plants. Then you can visit the towers (Supertree Grove) connected together by a high-up walkway (OCBC Skyway). A very futuristic design, that mergers perfectly with the nature. It is possible to go up the towers and walk along the walkway and see the whole garden from a higher level.
It is advisable to go to the gardens as soon as they open in the morning as it will not only be cooler, but you will also avoid the queues. There is a nice shop with a big variety of local souvenirs.
Marina Bay Sands
From the gardens you have a fantastic view of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The building consists of 3 towers which are connected on top by what looks like a boat that unites the 3 of them.
You can walk from the Gardens by the Bay to the Marina Bay Sands building. From the top you have a wonderful view of the city of Singapore and Marina Bay. The best time of the day to do it is just before sunset. You can have drinks in the Cé la Vie bar, whilst waiting for a table in the Cé la Vie restaurant, where the food is very good. Having a drink and a meal here is one of my favourite things to do while I am in Singapore. Also in the building on the ground floor there are other good restaurants. If you are staying in the hotel the view of the city from the infinity pool on the top floor is incredible.
After this it is very worthwhile to visit the Marina Bay Sands shopping mall. Even if you only want to window shop it is a nice place to visit. The shopping mall is on the other side of the road from the hotel, but there is at least one bridge and one tunnel to cross the road. There is a big Casino there, for who loves to gamble.
In the Mall you find all of the luxury brands have a big presence, in particular Louis Vuitton just outside the mall on the bay. There are also a good variety of other shops. The mall has a waterway which you can go around in a boat.
There are many places to eat. My favourite is the TWG tea shop, of which there is more than one in the mall. It is a must for lunch, tea or just a snack. It has one of the best and largest selection of teas in the world. Not only is the variety of teas enormous but they also serve savoury snacks, delicious cakes and sweets. Try a tea ice cream or one of the other tea beverages that they have. Last time we enjoyed very nice tea and sweets with husbanito and my niece. I have been there several times for lunch and always enjoyed it. If you are looking for presents to take back home, then their beautifully packaged tea makes an excellent present for family and friends.
In case you are there in the evening, enjoy the Light & Water Show in the bay in front of the mall. Check at what time it starts. You can sit on the steps and enjoy the show. Last time we arrived there we were not able to see it, since the day before it was suspended because of the corona virus. Lots of people like us were very disappointed. You can also see the show from the other side of the lagoon while dining in one of the various restaurants on the bay along Fullerton Road.
Singapore Zoo
One of my favorite zoos in the world. Every time I return to Singapore I leave time during my stay to make a visit to the beautiful Singapore Zoo. It is easy to reach from the city in a taxi, and surprisingly inexpensive (much less than going to the airport). Before you depart ask what time the morning rush hour finishes and as soon as it does you can go to visit the zoo. Alternatively go during the weekend.
Allow at least 4 hours for your visit: there is a lot to see. Always take with you a light raincoat when you visit Singapore, or better a cape, in case of rain. We encountered a heavy storm during our visit to the zoo, luckily just as we were leaving. You can buy rain gear in the zoo shop if necessary. Also good to take with you mosquito repellent and sun cream, in case you need it. In all of this part of the world it can start raining in minutes and stop minutes later. When it rains it really rains, so you can get very wet very quickly. During one of my trips, walking through Chinatown, it started raining very strongly (cats and dogs as they say) and everywhere got flooded in minutes. I was wearing platform flip-flops. I had difficulty staying upright. In order to avoid slipping and falling I had to walk in such a way that I hurt one of my feet forever. One of the bones in one foot moved out of place and never went back again. I cannot use flip-flops anymore. So, better to use comfortable walking shoes when you travel around.
Going back to the zoo, meander along the beautiful paths in the middle of the tropical forest and vegetation. It is amazing. You get a real feeling for the forest and nature of this area of the world. I love forests. In this park the trees are tall and so green with constant rain to keep them nourished. There are a lot of different varieties of them, many full of flowers, such as Frangipanis with different coloured flowers, orchids and others typical plants from the area. In this environment you will find the animals, almost like in the wild.
This garden has the largest captive colony of orangutans in the world. It is so nice to see them jumping, eating, fighting for their territory and sleeping in their big spaces inside this park. As you can see in the pictures there are lots of species of monkeys in the zoo. There are also lions, tigers, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, the famous Komodo Dragons (giant lizards), gigantic turtles, enormous bats hanging in the trees and others. If you go during the afternoon you can stay for a night Safari (a separate ticket is needed for this).
The zoo was opened on 27 June 1973. The Mandar Zoo has 28 hectares on the margins of the upper Seletar reservoir. You can buy an extra ticket and make a (rather boring) River Safari on the reservoir. The zoo is located In the Singapore ‘s heavily forested central catchment area, which makes the park unique for the visitors and for the animals. There are about 320 species of animals.
The garden has a very nice souvenir shop, lots of nice things for the children and a good selection of food to eat.
In case you are together with somebody that cannot walk too much or is disabled, you can go around with a little train that has stops around the park. Buy a ticket together with the entrance one. There is a senior and a children discounted ticket.
There is a Singapore visitors pass which provides free rides on public transport and discounts for many of the attractions including the zoo. Check in the internet. It is always good before travelling anywhere to go on the internet and check if in the city that you will visit there is a general ticket for visiting all the museums and attractions. You may save some money, especially if you are a group or a family.
Don’t miss the zoo, it is really worth the visit!
Other things to do and visit
If you are interested, you can take a cable car to Sentosa Island. The cable car cabins have glass bottoms so that you can see what you are passing over. When I went on it the cable car stopped half-way and underneath was a cruise ship. Well, I didn’t enjoy this. Maybe it would be something special for somebody else. Husbanito, who is accustomed to mountain cable cars, was very relaxed. I don’t feel safe hanging on a cable high over the sea!
And at that time, maybe 6 or 7 years ago, I didn’t find anything special on the island. Maybe there is today. Check in case there is something you may be interested in. What is interesting for someone is not for someone else. Places also change over time.
If you are a Formula 1 fan you can visit Singapore during the Singapore Grand Prix, although the city is chaotic and it is difficult to get around since the race is held on the streets. The race is held in the evening. There are lots of events organized at the same time, such as concerts.
If you are interested to do a nice trip by car from Singapore in a few hours you can visit Malacca in Malaysia. It is an attractive town, an ex-Portuguese colony. The British preferred to develop Singapore, because of its location. Malacca is a UNESCO site and is very interesting because of the melting cultures. You can also reach it by car from Kuala Lumpur, which we did last year.