My fiancée and I fell in love with Singapore immediately, it’s a fantastic city-state and I’d highly recommend it to anyone to visit. I’m sure our perception was influenced by the fact we were riding the wave of happiness as a result of the fact we had just got engaged, but even if that hadn’t occurred, I think I’d still have fallen in love with Singapore.
Having flown in from the quaint and empty islands on the east coast of Malaysia – Perhentian & Redang – initially it was rather a shock to the system, but the clean and orderly nature of Singapore helped ease the transition from remote islands to major international city.
Modern Singapore came primarily because of the vision of one man, Sir Stamford Raffles. Raffles, who arrived in 1819, quickly saw the potential of the port of Singapore and it didn’t take long for it to swell from around 1,000 inhabitants to tens of thousands within a short few years. Therefore, by the standards of many major cities Singapore is relatively young, and it embraces this tag, positioning itself as a futuristic oasis that encourages multiculturalism and many countries and other cities look to Singapore for inspiration on how they want to transform themselves – the fact that most would find it impossible to re-create the success of Singapore due to historical, geographic & social reasons is a moot point for this article!
The aim of this piece is to share the top 10 recommendations – in no particular order – that I have for anyone with a 2 –3 day visit to Singapore planned. Enjoy.
Marina Bay Sands
We got a room on 47th Floor of the world-famous Marina Bay Sands – a bonus of staying 1 night, pulling out the charm and having a beautiful blonde fiancée was the upgrade we received to allow this – 10 floors from the top floor which is home of the world famous SkyPark. With more than 2,500 rooms the hotel is gigantic.
We arrived in Singapore in the early evening and were rushing to get checked-in and up to the SkyPark in time for sunset, we just about achieved it, as the photo shows!
We both loved the fact that this was the first place we visited in Singapore, it is a massive beacon in the city and helped with directions and getting orientated, it also provides a unique view across Singapore.
Nowadays to be able to access the pool you must be staying in the hotel, and the hotel is expensive, there is no getting away from that. However, it is worth it. If you are on a budget – like we were – I’d suggest doing what we did and spend one night at Marina Bay Sands and then move to another hotel for the remainder of your stay. Not only does it save you money but it also gives you the opportunity of getting into the heart of another part of the city and not getting caught in the trap of just seeing the Marina Bay area of the city.
When at the pool in the evening don’t forget to look off both sides, otherwise you’ll miss the light show at Gardens by the Bay, more on that later.
That evening we enjoyed fantastic food at CÉ LA VI, which is one of 80 restaurants at Marina Bay Sands. It’s on the same level as the SkyPark, allowing us more time to enjoy the spectacular views.
Orchard Road
The hotel we moved to after Marina Bay Sands was the Quincy Hotel, very close to the famous Orchard Road. The hotel was modern and stylish, very different from Mariana Bay Sands but still excellent.
An interesting nuisance of the hotel was the mini-bar and all food was ‘free’. This meant you could have drinks, breakfast, lunch & dinner for no extra charge each day if you wanted.
Orchard Road itself has incredible shopping of offer, regardless of what you are looking for, all brands – from the east to the west – are located near-by and some very cool brands you’ve probably never heard of. The majority of our shopping time on Orchard Road was engagement ring shopping, as I’d proposed with a ‘temporary’ ring earlier in the holiday, but we still had some time to check out other places and enjoy the Orchard Road experience.
Before our shopping extravaganza we had a lovely brunch Toastbox, a stylish little cafe on the walk between our hotel & Orchard Road, with wonderfully soft-boiled eggs and great java.
Raffles
When in Singapore you must have a Singapore Gin Sling in the bar at Raffles. Named after the famous modern founder of Singapore, Sir Stamford Raffles, who was also part of the infamous East India Trading Company.
There is a strange tradition in the bar of throwing used monkey nut shells on the floor, we didn’t realise this was a thing before arriving so were very confused at first by the hundreds, probably thousands, of empty & crushed shells all over the floor. Having said that it was strangely enjoyable just throwing them on floor once our nuts and drinks were provided, I had to consciously remember that it wasn’t acceptable in other restaurants and bars!
Raffles has a great location next to Marina Bay and a reminder of the history of Singapore. So many of the popular spots within Singapore are very modern, Marina Bay Sands opened in 2010, but Raffles is a real throwback to the history of Singapore. Walking through the marble hotel and sitting at the bar it almost felt like we were back in the eighteen or nineteen centuries. It was 1902 a tiger was famously killed in Raffles bar. This is not only a riveting – if sad – story it’s also a reminder of how much Singapore has changed in hundred years, no longer a wild jungle, but a concrete one instead.
Gardens by the Bay
Along with Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay has become synonymous with Singapore, and one of the most photographed sites in the world. However, unlike many other popular attractions – think Mona Lisa in Paris – this wasn’t a disappointment in the flesh.
I was surprised at how large the gardens were and how much attention goes into the surrounding gardens as well as the Supertrees. During our visit, we focused primarily on the Supertree Grove and walked the OCBC Skyway, by daylight. Incredible views of Mariana Bay Sands, the Wheel, the shipping boats and the financial district.
The Flower Dome and Cloud Forest are cooled conservatories which are meant to be excellent to visit, unfortunately we didn’t have time.
Personally, I think we did the right thing to visit the Gardens both in the day and the night, we watched the Lightshow from a view point near Marian Bay Sands. However, be warned the show doesn’t last long, so don’t be late. There are two shows every evening, at 19:45 and 20:45. We caught the 20:45 show and were glad we arrived on time, in 15mins it was finished.
ArtScience Museum
The ArtScience Museum is yet another extremely famous building at the Marian Bay and directly below the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. It is very hard to miss the building given the gigantic lotus flower which is a core component of its architecture. Just visiting the building itself would have been worth it, but we also entered the Future World Exhibition – a permanent exhibition. Its’ extremely child friendly, and as a big kid I definitely enjoyed it. Out of the four key narratives that the exhibition is broken into: Nature, Town, Park & Space, Space was our favorite. I can’t get enough of art you that surrounds you rather than simply being on a 2D canvass.
We visited the Museum after having visited the Gardens by the Bay in the early afternoon and it was a lovely walk between the two attractions, and through massive Marina Bay Sands shopping mall.
Little India
Away from the Bay for at least some of our time, we decided to do a walking tour of Little India, starting from the Little India Arcade. I was very surprised at how much Little India reminded me of being in India. I fully appreciate how stupid this sounds as a standalone statement, so let me offer some more explanation. So many of these ‘Little X’ type places in major cities are either nothing like the real country or worse, are more reflective of a stereotype of that country, however this is not the case with Little India in Singapore. A must of everyone, especially for those who have visited India. I’m a huge lover of India food so I’d highly recommend eating there, at minimum try the kachang puteh (roasted nuts).
Yayoi Kuusama is a very interesting character and the exhibition includes a wide variety of pieces, including paintings, sculpture, environmental installations and collage to keep people of all interests engaged.
The Singapore National Gallery is located very close to Marina Bay so even if the Yayoi Kusama exhibition isn’t on and you have a few hours to spare at the Bay it’s worth a visit, the architecture is beautiful and it’s very cool (temperature wise) compared to outside.
La Pau Sat (Hawker Market) & Chinatown
Singapore, like many places in Asia, is famous for its street food and you can’t travel to Singapore without indulging in a Hawker Market. A Hawker Market is an open-air complex, made up of permanent stalls which offer a huge variety of street food all under one roof.
Whilst, in my experience, almost all Hawker Markets are incredible, in Singapore I’d recommend La Pau Sat. The quality and variety of food was exceptional. We shared 3 large plates between 2 people and spent 16 Singapore Dollars total. We had: Masala Dosa, Roast Duck with Noodles and a Vegetarian Vegetable Thali.
La Pau Sat is located within Chinatown, which given the large number of Singaporeans who are of Chinese descent is a large, busy and authentic place.
Chinatown is a bustling enclave with a colourful mix of old and new, with a huge variety of Chinese items, from jewellery to textile stores and dim sum restaurants.
There are three specific places I’d recommend within Singapore’s Chinatown to look out for:
China Town Complex – The complex sits at the heart of china town, in front of the Buddha Relic Tooth temple and the food is absolutely great, and very reasonable.
Buddha Relic Tooth Temple – Even without the interesting legend behind the name of the temple, the building is spectacular and well worth a visit. For more information on the Relic of the Tooth of Buddha I’d recommend starting here.
Thian Hock Keng – This is the oldest temple in Singapore, was built without the use of a single nail. And who wouldn’t want to discover the wonders of a place called; the Temple of Heavenly Happiness.
While these are a good few places to look out for my biggest tip for China Town in Singapore is simply immersing yourself there for a couple of hours and taking in what takes your fancy in the moment.
Blu Kouzina
I’m sure when most people think of Singapore they don’t think of Greek food, and I almost feel bad for adding a Greek restaurant in my list of top things for Singapore, but there is reasoning in the madness, we loved Blue Kouzina.
Firstly, the Greek food is exceptional. Everything we had was top class, but it anyone visiting you must order their Greek Salad and Humus.
Secondly, it gave us yet another perspective on Singapore. We’d spent all our time in the centre of Singapore until we headed out of the city into Singapore’s posh Singapore suburbs for dinner at Blu Kouzina. The area it’s based in, Dempsey, was formerly British army barracks but now houses a number of restaurants and stores. It gave us the perspective of the Singaporean middle-class, going out for dinner with friends on a Friday night. We had loved Singapore, but this was the first indication that we could actually live here for an extended period rather than just visit on holiday.
Lantern
We visited Lantern for night-time drinks after having eaten at La Pau, they are only a five-minute walk apart, but could not be more different! That’s one of the reasons I love Singapore, very different places are so close together and both quintessential to the city.
Lantern is the rooftop bar on top of the Fullerton Bay Hotel. The bar is named after Clifford Pier’s historical Chinese name of Red Lantern Pier. This pier was the major arrival point for Singapore’s early immigrants and was lit by red lanterns that provided illumination for the shoreward journey along Marina Bay.
Lantern was the perfect place to watch Singapore turn from early to late evening, as the sun goes down the lights come on and the night life of Singapore starts. It has a beautiful view of Mariana Bay Sands.
Lantern has the three key components of a great bar combined excellently; a good atmosphere, lovely music and perfect location, in the heart of the Bay Area. It was very interesting look up at Marina Bay Sands from within Singapore, rather than looking at Singapore from Marina Bay Sands.
Conclusion
Having visited several different Asian cities over the years I was a little hesitant about how much I’d enjoy Singapore, however I shouldn’t have been.
Singapore is an incredibly beautiful, clean and futuristic city, it manages to combine its history with its present and show visitors a great time.
For a city of 5.6m people it still feels small enough to not be overwhelming and so many of the incredible sites are very close together.
One thing I should note, it isn’t cheap. There are always ways to do things cheaper in any city, but personally for the great experience we had we were paying London prices for many things, but as long as you are prepared it is fine. If you are looking for cheaper things, think Little India & Hawker Markets.
I hope these 10 recommendations are useful if you are actively planning a trip to Singapore, and if you hadn’t thought about visiting it before reading this I hope it’s given you some inspiration, and put Singapore on your list for future holidays.
