After the little road trip covering Ipoh and Penang, I headed to the metropolitan capital of South East Asia, Singapore. This vibrant country is only 273 square miles in size, with its history starting from around the 14th century, when a Sumatran Prince spotted a beast when landing on the island. The name therefore came from the Malay words “Singa” meaning lion and “pura” meaning city.
This island city has had a complicated and eventful history from British colonization (1819-1942) to Japanese occupation (1942-1945) and straits settlements, before being part of Malaysia (1963-1965) and finally the Republic of Singapore in 1965. This gives the country a sense of multiple identities and makes it a really unique place to visit. Each neighborhood is distinctively special and each with its history, customs and culture. Singapore is now one of the leading Asian countries and part of this success is down to the Singaporean identity. It was a real pleasure to explore Singapore and really get to understand the different cultures and ways of life! Here is a two day itinerary packed filled with exactly what I did in Singapore. It is a busy schedule but well worth the effort.
Start your time in Singapore with walk along Marina Bay. Take the subway to Bayfront and head towards to waterfront to get a nice water view of the city, while having the towers of Marina Bay Sands behind you. The building is indeed very impressive and is an icon of Singapore. For those who enjoy a nice night view, come back during the night and head to the Ce La Vi bar for incredible city views.
From Marina Bay Sands, there is an elevated walkway at the back that takes you directly to the massive gardens of Singapore, Gardens by the Bay. This is a 101 hectare natural park, with three large water front gardens. The first thing you see are the avatar like structures near the entrance.
There was an initial competition held for the design of this park, with more than 70 entries from 170 firms from 24 different countries! This is the country’s national park and has over 8.8 million visitors annually, not bad considering the cost of construction was over a billion dollars. These avatar displays are the Supertree Groves, which actually houses unique plants. You can take the elevator up to the walk way and marvel at the views of the rest of the garden.
The most popular area to visit is the Bay South Garden which houses the flower dome and cloud forest. The flower dome features plants from semi-arid tropical regions such as Australia, South America and South Africa and also the Mediterranean. It is really impressive to see so many different plants and trees all in this one area. A real change from the hectic city life.
On immediate entrance to this dome, you will notice the hugely popular waterfall. The cloud mountain has a 35 meter waterfall, allowing for a refreshing atmosphere. You can catch a lift to the top before meandering around the walkways and checking out more plants and tress.
After a nice gentle stroll around the gardens of Singapore, it is time to take in some of the impressive skylines and buildings of the city. View Point at the Pinnacale by Duxton is the perfect place for this. This residential building block has a viewing platform at the top of the skyscraper that is open to the public. The small fee is well worth it as it gives you the best views of Singapore. It is so nice to be so high up and seeing the rest of the city! The best thing is that the walkway surrounds the whole building, giving a 360 degree view.
By now, you will be craving for some food after all that walking in the sun. Nearby and a short walk away is Chinatown, where you can stop at Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle. This is the famous hawker stall that has gained the mighty accolade of a Michelin Star! The queues might be long but you will never get such quality at such good prices.
Around the corner is one of the best Chinese dessert shops in town. Mei Heong Yuen Dessert serves up some customary Asian sweet soups and puddings. Pop in after your feasty rice dish and have a nice bowl of almond soup. The interiors are quite rustic and gives an old school Chinese vibe!
After lunch, spend some time exploring this area of Singapore, where there are low buildings lining the streets with these antique and classic looking window shutters. Or check out the shops and windows under the arches of these buildings, you might find a cute coffee shop or even some old men selling second hand goods in an alleyway.
This is a small hill in the corner near Chinatown named after Chia Ann Siang, a wealthy businessman. Historically, early Chinese immigrants used to visit this area they called Qing Shan Ting, to send money home to their families, since all the remittance shops were located here. Letter writers and calligraphers also set up shop here so senders can also include letters to be sent home. Now this is the place in Singapore with all the hip bars and cafes and nicely decorated buildings. It is always impressive when an area manages to keep its original heritage and styles, while merging with modern shops and restaurants.
Stand at this temple and imagine that in the 19th century, this was were the beach and sea front was. This temple has stayed still with cool bars and restaurants popping up around the area. The temple was built in 1839 by the Hokkien community and is currently the oldest Chinese temple in Singapore. Early Chinese immigrants came here to thank the Goddess of the Sea, Mazu, for their safe arrival through the South China Sea. An interesting architectural fact about this beautiful temple is that not a single nail was used for its original construction!
With a day job in the city, I was interested to see what the commerical centre of Singapore was like. I have heard so many great things about the financial hub here and was interested in seeing the center of it. Much like Hong Kong, this area was closely compact with tall buildings and busy roads. It is all really close to the rest of the attractions and in no time, you will have made it to the waterfront again and catching the great sight of the Marina Bay Sands, this time from the other side of the water. A short walk along the river and and you will see the iconic Merlion of Singapore. This is a highly touristy place, so be quick to catch the perfect photo moments!
At the back of the hotel is a cute little bridge and on the other side of it you will see an old man selling ice cream. What so special about this is that it is ice cream blocks wedged between two bits of bread or crackers. This is quite a Singapore specialty and you have to definitely try the ice cream bread!
The rest of this area includes the Asian Civilization Museum and the Victoria Theater, all very worth checking out for their architecture. These grand buildings all seem like something from Vienna!
By now, you will probably be a bit tired but for those who’s time in Singapore is short, it is well worth continuing the walk to Fort Canning Park. This historical landmark is known to Malays as hill Bukit Larangan (Forbidden Hill) as it is believed that this is where the Kings of Singapore were buried (14th century) and the place is haunted! Later on, a fort was built and acted with a military role with barracks, hospitals and arms stores built. But it was soon realized that the fort was not very effective against boats coming towards Singapore as enemies were able to destroy the town while being out of range from the fort’s guns and cannons! Now the fort has a reservoir and is a beautiful green park.
The final stop before dinner is at the nearby National Museum of Singapore. The main purpose of this visit is to head to the top floor for a panoramic view of the city! I didn’t get a chance to see any of the exhibitions as it has been such a long day but I have heard good things about how the museum looks to inspire stories of the country.
At the end of this long day, it is time to find a nice spot for some food! Orchid Road is the shopping district of Singapore and is literally lined with shopping mall after shopping mall. By this time, you would be way too tired to shop, so just head on over to Din Tai Fung for some amazing xiao long baos, chicken soups and savior the Taiwanese flavours!
Fitting everything to see in Singapore in 2 full days is a real challenge and after a good night’s sleep I wanted to start the day with a visit to one of the most relaxed areas in town, Tiong Bahru. This was probably my favorite neighborhood and is filled with charming art deco shophouses, quaint residential estates and cute little shops and restaurants. I felt completely transported out of Singapore into a super laid back and relaxed town!
Get your coffee fix at 40 hands before crossing the road to the best bookstore I have ever been to. Books Actually has to be run by the neatest people in the world. Every single book is perfectly stacked to perfection and it was like all the shopkeepers had a minor compulsive nature to make sure everything was neat and tidy. The results were a clean and stunning store with the most intriguing books. There were lots of books about Singapore and its identity too, well worth spending some time at this place.
After my recent visit to Ipoh and Penang, I experienced the incredible street art culture of South East Asia. At Tiong Bahru, there are a few art murals dotted around the inner streets, plastered in great colours against the plain white walls. Artist Yip Yew Chong grew up in the area and his artwork are heritage themed murals that commemorates the local area. It took him a long while to get local council approval but the results are stunning!
After meandering around the plain walls and alleyways, head back into town for lunch. One of my favorite dishes in Singapore was Bak Kut Teh, a Chinese pork rib soup that is cooked over time with lots of herbs. The literal translation from Hokkien is ‘meat bone tea‘, so expect lots of bony chunks of meat and lots of herbs. It is a perfect soup with a few side dishes and the Singaporean version has lots of white pepper, making it a unique one to the Malaysian version! The best place for this is at Ng Ah Sio Pork Rib Soup Eating House, a place famous for rejecting the former Hong Kong Chief Executive because it had reached closing time!
Next stop is the beautiful Masjid Sultan, originally built in 1824 for the first Sultan of Singapore. It has impressive golden domes and is a peaceful place to visit. I was lucky to have visited while a wedding was going on. All the staff were really friendly and accommodating to visitors too!
Around the corner from here is the famous shopping street, Haji Lane! This is probably one of Singapore’s more well known streets for shopping, coffee and photos. A narrow street filled with cool shops, cute cafes and unique designs. There were so many photos opportunities and lots of great shops to pop into.
By mid afternoon, you will be craving for a nice drink or a place to just relax. There isn’t a better place than Atlas Bar, a Great Gatsby-esque bar with rich designs and bold colours. The cocktails and drinks menu looked impressive and their approach to gin is something out of the books of London. This art deco decorated bar is a fantastic afternoon pit stop. Perfect for people watching and sitting back and relaxing from the afternoon heat.
The penultimate stop before dinner is at Chijmes, a historical complex in the heart of Singapore which was originally a Catholic Covenant and was founded in 1852. You can still check out the grand looking hall or pop into the courtyard and have a have look at the old school interiors. I really like how they have kept this original style and integrated it with modern restaurants and shops. Reminding me of my time in Sofia.
The final stop of the day is at Little India, where you can find incredible food and really colorful buildings. Coming out of the subway was like being transported into a different part of the world. The whole scene just changed and everything was so different to before the subway. The buildings are still low flying but with lots of art and colour. There is a certain buzz about this place with the roadside stalls and restaurants and vibrant setting!
Head over to Jumbo at Dempsey Hill for your final dinner in Singapore and taste one of the most iconic Singaporean dishes, chili crab! I can’t remember what the weight of my crab was, but it was massive! It was so filling and the sauce was delicious, incredible and not too spicy! Everything went down well with the greens and it was a great meal to remember.
The perfect spot to relax after dinner was at PS Cafe just round the corner. I first head about this place in the book Crazy Rich Asian (it is a book about crazy rich Asians- literally). The place is set with a nice garden with delicious wines and a nice evening ambiance. Shame I didn’t get to try the food but a perfect place to wind down after an intense two days!
Singapore has been incredible. This two day itinerary was intense and not for those looking for a chilled holiday. It certainly was a lot of walking for me, but well worth it. I got to see so much in such a short period of time. Each neighborhood is completely different to each other, a bit like a country with a personality issue. The people are lovely and the food great. Definitely a highly recommended place to stop by in South East Asia.
Also published on Medium.
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