The “Lion City”, the city-state of the Republic of Singapore, is an international metropolis that is completely unique. Incredibly cosmopolitan with English, Arab, Malaysian, Indian, and Chinese influences, Singapore packages all of this, adding its own unique and characteristic twist.
As an extremely developed and prosperous country known for its stability and nicknamed the “Switzerland of Asia”, it offers something for everyone.
From fine dining to local hawker centers, its food venues are well known. From modern skyscrapers to immense gardens, its architectural projects are incredible. The beaches of Sentosa, the museums, and the amusement parks The different neighborhoods bustling with nightlife, the highest levels of luxury, and much more will always keep Singapore a city with something yet to offer its visitors.
Bucket List
What to expect
Singapore Info & Stats
- Language: A variety of languages are spoken, including English, Singaporean Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil, as well as the infamous “Singlishor Singapore English, which may be considered a language of its own.
- Timezone: UTC +8
- Political System: Parliamentary republic
- Ethnic Make-up: Chinese 76.7%, Malay 14%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4%
- Religions: Buddhist (Chinese), Muslim (Malays), Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Taoist, Confucianist
- Credit Cards: Credit cards are widely accepted, and if not, ATMs are common around the city.
- Electricity: Socket type G, 240 volt / 50 hertz
- Haggling Culture: Not common
Weather
Singapore is near the equator and is very hot and humid, with an average temperature of 27°C all year round, making it a pain to visit by foot.
There is no distinct wet or dry season, but with its tropical climate, there are frequent rain showers. While during the evening and nights, these temperatures are pleasant, during the day, the sun is unforgiving. On average the temperatures range from 22 to 34 °C.
Money
The currency is the Singaporean Dollar (SGD).
The real-time exchange rate from US dollars is: 1 SGD
Credit cards are widely accepted, and ATMs are commonly distributed around the city.
Prices: Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in the world, and unless you are specifically searching for a famous or trendy restaurant and instead would like to remain on a budget, visit the hawker centers for inexpensive meals. This will also connect you more with the local environment.
Tipping: Singapore is one of those normal places where owners don’t abuse the system and pay full wages to their employees. As such, tipping is not expected
Getting around
Use the MRT. As much as I love to move in cities almost exclusively on foot, I was amazed by the metro system. There are no passes required or tickets to buy, and all you need is a credit card to pass directly for the low cost of S$0.10.
The Grab app is very common and is the equivalent of Lyft and Uber. It takes quite some time for drivers to arrive and often they refuse the call, given the high demand for them
The same thing goes for taxis. There are way too few taxis for the demand. At the airport, the queues for the taxi lines are immensely long (personally it took me 1.5 hours to get one)
Safety
Safety: Singapore is probably the safest country in Asia to visit. Most things are reliable and safe, such as transports and taxis, a low rate of scams, or pickpocketing. That being said, it is a very large Asian megacity, so it should be visited with the usual caution.
Natural risks: There are no natural risks in Singapore as the neighboring countries shield it from tsunamis or typhoons. The area is not prone to earthquakes, and the only risk might be related to flooding during the monsoon season.
Emergencies number: 995, 999
Tips & Impressions
- The city is known worldwide for its harsh and sometimes extreme laws so be aware of the regulations that are imposed. As said earlier, the city is very expensive so the fines are proportionally very high as are other punishments which include jail, caning, and death penalty. That being said you should not ruin your stay by living in fear and nobody will cane you if you cross the street outside of the designated areas. Some of the laws that should be known before traveling to avoid risking infringing them include: smoking basically anywhere, homosexuality (curiously only male-specific), the infamous chewing gum law (but you will not find gum anywhere anyways), graffiti, playing music/singing which might disturb people, partying after 10:30 pm, and committing suicide (although I find it hard to see what the punishment would entail)
- The city offers all kinds of environments. You can travel to Little India, Chinatown, the Arab district, incredible shopping malls and luxury restaurants, or Siloso Beach. The cocktail bars on top of skyscrapers that need to be booked weeks in advance will feel like New York, small blocks of intertwining alleys teeming with nightlife will remind of Lisbon or other Mediterranean seaport towns. Just decide what environment you want and you will probably find it.
Deals for Singapore
Where to stay
Luxury
Boutique & Eco-friendly
Budget & Local experience
Travelogue
- Day 1
- City walk
- Marina Bay Sands
- Helix Bridge
- Haji Lane
- Day 2
- Gardens by the Bay
- Supertree Grove
- Flower Dome
- ArtScience Museum
- Day 3
Accommodation
My accommodation was MET A Space Pod @ Arab street ($$$$$) – a capsule hotel in the city center in the Arab district next to the mosque.
Despite being a normal capsule hotel, it had a whole spaceship-oriented vibe which gave a different look to the whole dormitory environment. Clearly with shared bathrooms, not having space for luggage, etc, it wasn’t the most comfortable stay, but I enjoyed being referred to as “space cadet” all around the hotel.
Day 1
In the evening as soon as I arrived I did my usual city walk and then went to the Marina Bay Sands Skypark on the top (well almost on top, to be on the last floor, with the famous infinity pool, you need to be a hotel guest and not a “space cadet”) to have a 360-degree view and see the daily light and water shows in the bay.
Day 2
Gardens by the Bay
I was impressed with the MRT transport system which only requires a credit card to pass and trips are very economical. A welcoming change from my recent experiences with the Bangkok MRT and Skytrain which needed a separate ticket for every journey to be purchased, or to the Copenhagen train and metro systems which to put it simply is just a ripoff and completely overpriced.
To gather energy I decided to go on the “safe” side/well-known and had a hamburger at Gordon Ramseys Bread Street inside the Marina Sands Shoppes and then headed for the Gardens by the Bay. After not even an hour in the park I was already completely exhausted from the walking and the unforgiving scorching sun. This led me inside the unexpectedly fully air-conditioned Flower Dome.
Flower Dome
Simply wonderful. The immense structure houses plants and flowers from every part of the world. They are also mostly separated by region so it feels like being in the specific ecosystem when passing by. I felt at home in the Mediterranean section surrounded by olive trees, tomato plants, and geraniums, and felt like being catapulted into a desert when in the South American or Australian regions. Also, throughout the walkways are scattered these sometimes small statues or wooden sculptures which blend in magnificently and reinforce my newly found passion for statues and sculptures “hidden” within gardens and parks. I saw recreations of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan fairies.
While randomly walking amidst the garden I encountered this sculpture by Bruno Catalano and seeing it was akin to being punched in the stomach. Looking at the characters as empty travelers or travelers leaving something behind, or as a family with the mother’s sad and tired look, or seeing the flowers within their silhouettes. No matter in which “mode” or interpretation I would look at it, the piece would emotionally hit like a truck.
The next stop was the main square of Supertree Grove where I took the elevator to the skywalk.
At this point I was once again exhausted from the heat but did not want to exit the gardens so I powered through and visited the entire complex, seeing the Chinese, Japanese, and Indian garden section, the secluded Serene garden, and all the paths in between which were academic sections on the plants’ ecosystem, lifecycle and varieties.
I did yet another detour to Marina Bay Sands to visit the ArtScience museum. The museum itself was a bit underwhelming in terms of what was on display but that could be because of my general crankiness. I enjoyed the space section with amazing light shows although I was annoyed by the people just jumping in, making noise, asking me to take pictures, and then actually complaining that the pictures I took were dark when they were standing in front of flickering lights. But in the few peaceful silent moments, the art installation is genuinely mesmerizing.
Day 3
I enjoyed the walk in the morning. I took it easy initially and hung around Kampong Glam – the Arab neighborhood. Then I took the MRT to Little India. Although I have never been to India, the streets looked as authentic as could be. The smells of spices and incense, the innumerable hi-tech/computer stores, the carts selling flowers. The more I entered these neighborhoods, the more alien the shops became, until I had no idea what the food or local objects on sale actually were.
I took the MRT again and headed to Chinatown. Every time that I exit a station it seems like being transported to another country or another time. There is a stop directly inside the Marina Bay Sands shopping mall and although I did not take that specific ride, when I was in the park of Gardens by the Bay, there is an exit/entrance also there, right in the middle of the palm section. Chinatown was more “normal”/just as I expected although it is quite an extensive neighborhood that borders with downtown so there are a lot of nuances. I saw a square with a pagoda which looked very authentic with many old people just passing time and some playing. But I also quickly went to see a temple that was surrounded by souvenir shops and immersed inside the downtown banks’ skyscrapers.
I then tried to go see the Singapore Botanical Gardens which is a huge Unesco world heritage site but managed to remain there for only 30 minutes, stop to drink a wheatgrass phosphorescent tea, curse the disgusting beverage, and leave calling it a day.
I went back to my hotel, stopping at Parkview Square to admire the Art Deco architecture. The curves, bronze and gold details, and even the fonts used in the writings all have that unique characteristic and style which I always loved. After arriving on Arab and Baghdad streets, I asked unapologetically every single restaurant whether I could have a beer until I found a spot at the Indian cafe “Flying Monkey” and just stayed there to recover my tired legs and spirit. Had a last quick stop in the busy nightlife of Haji Lane and then went to collapse in my pod.
