Singapore's Top 10
Small enough to feel intimate yet big enough to retain a degree of mystery, Singapore is a place I love discovering again and again. The city sometimes feels like it's travelling at a breakneck speed into tomorrow with its futuristic architecture, high speed efficiency and shiny image, but you only need to take a small step off the main drag into bustling village markets, smoky Chinese temples and heritage shophouse lined streets to get a dose of its rich history and culture. Then there’s the food: nothing stills my beating heart quite like a perfectly grilled satay and an ice cold Tiger Beer.
1 Hawker Food
Fragrant chicken rice, rich and nutty satay, sweet and sour rojak, spicy barbecue sambal stingray Singapore's hawker food is the stuff of legend, and celebrity chefs, from Anthony Bourdain to the late New York Times writer Johnny Apple, have raved about the dazzling array of cheap, lip smacking dishes available you'll even find one and two starred Michelin stalls! There's really no better way to get into Singapore's psyche than through its cuisine, so roll up your sleeves and get ready to sweat it out over steaming plates of tried, tested and perfected local favourites.
2 Asian Civilisations Museum
Travel back through time at this engrossing ode to Asia's cross cultural connections, developed through Singapore's position and history as a port city. Having recently undergone a radical transformation, the galleries are like visiting a sprawling, glittering attic, heaving with ancient pottery, religious sculptures, silver tea sets, whimsical puppets and mystical weaponry. You'll find the region's most comprehensive collection of pan Asian treasures within its walls, and the recently recovered treasures from the Tang Shipwreck need to be seen to be believed.
3 National Gallery Singapore
The breathtaking National Gallery Singapore is the newest jewel in the crown of Singapore's art and museum scene. Art lovers could spend hours wandering the world class collection of 19th-century and modern Southeast Asian art housed across two of the city's most iconic heritage buildings, while kids are kept busy at the Keppel Centre for Art Education. Some of Singapore's newest, highly acclaimed restaurants are also tucked within the gallery's wings, and the rooftop bar delivers jaw-dropping views along with its impressive cocktail list.
4 Gardens by the Bay
Spanning a whopping 101 hectares, Gardens by the Bay is Singapore's hottest horticultural asset. The $1 billion 'super park' is home to almost 400,000 plants, not to mention awe inspiring contemporary architecture. Two giant conservatories rise beside Marina Bay like futuristic shells, one home to ancient olive trees, the other to a towering, tropical mountain. To the north are the Supertrees futuristic, botanical giants connected by a commanding Skyway and glowing hypnotically each night during the Garden Rhapsody sound and light show.
5 Singapore Botanic Gardens
Singapore's Garden of Eden is the perfect antidote to the city's rat race tendencies. At the tail end of Orchard Rd, it's a sprawling oasis laced with elegant lakes and themed gardens, and no shortage of perfect spots for picnics and people watching. Stroll through the orchid gardens, looking out for Vanda Miss Joaquim, Singapore's national flower, or cool down in a rare slice of ancient rainforest. The Singapore Botanic Gardens are also home to a dedicated Children's Garden, free guided tours and free opera performances at the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage.
6 Night Safari
As evening closes in, the Night Safari uses open concept enclosures to get visitors up close and personal with nocturnal creatures such as leopards, free ranging deer and handsome Malay tigers. Begin your nocturnal adventure with the high energy, fire spinning Thumbuakar Performance, held in the Entrance Courtyard. You can also check out giant pandas in the newer River Safari located nearby.
7 Orchard Road
What was once a dusty road lined with spice plantations and orchards is now a 2.5km torrent of magnificent malls, department stores and speciality shops. You'll find every brand imaginable, from emerging local designers to global high street heavyweights and coveted European couture. Indeed, you can shop until you drop, pick yourself up, and continue spending some more. When you've stashed your purchases back at the hotel, duck out to Emerald Hill for Peranakan architecture and happy hour bar specials.
8 Little India
The most atmospheric of Singapore's historic quarters is as close as it gets to the Singapore of the old chaotic days. Experience it with the masses on the weekends when it gets packed to the gills with Indian workers wanting a slice of home. The five foot ways of colourful shophouses spill over with aromatic spices and Bollywood magazines. Backpackers and coolhunters swill beers at laid back bars, and insomniacs head to Mustafa Centre to buy iPads at 3am before tucking into teh tarik (pulled tea) and roti prata (dough flour pancake).
9 Sentosa Island
Sentosa is Singapore's carefully planned, all ages playground a world class sprawl of theme parks and amusements, evening spectaculars, luxe resorts and a subterranean casino. There's something for everyone, from blockbuster rides and shows at Universal Studios, to giant tanks peppered with marine life at SEA Aquarium and artificial surf at Wave House. Palm fringed beach bars flank stretches of sand, seemingly begging you to stop in for a sundowner, while top-notch restaurants look out over million dollar yachts.
10 Pulau Ubin
Singapore's very own rustic island getaway offers a glimpse of the kampong (village) life that was a big part of Singapore as recently as the 1960s. By hopping aboard a chugging bumboat from Changi, visitors can explore Pulau Ubin's old growth mangrove swamps and silent, lotus peppered lakes cycle past tin roof shacks, ramshackle shrines and lazing monitor lizards rampage along a cross country mountain bike trail and end the day by digging into a simple seafood meal by the sea.