Locals Guide
October 2018
Singapore
03
Singapore… a tropical city paradise nestled into the southern tip of Malaysia, just north of the islands of Indonesia. Being located very close to the equator, it provides the atmosphere of a tropical location, but with the advantages and the amenities offered by a modern city. Historically, Hong Kong has played the role as financial epicenter of the Asia/Pacific region, but it looks like Singapore is ready to take the throne.
Singapore serves as a melting pot for the entire Asian region – this is especially evident in their food. As street food is very popular in Asian Cultures, Singapore has set up various hawker centers. Hawker centers are stalls that sell a variety of inexpensive food options. At these hawker centers, you can find food from various ethnicities in the region at a surprisingly inexpensive price (typically less than $5 Singapore Dollars). As expensive as the city is to travel to – this is a great opportunity to save money.
04
Singapore… a tropical city paradise nestled into the southern tip of Malaysia, just north of the islands of Indonesia. Being located very close to the equator, it provides the atmosphere of a tropical location, but with the advantages and the amenities offered by a modern city. Historically, Hong Kong has played the role as financial epicenter of the Asia/Pacific region, but it looks like Singapore is ready to take the throne.
Singapore serves as a melting pot for the entire Asian region – this is especially evident in their food. As street food is very popular in Asian Cultures, Singapore has set up various hawker centers. Hawker centers are stalls that sell a variety of inexpensive food options. At these hawker centers, you can find food from various ethnicities in the region at a surprisingly inexpensive price (typically less than $5 Singapore Dollars). As expensive as the city is to travel to – this is a great opportunity to save money.
As you walk the streets of Singapore, the cleanliness and civility cannot be avoided. Typically, the cities in Southeast Asia tend to have a reputation have of being dirty and ridden with crime, but Singapore is safer and cleaner than the major cities worldwide. Even when it comes to street food, which you tend to believe you will be eating at your own risk, tends to be cleaner than some of the restaurants you get in the western world.
As a visiting tourist, the amount of shopping is overwhelming. It doesn’t matter where you go turn to, it seems like a shopping mall or stores are just around the corner. As you talk to folks, it seems easy to understand why (similar to any major city). It mirrors a consistent theme across the world – folks in rural or remote areas tend to travel to cities for vacations, while the folks in cities seems to want to travel to remote or rural areas. When you talk to the locals, they seems to go to the beaches and islands of the Southeast Asian countries, while the tourist visiting Singapore seem to come from all the various countries in the region.
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I think the hottest tourist area in Singapore has to be the Marina Bay Sands. It is located directly on Marina Bay in downtown Singapore directly across from the financial district. The Marina Bay Sands is a convention center, casino, hotel, and shopping center – the highlight of the location is a rooftop sky park lined with an infinity swimming pool. With all the amazing architecture and the unreal views, I spent hours walking around taking it all in (including getting lost). In addition, there are several renowned tourist attractions to visit in the area including Gardens by the Bay, Cloud Forest, and Marina Barrage.
The Gardens by the Bay are a spectacular sight to see in the evenings (nothing special during the day). I happened to get to the location a little late due to trying to catch the sunset at a different location. In the evenings, they have nightly shows that coordinate musical sequences with the light show. I would recommend that you try to get to Gardens a little early and pick a location that can give your perspective of the entire area as it does tend to get filled up pretty quickly. I was lucky enough to catch the end of the show and really wished I could have captured the entire show.
The Marina Barrage has a great vantage point to capture both the Marina Bay Sands area and the rest of the city of Singapore. I happened to be lucky enough to be there the weekend of the ten year anniversary of the Marina Barrage opening. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty miserable and there was a significant amount of rain (which seems to be common due to Singapore’s tropical location) so a lot of the outdoor activities they had planned were not being utilized and folks were crammed into limited covered locations to try and stay dry. As the sunset came around, the skies started to clear up and the space started to fill in. The sunset wasn’t spectacular but it was great to see all the locals come out and celebrate – lots of folks brought out their families. It seems like flying kits is very popular in this location and was entertaining watching families have their picnics, enjoy their music, and fly their kites as they enjoy he evening.
The first night out – I decided to try and explore the Clarke Quay area in Singapore. Having visited earlier in the week for dinner, I was told it was one of the top locations to visit on weekend nights. The area definitely had the vibe of a fun, happening area to be out in with the music loud enough to be heard before you enter the covered, colorful area. As I walked along the perimeter, I came across an area where large groups of individuals (10-15) sat in circles with the drink of choice being Jägermeister. As the cops seem to let the group enjoy their time, it seemed like an interesting way to pregame for the bars. Although Clarke Quay played an important historical role in the development of Singapore, it currently has an important commercial purpose yet maintains a bit of its historical charm. Located on the Singapore River, there are several river boat cruises available which are an excellent option to see all what Singapore has to offer during the day time. The riverboat cruises provide an opportunity to explore the Singapore River along with all the various accessible tourist locations.
There are a couple of additional areas that I decided to explore – Little India and Chinatown. I was fortunate to be visiting Singapore around the time of the Deepavali festival. Unfortunately, I missed the main event, but I was able to attend a lot of the other activities they had planned for the festival including the ability to enjoy all the decorations that they adorned the city with. It was a joy to walk down the main street and see all the celebratory activities. I started off the day visiting the Tekka Centre located at the mouth of Little India, which offers both fresh produce/meat, along with food stalls that offer all variety of Asian food. The Indian Heritage Center, which celebrates the important role that Indians played in the development of Singapore, hosted a street market with vendors offering all kinds of sweets, festive gifts, and knickknacks. As you meander down the main street of Little India, you will come across the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple with a plethora of deities adorning the exterior walls.
I was told that I needed to try a dish of Chili Crab and it was recommended I head to Chinatown. I couldn’t be happier that I was provided this recommendation, the dish was delightful despite the effort in getting all the meat out of the shell (in the future, I would pay extra to have them do it for me). While walking around Chinatown, I visited the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple which had some incredible architecture on the exterior of the building. On the way to the temple, there were several street markets that were selling anything you can think of. Ultimately, I wrapped up my time in Chinatown with a stop at the Sri Mariamman Temple, which is Singapore's oldest Hindu temple.
In the end, I don’t see Singapore as a great travel destination for anyone wanting to visit Southeast Asia. As you think about what you are looking for from a trip to Southeast Asia, the culture, experience, and the adventures you hope to gain from your travel abroad, I don’t think Singapore has what you are looking. I do believe that Singapore is great stop to add on your itinerary on the way back from wherever you may be visiting in the region. I would also consider it a haven for anyone offered the opportunity to be an ex pat – it has all the amenities of a major city, yet regionally situated close to all the countries in the region for quick flight and opportunity to explore the entire area throughout your time as an ex pat.