Singapore

Singapore, termed the ‘Lion City’, combines elements of multiculturalism, heritage and a fruitful economy to produce one of the most contemporary South East Asian countries today. Personally, I have visited Singapore over 20 times in my life and accordingly my perspective in this blog post is based upon these visits.

Singapore is one of the most culturally diverse countries I’ve ever visited, where the main races are Malays, Tamils and Chinese. As a result, the Singaporean cuisine encompasses this variety of cultures. Singaporean food is typically characterised by hawker centres, which are large open food courts where dozens of individual vendors sell food. These hawker centres are located in almost every corner of Singapore. Many tourists are concerned with the cleanliness and hygiene of these hawker centres, however from my generalised experience of them, they are trustworthy given Singapore’s strict health and safety regulations. My personal favourite local specialties are Singapore Chilli Crab, Char Kuey Teow, Hor Phun and Murtabak. These dishes are famous in Singapore, and for a real authentic experience, must be tried at a hawker centre.

Typical Singaporean meal in a Hawker Centre

Singapore is also highly renowned for its shopping. Over the years, I have realised that there is a dichotomy in shopping experiences – local shopping and high end shopping. Local shopping can be found in places such as China Town and Bugis Junction and cater to more of a market style shopping experience. In these places, items sold are usually local items such as Jade and Asian collectibles, prices of goods are cheap and there is an opportunity to bargain. Conversely, high end shopping, such as Orchard Road, offers more international brands, higher prices and primarily caters for tourists. Orchard Road is one of the most popular tourist attractions, and can be seen as the ‘Paris of Singapore’ with most stores boasting exclusivity and luxury. Personally, I prefer the local shopping as these goods are usually not available here in Australia and are more affordable than high end shopping.

Orchard Road at night

A recent, growing attraction in Singapore is Marina Bay Sands and its surrounding areas. My first visit ever was last year, which is crazy considering how many times I’ve visited before. I heard nothing but good things about this area and I can safely say I was not disappointed. The Marina Bay Sands hotel was hands down the grandest hotel I’ve ever visited. Although we didn’t stay there, we walked around the area and came across Gardens by the Bay. Gardens by the Bay is a large, contemporary botanical gardens attraction with several iconic structures in the premises. This place is an amazing place to take a walk through and to get some incredible views of the city of Singapore. It’s safe to say, this place is now one of my favourite places in Singapore. 

Gardens by the Bay

Singapore Zoo is undeniably one of the best attractions in Singapore. This zoo is hands down the best zoo I have ever visited, given its range of animals and interactivity. Singapore zoo also heavily promotes sustainability and animal welfare. One of my favourite parts of the zoo is the orungutan enclosure, where there is no caging and the orungutans are swinging by on the ropes right above you! It is this interactivity and closeness to the animals which differentiates it from other zoos I’ve visited. An important travellers tip would be do load up on the sunscreen, take a hat and keep hydrated – the zoo is a very hot and humid place to spend the day!

Singapore Zoo

Singapore has a unique character, where a contemporary society fuses with traditional culture. From my experience, it is the food, shopping and attractions which represent this fusion and have made the world recognise Singapore as one of the most contemporary South East Asian countries today.

Hasveen