The Arab Quarter in Singapore.
Photo: / Estelle Sarney
The Arab Quarter in Singapore.
Photo: / Estelle Sarney
Singapore wants to be known as Asia’s garden city, and it’s doing a fine job of incorporating nature on a grand scale through its traditional city attractions. Estelle Sarney goes exploring.
Day 1:
8am: Soak up the genteel atmosphere of Raffles Hotel with an a la carte breakfast in the elegant Tiffin room, just off the Grand Lobby, and with tables outside in a tree-lined courtyard by a fountain brought over from Ireland.
9am: Take a tour of this 135-year-old hotel guided by its resident historian, Leslie Danker. The story of Raffles is entwined with the history of Singapore, and you’ll discover how the hotel came to be in 1887, stories tall but true (ask about the tiger under the bar) and view the photo gallery of famous people who have stayed here over the decades, including royalty, politicians, musicians, actors and writers. There’s even a shot of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in happier times.
11am: Wander 15 minutes down the road to Arab St and Haji Lane. In Arab St, you’ll find brightly painted shops stacked with rugs, silk, and stained-glass lamps. Haji Lane has a more bohemian vibe with tattoo studios and bars. The area is watched over by the impressive Sultan Mosque. Have lunch at one of the many Middle Eastern eateries.
4.30pm: Catch a taxi to the East Coast Park, a 15km-long beachside strip that catches the sea breeze and where locals go to run, skate or cycle. Rent a bike for $10 an hour if you’re feeling energetic. The East Coast Seafood Centre is a top spot for dinner at the famous Jumbo Restaurant. Big and bustling with lots of local families and visitors, you’ll share big plates of chilli crab (they come with bibs), lobster, prawns and Asian greens while taking in the view of the armada of ships in Singapore harbour.
9pm: Finish the evening with a Singapore Sling at the bar where it was invented, the Long Room at Raffles. You’ll be given a complimentary bowl of peanuts and encouraged to drop the shells on the floor, in memory of the time when the hotel was surrounded by peanut plantations.
Visitors take selfie photographs near the Rain Vortex indoor waterfall feature at Jewel Changi Airport mall in Singapore. Photo / Lauryn Ishak; Bloomberg
Day 2:
9am: Head to Gardens by the Bay early to avoid the crowds. Two enormous glass conservatories house the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest, each temperature-controlled to encourage the variety of plants grown here from around the world. The Cloud Forest has a 35m waterfall, and walkways winding high around its mountain so you can enjoy the view from above as well as from walkways below that wend their way through orchid-draped alcoves. This is home to carnivorous plants as well as those preserved from times when dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Gardens by the Bay is also an evening destination, when the thicket of Supertrees outside come alive with a light and sound show. Enjoy it from the Skyway, a 128m long aerial walkway suspended between two Supertrees 22m above the ground.
11.30am: Catch a taxi to Orchard Road for retail therapy among its many malls and boutique stores. They are upscale and not for the bargain hunter. The local food and other Asian dishes are good all over Singapore, so even an unassuming eatery at a food court in one of the malls will be worth trying for lunch.
(Taxis are plentiful and cheap – it didn’t cost more than $10-15 to get to most attractions from Raffles Hotel. They carry a notice stating they’re not allowed to overcharge, so you can rest assured you’re paying the same as everyone else.)
3pm: Orchids are Singapore’s national flower and seem to be wherever you look but if you want to see them in one spot take a 10-minute taxi ride to the National Orchid Garden in the Botanic Gardens. There’s around 1000 orchid species and 2000 hybrids. When travelling around the city and looking up at the many skyscrapers being built, take note of the vertical gardens being integrated into many buildings – they soften the feel of this dense metropolis.
5pm: If you’re heading to Changi Airport, leave time to stroll around Jewel, a nature-themed entertainment and retail complex linked to the airport. It’s much more than a mall. Boasting the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, the 40m Rain Vortex, and 10 levels of forest and plantings, with its own cool microclimate, this is a fine way to farewell Asia’s garden city.
CHECKLIST SINGAPORE
GETTING THERE
Singapore Airlines flies daily direct service to Singapore from both Auckland and Christchurch. singaporeairlines.com
DETAILS
For more things to see and do, go to visitsingapore.com
