2 days in Singapore
Summary
Similar to Hong Kong and Bangkok, Singapore is a place that people tend to pass through rather than visit purely for the city on its own. But, just like those cities, Singapore is really worth the stop over for a night or two. More than anything it’s great just to see what the “model city” could look like – wandering around has the combo feel of Disney Land / Truman Show / Stepford Wives meets tropical island functional finance hub, and it all … well … works very very well. Always worth a trip into the future
highlights
#1 Wandering through the Gardens by the Bay. Home to some 400,000 plants, this futuristic looking area is nice to generally walk through and check out the Super trees (tall structures with heaps of plants that are connected by a skyway) and the giant conservatories (one which has a giant tropical mountain of plants). I wandered through in the morning and the evening. Just found it super peaceful and kind of a must if visiting
#2 The Asian History Museum - yes, yes it’s a museum and museums tend to be super dull. But this is one of the best I’ve been to. It’s in particular interesting for people who don’t have a strong knowledge of Asian history (which to be honest is the vast majority of westerners), and helps place Singapore’s context in the region
#3 Going for a walk around the Marina. You get to see many of the key sites and, like all physical activities, get to get a bit of a different feel to the place vs wandering from tourist spot to tourist spot. Best to aim for first thing in the morning or early evening to avoid the heat and sun
#4 Wandering and getting some food in Little India. I was pleasantly surprised by just how much like India this place was, including some cracking temples. And a bit cleaner than the real thing!
#5 Eating at some of the Hawker Centres. Kind of the thing to do when in Singapore and fun
Travel Tips
- Singapore is EXPENSIVE. Be prepared
- Get an EZ-link card. Easiest way for getting around
- Avoid June and July if there is a bad haze season (from nearby Indonesia). Can get truly awful
- Would love to do when I next visit:
- Have a drink on the top floor of the magnificent Marina Bay Sands
- Visit Sentosa Island. Yes, it looks like an artificial sprawl of theme parks, but it’s also has palm fringed beaches and aquariums. Would be worth checking out for that “model city” vibe
- Try to time with the Formula 1. Sounds fantastic to experience
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Other City Breaks around the World
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone