Last Updated on October 24, 2023 by Home in the World
I could have just stayed at the airport. After all, Changi Airport has been repeatedly voted among the world’s best, and it’s certainly one of the most impressive I have ever been to. With lush indoor & outdoor gardens (including a butterfly garden), a plethora of dining and shopping options, a movie theatre, hotels, a children’s playground and now (since 2019) also The Jewel, you sometimes even forget you’re in an airport at all.
But despite all these temptations, and the fact I had visited Singapore before, I decided to have a 2-night stop in the small island city-state en route to Malaysia. Given the fact I only had one full day, however, my blog post is going to be far from comprehensive for first-time visitors. I did not, for instance, go to the famous and bustling shopping street, Orchard Road, or take an excursion to Sentosa Island (home to Universal Studios). And unfortunately the stunning Gardens by the Bay had not been completed at the time of my trip either. So think of this as just being a little taster of central Singapore – I myself intend to return at some point to see new additions like Gardens by the Bay, so there may well be a follow-up post in the (hopefully) not too distant future!
The iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel & casino, whose three-tower design was initially inspired by a pack of cards, with the SkyPark perched seemingly precariously across them, complete with infinity pool, has become a familiar icon of international architecture since it opened in 2010. When I visited in 2012, however, it was still somewhat of a novelty. So I was pleased to find my hotel room offered a perfect view of it – both by day and by night, when a colourful laser show takes place.
For its flash exterior, I found the lobby of the Marina Bay Sands hotel to be somewhat underwhelming when I walked through. But the complex is more than just a hotel; it is an integrated resort also featuring a convention centre, shopping mall, museums, theatres, restaurants, a casino, and tranquil water features overlooking the bayfront and Singapore’s glittering glass skyline. I thought about going up to the SkyPark and enjoying the view from above over a cocktail at the rooftop bar (it was called Ku De Ta at the time; now I believe it is Cé La Vi) but there was an exorbitant charge just to go up to the deck in the lift, which I thought was ridiculous, so I gave it a miss. Something to do next time, when the novelty factor has hopefully worn off a bit.
The hotel is omnipresent almost wherever you go around the bay area, whether from the Anderson Bridge that spans the mouth of the Singapore River in the Downtown Core, from the Coleman Bridge, dripping in the lush vegetation so typical of this equatorial city, or from the half-fish, half-lion Merlion statue, the landmark and official mascot of Singapore (‘Singa’ and ‘Pura’ being Sanskrit for ‘lion’ and ‘city’ respectively), which stands at the point where the city was established when English settlers first arrived by sea.
The fish tail symbolises Singapore’s humble origins as a fishing village and seaport, while the lion’s head reflects boldness and bravery as it forges ahead into the future. Its prominent location right on the water, flanked by modern skyscrapers, the elegant Fullerton Hotel, and a tropical flourish of palm trees, make it a hit among tourists, who clamour to get the perfect Insta shot ‘catching’ the water that shoots out of the statue’s mouth.
And while we’re talking about Singapore icons, it’s also worth mentioning the Raffles Hotel, whose Long Bar is home to the renowned gin-based Singapore Sling cocktail. The luxury hotel opened in 1887, and was named after British statesman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who founded Singapore as a British colony. A wander through the neo-Renaissance property, with its white marble floors, high ceilings, gold chandeliers, sweeping verandahs, and dark wooden staircases and balustrades, truly is like stepping back into colonial times. Having undergone extensive renovations in recent years, the hotel reopened in 2019.
A short cab ride upstream from the area around the mouth of the Singapore River, where my focus has been so far, is the 19th-century Clarke Quay, named after Singapore’s second governor, Sir Andrew Clarke. Originally established as a trading hub by the British Empire, it later served as a dock, where cargo would be loaded and unloaded from the ground-floor warehouses, while Chinese migrants and working-class families would inhabit the upper levels of the shophouses. Today, it has been redeveloped as a thriving riverside entertainment precinct, boasting numerous hotels, restaurants and nightclubs. It is obviously more of a night-time area, as walking through in the day time, I found it to be surprisingly quiet. I liked the use of bright colours in the restored warehouse and shop façades, in keeping with the Singapore government’s 1985 plan to convert the area into a ‘festival village’.
Making the most of my last afternoon, I decided to take another brief cab ride around the city just as a ‘mini tour’. The city of course has a perfectly functional subway system known as the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit), but I wanted to be above ground to try and see as much as I could, coupled with my own walking around (in that heat you don’t want to be walking around all the time though). Some of the sights included the striking heritage-listed MICA Building (a.k.a. Old Hill Street Police Station), with every one of its 900+ windows and shutters painted a shade of the rainbow.
Among other sights were the Palladian-style Victoria Memorial Hall, which combines with the Town Hall and a clock tower to form the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall; the Dalhousie Obelisk, commemorating the visit of Lord James Andrew (the Marquise of Dalhousie and Governor-General of India) to Singapore in 1850; the grand Fullerton Hotel, formerly the Fullerton Building, which was constructed in 1928. It sits on the tip of a mini peninsula at the mouth of the Singapore River, and Formula One fans (of which I am a huge one – the Singapore Grand Prix is actually on my bucket list!) may recognise it from turn 13 of the Marina Bay Street Circuit, where it features prominently; amusing evidence of Singapore’s zero-tolerance attitude to crime (severe punishments are meted out even for littering and graffiti) – in this case, it was unfaithful significant others; and some of Singapore’s attractive tropical public spaces. Everything is just so green and well manicured here.
The reason for this lushness is, of course, Singapore’s geographic location just north of the Equator, which results in a hot, humid climate that produces some sensational sporadic rainstorms. I experienced one during my stay (they occur almost daily) and it was honestly quite fun to observe. From my hotel room I could see the laden grey clouds rolling in from behind the skyscrapers of the business district. No sooner had I spotted them than BAM! I found myself (thankfully sheltered by my balcony) in a white cocoon of torrential rain. It was like being under a waterfall or going through a car wash. The clear view of the nearby buildings and Marina Bay I had had just seconds before had been reduced to a curtain of water and mist, offering almost zero visibility – just a refreshing cool-down from the heat of the day, and a thunderous roar that drowned out the usual traffic noise from the streets below. But it passed just as quickly as it came, and a few minutes later, my view reappeared, washed and clean as if a giant windscreen wiper had swept across my balcony. Below are shots taken from my hotel room during (somewhere out there is Marina Bay Sands) and after the storm.
Much like the fast and furious storm I had just witnessed, so too had my brief stay in Singapore come to an end. As I said at the start, there is a lot more to the small city-state than I was able to document on this occasion. Having expanded its area by nearly a quarter through reclaimed land, this diverse multi-ethnic melting pot with four official languages (English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil) is a futuristic metropolis and Southeast Asia’s biggest port, built on a foundation of British colonialism and ethnic Malay and Chinese roots. All of these elements remain evident today, and are largely what make Singapore such a great place for tourists – whether as a stopover and gateway to other parts of Asia, or as a destination in itself (certainly many Australians enjoy going up there for extended weekends). Though not necessarily the cheapest place to visit, it is famed for its safety and cleanliness, making it particularly perfect for families or solo travellers. Whatever your reason for coming, the Lion City is sure to dazzle.
Trip facts
When I visited: April 2012
Weather: As mentioned, Singapore sits near the Equator, meaning it has a warm, humid climate all year round with considerable rainfall. The rain is usually short and sharp, though at certain times of year (e.g. January), can last much of the day. In late April, the days were largely clear (apart from the one brief almighty storm) and approx. 30°C/85°F. It is worth noting that hotels, shopping centres, food courts etc. are all intensely air-conditioned though – sometimes indeed a little too much
Where I stayed: Swissotel The Stamford
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