Singapore, Reconsidered 10 ways

A city we once skimmed, now savoured.

Singapore is often framed as the perfect stopover. Efficient, immaculate, impressive in a way that feels almost engineered for transit. This time, we stayed longer. Long enough to soften into its rhythm, to move beyond the highlights reel and discover a city that reveals itself not in grand gestures, but in neighbourhoods, rituals and flavour.

The first lesson came quickly. Master the MRT (Metro). Once you do, the city opens effortlessly. Nothing is ever more than a few stops away and, like the world’s great metro systems, Singapore’s operates almost entirely underground. It is fast, intuitive and blissfully air-conditioned. The city suddenly feels intimate.

Chinatown: Old Souls, New Energy

Chinatown is where Singapore’s past and present sit comfortably side by side. Traditional clan houses, incense-filled temples and heritage shophouses ground the neighbourhood in history, while a new wave of cafés, concept stores and design-led eateries hum with modern energy.

This is a place to wander without agenda. Duck into vendor stalls, indulge in a reflexology foot massage, follow your nose toward something steaming and fragrant. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Sri Mariamman Temple stand as quiet anchors amid the bustle, reminders of Chinatown’s spiritual and cultural roots, while the streets around them pulse with contemporary life.

Little India: Colour, Chaos, Celebration

Little India does not whisper. It sings. Much like India itself, the neighbourhood is alive with movement, colour and sound. Garlanded temples, spice-scented streets and sari shops spill into one another in joyful sensory overload.

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple is the heart of it all, deeply atmospheric and constantly in motion. By night, the energy shifts again. Bollywood clubs light up the area, music thumping late into the evening, turning Little India into one of the city’s most vibrant after-dark scenes.

Arab Street & Kampong Glam: Pattern, Prayer and Poise

Arab Street feels textured in every sense, layered with history, colour and craftsmanship. Once the heart of Singapore’s Malay and Arab communities, the neighbourhood today is a beautifully balanced mix of tradition and trend.

The Sultan Mosque anchors the precinct with quiet authority, its golden dome rising above low-slung shophouses. Step inside and time seems to slow, offering a moment of calm amid the city’s perpetual motion. Outside, Arab Street and nearby Haji Lane unfold in a rhythm of textile shops, perfumeries, independent boutiques and cafés spilling onto the pavement.

By evening, the area softens into something romantic. Low lighting, patterned tiles, the hum of conversation over mezze and cocktails. It is one of Singapore’s most atmospheric neighbourhoods and best explored slowly, camera in hand.

Sentosa: Above It All

Sentosa offers Singapore at play. The cable car ride alone is reason enough to go, gliding above the harbour as the city falls away behind you. Once there, the Heaven’s Wave Walk lives up to its name. Elevated, breezy and indulgently scenic, it is the kind of experience that reminds you Singapore is not just vertical in architecture, but in perspective.

City Hall & Culture: Gallery Wanders and Long Lunches

In City Hall, culture takes centre stage. The National Gallery Singapore is both monumental and serene, its vast spaces offering a moment of pause. National Kitchen by Violet Oon, tucked within, is an elegant surprise. Refined yet relaxed, it is perfectly placed for a lingering lunch after wandering the galleries.

Orchard Road: Retail on a Grand Scale

Orchard Road is retail excess executed with precision. Global luxury brands do not simply have a presence here, they often have multiple flagships within blocks of each other. It is relentless, glossy and unapologetically ambitious. Even if shopping is not the agenda, the spectacle alone is worth witnessing.

Food Republic offers a welcome pause amid the megamalls. Polished hawker-style dining with consistently excellent quality, it is ideal for a reset before heading back into the fray.

Hawker Culture, Perfected

No visit to Singapore is complete without its hawkers. For those seeking something local yet charmingly contained, Tiong Bahru Market is the answer. Clean, calm and community-driven, it is surrounded by a sweet cul-de-sac of bars and cafés that feel more neighbourhood than novelty. Come hungry and linger longer than planned.

Marina Bay: The Iconic Singapore

Marina Bay is Singapore distilled. Futuristic architecture, luxury shopping, the casino, expo spaces and harbour views converge in one glossy, cinematic stretch. It is impressive by day and luminous by night.

Nearby, Gardens by the Bay’s Cloud Forest feels almost otherworldly. Misty, vertical and improbably lush, it is a reminder that Singapore does not simply build. It imagines.

Raffles Hotel: A Ritual Worth Keeping

No matter how modern Singapore becomes, Raffles Hotel remains timeless. Walking through its colonnaded halls feels like stepping into another era, one of white linen, rattan fans and colonial elegance.

Then there is the Singapore Sling. Sweet, theatrical and unapologetically old-school. Served at the Long Bar beneath a canopy of nostalgia, it is less about the drink itself and more about the ritual. Peanut shells crunch underfoot, bartenders move with ceremony and suddenly you understand why some traditions endure. It is a rite of passage, and one worth doing properly.

The Southern Ridges Walk: Ten Kilometres Above the City

For a different perspective on Singapore, head west to the Southern Ridges. This ten-kilometre walking trail links Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park, stitching together rainforest, ridgelines and some of the city’s most striking viewpoints.

The walk often begins near HarbourFront MRT, where the city quickly gives way to lush greenery. Architectural bridges define the journey, most notably Henderson Waves, an undulating timber structure that rises above the canopy and feels more sculpture than footpath. From here, the views open wide. Harbour, container ships and the city skyline appear through the trees, a reminder of how seamlessly Singapore balances nature and urban life.

As the trail continues, shaded forest paths offer relief from the heat, punctuated by lookout points and quiet pauses built into the landscape. The walk culminates at Mount Faber’s Faber Point, one of the city’s most rewarding vantage points. From here, Singapore unfolds in full, from Sentosa and the harbour to the distant sprawl of the CBD.

It is a walk best started early in the morning, when the air is cooler and the rainforest hums softly around you. Comfortable shoes and water are essential, but the reward is one of Singapore’s most immersive experiences. Elevated, serene and surprisingly wild.

Where to Stay

Marina Bay Sands remains iconic, its rooftop infinity pool still one of the world’s most extraordinary hotel experiences.

Andaz Singapore is design-forward, energetic and perfectly positioned for exploring beyond the obvious.

The Fullerton offers classic grandeur and heritage at the edge of the modern city.

 

Best Rooftop Pools

Jen Orchard is relaxed, social and unexpectedly chic.

Marina Bay Sands sets the benchmark.

QT Singapore is stylish, playful and made for golden hour.

 

Editor's Final Note

Pace yourself. Singapore sits consistently around 30 degrees with heavy humidity. Beautiful, but demanding. Build in breaks, retreat underground when needed and embrace slower mornings.

Singapore may begin as a stopover, but give it time. It rewards those who stay.