Singapore is one of the most unique and interesting places I have ever visited.  I’ve been struggling to write this post because I’m not sure my words and photos can sufficiently capture what is so special about this city but I’m going to give it a shot.

Our First Night

We arrived in Singapore on a quick flight from Kuala Lumpur.  It was pouring rain that afternoon so we hung out at our hostel for a while hoping we could wait out the wet weather.  Eventually we decided that we couldn’t let rain keep us from exploring this awesome city.  We hopped on the subway towards the waterfront, hoping to catch the nightly light shows at the Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Bay Sands.

The Gardens by the Bay is a huge waterfront natural park that is best known for its most iconic attraction: the supertree grove.  These enormous structures are covered in living plants. Every night the supertrees come alive as their lights move and change color in time to music at the Garden Rhapsody show.

Standing beneath these twinkling trees listening to the music felt like being in another world.  It was the type of display you only expect to see at expertly produced festivals or expensive amusement parks but in Singapore it was just a free nightly occurrence in a public park.

After the light show we made our way to the other side of the bay to catch a second show in front of the Marina Bay Sands hotel and shopping center.  The Marina Bay Sands itself is a stunning structure but I’ll get to that in a minute.  This show consisted of a series of brilliantly lit fountains, installed in the bay, dancing and spraying in time to music.

These back to back shows were a great introduction to Singapore and, I think, say a lot about the culture of the city.  While it is obviously an economic powerhouse, Singapore has a vibe that can only be described as whimsical.  The city-state puts a lot of effort into projects designed to delight and bring joy to its citizens and visitors.

The Architecture

Before visiting Singapore I imagined a hyper-modern city packed with futuristic buildings and, to a certain extent, that is how I would describe it.

More than anywhere else I’ve ever been this seemed like a place where designers could have big and unconventional ideas and actually see them brought to fruition.  (If you don’t believe me check out this virtual tour of their new airport terminal opening later this year).

However, Singapore is not all futuristic skyscrapers. Much of the architecture shows a reverence for the city’s history. For example, the neoclassical style Supreme Court and City Hall buildings, built during the British Colonial period in the 1920s and 30s have been beautifully repurposed as Singapore’s National Gallery.

One thing I did not expect was the prevalence of colonial shophouse architecture in Singapore, especially in Chinatown and Little India.

Many of these shophouses have been beautifully maintained or restored and sit right next to towering modern high-rises, old and new coexisting peacefully.

Nature in the City

Singapore’s innovative and creative ideas don’t end with futuristic architecture.  It is also a city dedicated to preserving and enhancing nature within an urban environment.  The supertrees I mentioned earlier don’t just look cool. They contain solar panels to charge their own lights and rainwater collection receptacles to recycle water for use in the park.

In addition to the Gardens by the Bay, one of Singapore’s most famous attractions is its 150 year old Botanic Gardens.  We had to make two attempts to visit the Gardens as it was pouring rain the first time we went but it was worth it.

The Gardens sprawl over 180+ acres and feature a huge variety of plants.  Within the park is a small rain forest, older than the park itself, in addition to themed gardens and sweeping lawns.  All of it is free except for the National Orchid Garden which costs around $3.75.

The park is just steps away from a metro station making it an incredible resource for Singapore’s residents. Before quitting to go on this trip I worked for an urban National Park and personally benefited from living in a city with lots of amazing park lands. I really admire Singapore’s dedication to the environment and to making natural spaces accessible to its citizens.

The Food

When we arrived at our hostel in Singapore we were starving and asked the manager for advice on where to grab lunch nearby.  He pointed us to a small food court across the street adding, “When you get back we’ll talk about serious food.”  Upon our return he pulled out a map and circled ‘must try’ food areas around the city – clearly Singaporeans are very proud of their cuisine.

Like Malaysia, Singapore benefits from a mix of cultural influences from its diverse population.  We ate a lot of awesome meals during our few days exploring the city but one day stands out as one of our best eating days of this entire trip.

It started with lunch at a food court in Chinatown.  It might have looked like a humble collection of cheap food stalls but this was the home of Hawker Chan, the cheapest restaurant in the world with a Michelin star.  Since it was our last full day in the city we decided to brave the line and try the famous chicken rice.

It did not disappoint.  I’m not usually a huge fan of meals that are just a big piece of meat with starch and veggies on the side but Hawker Chan’s secret sauce recipe made the chicken extra delicious and the rice super flavorful.

For dinner that same evening we went over to Little India and decided to do a progressive dinner, sampling single dishes at a couple of places.  We started with some truly out of this world palak paneer.  Palak Paneer (spinach and paneer cheese) is one of my favorite Indian dishes but I rarely find it done really well.  This one was creamy and so flavorful and the paneer was the perfect texture.

Finally, we made our way a few blocks further to a place specializing in murtabak, a sort of pastry stuffed with ground meat.  It was also fantastic – perfectly spiced and the dough was buttery and flaky.  We walked away stuffed and sad to be leaving Singapore.