Singapore is probably somewhere we could easily settle into. It’s got enough of the Asia we love, with the western comforts of home – flat whites, pastries and beautiful cocktails. We spent three days exploring and here’s what we did, where we ate, how we got around and where we stayed.
Where we stayed in Singapore
Singapore is back to normal prices (as in like home prices), so not too many bargains to be found in the budget accommodation stakes. But, we settled on a hotel in Little India, which was fairly close to the metro, places to eat and most importantly the Mustafa Centre (keep reading as to why). Golden Royal Hotel was pleasant enough, the staff were friendly and the room was comfortable. For two nights we paid SGD135 and for what we could see, it was about a 9/10 for value.
Little India is a vibrant area of Singapore and fairly nice, apart from on Sundays when the population swells and the usual clean Singapore gets turned into crazy town. We’d probably stay in Little India again, but not on the weekend.
Getting around in Singapore
Singapore isn’t hard to get around in. When you arrive at the airport, head down to the train station and purchase a Singapore Tourist Pass. A 3 day pass is only SGD $30, but you can get passes for 1 or 2 days too. There’s a $10 refundable deposit too, which can easily be claimed back when you leave town. The pass gives you unlimited travel on the MRT, LRT and basic bus services. We stuck to the MRT mostly and it’s pretty easy to navigate the system. We did our fair share of walking too as we always do, but Singapore isn’t as small as you might think.
The good food
Singapore boasts a number of Michelin Star Hawker stalls and we were happy to stand in line for the promises they made. But, long waits didn’t always pay off, despite the locals talking the food up. Despite this in Singapore, we did eat from some cheap and tasty Hawker stalls, drank in very western bars and dined in cute and wonderful cafes. Our top tips would be to head to Tiong Bahru Market and Maxwell Road Food Centre for cheap and delicious Asian meals, and the link here tells the story of some wonderful cafes and discoveries we made.
All the things to keep you entertained
Favourite places were hands down China town, Tiong Bahru, Gardens by the Bay, Haji Lane, Marina Bay Sands, the shopping centres of Orchard and stumbling across the Mustafa Centre, basically Singapore’s version of Walmart. We would also recommend heading to the Bugis Street shopping centre to get some bargains and get amongst one of the most chaotic spaces in an otherwise tame city. Click here for our fave Singapore activities.
Just to clarify on the whole Chicken porridge thing, Mike had been dying to give Congee a go the whole way around Asia, and finally tried it at the Tiong Bahru Market. He liked it a lot.