Singapore Bucket List: modernity and history
It may not be a city with a strong identity, striking organic neighborhoods, distinct historical character, the originality of its modern buildings, or rich in monuments to visit. However, Singapore has managed to collect a small set of elements that are so recognizable to become a symbol, an iconic place that nonetheless attracts visitors with the richness of its culinary scene, with the architectural prowess of Marina Bay, with the ease of getting around in an Asian country where the English language is spoken fluently even in the markets of China Town, and, why not, with its location that makes it a transit point for many routes to the Far East.
For me, Singapore was a surprise especially from the point of view of internationality. There are few places in the city where you can really breathe Asia. Fashionable guys following mainstream international trends, stores that could be taken from any shopping street in NY, Milan or London and inserted in a labyrinthine shopping mall, French-style bakeries, supermarkets where the choice of European or "Western" products is larger than in the West itself. It is almost easier to find a Scottish jam than a packet of noodles. And it is unsettling to a distracted eye, until one begins to find, upon closer observation, a glimmer of the Orient in the less-traveled streets of China Town, among dried lizards and unlikely medicinal products, in the streets of Little India, among sarees and sacks of rice shelling from moving trucks, in the food courts of shopping malls, which overflow with fruit, noodles, roast ducks and steaming dumplings.
Unlike other major metropolises, it is very pleasant to get around on foot in Singapore, and the distances are not enormous, being careful not to walk them in the blazing midday sun.
Its neighborhoods, with few exceptions, are very well sectorized, although one moves fluidly from low colonial houses, to tall glass skyscrapers encountering a temple here and there.
AROUND MARINA BAY
Singapore's first district is itself a concentration of its eclecticism. We begin our journey from the Raffles Hotel, a colonial building, dedicated to Singapore's founder, from 1887 whose lush tropical gardens you can admire, an oasis of peace in the chaos of the city.
Not far away, you reach St. Andrew's Cathedral, a veritable cathedral in the desert, a 19th-century English Gothic-style church towering in the middle of an empty expanse of grass. (under renovation during our visit)
The National Gallery stands behind it and in front of it, towers the giant Marina Bay Sands building.
This lies across the bay, surrounded by imposing modern glass buildings and Singapore's financial district. The Bayfront consists of a juxtaposition of contemporary exhibitionist buildings, such as the Red Dot Design Museum, the Louis Vuitton main store, the sphere of the Apple Store, the ArtScience Museum, in the form of a white lily pad overlooking a real lily pad lake, and finally, the Marina Bay Sands glass building that winds its way across the bay.
This consists of a huge shopping mall under an endless glass vault, with three underground floors of stores and restaurants, and even a water canal running through it at the lowest level, where you can even take a boat ride. Connected via an underground passageway below the level of the great Bayfront Avenue road that crosses the bay, is the towering building that houses the hotel. You don't even need to describe it, but if you've never heard about it, it is a 55-story, 200-meter-high architectural feat by Moshe Safdie built in 2010 that consists of 3 separate skyscrapers with convex facades, joined at the top by a structure resembling the keel of a 340m-long ship with the Skypark and the obviously tallest swimming pool in the world.
Impressive as it is, personally it is not a particularly attractive piece of architecture, while very distinctive are the gardens behind it. The Gardens By the Bay is a botanical garden, not exceptionally large, but very varied, with several interesting architectural structures, including the Flower Dome, Cloud Forest, and Supertree Grove Trees. Here one enters freely, while one has to pay a ticket to enter the Flower Dome greenhouses or to go up the OCBC Skyway walkway that winds through the Supertrees. Last admission is at 8 p.m., but it is worth visiting them at dusk, just before closing, when the lights come on and the Supertrees' light and sound show, the Garden Rhapsody, takes place every night at 7:45 and 8:45 p.m.
TANJONG PAGAR AND CHINATOWN
The Tanjong Pagar district is an array of colonial residential buildings, now entered on the government's list of protected buildings and redeveloped to house restaurants and stores. The historic buildings are literally squeezed by towering modern skyscrapers, creating a picturesque perspective contrast. In my opinion one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Singapore, this district should be walked the length and breadth of the city repeatedly to appreciate every nook and cranny. In the evening it fills with lights, sounds and people as it offers a varied culinary scene, including excellent Japanese restaurants.
Duxton Road is truly beautiful, as is Duxton Hill and the parallel Tanjong Pagar Road.
Nearby, it's worth checking out Pinnacle@Duxton, a building experiment in social housing that consists of 6 paired towers connected by walkways that on two levels create outdoor recreational spaces for tenants, areas for running, eating, sunbathing, and cooling off under a tree on the 50th floor. One can go by lift to the last catwalk that offers a 360-degree view of the city, especially the harbor and sea area. A young boy behind a tiny storefront will sell you a ticket costing $6 to ride the elevator to the top. Finding the ticket office is an adventure in itself, as you will have to look for the G-block and delve behind the bakery. You pay by cash only, and if there is no one in the ticket office, try to see if they are absent to bake a loaf of bread.
When, at the edge of the district, you come to the imposing red pagoda structure of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, you will know you have approached ChinaTown. Here, too, this temple is worth a visit, and perhaps check out the Sri Mariamman Temple (Hindu), and then get lost in the streets with low buildings on and around Amoy Street. For a while you'll stay away from the malls, and enjoy a warm traditional Asian atmosphere, with a few modern touches in the dozens of trendy clubs that have opened in this neighborhood.
THE QUAYS
This area orbits the docks of the Singapore River, where a pedestrian path that rises and falls between bridges and underpasses, winds along shopping malls, modern skyscrapers, low row buildings with clubs and restaurants, and a few abandoned warehouses that testify to this area's past role as a commercial hub on the river. It is a sometimes peaceful, sometimes chaotic area, which is certainly at its best in the evening when it comes alive with young people hanging out at clubs with deafening music.
Next to Fort Canning Park, which is probably worth a visit, although we had some difficulty with stroller accessibility on this hilly park, is the Old Hill Street police station, a corner building characterized by rainbow windows and shutters, which you will have no trouble noticing.
ORCHARD ROAD AND BOTANICAL GARDENS
We move away from Singapore's center to a neighborhood that offers activities at the antipodes. You can choose to spend a few quiet hours in the oasis of the Botanical Gardens, or slip into the commercial chaos of Orchard Road.
The Singapore Botanical Gardens is an oasis of greenery and tranquility, where you can stroll for hours among plants with giant leaves and species you've never seen. There are so many paths through this vast park, and the heat and humidity will surely stop your visit at some point. But take care not to miss the orchid garden. This has an entrance fee of $5 (the Botanical Garden itself is free instead), but contains a must-see collection of plants that you will surely have never seen elsewhere. This is the largest botanical collection of orchids on the planet, and between extremely hot and incredibly cold greenhouses, you will discover magnificent varieties of this otherworldly flower.
With a couple of subway stops, you will reach Orchard Road, Singapore's quintessential shopping street. Amidst the shopping malls that follow one another almost seamlessly, you can do some wild shopping, frequent food courts, and score some bargains in the well-stocked Kinokuniya bookstore in the Takashimaya Shopping Center.
Even if you're not the shopping type, you'll still have to get to this district if you don't want to miss the wonderful succession of colonial buildings and flowering frangipani trees on Emerald Hill Road. These early 20th-century homes, with their carved doors, colorful facades, and idyllic gardens, will make you want to stroll back and forth until you have caught the smallest detail of this beautiful and very quiet street.
KAMPONG GLAM
This is Singapore's Islamic district. Dominated by the Sultan's Mosque with its golden dome, surrounded by eateries serving Middle Eastern cuisine, it is a small and chaotic district that will amaze you. Colorful little houses, trendy stores, murals and above all, a cheerful bustle of people from morning to late night. You can find Scandinavian furniture stores, French-style bakeries, Turkish street food, all, in the evening, illuminated by light bulbs that create a beautiful atmosphere.
Not far away is Little India, which, however, I would not recommend visiting unless you have an insatiable craving for Indian food. The district could not have been more aptly named, as it really feels like you have been projected into a Delhi neighborhood. However, in our opinion, it offers no particular attractions.
BONUS TRACK: SINGAPORE STREET ART
If you are a fan of street art and murals, Singapore hides some goodies for you. The whole city is dotted with murals, some in the neighborhoods recommended in this little guide.
Tiong Bahru is home to so many murals depicting scenes of daily life, scattered in different alleys: have fun looking for as many as you can.
China Town is also no different, with the best-known mural on Amoy Street, a 40-meter scene depicting scenes of Hokkien daily life: look for the Thian Hock Keng temple and go to the back.
Another destination with some murals is Armenian street, just behind Fort Canning Park, and, finally, Kampong Glam in which each building has its own wall decoration on its facade.
BEFORE YOU GO
That's right, before departing Singapore, you still have one more wonder left to see. Spend your hours waiting after you drop off your luggage, at the Jewel, a section of Singapore's Changi Airport.
It is in essence, of course, a shopping mall, linking all the airport terminals together. But its architecture, also by Moshe Safdie (Architect of the Marina Bay Sands) is unique: a giant glazed greenhouse with an inverted geodesic dome from which a 40-meter-high waterfall flows down from the central oculus. This greenhouse hosts a veritable botanical garden, climbing up the sides of the dome, and overlooked by restaurants, terraces and stores. In the evening, the whole thing is illuminated with a play of lights. In short, you will have no trouble fooling the wait, especially while eating at one of the trendy restaurants on the top floor, overlooking the waterfall.
