10 mind blowing things to do in Singapore in a single day
Welcome to ‘Singapore in a day’, our totally incomplete guide to experiencing all of what this incredible city has to offer - in a single day. Now, obviously we can’t show you everything that Singapore offers but we found the most mind blowing things you can squeeze into a single day and hopefully it’ll give you some inspiration to make your short stay here as incredible as ours was.
We had chosen to take our two night stay in Singapore at the infamous Marina Bay Sands Hotel (look out for our hotel review coming soon!) and having arrived late the night before we started our one incredible day at here, right in the heart of the Marina Bay area of this city of 5.6 million inhabitants. With only one full day to explore this vibrant city here are the 10 things we managed to fit in.
1. Ride The Metro (MRT)
Marina Bay Sands hotel is conveniently situated next door to the Marina Bay shopping centre meaning access to the MRT is quick and easy. We made our way from the hotel to the shopping centre (accessed directly from the hotel lobby) and straight to the metro system to buy our tickets to get us to Chinatown. The MRT is the simplest and most convenient way to navigate the city, with plenty of stations and lines making almost anywhere you want to visit within a short walk from an MRT station. It’s incredibly clean, surprisingly un-crowded and cheap, which is also surprising as Singapore has been ranked by The Economist as the most expensive city to live in for the last seven years.
2. Visit Chinatown
Our first stop was to Chinatown, an area of the city that looks, well, Chinese (I’m the master at stating the obvious). A quick stroll around Chinatown reveals many places to buy weird and wonderful food, some being quite alien to us western folk. You cannot come to Chinatown without a visit to the Hawker Centre, a first floor collection of earthy food kiosks above an indoor market. It’s a fascinating place, full of quirky stalls selling the most authentic street food. Of course, you cannot visit here without seeking the world famous Hawker Chan.
3. Eat a meal from Hawker Chan
Hawker Chan is world famous for being the only street food stall in the world with a Michelin Star. But like virtually every other restaurant in the world, having a Michelin star doesn’t mean they have Hawked up the prices (see what I did there). Hawker Chan therefore holds the title of ‘cheapest Michelin starred meal on the planet’. Our (very early) lunch cost less than five of your English pounds. Yes, a Michelin star meal for two for around the same price as a single fancy coffee in Starbucks. Come early though, as the queue for this little culinary marvel gets long, and once they’ve run out of food, they’ll close and you’ll have to go to their second, newly opened location across the road from the centre instead. Which isn’t the same. You want the authentic Hawker Chan experience? You gotta go in the Hawker centre to their original stall.
4. Drink a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel
Being just 94 miles north of the equator, things get a little warm in Singapore and you’d be mad not to stay hydrated. And the extreme end of the refreshment scale couldn’t be more different to the chow at Hawker Chan. Established in 1887 and named after the founder of Singapore, Brit Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Raffles Hotel is the epitome of elegance, luxury and history and has recently been reopened in August 2019 after two years of extensive renovation work. The Long Bar, which is where the famous Singapore Sling cocktail was invented, is well signposted and again, get there early as it’s not overly huge inside and the queues can get exhaustingly long in the Asian heat. The bar itself is very pretty, authentic and just the right side of ‘theme park’ kitsch. Remember to eat the peanuts from the little sack on your table and throw the shells on the floor like an inconsiderate oaf. Don’t worry, you won’t get kicked out for such contempt of decency. It’s a tradition! Be warned though, the traditional Singapore Sling is not cheap! We got hardly any change from S$80, which is around £45. For two drinks. And some messy peanuts. Mind you, the peanuts were ‘all you can eat’, so fill your boots. Be warned, the floor gets a bit ‘crunchy’. Those with that particular OCD might find the whole experience expensive AND challenging.
5. Take a stroll around Gardens by the Bay
Set in 250 acres of reclaimed land in front of Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay is a must visit for the budding horticulturalist in you. You’ll find amongst many other ridiculously lavish wonders - the Flower Dome, the largest glass greenhouse in the world, numerous art installations scattered liberally around and Supertree Grove, the arty centre piece, comprising 12 of the 18 giant iconic structures measuring 25 to 50 metres tall, towering above the gardens. If you have the time and the energy it is worth coming back here after the sun has set to see the gardens in a completely different light with the Supertree Grove magnificently illuminated.
6. Walk along the OCBC Skyway
While you’re here, you’d be mad not to experience the famed Supertree OCBC Skyway. It’s only S$8 per person to go up the enormous tree sculptures and walk along the 128 metres of narrow mezzanine and they only let a maximum of 80 persons on at a time, so again, there may be queues. The walkway is 22 metres high and does move a bit with others’ footfall because it’s suspended from cables, which could give you the first of your two giddy moments (more on that later) but it does give you great views of the gardens. Just don’t look down!
7. Take a swim in the Skypark infinity pool
A short walk back from the gardens and up a very swift elevator in the Marina Bay Sands hotel that makes your ears pop, you’ll find the 57th floor and the famous Sands Skypark and the 150 metre long Insta-tastic infinity pool. Unfortunately, only hotel guests can access this area, but it’s well worth booking a night for this very delightful opportunity to take a selfie in one of the most famous selfie backdrop locations in the world, a full 191 metres above the earth. I wonder just how many phones and cameras have plopped into the water from slippery hands to their doom here? Perhaps the pool also holds the world record for ‘Most Phones Destroyed in a single location’? I waded in with my $5000 Sony A7riii camera setup. Yes, I’m THAT stupid.
8. Lord it over Singapore from the Skypark observation deck
After that, put your clothes back on and take a stroll to the other end of the Skypark observation deck, where you’ll encounter the worlds largest public cantilevered observation platform, which protrudes a giddying 67 metres off the end of the north tower with views of the city and out to the South China Sea that you simply can’t get anywhere else. You don’t have to be staying at the hotel to access the Observation deck, tickets cost S$26 each and include access to the deck and a drink at the bar located there. Even the word Breathtaking doesn’t cut it as an adjective here. Just don’t think too hard about where you are, 191 metres up, and 67 metres laterally from the nearest sturdy object below your feet. Oh my giddy aunt, is it worth it though.
9. Peruse The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Back on terra-firma, a short connecting walk from the hotel lobby will get you into the heart of The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, yes, inexplicably spelt with a nod to Geoffrey Chaucer, the 14th century British author and poet. Stroll around this huge shopping mall and you’ll realise that Chaucer would turn in his Westminster Abbey grave at the sheers scale of the place. Virtually every single shop is a high end international luxury brand, in fact the worlds largest collection. You’ll also realise that there must be an awful lot of wealthy people visiting Singapore. The mall also rather oddly has a small Venetian canal running through it, which you can hire a manned gondola should carting your bags full of luxury swag from one end to the other become all too much effort, darling. Should all this high end glamour overwhelm you too much, you can walk to the end where the mall has its own Hawker Food Court, where you can feast rather messily on more Singapore street food from the multitude of competing vendors there, this time in a slightly more sanitised setting, although just as busy and chaotic at peak times.
10. Watch Spectra - a free light and water show
Finally, as your day draws to a close, there’s the free 15 minute light and water show called Spectra which happens twice each night during week days, and three times a night at weekends just outside the shopping mall in the event plaza. You can watch it here, or combine with a swim mentioned in number 7 of this list, and see it from 191 metres up. Either way, it’s one of those increasingly rare things in the world - good quality free entertainment. It costs you nothing. Mind you, you’ll have no money left anyway after a trip to the Shoppes and a few nights at Marina Bay Sands, so there’s that.
After all that, I have to keep reminding ourselves that we did all this in a single day. We hope you’ve enjoyed this blog and it gives you a few ideas for when you’re in Singapore for a visit, long or short. There are many more things we could’ve done obviously, so one day we may compile another one.
If you’ve enjoyed this blog why not take a look at our stay in Athens and review of The Electra Metropolis hotel
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