48 Hours In: Singapore
With its fascinating history and sultry climate, this equatorial island state is a lively destination at any time of the year, says Jessica Morris
Saturday, 8 April 2006
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WHY GO NOW?
Many travellers visit the thriving city-state on a stopover en route to Australia or New Zealand. And, with fares currently at their lowest (until the end of June at least), that remains a good reason to be here. But Singapore is also growing into a plausible destination in its own right. In addition, it plays enthusiastic host to a number of festivals, such as the Singapore Arts Festival (www.singaporeartsfest.com) in June and the Singapore Food Festival (www.singaporefoodfestival.com) throughout July.
TOUCH DOWN
Singapore Airlines (0844 800 2380; www.singaporeair.co.uk) flies daily from Manchester and Heathrow; British Airways (0870 850 9850; www.britishairways.com) and Qantas (08457 747 767; www.qantas.com.au) also fly daily from Heathrow. A dozen other airlines will take you there with an en-route stop, including Emirates (0870 243 2222; www.emirates.com) from Gatwick, Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow via Dubai. You arrive at the vast but extraordinarily efficient Changi airport. Each terminal has a tourist office, open 6am-2am daily.
GET YOUR BEARINGS
The city occupies the southern tip of an island the same size and diamond shape as the Isle of Wight. Nowhere is too far away in Singapore. Changi airport is about as far as you can get from the city centre, being 20km east. In the city, the old colonial centre is on the north bank of the Singapore River. Further north lie the Islamic quarter around Arab Street and vibrant Little India. Chinatown is on the south bank.
TAKE A RIDE
As soon as you leave Changi you find out how excellent the local transport is. Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) trains take about half an hour to reach City Hall (1), the most convenient station for the centre, or about 10 minutes longer if you change for Orchard Road station (2), close to where many hotels are located. The MRT system is complicated: as well as your S$1.40 (50p) basic fare you must pay a S$1 deposit on your ticket, and you may need to change trains at Tanah Merah station en route to and from the centre. Instead, you could get a cab: about S$25 (£9) for the half-hour ride.
CHECK IN
Raffles Hotel (3) at 1 Beach Road (bookable through 0870 730 1332; www.singapore-raffles.raffles.com) is Singapore's must-stay institution. A double room in this fabulous property, nowadays almost overwhelmed by high-rises, costs S$932 (£330) including breakfast.
For a less expensive antidote to the bland, big-name hotels elsewhere in Singapore, check into The Scarlet (4) at 33 Erskine Street (00 65 6511 3333; www.thescarlethotel.com, housed in a row of converted shophouses in the Chinatown conservation area; double rooms from S$175 (£62) excluding breakfast. When the heat of the city gets too much head to the hotel's open-air Jacuzzi or its pretty rooftop bar.
Budget travellers are well looked after at Sleepy Sam's B&B (5) at 55 Bussorah Street (00 65 9277 4988; www.sleepysams.com) in Arab Street. This is a serene and friendly guesthouse in the old Sultan's palace compounds - a vibrant, colourful Malay heritage conservation area. A double room costs S$65 (£22) including breakfast and internet access.
TAKE A HIKE
To experience ancient and modern in a walk that will not exhaust you, start at the Merlion fountain (6), celebrating the city's symbol: half-fish, half-lion. Wander along to the Fullerton Hotel (7), in the fine old home of the Singapore Club. Walk across Anderson Bridge to the colonial core. A statue of the city's founder, Sir Stamford Raffles, stands in front of the handsome Victoria Theatre (8). Skirt past the Singapore Cricket Club (9) and across the wide Padang to the striking War Memorial (10). From here, make your way under the road bridge carrying Esplanade Drive to the performing arts centre known as Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay (11). This strange looking complex always has art exhibitions going on.
LUNCH ON THE RUN
On Serangoon Road in Little India, visit Komala Villas (12) for a superb South Indian vegetarian thali, served on a banana leaf; for this, together with a cup of hot, sweet tea, you will pay S$6 (£2).
WINDOW SHOPPING
Orchard Road appears at first sight to be a blur of shopping malls, but they are by no means identical. Among some impressive street sculptures, you will find exotic carpets at the Tanglin Shopping Centre (13), the closest thing to alternative Singapore at the Far East Plaza (14) and the usual designer shops at the Paragon (15).
AN APERITIF
As the sun sets and Singapore lights up, grab a window seat in the New Asia Bar (16) on the 71st floor of The Stamford Hotel at 2 Stamford Road (00 65 6837 3322). Happy "hour" here extends from 3-9pm so you can lap up the 360-degree views across the city and out to sea at the same time as enjoying a half-price cocktail.
DINING WITH THE LOCALS
The Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (17), the oldest Catholic school in Singapore, has now been converted into a shopping and eating centre called Chijmes. You can dine on anything from Brazilian to Italian here, but the pick of the bunch is Viet Lang (00 65 6337 3379), for exquisite Indo-Chinese curries and noodle dishes, with plenty of lemongrass.
SUNDAY MORNING: GO TO CHURCH
St Andrew's Cathedral (18) sits primly in its own city block. The interior is bleached with Madras Chunum, a blend of egg white, shell lime and sugar. Look above the pulpit for the Coventry Cross, formed by a pair of nails rescued from the cathedral ruins after the 1940 Luftwaffe raid on the English city. The centre panel of the east window is dedicated to Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore. Close by is the Catholic Cathedral of the Good Shepherd (19), whose main features are borrowed from two central London churches.
OUT TO BRUNCH
You can't walk 10 metres in any direction in some parts of Chinatown without someone offering to sell you food. At Yum Cha (20) at 20 Trengganu Street you can join the lunchtime crowds for dim sum. After brunch, walk along the restored shophouse on Pagoda Street (21) to number 48 - the Chinatown Heritage Centre (00 65 6325 2878; www.chinatownheritage.com.sg), where you can find out about the dominant community in Singapore. It opens 10am-7pm, admission S$9 (£3).
CULTURAL AFTERNOON
The riverside Asian Civilisations Museum (00 65 6332 7991; www.nhb.gov.sg/acm) is a superb institution. One reason is its stylish location in the Empress Building (22), the former headquarters of the immigration service. Better still is the smart way in which it places the island in the context of its surroundings, with stone carvings from Angkor Wat, tribal relics from Borneo and - currently - an exhibition of Ottoman treasures. It opens 9am-7pm daily (except Mondays from 1pm, and Fridays until 9pm), admission S$8 (£3).
A WALK IN THE PARK
Beside the gaily-painted former police station on Hill Street (23), steps lead up to Fort Canning Park, location for an early British military fortification. From gaps in the profuse vegetation you can see Chinatown and, dwarfed by skyscrapers, the colonial heart. Proof that this still beats strongly can be found just downhill at the Fort Canning Country Club (24).
THE ICING ON THE CAKE
The ultimate way to cool down and get away from the crowds is to become part of a tourist attraction yourself. Underwater World on Sentosa Island (00 65 6275 0030; www.underwaterworld.com.sg) offers four different "Dive Adventures". Certified divers can swim with pink Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins for US$120 (£68).
Additional Research by Emma Field
