Singapore has been basking in the spotlight recently as the location of the Crazy Rich Asians movie, which is deserved. Modern, attractive, and orderly, the city is without doubt Southeast Asia’s most prosperous metropolis and one of Asia’s as well. The only drawback is that it possesses those attributes in such great quantities that this overshadows any distinctive character and the city lacks a certain kind of charm that say, Hanoi or Bangkok have.

Nevertheless, Singapore has several interesting attractions and landmarks. The Gardens by the Bay featurestwo impressive, massive domed plant conservatories. The Flower Dome features flowers from tropical regions like South America and the Mediterranean, while the Cloud Forest features an artificial 42m-tall mountain filled with plants with a waterfall. Nearby outside the conservatories are the “Supertrees,” a clump of giant artificial trees.

As the entry fees were not exactly cheap (foreigners are charged much more than locals, which is surprising since Singapore is one of the world’s richest countries), I chose to forego walking on top of the Supertrees. Nearby are the unique Marina Bay Sands hotel which features a long upper deck that lies atop three towers, and the iconic Merlion, Singapore’s lion-headed fish statue that is also the city’s symbol.

The mighty Merlion

Its downtown boasts some decent skyscrapers, lots of open space, museums like the Asian Civilisations Museum, as well as colonial architecture like St Andrew’s Cathedral and the National Gallery Singapore, housed in a magnificent gray colonial building that overlooks the Padang, a large playing field which also houses the Singapore Cricket Club. The Asian Civilizations Museum features artifacts from India, China, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Pakistan, which is a great idea but the collection was not that big.

Plates salvaged from the wreck of an Arab ship that sank near Singapore over 1,100 years ago, Asian Civilisations Museum
Sarasvati, Hindu goddess of learning and music, from 11th century Central India

National Gallery of Singapore, formerly City Hall

As befitting its multiethnic society, Singapore has neighborhoods like Little India, Kampong Glam (sometimes called Muslim Quarter), and Chinatown. Little India, where I stayed in, was very busy on the weekend with lots of Indians, both local Singaporeans and migrant workers, as well as tourists. The main attribute is that there are tons of Indian restaurants and just thinking about it now makes me want to go back.

Kampong Glam is a former Arab and Malay neighborhood that has been extensively restored and fixed up for tourists with cafes, shops and some nice murals. The neighborhood still has a lot of Muslims and is home to Singapore’s largest mosque, Masjid Sultan, a handsome building built in 1928. One can walk inside the compound and peer at the main hall as well as walk around.

Chinatown did not seem that interesting to me (there is the Buddha Tooth Relic temple but I didn’t bother to go inside), but there are some older shophouses and decent open-air shopping streets that lend some charm to it.

One of several murals at Kampong Glam

Masjid Sultan, above, and the main worship hall, below

 
Chinatown
The Arts House, which used to be the country’s parliament
Renovated Chinese shophouse