Singapore – Traveller’s heaven
Singapore Airport Directory (SIN)
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Shaped like a diamond, Singapore is the world's only island city-state. Until 1819, it was home to only a thousand indigenous Malays, and Chinese settlers but the establishment of the East India Company’s trading post by Sir Stamford Raffles changed everything. Part of the British Straits Settlements, it gained independence in 1963 and became part of Malaysia, until it broke away as a sovereign nation two years later. Singapore juggles its colonial heritage and multi-culturalism with élan, blending Tamil, Chinese, Peranakan (Chinese Strait's settlers) and Malay influences, best seen in its dynamic cuisine.
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Best time to visit: July to September is the best time to explore Singapore.
How to reach
By Air: Changi Airport is the main airport of Singapore, located 18km from the city center. IndiGo operates weekly, non-stop flights between Singapore and Bengaluru and Chennai.
Getting around: Buses by SBS Transit and SMRT, The Mass Transit Railway (MRT) and taxis are the most popular means of transportation to travel around Singapore.
Baggage Allowance
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7Kg
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Places to visit in Singapore
- Singapore Botanic Gardens: An excellent place to start is the massive Singapore Botanic Gardens, with heliconia-lined walkways, herbariums and brilliant Orchid Gardens (several hybrids, are named after visiting celebrities).
- Jurong Bird Park: Continue on the nature trail to Jurong Bird Park and catch the free High Flyer show or feed birds at Lory Loft. It is better to combine the tour with an all-access pass to the troika of parks Singapore Zoo, River Safari and Singapore Night Safari.
- Museums in Singapore: Singapore points of interest include excellent museums and galleries. Start at the National Gallery Singapore, housed in two national monuments – the former Supreme Court Building and City Hall – to see artworks of South Asian artists. There’s also the impressive National Museum of Singapore, Changi Museum, ArtScience Museum and the quaint Philately Museum. The new Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum has twenty zones spread across two floors housing over 5,00,000 animal and plant specimens ranging from the world's biggest to the smallest crab, three dinosaurs, a sperm whale and a Heritage Gallery with taxidermy kits, stuffed birds and Cabinets of Curiosity. Several community-specific museums offer insights into Singapore’s multi-cultural ethos. Visit the Peranakan Museum to learn about the customs of local Chinese Strait settlers.
- Singapore river cruise: A short boat ride with Singapore River Cruise from the iconic Merlion statue along the riverfront retraces the evolution of this erstwhile fishing village into a world-class city as you watch landmarks like Stamford Raffles’ landing site, the integrated resort and casino Marina Bay Sands and Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, a waterfront venue for cultural entertainment and performing arts.
- Gardens by the Bay: Another popular attraction is Gardens by the Bay with a giant Supertree Grove, the colourful Flower Dome and a Cloud Forest with intermittent sprays of mist to recreate a rainforest.
- Sentosa Island: For all-around entertainment, head to Sentosa Island, which is full of tourist attractions like Universal Studios Singapore and it’s incredible 4D Transformer and Battlestar Galactica rides, Madame Tussauds, S.E.A. Aquarium and Resorts World.
Places to eat in Singapore
Lau Pa Sat, Boon Tat Street
A Victorian-era market transformed into a buzzing street food centre, you’ll find various stalls strung around a central clock tower. Try mutton, chicken, beef and prawn satays, soupy black mussels, fried stingray, crayfish, scallops, squid, octopus, oysters or prawns with baby kailan (Chinese broccoli). The unique thing is, you pay the moment your order arrives.
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Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, Maxwell Road Food Centre
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay lost to this tiny eatery’s chicken rice in a Street Food Challenge. Anthony Bourdain swears that you can have it even without the chilli-shallots-ginger-garlic condiment and sliced red chilli in soya! The secret lies in the rice cooked in chicken broth with steamed or roasted chicken breast sliced and served on top. There’s always a queue.
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Jumbo Seafood, Clarke Quay
Go there for their award-winning Singapore chilli crab and other seafood. It’s hard to get a table at the original, but luckily, they've opened multiple outlets across Singapore.
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Song Fa, multiple locations
From a tiny pushcart in Chinatown’s Johor Road in 1969 to a chain of restaurants, their speciality is juicy pork ribs, and bak kut teh (peppery pork rib soup) served with rice, garlic chilli paste and sliced red chilli in soya sauce.
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Din Tai Fung, multiple locations
Michelin starred and ranked among the world’s Top Ten Best Restaurants by The New York Times; Din Tai Fung started in Taiwan 40 years ago. Today, it has 19 franchise outlets in Singapore alone serving signature xiao long baos (steamed pork dumplings) and steamed chicken soup, among others.
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ChoPSuey and PS Cafe, Dempsey Hill
Earlier a British cantonment and barracks, Dempsey Hill is an upscale dining location. Sister establishments ChoPSuey and PS Cafe have the best rib eye steaks, pasta and wine in this city.
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Lolla, Ann Siang Hill
Once a spice plantation and now a buzzing foodie precinct crammed with rooftop bars and restaurants, Lolla is the pick of the lot at Ann Siang Hill. Their tapas-sized portions of house specials – like toasted sourdough with kombu butter, cured meat platter, Iberico pork collar and lamb rack – are highly recommended.
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El Mero Mero, CHIJMES
Literally, ‘the go-to-guy’, this Mexican restaurant in a renovated church complex serves excellent bluefin tuna tostada, wild fish ceviche, grilled wild fish tacos and signature cocktails like Habanero Mango Martini and El Mero Mero, made with orange-infused mescal, fresh lime and agave.
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Pollen, Gardens by the Bay
Halia, Botanic Gardens: Inside the National Orchid Garden overlooking the Ginger Garden, Halia (Malay for ‘ginger’) does a great chilli crab spaghettini and paper bag fish. Also, try their version of the Singapore sling that uses Hendrick’s gin.
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Shopping in Singapore
For some top-quality retail therapy, be at Singapore’s central shopping district Orchard Road, where the 2km long avenue only has shops and plush malls like ION Orchard and Paragon housing top designer brands.
For a good bargain on fashion and food, try Far East Asia and Lucky Plaza. Clarke Quay too has its fair share of malls – Central, Riverside Point and Great World City. Raffles City Shopping Centre, located in the middle of the Civic District, a short walk from Clarke Quay and Marina Bay. For more atmospheric markets instead of the sterile comfort of malls, visit Little India, Arab Street and Chinatown. Trawl the shops around Pagoda Street, Trengganu Street, Sago Lane, Smith Street and Temple Street and buy comic books, toys and retro artefacts at China Square Central Flea Market. Chinatown Street Market has everything from herbal tea, Chinese medicine shops to traditional candles while Chinatown Point has over 200 shops across six levels, including a Handicraft Centre for souvenirs, lacquerware, shoes, cosmetics, clothes and travel bags.
The massive Mustafa Centre in Little India is a legendary 24/7 mall known for its low prices.
Tucked away between Little India and Marina Bay, Bugis Street Market is the largest street market in town with more than 800 stalls under a giant canvas roof.
If you still have fuel in your tank, get lost in the duty-free shops at Changi International Airport or Vivo City, the largest mall in town.
Nightlife in Singapore
Singapore has a buzzing nightlife, and the party epicentre is undoubtedly Clarke Quay, a riverside precinct packed with bars, restaurants and nightclubs. It is also one of the best places to visit in Singapore. The number one club in town is Zouk, which has a slew of discos attached to it. Velvet Underground (after the velvet walls adorned with original modern art) attracts an older crowd and plays soul and garage in a sophisticated, futuristic ambience. If you’re musically adventurous, head to the adjoining Phuture for an eclectic mix of trip hop, drum and bass, nu-jazz and downtempo music. The contemporary décor blends steel, liquids-in-glass-vials and excellent lighting. At most clubs, the action starts at midnight, till then the Zouk Wine Bar is a great place to hang out between dinner and dance. For mainstream dance music, head straight to Attica that plays the latest EDM. While in Clarke Quay, go party hoping to Canvas Nightclub, which switches from art gallery by day to underground music club by night.
Trace Lounge on Magazine Road next to Central Mall plays excellent EDM and hip-hop, with accompanying lights and lasers. Following the trend of many big clubs in Singapore, Trace is only open for three nights of the week: Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Following a similar schedule is the 700-capacity Club Dream with Singapore’s first ever ‘video music matching’ technology in town and equally impressive drink promotions. Kyo, housed in a former bank vault in the basement of Keck Seng Tower, boasts Japanese, minimalistic decor and plays the best house, tech and minimal music. On weekends, escape to Sentosa Island to party at Tanjong Beach Club with their famous Smack My Beach Up Parties every Sunday and thrice a year Full Steam Ahead full moon parties.
Where to stay in Singapore
Oasia Hotel Downtown, CBD Great location, this new hotel in the CBD is close to all the action, with a terrific breakfast spread.
Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa, Siloso Beach A luxury resort at the western end of Sentosa overlooking the beach and close to the Fort Siloso walkway.
Naumi Liora Hotel, Keong Saik Road A tastefully restored residence in Chinatown, this boutique heritage hotel comes alive at night with great light projections.
Wink Hostel, Mosque Street Great budget option located in the heart of Chinatown with neat pods for independent travellers.
More reasons to visit Singapore
Chinatown Heritage Center: Drop by at the Chinatown Heritage Center, Sri Mariamman Temple (Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple) Thian Hock Keng Temple (Singapore’s oldest Hokkien Chinese shrine) and the Tang-style Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum. The Malay Heritage Centre offers a peep into Malay traditions, and the Indian Heritage Centre in Little India features exhibits about the Indian community, brought to life with augmented reality and interactive displays.
Laser shows: Catch eye-popping laser shows, be it Wings of Time at Sentosa or WonderFull at Marina Bay Sands and Garden Rhapsody at the SuperTree grove in Gardens by the Bay; both free to the public.
Events and festivals: Singapore has a busy event calendar with big-ticket events like Singapore Grand Prix held every September. World Gourmet Summit around April, every year, sees Michelin star chefs competing with local chefs. The Singapore Food Festival is held in July with pop-up kitchens and food promotions while a separate gourmet food festival Savour at Marina Bay.
Visa and Immigration
Singapore is one of the famous destinations in Southeast Asia. And if you are planning to visit the country, you will require a Singapore visa. An Indian passport holder requires a visa 30 days before arriving in Singapore from an authorised agency that is approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Your Singapore visa is valid for a period of 30 days once you apply. It is illegal to stay in the country once the visa expires. Know more by visiting the Singapore visa guide.
Requirements for Singapore visa
- Confirmed return flight ticket
- Valid passport
- Completely filled visa application form
- At least 2 passport-size photographs against a white background
- Cover letter of the traveller/itinerary
- Bank statement of last 6 months attested by a bank official
How to track visa applications?
To check your application status, you can log in to www.ica.gov.sg. On the website menu, click on ‘Check Status’ and click ‘Entry Visa’. At the bottom of the page, you can click ‘Status Enquiry’. You can fill in the details and click proceed to check your application. If you have applied from an agent, you can contact the concerned person.
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