Things to Do in Singapore

Night Safari at Mandai

The tram crawls past grazing tapirs while a guide whispers about their prehensile noses. A hyena whoops in the dark. Lemongrass scents the humid air. You glide through seven geographical zones under theatrical amber lighting. Fishing cats freeze on branches. Porcupines rattle quills.

Hawker-centre hop in Chinatown Complex

Steam clouds billow from 220 stalls. Tong Fong chars soy-basted chicken wings. Lime stings the $1 sugar-cane juice. Old men in singlets slap tissue packets on tables. Ceiling fans thud overhead.

Southern Ridges sunset walk

The Henderson Bridge hums beneath your trainers as the sun drops behind shipping lanes. Gunmetal rain gathers over the Strait. Mount Faber's cable-car station lights the city one pixel at a time. Frangipani drifts from cemetery slopes below.

Kampong Lorong Buangkor visit

Singapore's last village lanes fit a bicycle and a rooster. Wooden houses on stilts rise above muddy drains where tilapia fin. An uncle in a sarong pours nutmeg juice. Air cools ten degrees under rambutan trees. Time-capsule sits 15 minutes from Yishun's megamalls.

Esplanade rooftop before a show

Durian-shaped domes mirror Marina Bay's neon in polished aluminum. Buskers tune guitars. Diesel and pandan waffle scent drift off the river. Lean over glass and the Merlion's jet crackles against LED towers.

Tiong Bahru for art-deco flats and boutique bakeries smelling of kopi-O

Little India: pre-war shophouses echo with evening tabla and jasmine garlands

Boat Quay if you want riverfront bars five minutes from Raffles Place MRT

Katong: Peranakan tiles and laksa breakfasts cheaper than bus fare

Sentosa beachfront lodges: splurge when kids need sand between Zoom calls

Geylang's odd-numbered lorongs: cheap, colourful, durian stalls open past 2 am