Travel
Singapore – so much more than just stopover
If you’ve only ever experienced Singapore from inside Changi Airport, it’s time to trade your transit pass for a proper visit and explore the city's incredible highlights.
By Leonie Jarrett
Singapore, like Abu Dhabi or Dubai, is often seen as only a layover spot to pass through when in reality there is so much to do and explore.
In the mid to late 1970s and early 1980s, I travelled to Singapore several times as a child. I would stop with my family on the way to or from Penang where my Dad did some work. As a child I thought that Singapore was a sanitised, boring place to visit.
When I first visited as a kid, it wasn’t love at first sight
In those days, my memories of Singapore were of standing around in shopping plazas like Lucky Plaza on Orchard Road whilst my Dad bartered for tennis racquets and electronics. People didn’t travel overseas like they do now so Mum and Dad would often have a list of things to buy and bring home for friends and family.
For example, my boyfriend at the time (now my husband) received a camera from his parents bought for them by my parents in Singapore for his 21st! Dad would usually treat himself to a new Prince racquet – he loved Prince racquets! The three of us kids would dutifully hang around, waiting for this boring time to be over so that we could go back to the hotel for a swim!
For decades, I have told my husband, Andrew, that I am not interested in spending time in Singapore; that it’s boring. Besides, we have so many great experiences closer to home. Andrew listened to me about Singapore being boring (sorry darl!) so we have spent many hours over the years in Changi Airport but we had never made a proper stop in Singapore.
Until now. We just spent a few days in Singapore and I’m not afraid to admit that I was wrong. Way wrong.
Our Raffles Singapore experience
I never stayed at the legendary Raffles Singapore as a kid but I visited there with my parents and I had long wanted to stay there. Andrew had visited Raffles with business colleagues for a drink but shared my wish to one day stay there as a hotel guest.
The opportunity finally arrived and we started our Singapore mini-break with an indulgent couple of days at Raffles Singapore. Raffles Singapore was the first Raffles property – there are now twenty-five globally including recent openings at Sentosa Island, Singapore and London. You can read about my afternoon tea experience earlier this year at Raffles London, which is in the glorious Old War Office building.
From the moment we walked into Raffles Singapore via a red carpet and heard a harpist playing beside the Grand Staircase, serenity enveloped us. Raffles is a true urban sanctuary.
What makes Raffles unique?
Dating from 1887, Raffles Singapore is an all-suite hotel. The hotel is a cluster of white, low-rise, Colonial-style buildings. The buildings surround several courtyards of manicured lawns and lush, tropical plants. Raffles Singapore is an absolute haven in the midst of a bustling, international city.
We stayed in a Palm Court Suite King complete with Parlour, bedroom (with four-poster bed) and marble bathroom. We also had the use of a Butler, as all 115 suites do. Our suite was spacious and elegant with modern comforts including a Dyson hairdryer, two flat screen TVs, iPads and plenty of power outlets. For a truly indulgent stay, there was a deep bath complete with a bath pillow!
Whilst my husband enjoyed the pool, I had an indulgent massage at the Raffles Spa. We sipped Singapore Slings at the Long Bar and Million Dollar Cocktails (the predecessor to the Singapore Sling) at the Writers’ Bar.
We had breakfast and yummy curry at the legendary Tiffin Room, a tasting menu at Butchers Block and a set Chinese lunch at Yì by Jereme Leung. The fine dining meals at Butchers Block and Yì were real highlights of our stay – exceptional food, ambience and service.
We had a great history tour too with Resident Historian, Roslee. Raffles has just introduced Heritage Tours for non-Raffles guests. For SGD$20 (about AUD$24), anyone can now hear Raffles stories and take home a little souvenir.
We loved Raffles so much that we didn’t leave the hotel for the duration of our stay there!
Venturing out to Marina Bay
Leaving Raffles Singapore was a wrench but we had some sightseeing to do and only a day to do it in! I had two “must-sees” on my list - the Marina Bay area and Orchard Road.
Marina Bay sits on waterfront land reclaimed in the 1970s through 1990s. I had never been there before but I had seen the Gardens by the Bay show on TV so I wanted to visit. What I didn’t realise was how much else there is to see in the Marina Bay precinct.
For starters, there’s a huge (93,000 square metres) shopping complex, The Shoppes, with over 270 stores and food outlets. Full of high-end designer boutiques and eateries, this is Chadstone in Melbourne or Westfield Sydney on steroids! Two boutiques, in particular, stood out for me - the Louis Vuitton boutique looked like a boat out on the water!
And the Apple shop looked like a space capsule or snow globe floating out on the water, reflecting the Singapore skyscrapers in its glass exterior. Despite sitting in the water, both shops connect directly to The Shoppes on their lower levels. Very clever, beautiful design.
Marvelling at the ArtScience Museum
Next door to The Shoppes is the ArtScience Museum. Designed by Moshe Safdie, the same architect who designed the three-tower Marina Bay Sands Hotel (and the fourth tower of that hotel which is currently under construction), the ArtScience Museum is shaped like a lotus flower and has beautiful lotus flowers floating in a pond at the entrance. The Museum illustrates the intersection between art and science and is worth a look. There is a cinema, a Virtual Reality Gallery and exhibitions, both temporary and permanent.
Next door to the ArtScience Museum is a nightly, free light and water show called “Spectra.” Spectra is a show over water with dancing fountains, colourful visual projections and light effects accompanied by a classical music soundtrack.
Gardens by the Bay, known as the Lungs of Singapore, and created for Singaporeans, only opened in 2012 but the Gardens look like they have always been there. They truly epitomise the Garden City of Singapore with over 1.5 million plants. This free oasis has large pockets of shade which is very welcome in hot, humid Singapore weather.
A big museum fan? There are so many fantastic museums and galleries in the Baltic.
Gardens by the bay show
Every night, crowds gather for the free Gardens by the Bay show. Supertrees are illuminated to a changing, themed musical soundtrack. We saw “Retro Fever” which was a medley of 1970s disco hits. For fifteen minutes or so, the audience is mesmerised. It is impossible to leave this show without smiling. The snippets I had seen on TV did not do this show justice. If you’re in Singapore, it’s a must-do!
At tourist attractions like this, be sure to use these tips to beat the crowds.
You won’t go hungry at Marina Bay. There are 80-odd restaurants in the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and adjacent The Shoppes. Everything from a food court to Michelin-starred restaurants. There is also a Fitness Centre, Casino and Convention Centre in The Shoppes.
Check out 10 of Australia's most unique foodie experiences.
With the network of underpasses and overpasses, you don’t need to cross a road to move between the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, The Shoppes, the ArtScience Museum or Gardens by the Bay. If you do want to venture out of the Marina Bay area, you can access Singapore’s subway (the MRT) via a station (Bayfront) which is directly connected to the Shoppes.
Orchard Road Nostalgia
I wanted to re-visit my childhood memories of Orchard Road so we took the MRT from The Shoppes (Bayfront Station) to Orchard Station and walked up and down for a few blocks.
The old department stores of TANGS and Isetan were still there as I remembered. So, too, was Lucky Plaza. We went into Lucky Plaza for old time’s sake and I smiled seeing the tennis racquets on display and the plethora of electronics stores. This little visit was a great reminder that things change and yet nothing changes.
Too soon, our mini-break was over and we’d barely scratched the surface of Singapore as a tourist destination. Take it from me - next time someone tells you that Singapore is boring and not worth a stopover (whoops!), you can set them straight.
Meanwhile, I’m planning a return trip. Hawker food (street food), Singapore Zoo, Sentosa Island and Chinatown are all on the agenda for my next visit. Maybe even a visit to see the Singapore F1 Grand Prix - it feels only right after our Ferrari experience in Italy!
I have years of not stopping at Singapore to make up for. Here’s to giving “stopovers” the credit they deserve! And on that note - check out these amazing experiences in Abu Dhabi too.
Don’t have time to explore but have a layover in Singapore?
You can choose to stay a night in or near Changi airport. There are over twenty airport hotels including four hotels that are accessed directly from the airport terminals. These are:
- Aerotel - is for transit passengers only (I have stayed there for as little as six hours and as many as 23 hours – there is a mix of rooms with windows and without windows)
- Ambassador Transit Hotel - is for transit passengers only with windowless rooms
- Crowne Plaza - you have to collect your luggage and clear Immigration but there is direct access from Terminal 3
- YOTELAIR - you have to collect your luggage and clear Immigration but there is direct access from Terminals 1, 2 and 3 and accessible by shuttle bus from Terminal 4. This hotel is located within the JEWEL complex.
The writer stayed as a guest of Raffles Singapore.
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