Singapore: An “Asia Lite” Experience

If you’ve never been to Asia, Singapore is a great introduction to the continent. I think of it as “Asia Lite.” Yes, you’re in Asia, but English is universally spoken and written on signs. Some Asian cities have given me a bad case of culture shock, so there’s a lot to be said for a city that’s easily navigated on foot, by taxi, or public transport – even if I sometimes felt more like I was in Europe than Asia.

The first thing I noted about Singapore is that it’s remarkably clean. Of course, the government is famously strict, so both street litter and the crime rate are low. On my drive from the airport, I noticed that even the highways are beautifully landscaped with palm trees and flowers lining the way.

The second thing that caught my eye is that it’s much more culturally diverse than most cities in Asia. I saw people of almost every ethnic background, but Singapore’s main cultural influences are Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian.

I stayed at two hotels during my time in the city, and my first hotel was located within walking distance of Chinatown. The 4-star Amara Hotel was a pleasure from beginning to end. Newly renovated, the property maintains several restaurants and bars. One of them included a Chinese tea-pouring show.

If you’ve never seen this, you’re in for a treat. The tea expert studied in China for three years and uses an excessively long spout to pour the tea in long streams from behind his back, over his head, and more without spilling or splattering it, even though he pulls the spout up sharply after each pour. It’s a 3,000-year-old tradition that is very impressive and fun to watch.

I enjoyed some of the Amara’s extra touches, such as the soft Chinese music playing in the hallways, the pillow menu, the self-service laundry facilities, and the room service breakfast menu, which offered continental, American, Chinese, Japanese, and healthy breakfast options. Since I stayed in an executive suite, I had breakfast on the special floor for execs.

We “execs” were given private buffet service in a small area with the news playing on a large screen TV. I was greeted by name and served eggs to order at a small table while I sat on a cushy couch.

When I stepped out of the Amara, it was easy to find my way to Chinatown. I had such a great time strolling through the small streets lined with vendors that I wandered around for hours. Unlike some cities in Asia where the vendors are uncomfortably aggressive, the Singapore sellers were gracious when I said I’d “think about it.”

The prices were also very reasonable, and I walked away with a lot of unique gifts from silk pillow covers to a Chinese silk kimono to glass bottles with scenes painted on the inside. Don’t miss getting a super cheap foot or shoulder massage while you’re in Chinatown either!

My second hotel, the Pan Pacific, gave me a taste of the very commercial Marina Square area, which is central to upscale shopping and office buildings. The Roman drapes and sun filters on the windows of my room were operated by remote control or a bedside table panel. (It’s hard to resist the urge to play with this.) Even the minibars were wifi automated. Every time you remove something from the frig, your room is automatically charged. You don’t have to fill out a form, and you don’t have to worry about being charged for something after you’ve checked out.

The hallways of each floor of the hotel are open, giving you a view of every floor above you, and there are glass bubble elevators with a view of the city that is especially spectacular at night.

The Pan Pacific has several restaurants serving a variety of cuisines, including Japanese, Indian, and Italian. But it’s the Chinese restaurant – Hai Tien Lo – that is the hotel’s showplace. Located high in the hotel’s tower, the circular restaurant offers panoramic views of the city and harbor.

As luck would have it, I arrived in Singapore right at the beginning of Chinese New Year, so I was able to sample a special authentic holiday menu prepared by Hai Tien Lo’s award-winning chef, which included salmon sashimi yu sheng, a traditional salad that you toss at the table for good luck, and some sugary fruit sweets unlike anything I’d ever tasted. Dessert was another special New Year cake called custard nian gao.

Singapore offers a wealth of things to do, and I feel like I only scratched the surface. I visited Little India and sampled both Indian and Malaysian cuisine at small inexpensive restaurants on the street.

I visited Singapore’s Botanic Gardens, which are among the best in the world. Even after visiting numerous botanic gardens and rainforests across the globe, I had never seen many of these exotic plants that looked like they belong on another planet.

The Jurong Bird Park was an excellent zoo filled exclusively with birds. It closed in early 2023 at its original location and is now part of Mandai Wildlife Reserve. I highly recommend it. There is also a Night Safari there that isn’t to be missed.

If you like nature, also make your way to the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve for the mangrove arboretum, where you’ll see fish, turtles, birds, and my favorite – the large monitor lizards. From a bridge on the grounds, you can see the skyline of Johor Bahru in Malaysia, which you can visit on a day trip if you like.

Singapore is a metropolitan and sophisticated city, and I have nothing but positive things to say about my experience there. I certainly understand why so many expatriates call it home. But if you forget for a moment that you’re in Asia, you’ll be reminded when you find yourself face to face with a family of macaque monkeys.