Adventures in Asia: Singapore, The Lion Nation

Singapore, The Lion Nation

Singapore is a tiny nation found at one of the southernmost points of Continental Asia. It is also one of the countries with the highest population densities in the World, Monaco narrowly beats it. Oddly though if I'm honest Singapore feels less busy than China did, admittedly this is probably because China has large spaces of sparse population whereas Singapore is essentially just one big thriving metropolis. 

Tiger Jaw Succulents found at the Garden By The Bay

To be completely honest I found Singapore looked fascinated but at the same time seeing that it had a higher population density than Hong Kong I was prepared to hate it. We arrived from Beijing airport in the early hours of the morning and stopped for coffee at a very suspicious establishment...

Couldn't they think of a better name?

But then we were on our way, straight across from one side of this small nation to the other where we were staying in what felt like a very homely Chinatown. Mad really that you travel thousands of miles from Beijing and somehow end up in Little China. Our first morning we were quite tired so had a look around a Hindu temple called Sri Marriaman. It's a beautifully colourful temple, but knowing fairly small amounts about Hinduism (it's such a vast religion with many different views) I felt a little lost and unsure about the place. After that we went towards the Buddha Tooth Relic temple where we were privilaged to witness some Buddhist Monks singing and playing some instruments. It was a beautiful haven from the bustling Chinatown complete with a rooftop garden.

Singapore Skyline

We then headed back to our accommodation for a nap before emerging out for more Dan Dan Noodles, like we had had in Hong Kong. These weren't quite the same as it was more minced beef than chunks of beef. But they were tasty despite being ferociously spicy.

Silver Garden

Our next day also felt great, we headed out towards the Garden By The Bay (henceforth known as GBTB). Singapore is a special place as it is made up of vast skyscrapers like Hong Kong but is also interspersed by beautiful greenery, the most exceptional of these being the GBTB. Here there are numerous themed gardens from Chinese to Indian, Malaysian to Colonial. They also have rather spectacular Great Trees which are these super high synthetic trees that use solar power to help power the domes at the far end of the park.

Cloud Dome at GBTB

We then decided to visit these domes where we saw in one of the domes the most beautiful arrangements of Orchids and then in the second dome we saw a large man made waterfall and plants from all over the high mountaneous regions of the world. It did feel somewhat sad that after seeing all of these amazingly beautiful plants there was a presentation on Climate Change and how we can do our part to avoid a worldwide disaster. The problem was people just walked on through the displays without paying attention.

Dragon at the Flower Dome

Later on after a brief break for a Biriyani for lunch and the view in the Flower dome (the one with the Orchids) We sat down in the Silver Garden (another grove of the aforementioned Super Trees). Here we had a chat with a very nice Chinese woman from Xi'an before heading down to the Supertree Grove (the one with all of the trees) where there was the most fantastic light display of opera and the trees which was truly magical, after these there was a fireworks display at the nearby Bay Hotel (we are not sure why, but it is nearly national day).

Peak of the Cloud Dome, the flowers are made out of Lego

Our next day was spectacular for all the food. So it is worth understanding that due to Singapore's location and the fact that it was a major seaport. Singapore is a smelting port for many different cultures. The most prominent here are the Chinese (found in Chinatown) the Indians (found in Little India) and Malaysians (Bugis and Kampong Glam). So we headed of to Little India.

Elephant in Little India

In Little India we went to an old Hindu temple called Sri Veeramakaliamman which is similar to Sri Marriaman in it's beautiful colours but is devoted to Kali. It's quite interesting seeing the great use of colours in it's designs. We then had a wander around it's packed streets with all the interesting and colourful house designs and also had a mutton curry with Garlic Naan in one of its little eateries.

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple

From here we went into Bugis and Kampong Glam just a short walk away and had a lovely quiet sit down in a rooftop type garden at the national library. We then went out to eat in a suggested restaurant for Malaysian food, because clearly when in Singapore you should try as many cultures food as possible. We had a really delicious Malaysian type pizza as it was described to us, called Murtabak. It was a bit like a stuffed pancake though with curry sauce and spiced chicken. We also had some lovely orange spiced rice with beef. All in all a very good day with lots of food.

Mini Merlion

 Which brings us to our final day in Singapore where we had a lovely day visiting the fabled Merlion, a symbol of Singapore before we headed to the airport. I feel that it's safe to say that we've loved Singapore from its beautiful green gardens to its eclectic mix of cultures. But for now we draw to a close on our Asian adventures and head off towards Oceania and Fiji with great anticipation for its sun soaked beaches.

Singapore Skyline with Merlion

In the Meantime

• See our up to date updates on Instagram (We have arrived in Christchurch and there are some pictures from our time in Fiji if you fancy a sneak peek)
• Read more about our time in Asia
• Want to see what we did in Europe try here
• Have a look at where we are going next here