Singapore (short layover) 2017-2018

Several 24 h layovers in Singapore (2017-2018)

• I will give ideas of some interesting places to visit in Singapore
• Good to know, there is a free 2.5h bus tour from the airport for people with connecting flights with more than 5 hour stoppover

Places visited:

• a) Downtown Core
• b) Sentosa
• c) Chinese garden
  

a) Downtown Core

Main places visited:

• Marina (Merlion)
• Gardens by the Bay
• Telok Ayer street 
• Little India
• Chinatown
  

• One of the most iconic view of Singapore is its Marina with its Merlion, the national personification of Singapore, and Marina Bay Sands luxury hotel at the other side

• The walk around this area is very nice, full of tourists and beautiful photos no matter where

• At night it is also a lovely spotto enjoy a walk or any of the many restaurants

• Half an hour walk from the Merlion you can reach the popular Gardens by the Bay, a huge modern green area which also receives plenty of visitors
• Is is one of the country´s great strategies to create a "city in a garden" 
• In particular, the Supertree Grove made me feel like in Avatar. On top of one of those "trees" there is even a fancy restaurant
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Telok Ayer street was part of the coast some decades ago. In particular I liked a lot a street full of paintintings and explanations about the area
  
•  Looking into the paintings in detail there are lot of explanations about Indian and Chinese immigration in the past and how they traded and lived
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• These paintings lead to the following two areas 
• Chinatown is very close to Telok Ayer street and of course it is packed with souvenir shops and restaurants
  
• In Chinatwon you can visit the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple (similar name as the temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka), but honestly I did not spend more than a minute here. It is free so nothing to lose :)
• A bir further you can find Little India, full of Indian shops and locals, quite busy, but what I liked a lot about this place is some of the colourful houses
  
  
  
  

b) Sentosa

• Previously a military base and a war camp, Sentosa was turned into a touristic island on 1970's
• I only visited the beach area which was quite nice, but there are resorts, golf courses, casino, Universal studios theme park, etc
  
  
  
  
• A train connects with Sentosa (4 SGD) but payment is only requested on the inbound train (return from Sentosa to Singapore is free as of 2018)
  

c) Chinese garden

• A 30min metro ride on the green line towards Chinese Garden station leads to Chinese garden
• There is actually a Japanese garden right next to the Chinese garden, and both can be visited for free
• It is a very nice place to have some relaxing time outside the city
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• I had a very good feeling in Singapore. The city looks clean, with many green areas and safe but at the same time I had a similar feeling as in Dubai, where bad things are "hidden" as much as possible
• Still lot to explore but I hope this brief introduction helps :)