Places of Interest and Places to Visit in Singapore
There are many interesting districts and places to visit in Singapore off the beaten track. Fascinatingly, you can find historical and modern areas in Singapore located just minutes away from each other. Many new fashionable stores and bars have sprung up to attract customers looking for the best shopping experiences. Be sure to visit Orchard Road and Little India for an intriguing contrast between the old and the new.
Our Rating System:
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A waste of time
**
Interesting place
***
Worth extending your holiday for. Don’t miss it!
Orchard Road
With three newly-opened malls, Orchard Central, ION Orchard and 313@Somerset, Orchard Road is set to renew itself as Singapore’s ultimate fashion and lifestyle destination. Add Takashimaya at Ngee Ann City, Wisma Atria, Paragon, the Heeren, Tangs and Plaza Singapura, and you get a bustling, modern shopping hangout where you can buy pretty much anything from books to cookware to Japanese cuisine.
*** Great place for shopping, people-watching and even a movie at Shaw House.
Arab Street and Haji Lane
Nearest MRT Station: Bugis The newest sources of hippie designer fashion, fabrics and decorations are Arab Street and Haji Lane. Singapore’s indie crowd, youths and budding designers flock to the latest trends here. Get carpets, Malay garments, fabrics, vintage jewellery and House of Japan vintage clothes all in one unpretentious area. Tune in to local indie-punk at Straits Records at 22 Bali Lane, and stroll by the street of souvenirs outside Sultan Mosque. Nearby Blu Jaz Café (11 Bali Lane) is a good place to relax with friends after a Middle Eastern dinner.
** Spend a chill-out afternoon here.
Little India
Nearest MRT Stations: Little India and Farrer Park Little India treats your senses to colourful silks, spices, jasmine and the scent of Indian curries and desserts. Start exploring the Little India Arcade, and head into Serangoon Road's jam-packed shophouses and five-foot ways. The area gets overwhelmingly crowded on weekend nights, but that's when Little India is at its liveliest. Drop by Mustafa Centre to gawk at the huge range of items on sale 24 hours a day. See how locals do their shopping at Tekka Centre, Tekka Mall and Mustafa Centre. Visit the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple in the morning and soak in the atmosphere. During Deepavali (in Oct/Nov), Little India’s streets are lit up beautifully.
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Little India may be the least gentrified major cultural area in Singapore, managing to retain its authenticity.
Chinatown
Nearest MRT Station: Chinatown
Chinatown has a pedestrian-only lane of touristy souvenirs that are not worth buying, but once you escape the touts near the Chinatown Food Street, Chinatown Heritage Centre, and Chinatown Night Market, you'll notice the mosques and Hindu and Buddhist temples that co-exist peacefully. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum stands out with its extravagance. You can take a overpriced trishaw ride here that’s nothing like a real trishaw ride 50 years ago.
Visit a quirky independent bookstore, Books Actually, on Ann Siang Road and its sister non-fiction bookstore Polymath and Crust, a stone's throw away on Club Street. You may even come across one of their regular art exhibitions!
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Chinatown is better as a stopover than a hangout; go on a weekday from the late morning to the afternoon to avoid the weekend crowds.
And if you have more time... do make a trip to these locations!
Balestier, Singapore: Suburban Nostalgia
Nearest MRT Station: Toa Payoh/Novena
Balestier Road is known for its history and delicious food, especially the bak kut teh (spicy pork rib soup) and tau sar piah (flaky bean paste buns). The area is named after Joseph Balestier, the son-in-law of American patriot Paul Revere. Balestier was the first Consul to Singapore for the United States of America, residing in Singapore from 1837 to 1852, and owned a sugarcane plantation on the area which Balestier Road runs along. Historical attractions in the Balestier area include the Goh Chor Tua Pek Kong Temple, the art deco shophouses, the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall and the former Shaw Brothers Studio that used to be a Second World War propaganda cinema.
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Though Balestier is a modestly-sized street, it’s a non-touristy slice of the real Singapore.
Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall: A Tribute to History
6256 7377; angela_ye@nhb.gov.sg; Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall (English Website); 12 Tai Gin Road Singapore 327874; adult/child $4/3, senior citizen $3; Tues-Sun 9am-5pm, Chinese New Year eve 9am to 12pm. Closed on Mondays, public holidays, first two days of Chinese New Year and Christmas Day. Wheelchair accessible.
Buses: SBS services 21, 130, 131, 139, 145 or 186 to Balestier Road. Alight at the bus stop opposite the Philip Investor Hub. Walk along the footpath cutting across the field to Ah Hood Road. Tai Gin Road and the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall are visible from there.
A stone’s throw away from Balestier Road, the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall was once the Southeast Asian headquarters of the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, a secret nationalist society and underground movement set up by Chinese revolutionary and political leader Sun Yat Sen to reunify China. The two-storey colonial bungalow is now a museum honouring Sun Yat Sen who visited Singapore eight times, from 1900 to 1911.
* * An interesting place for history and culture buffs.
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