Since my first visit to Singapore in 2004, I have had a number of opportunities to return and explore more of this cosmopolitan city state.  The Lion City has evolved over these years, both in subtle and obvious ways.   In a way Singapore has always been in a continuous transformation mode to achieve self-reliance as well as to be on the forefront of the world’s development.

A good place to get a perspective of today’s Singapore landscape is the City Gallery, which is located near Maxwell Food Center in Chinatown.  To someone who is interested in sociology and urban planning, this place is a treasure trove of information on Singapore’s current land development plans, history of the land usage, characteristic of each region of the island, and potential future plans. It even has a couple of room size model of the islands, complete with buildings and landmarks. Seeing this really gave me a better understanding of the geography and the relationship of different parts of the island. It’s unfortunate that I only discover this place recently and not earlier, because it would have given me a better idea of the places I can explore.

The public transit system in Singapore is fairly convenient and inexpensive to use to get around the island.  The EZ-Link card is an electronic payment card that provides a discount to the standard fares.   There is a S$5 deposit on the card, but if you plan to be here a few days (and possibly return), it may be worth it, even if it is just to avoid the hassle of going to the ticket machine on every trip.  The card is especially good if you end up making connections between buses or between bus and subway, as it will automatically takes care of all the through-fare discounts. While the subway (MRT) has stations in most of the major areas on the island, you may still need to make a connection on bus or other transport means for places outside of walking distance.  The city is adding new lines that will enable you to go to more locations directly.  Taxi is also widely available and easy to call (most of the time), and as long you avoid the ‘peak’ hour, taxi in Singapore isn’t too expensive. The new peak hour related surcharges put in place a couple of years ago sometimes can almost double the cost of a trip.

While I have been able to visit a number of places these past years, I still have only touched upon a portion of Singapore’s offerings; haven’t even been to all the prime spots, like the Singapore Zoo or the Night Safari.  There are also a number of new places of interest that have debuted in recent years.  My ‘To-Do’ list in Singapore may never close.

In terms of the museums and galleries, aside from the City Gallery, the ones that I found most interesting are the National Museum of Singapore, Asian Civilization Museum, Singapore Philatelic Museum and Singapore Mint Gallery.

• The National Museum of Singapore (located by the intersection of Orchard and Stamford Road) provides a glimpse into the history and development of the city and how this place has transformed itself from its founding in early 1800s to where it is today. It showcases a lot of artifacts and pictures as well as multimedia exhibits to provide visitors with background on the historical evolution of the island.

• The Asian Civilization Museum is more a traditional museum with items from Singapore as well as other areas in the region.  It is located on the edge of the Singapore River near the landing site of Sir Stamford Raffles, who is considered to be the founder of Singapore. (One thing you will note is that in Singapore, “Raffles Class” is used to signify privilege.)  There are 11 theme areas to the museum and to see all of it will take the better part of a whole day.  But even if only have a few hours, you can select to visit just a few of the galleries.  With admission at S$5, it is not too expensive to spend a few hours.  The museum also has special exhibitions periodically; the time I visited it had an exhibition on Mongolian Yurts.

• The Singapore Philatelic Museum and the Singapore Mint Gallery may be more of a special interest places for those who are interested in stamps and coins/currencies (Singapore is one of the first countries to use polymer currency instead of paper).   The former is located in the city center area not too far from Fort Channing Park and Clarke Quay, while the latter is located near Jurong, which is in the west part of the island.  (When I went to the Mint Gallery a few years ago, the taxi driver didn’t really know the location either.)  Both museums are not very big, and each can be viewed in about an hour.

There are two places that I just learned about recently and have not visited yet (but are on my to-do list if I get a chance): The Battle Box, a museum on the site of the military bunker 90 meters below ground in Fort Canning Park for WWII and the Land Transport Gallery, an exhibition of Singapore transport development.

As for amusement park like places (outside of Sentosa Island), of the ones I visited, the following ones stand out for me:

• The Singapore Science Center is built primarily for kids, but I think adult will find it fascinating as well.  The Center is composed of a number of exhibitions, such as climate, solar system, human body, transportation, etc.      There is also an IMAX theatre in the center as well.  For those who are curious of how things work, this is well worth the half day visit it takes to see the place. The Science Center is located in Jurong area, a bit of a long trip from the city center area, but worth it if you have the time.

• Jurong Bird Park is an amusement park like place that houses over 600 species of birds and supposed to have the world’s largest walk-in Aviary. It has several ponds that houses what seems like hundreds of pelicans, flamingos, swans and other aquatic birds that appears to just be hanging out without restrictions.  It even has a faux waterfall that provides interesting background scenery to the area.

• Singapore Botanic Garden is a 63 hectare garden park just on the edge of the city center. It provides a tropical garden area for people to relax as well as an area where they can play. There are places where performance and events can be hosted throughout the park. Symphony Lake near the center of the Garden has a stage that on a Sunday evening I took in a free performance by the Singapore Symphony.  Nonetheless, it is still a place where preservation, learning and teaching seem to have the top billing.

Another area worthy of a visit is Mount Faber.  This 105 meter tall hill is one of the highest hill on the island (yes, Singapore is very flat).  Located near the southern edge of island, it has a cable car link that connects the hill to Sentosa Island.  The peak area offers a panoramic view of the city and southern coast.  The area recently went through renovations, including an upgrade to the cable cars and restaurants.  Now, you can dine in the cable car as you ride around between the hill and Sentosa.  In addition, for the outdoorsman type, there are a few trails from the hills leading to other parts of the islands.

Maybe the most noticeable development in Singapore this past year has been the opening of the two integrated casino resorts, the Marina Bay Sands and the Resorts World Sentosa. This is Singapore’s attempt to attract more tourism dollars into the city.  These casino resorts brought on major redevelopment in the areas where the resorts are located.

The south Marina Bay area had a significant facelift, turning what was really just open grassland into a mini-city.   With the new Mariana Bay Sands Casino Resorts as the anchor, there is a shopping complex with all the high end shops (Hermes, LV, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tiffany, Cartier, Channel, Burberry, etc.), restaurants, a waterfront promenade, a convention center, a museum, a theatre and a 54 hectares garden park.  While the casino, shopping center, hotel and promenade are open (as of August 2010), most of the others are still under construction. Getting to the casinos and hotels took me through a construction zone right now, but it also provides me with a glimpse of what will be.

(View of SkyPark from Clarke Quay)

One of the more prominent parts of the Marina Bay Sands hotel is the Skypark, a sail-shaped park that stretches atop across three hotel towers.  It has a 150 meter long infinity pool that provides the hotel guests a spectacular view across the Marina Bay and the city while they lounge and swim.  There is also an observation deck area on one side that allows visitors to get a birds-eye view of the city at 200 meter above ground.  The S$20 entrance fee is a bit steep, but it does provide a unique view.  Because the hotel is located in an area that is unobstructed by other structures, you can get a good 360 degree view around that is hard to get elsewhere (for the hotel guests; visitors only have access to part of the SkyPark.) The hotel atrium connects across the three towers at the bottom, with shops and cafes on the lobby level.  The hotel tower itself is built in slight step manner, such that there is a pyramid effect when one looks upwards inside the atrium.

(Views from the SkyPark)

(Inside of Marina Sands Hotel)

Another great shot of Singapore was taken by my friend Kornel Mezo (Mezo.com).  This is a panoramic nightshot of the city from the SkyPark that is simply stunning.  Kornel’s Singapore Night Shot

The Marina Bay casino itself has two levels, the main floor at the bottom and a second level that opens to the lower level at the center.  The main table games are baccarat, blackjack, Sicbow (Chinese dice name) and Roulette.  The minimum for the games are fairly high (for me), the first two aforementioned games rarely have tables less than the S$50 minimum.  And consider that local have to pay an entrance fee to get in (S$100 for 24 hours or an annual S$2,000 fee), the place is fairly packed the couple of times I went (foreigners can get in free – thus supposedly to attract tourists).

There are also several new recent additions close to the Marina Bay south area, including the Singapore Flyer (a 164m observation wheel – slightly larger than the London Flyer), an iconic Helix pedestrian bridge that looks like the DNA helix strand, the largest floating stage in the world (located just across from the grandstand used for F1 Singapore Grand Prix and the Youth Olympic Games, among other events) and the Marina Barrage (located at the mouth of the Bay to the sea, it is used to desalinate the Singapore River and Marina Bay to make it a fresh water reservoir).

Similar to Marina Bay Sands, Resort Sentosa Casino anchors a good deal of the new development on Sentosa Island, a small island located at the southern tip of Singapore.  Sentosa always had amusement parks, golf courses and beaches, but the integrated Casino resort adds another dimension to the entertainment center.  In addition to the casino, new hotels (including a Hard Rock Hotel), a convention center, and high end shops/restaurants have been built.  There is also the new Universal Studio Theme Park opened this year next to the casino.  While the hotels and the Casino & Convention Center are fairly close to each other, not everything is connected from one end to the other and the outside path wasn’t the best (at least during the early days when I visited).  For example, if you are staying at the Hard Rock hotel, you have to wander outside to get to the Casino. But if one is staying at one of the resort hotels, it is easier to get to the other attractions on the island, like the Imbiah Lookout, Underwater World and the beaches.

But to see how people really live in Singapore, go to places that local people go every day and see the things that people do every day can be most illuminating.

First, food is a passion for the Singaporeans. After all, it is one of the few places in the world where the airport terminal food vendors can do a brisk lunch business with people from outside the airport area.  Singapore is a place where people make distinction at the subtle differences of the most common hawker menu items and give their voice by giving their business to the best food vendors and restaurants.  And competition is fierce in this city where there is a food court on just about every block.

The range in both price and type of food available in Singapore is broad.  While you can get any type of food here, Chinese and South Asian menus still dominate and is the food of choice for most local people.  Local specialties/favorites include Chili Crab, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Fish ball Noodles, Satays (grill meats), Laksa (rice noodles in a spicy coconut broth) and Prawn Mee (Egg Noodle in a shrimp broth with Prawns).  Singaporeans are born with a spice palate, and the general good choice reflects that.  Nonetheless, for people who are spice meter challenged (like me), there are a number of dishes that are not spicy, and you can also get non-spicy version of some of the food that local prefers fiery.

My preference when I ventured by myself has leaned toward finding a hawker center, a nice food court or small establishment, where a full meal with drink and desserts can be had for S$10-15 or less.   And it is also interesting to see how the ‘hawkers’ prepare the food (at least the first few times).  With so many vendors at a hawker center, it could be hard to determine which one is good.  One way is to do what my wife does, go with the vendor with the longest queue.  Generally, that works fine, but then taste is in the eye of the beholder after all.  No guarantee that everyone will find these places to their liking, but these are some of places that I think is worth a try:

• Chew Kee Eating House and Chew Kee Noodle House (8 and 32 Upper Cross streets) are reputed to have one of the best Soya Sauce Chicken. The shop here has been around for 30+ years.  At S$3-5 per plate of soya chicken with rice or noodles (depending on size/type), and S$1 for a bowl of dumpling soup, it is not a bad place for a quick bite for lunch or snack.

• Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice at Maxwell Food Center (Chinatown) is known to have one of the best Hainanese Chinese Rice on the island.  There is always a queue at the stall, while other Chicken Rice vendors would be quiet.  And at S$2.8 and $$3.60 for the standard small and large plate of chicken rice with soup, it fits the criteria for my kind of eating place.

• Food Republique at Wisma-Atria and at Harbourfront are two of the better shopping mall food court around.  It offers most of the local favorites and hosts some of the original street food vendors that make their dish famous.  One is the vendor who sells fried Hokkien Mee, which is ‘fried’ in a large wok in batches and then served on a banana leaf.

• Lau Pau Sat Food Center (a couple of blocks from Raffle Place MRT station) is one place to go to get Satays.  It’s not the cheapest place, but with something like 15+ vendors selling satays and other barbecue selections (chicken wings is another populate item) in an outdoor setting in the middle of the financial district, the place offer a unique ambience to have a meal. I have tried 3 or 4 vendors there, not sure if I can tell the difference, but they were all pretty good.  And you can pair the satays with just about anything given the number of other food vendors at Lau Pau Sat.

• My Humble House is tucked in a corner on the second level of theatre center Esplanade. This Chinese restaurant is slightly pricier than my typical haunts, but it has a nice ambience and good food.  The cuisine can be best described as blending of traditional Chinese with modern elements, with a bit of fusion.

(My friends in Singapore have taken me to some out of the way places.  Some are really great place for I would characterize as Singapore ‘comfort food’.  However, I am not able to pin-point where these places are located. In that sense, I am very much just a typical tourist.)

One of the best things I found in Singapore is the availability of all kinds of fresh juices (as well as a variety of packaged ones as well). You can find them in food courts or standalone shops.  I particularly enjoy fresh “squeezed” sugar cane juice.  All would use a similar press that a cane would be run through 2 or 3 times to get all the juice out of it.  It is something I would like to get everyday if I can. At S$1 to S$2 a glass in most places, it is a very inexpensive treat.

The traditional “coffee or tea” in Singapore is also a bit different than elsewhere.  While there are Starbucks around in every corner these days, many Singaporeans still go for the ‘kopi’ and ‘teh’ at the local coffee shop.  There is a complete set of local terms in ordering these coffee and tea drinks.  The simplest order is either coffee or tea with evaporated milk and sugar, because those are your base ‘kopi’ and ‘the’.  Everything else (no sugar, sugar only, milk only, ice, etc) is a variation and the terms used are the local dialect words.  You won’t find “Grande” or “Venti” size drinks here, but at S$1 per standard cup, it is a fairly good bargain.  And while you are there, as a complement with your kopi or the, try some kaya toast, a local snack of grilled toast with a sweet coconut butter filling.

Not much a ‘shopping guy’, so I cannot offer much personal pointers for shopping in Singapore.  If one is interested in name branded item, strolling through Orchard Road would cover just about everything anyone would want to look at. There are a number of shopping areas on Orchard Road:  Ngee Ann City (one of the biggest and most exclusive, anchored by Takashimaya), Paragon, Tangs Orchard, Wisma Atria, Ion Orchard and Summerset 313.  The latter two are the most recent additions in the area.   Even if you are not planning to buy anything, it is worth a walk down this boulevard, especially in the evening when the neon lights and people come out (and not as hot).

(View of Orchard Road and Scott Road Intersection with Youth Olympic Displays)

But if you have time, visiting one of the more mainstream shopping malls or shopping areas in one of the MRT centers or in an estate can give you a better perspective on what Singaporeans typically buy, use and live.  As much as the image of Singapore is reflected by the newest buildings and shops, it is at these places where you will find more of the “everyday” Singapore: places for groceries, household items, pet accessories, furniture and electronics or places where they get their haircuts or pick up their lottery tickets or make their football bets (a rather popular endeavor).  Visit the grocery chains on the island (such as Cold Storage, Giants, Fair Price, etc.) to see what kind of things are sold there.  And at the housing estate complexes, you can see the traditional wet markets that still flourish today.  The local shops in the estate shopping area seem to be from the days of a bygone era.  But many of these shops provide customers just want they need and in many cases, at a price often not much more than you would find in a big box discount store, if you can find it there. These establishments are still very much a part of everyday life of many Singaporeans.

With just about everything imported, packaged goods are generally not cheap.  Looking through the grocery store, I would say most branded package goods are more expensive in Singapore than in the US, from potato chips to peanut butter to spaghetti sauce to frozen food.  Weight Watcher frozen entrée cost S$13 each, which is double or triple the price one can find in the US.  (And why the hawker center can be a better deal for a meal.)

If you have the chance, take a walk through some of the older neighborhoods, like the area to the east of Chinatown center between Maxwell Road and Church Street. In this area, you can still see many of 19^th century buildings close to its original form.  The interior for many has been remodeled or modernized but the outside still has the original look.   These buildings are used by a mixture of restaurants, shops, businesses and residences today, with a few landmarks interspersed in between.  While it is not entirely off the beaten path, it is generally not overwhelmed by tourists.

But sometimes it is still worthwhile to visit crowded places with tourists.  Little India is that kind of place.  Even if you don’t plan to buy anything, it is still an interesting trip to walk through the streets and shops. I haven’t been there on Sundays, but it is said that the streets there would be so packed on Sunday people have trouble to turn around.  And while you are in the area, there are many mosque and temples that are around there.  According to local papers, a number of the newer boutique hotels have also opened around this neighborhood the past couple of years.

One note about walking in Singapore:  Try to avoid walking outside for too long during the middle of the day if the sun is out.  If you do, take a page from the locals and walk under shades or bring an umbrella or hat.  The equatorial sun is quite strong if you are not use to it.  And while generally Singapore does not get extremely hot temperature wise (hovering between 80 and 90 degree F all year round), it is very humid like all tropical places.  But during evenings along the Singapore River or along the coast, with a gentle breeze blowing, it can still feel comfortable.

Even though Singapore is not a big place, and while I have visit quite a bit of it, there are still plenty of places that I can continue to explore.