4 Days 3 Nights in Singapore – A Wonderful Tour

Singapore is the second foreign country I have visited so far, and the journey from the day 1 until the final day was truly unforgettable. I started the trip in this Chinese-majority state by checking in at one of the affordable hotels located in Jalan Besar, next to Yuan building. My hotel was also adjacent to Little India, an area with a palimpsest of Indian historical culture. The stay was so good, convenient and really close to the nearby MRT station, which is MRT Jalan Besar, adding so much advantages to my mobility.

On the first night, I went to Marina Bay Sands to watch the lighting show at the man-made lake. The demonstration was stunning and the crowd were impressed by its dramatic and colourful fountain and lighting, and as well as the multi-racial-inspired stories. I saw many foreigners, especially White people, joining the crowd together to witness this Singaporean greatness.

On the first day, I visited Jurong Lake Gardens to explore its nature-based landscape designs. There were many initiatives and approaches I could learn from this garden as it truly maximises its potentials to bring public closer to nature in creative ways. You can see many existing lalang surrounding the area close to the south entrance. The design looked simple but natural, you can feel the originality of nature with minimal intervention of any man-made materials. This site had also many senses of surprising as you can walk on different levels of topography to see different perspectives of the site.

I continued the visit to Rifle Range Nature Walk at the second half of the day. Basically, this site has a nature-reserved area and parks, associated with some basic facilities like bridge, pathway, seating space, entrance, and a deck at the top of the hill. The learning session about this site was assisted by a landscape architect from Henning Lassen, a local landscape architecture firm. She seemed happy and proud of her design.

At night, I was gallivanting around Arab Street to find a spot for dinner until I reached to a location with a historic mosque named Masjid Sultan. I had found this mosque in one of my sketch books and I could not believe that the mosque was standing magnificently in front of me. To be honest, the architecture and the interior design were average. Due to its deeply rooted Islamic historical values, this mosque was the most popular in Singapore and as far as I have heard, you can hear a sound of azan only from this mosque. At the same time, I bought a book from a local bookstore that sells only religion-related topics. Then, I ate chicken nasi briyani for dinner and went back to the hotel to close the night.

I commenced my second day by going to Bishan Park, which is famous for its river-crossing activity as many Singaporean residents bring their children to play in the water, view the fishes and tortoises, and grab a quick snack at nearby McDonald’s restaurant. I can say that the designers were truly brilliant, as they leveraged the remnants of previous structures and constructions to be implemented as functional pathways, terraced seating, platforms, stepping stones, and walls. At this site, you can also find a sculpture that carries its own narrative. Not to forget to mention, this site was actually used as a reference in one of my riverfront projects, haha.

In the afternoon, I stepped into a park which was built upon the cemetery sites. This park is called Bidadari Park, a recreational space for public to walk, view the trees and ponds, and enjoy the adventurous playgrounds. I think the most significant aspect about this site was the designs of the pathway. The pathway made of natural elements like sands and gravel stones, and as well as concrete and tar. I love the ideas of them making the curved lines, exaggerating the circulation form, and letting plants like lalang and pandan act as a buffer.

At night, as we were in the month of July, all local and tourists were invited to the Marina Bay Sands, particularly Supertree, to join the lighting and music showcase with the theme of Garden Rhapsody: Retro Fever. While heading to the location, there was many crowds with different skin colours walking like a group of sheep to chase this opportunity. I laid down on the floor to watch the performance, and my eyes could not close for a second as the atmosphere was too exciting and stunning. After that, I took MRT and a bus to go to Mustafa Centre. This mall is like a Mydin in Malaysia, you can find souvenirs, toiletries, jerseys, fashion items, and others at reasonable prices. To engage in the night vibe of the street, I paused at a mamak restaurant to have a fried rice chicken before I returning to the hotel.

At the final day, in the morning, I went to Punggol Waterway Park to observe its landscape design and architecture. The morning was so slow, and the people looked so calm and steady. It took a few minutes to mingle around this park before I had a lunch at Bugis Street. This street has a mall and a market where it sells cheap Cadbury, fruits, t-shirts, and food as well. You can feel the Bukit Bintang vibe here through walking into the narrow streets.

On the second half of the final day, I visited Marina Barrage to learn about how PUB manage their water flow and consumption. I can say that the technologies they employed and applied have been cutting-edge and par-excellence. I walked up to the roof top to take a picture and enjoy the panorama view of Marina Bay. Before I ended the visit in Singapore, I spent around an hour at the HDB hub to learn about how the local authority manages their housing and development in Singapore efficiently. Overall, the presentation and discussion were so insightful. 

Thank you.