The tourism industry in Singapore is booming with more than 17.4 million international tourists visiting the country in Southeast Asia during 2017. Apart from picturesque natural landscapes, Singapore also offers visitors world-renowned tourist attractions such as the Singapore Zoo, the Singapore Flyer, Clarke Quay, and Merlion Park. Nothing wrong there….just predictable.
Don’t be predictable. Travel different.
Although it is always fun to tick the tourist hot-spots off your bucket list, seeking out the more unique Singapore adventures is especially appealing — especially for first-time visitors to this small city-nation.
From visiting a wet market to a hike in the Bukit Time Nature Reserve and a truly Singaporean foodie tour, here’s a closer look at some of the most interesting and uniquely Singapore things to do.
Prepping for your trip
One of the most important things to remember when preparing for your trip is to pack the right clothing to wear. Due to its tropical climate, Singapore boasts temperatures between 26 and 34 degrees Celsius all year round. Although there may be a few colder days, it comes highly recommended to pack mostly cool, lightweight clothing.
Another important thing to remember is to update your travel insurance. Whether you are faced with a misplaced wallet or a severe injury, you will find great comfort in knowing that you are covered against anything that might go wrong while traveling to Singapore.
Visit a wet market
If you feel like you have spent enough of your precious time in fancy supermarkets, you will thoroughly enjoy exploring the various spots in Singapore where locals shop for their groceries. The wet markets in areas including Tiong Bahru, Chinatown, and Little India are filled to the brim with tantalizing offerings that include frozen meat, spices, and dried food items.
If it is fresh fish and seafood you are after, you have to include a visit to the Senoko Fishery Port on your itinerary. The fish comes directly from the supply line, making it some of the freshest and cheapest you will find. Although these markets are open for the most part of the day the fish markets, in particular, often open their doors from as early as 3am.
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Embark on a foodie tour
If you find yourself searching for the locations of popular fast-food chains before visiting Singapore, stop! Singapore is a foodie paradise that, thanks to its rich culture, boasts local cuisine unlike anywhere else in the world. There are countless hawker centers scattered across the country that serve up every possible delicacy you can imagine ranging from roast duck and fish soup to fried carrot cake and chicken rice.
If you are looking for the best street food in all of Asia, make the time to visit the Amoy Street Food Centre, the Tampines Round Market & Food Centre, and the Old Airport Road Food Centre. 😉
Don’t skip dessert
Don’t be afraid of new and exciting dishes and make a concerted effort to indulge in a portion of Ice Kachang. This very interesting dessert is made from a heap of shaved ice that is topped with sweet corn, red beans, and condensed milk before being drenched in yellow, green, and red syrup. Once you have eaten your way through the pile of ice you will across a sumptuous surprise – a serving of grass jelly.
Hike in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
Many travelers are blissfully unaware of the fact that Singapore is home to a magnificent virgin rainforest. If you are looking for an alternative to the Singapore Botanical Gardens, The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve may prove to be the ideal choice. While the reserve is relatively small as far as nature reserves go, it still sports a whopping 40% of the country’s natural fauna and flora. Easily one of the top outdoor Singapore adventures.
Established in 1883, the reserve was officially declared an ASEAN Heritage Park on 18 October 2011 and provides visitors with the ideal opportunity to escape the hustle and bustle of urban Singapore and hike among its natural beauty instead.
BONUS
Want More Singapore Adventures?
There are countless reasons why a traveler would fall in love with Singapore. If you aren’t bowled over by the astounding natural beauty and friendly people, you will without a doubt be blown away by all the hidden gems just waiting to be discovered.
Three popup ads for your blog during this read! Way too many!!
It was a good read but I can find other places with a “good read” that I never have to stop to hit that tiny x in the corner of the ad & I’m already a follower of the blog!!
Three? Three?!?! Seriously? WTF. There should only be one and it is set to a 60-second delay once per 6 months — the Facebook one. What were the other two pop-ups Rob? I’m looking into this now but cannot see what you are seeing… Thank you very much for the heads-up, much appreciated, but do you have any more details? (You can reply directly to this email instead of commenting again.)
One came up center page, after I hit the x it went away only to come back again. They interfered with my reading & I have to be careful when I try to get rid of them…
The last one is sitting here now at the lower right of the screen… it’s about a previous post. It’s not in my way so I can ignore it…
Thanks again, fixing it now…..appreciate the heads-up, you are awesome 😀
Great guide to Singapore, but I’d love to see more food photos. I’m especially glad to know that I shouldn’t skip dessert because that’s my favorite part of a meal.
Thanks Steven, it’s a follow-up to my original Offbeat Singapore post. Have you ever been before? It’s surprisingly expensive compared to the rest of Southeast Asia. Eating at the hawker centers is the only budget-friendly activity in Singapore — $5 for a meal versus $30-40 for a meal at a restaurant — so in other words, every Singapore trip involves a lot of eating. And yes, dessert too 😉
Been a while since I’ve been here buddy! I was hoping to find some vegetarian suggestions in Singapore on here haha =P well, mainly I saw the Pikachu and had to check it out. Plus was looking for that recent post, but anyway we need to talk, been hearing good things about Singapore.
Been a while indeed 😉 Basically the only bad thing about Singapore is that it is more expensive than it’s neighbors Indonesia and Malaysia. Oh and it is one of the few countries that does not have any UNESCO sites. (But you cannot hold that against them given the size of the country lol)