Everyone has a list of things to do in Singapore, and this is mine. It is not a guide to the newest rooftop bar or the latest Michelin opening. It is the list I run through every time I land at Changi, part ritual, part homecoming, part an excuse to eat too much. Singapore was home once, and these are the things that make it feel that way again.
1. Go to Kinokuniya
My first stop, before I have even unpacked properly. I lived in Singapore once and missed my books terribly, so Kinokuniya became my safe place. I walk in “just to look” and walk out with a bag that will definitely push my luggage over the limit.
2. Drink KOI Bubble Tea
There is bubble tea in Melbourne. It is not KOI. I have tried to explain this to people and failed, so now I just drink it in silence and let it speak for itself.
3. Eat Hunan Food at Chili Up
Spicy, numbing, and exactly what I need after a long flight. If my lips are not tingling by the end of the meal, did I even go?
4. Visit Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple in Little India
Walking into Little India feels like coming home, and the temple on Serangoon Road is the heart of it for me. Shoes off, bell rung, a moment of stillness in the middle of the noise. It is always the part of the trip I need most.
5. Wander Haji Lane near Arab Street
Colourful murals, tiny shops and a lot of people taking the same photo I am about to take. I am not above it. I take the photo.
6. Eat at a Hawker Centre
Non negotiable. Plastic tray, a tissue packet to chope my seat, and far too many dishes for one person. This is Singapore at its best, and the reason I can never take its food prices seriously anywhere else.
7. Eat Chicken Rice
Technically this belongs under hawker centres, but chicken rice deserves its own heading. Fragrant rice, silky chicken, chilli sauce and ginger. Simple, perfect, and I will be thinking about it on the plane home.
8. Visit My Cousin W
No trip is complete without catching up with my cousin W. We pick up exactly where we left off, as if no time has passed (even when a lot has).
9. Share a Meal with Uncle R
Every visit, a meal with Uncle R. The food is good, but the company is the point. There is something about family meals in Singapore that makes me feel younger and older at the same time.
10. Over Eat Vadais at Bhai Vadai
I say “a couple.” I always mean six. Crispy outside, soft inside, and gone before I can remember to take a photo for the blog.
11. Buy Trinkets from Cat Socrates in Tiong Bahru
Cat Socrates is where I go for little things I absolutely do not need and absolutely must have. Postcards, quirky stationery, local designs. My suitcase has never forgiven me.
12. Go to Wala Wala to See Shirley Play
I end the trip at Wala Wala in Holland Village, drink in hand, watching Shirley play live. It is loud and happy and the perfect last note for a Singapore trip.
People say Singapore is a place you visit once and tick off. I disagree. For me it is a city of returns, where the best things to do in Singapore are the ones I have done a dozen times already. The same bookshop, the same temple, the same plate of chicken rice, the same faces at the table. Some trips are about discovering something new. This one is about remembering who I was when I lived here, and checking that she is still around.
Follow me on Instagram @KultureKween for more updates.
[…] future just-got-off-the-plane-in-Singapore, tired, plain-faced […]
[…] in India, then a shorter stint in Sri Lanka for my birthday, followed by an even shorter one in Singapore. All to say, the month started on a very high note, and I am still basking in the post-birthday […]