From Savvy Urban Conveniences to Overwhelming Greenery, Singapore Has It All
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Singapore Urban Oasis From savvy urban conveniences to overwhelming greenery, Singapore has it all. Add in the rich culinary scene, and this city of the future is an unmissable treat for all your senses. Text Anne Pinto Rodrigues 46 Singapore ingapore’s award-winning Changi Airport is a beehive of activity. The “I feel so spoilt flight from Perth has just landed with my 20-year-old niece Mila on by all the board. She walks out in no time, thanks to Changi’s exceptional comforts this Sease of navigation. Mila is an Environmental Engineering student, on an assignment to study the best practices of a successful 21st- city offers” century city like Singapore. Singapore’s compact size (719km2) has inspired the city state to be creative in its urban planning as well as in managing its resources. As one of the most liveable cities in the world, thus decreasing the traffic and congestion Singapore provides its 5.6 million residents on those key stretches. Singapore is the with a first-class standard of living. first city in the world to implement this very Having called Singapore my home for the clever technology for road traffic management past six years, I am delighted to show Mila and it has inspired several other cities to how this exhilarating mega-city balances its follow suit. ambitions with environmental responsibilities. The allure of technology also permeates She is full of questions about the city-state’s down to the individual level here. Locals public transportation systems, green lifestyle rely heavily on their favourite mobile apps and of course, the unparalleled food scene. to access services like booking a cab, or to make decisions about the best way to get to a Transporting a nation particular destination. Real time apps allow Singapore has been consistently ranked as me to map out my entire journey even before one of leading global economies in the field of I leave home. communications and information technology. Wanting to experience Singapore’s This leadership is clearly visible in the city’s super-efficient public transport system, we Previous pages: emergence as a key financial technology hub, take the train (known as Mass Rapid Transit, Esplanade – Theatres as well as in the technologies that power the or simply MRT) from Bedok station – the on the Bay (1 Esplanade city; from public transportation initiatives to MRT stop closest to my home – and head to Drive), Singapore’s a plethora of mobile apps. Having read about our final destination, Gardens by the Bay, a national performing arts centre (left); view from advancements like driverless cars on the sprawling garden created out of approximately Henderson Wave Bridge on horizon for Singapore, Mila is curious to one square kilometre of reclaimed land. Keppel Bay, a modern know more about its high-tech transportation. At Bedok station, I buy Mila her very own residential complex (right). During one of our taxi rides across town, EZ-Link card. That’s a stored value card, which I point to a digital gantry and explain the will allow her to access all modes of public This page (clockwise from top left): concept of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), transport, without having to worry about Supertree Grove (18 Marina the ingenious traffic management initiative. buying a ticket each time. And since we are Gardens Drive); Gillman During peak hours, the ERP gantries placed commuting after 9 a.m. on a weekday, we Barracks (9 Lock Road), along arterial roads and urban motorways, pay even less than during peak hours. This which houses several art galleries and the NTU Centre charge the stored value card affixed on every differential pricing is one of the clever ways for Contemporary Art; vehicle. These charges are meant to dissuade the MRT authorities manage peak-hour crowds. Boat Quay, a historical vehicle owners from taking popular routes, The authorities have gone one step further by > Rich Stapleton (previous page right), Scott A. Woodward (below left, previous page left),Getty Images (above left), Jurriaan Teulings (above right) quay in Singapore. 48 Singapore “ Integrating wild places creates a more meaningful urban experience” Singapore Places to drink 1-Altitude Enjoy stunning 360-degree views at the world’s highest al-fresco bar. 1-altitude.com 1 Raffles Place introducing ‘free pre-peak hour’ travel Red Dot Brewhouse whereby train travellers ending their journey Drink away the tropical heat at before 7:45 a.m. on weekdays at 18 designated Singapore’s first locally-owned, MRT stations in the city centre, are charged independent commercial microbrewery. absolutely nothing for their commute. reddotbrewhouse.com.sg Rolling her eyes, Mila retorts: “Who doesn’t 25A Dempsey Road 01-01 like free stuff?!” The reduction in the number of peak-hour commuters – thanks to this novel Killiney Kopitiam Learn how to order the various scheme – is well documented. Places to eat versions of coffee kopi( ) and tea Discussing the upcoming transportation (teh), and test your ordering skills. technologies, we tap our EZ-Link cards on the Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle killiney-kopitiam.com scanner. Three of the five existing MRT lines & Hong Kong Soya Sauce 67 Killiney Road are fully automated and operate driverless Chicken Rice & Noodle In July 2016, these two hawkers trains. We board the MRT to Bayfront in the became the world’s first street Places to stay downtown area. Noticing how clean the train food vendors to be awarded a is, Mila cheekily exclaims: “I could eat off Michelin star. At their stalls, you Park Royal these floors!” can savour the world’s cheapest Located in the historic Chinatown Michelin-starred meals. district, this award-winning Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle: place boasts the avant-garde A green haven 466 Crawford Lane, 01-12 ‘hotel in the garden’ concept With 300 parks and four nature reserves, Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken and has many environmentally Singapore’s near 50% green cover creates a Rice & Noodle: 335 Smith Street friendly features. harmonious and liveable urban environment. parkroyalhotels.com Blue Ginger Restaurant 3 Upper Pickering Street Public and private initiatives, such as vertical Get a taste of flavourful, gardens, rooftop farming and the mobile Peranakan cuisine at this elegant Wanderlust Hotel Repair Kopitiam (modelled after the European restaurant, located in the historic This quirky hotel in the Little India Repair Café), all add to the growing sustainable neighbourhood of Tanjong Pagar. heritage precinct offers an vibe in the city. The design of newer residential theblueginger.com unconventional stay experience 97 Tanjong Pagar Road with cool hipster vibes. A school and recreational projects reflect the focus on Previous pages: building in the early 20th century, green architecture and renewable resources. the walkways inside Jiang-Nan Chun it now boasts 29 eclectically- Public interest in preserving the last nature the cloud forest at Xiang Le Zhu Yi or ‘the principle designed rooms spread over hotspots in Singapore, like the Sungei Buloh Gardens by the Bay (left); of enjoyment and happiness’ is four floors. Chinatown (right). best experienced at this award- wanderlusthotel.com Wetlands Reserve and the MacRitchie Reservoir winning Cantonese restaurant, 2 Dickson Road Park, helps keep the city’s wild core alive. This page (clockwise at the Four Seasons hotel. Continuing our journey to Gardens by the from top left): fourseasons.com/singapore Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong Bay, Mila and I alight the MRT at Bayfront a delicious treat created at 190 Orchard Boulevard Each of the 131 rooms at this station, and walk to the gardens. The setting Swissôtel The Stamford’s Peranakan-themed place is styled Michelin-starred restaurant Street carts like a Peranakan home with looks vaguely familiar, as the urban oasis JAAN (2 Stamford Road, Delight in the local sweet treat, traditional motifs and colourful was the inspiration behind planet Xandar in Level 70, Equinox Complex); the ice-cream sandwich. It’s a touches. It’s located in the heart the filmGuardians of the Galaxy (2014). The the Singapore Flyer block of ice cream wrapped in a of the vibrant Katong area and surreal landscape – which houses rare and (30 Raffles Avenue), large slice of multi-coloured is a short 15-minute ride from a 165m-tall Ferris wheel, bread or placed between two Changi Airport unique tropical plants from around the world – viewed from outside crispy wafers. ihg.com/hotelindigo is a key part of the government’s strategy to Gardens by the Bay; Along Orchard Road 86 East Coast Road transform Singapore into a ‘City in a Garden’. > Rich Stapleton (above right, below left, previous page left), Scott A. Woodward (top left, previous page right) fashion stores at Haji Lane. 52 Singapore We meet our guide Kevin and proceed to the imposing Supertree Grove. Craning our It’s a gastronomic necks to look up at the cluster of 12 Supertrees, we admire the artificial tree-like structures, paradise, from between 25m to 50m tall. The external steel framework of the Supertrees supports thousands of ferns and flowering plants. Michelin-starred The knowledgeable Kevin tells us more. “These multi-functional vertical gardens restaurants to harvest rainwater to be used for irrigation, while photovoltaic cells embedded in the hawker stalls Places to see canopy of some of the Supertrees capture solar energy to power the evening light Singapore Botanic Gardens show.” We are thrilled to observe such a Leave the hustle and bustle of remarkable example of green design. “This the city behind and relax in the verdant Botanic Gardens, will make a great case study for my Urban noodle soup) and an Indian-influenced fish Singapore’s first UNESCO World Design class,” Mila says.