Singapore day trips: Temples and trees

Frederik Jensen

1 year ago

Going to Singapore? Singapore day trips is a series of posts with fun and inspiring day trips for getting to know the city state. This post invites you to explore the temples and trees of Singapore.

No visit to Singapore is complete without a visit to the amazing Singapore Botanic Garden. Scenic paths invites you to explore the wide variety of trees, flowers, and animals of a tropical paradise. Churches, temples, and mosques are abundant in Singapore, not least in Chinatown which also offers generous selections of street food and busy shopping streets.

Let's get started!

Singapore Botanic Garden

The Singapore Botanic Garden is a UNESCO heritage site. Not only will you find a wide range of tropical plants and animals, but the park is huge and its scenic layout inspires you to explore and discover places of calm and beauty.

One section is an indigenous rain forest. Another a bamboo grove. Walk a tunnel behind a splashing water fall. Spot frogs and turtles in a quiet pond. Water lizards scrounge for insects in dead leaves. Exotic birds call out from all around you as you stride into the forest.

There is free admission to most of the park from sunrise to sunset and the place is not at all crowded. To see it all takes more than one day so let your mind, heart, and feet run free and enjoy a day of beauty and contemplation.

Strangling Fig. A bird drops a seed in top of another tree. The Strangling Fig then grows downwards and engulfs the host until it completely takes over the space.

When you are ready for a refreshment and some city life, take the MTR to Chinatown.

Traditional temples on a backdrop of steel and glass.

Chinatown

Chinatown in Singapore spans a large area around the original harbour where the first Chinese traders settled to help build the trading port envisioned by Stamford Raffles. Today's shipping terminals are far away from Chinatown as the city has expanded into reclaimed land.

In Chinatown you will find traditional temples, scenic streets and busy market stalls offering everything from the most exotic Chinese medicine over tasteless souvenirs to delicious dishes in the covered food courts. Day and night the streets are always busy with activity.

Don't miss a healthy serving of Chinese dumplings!