With four official languages – English, Malay, Tamil and Chinese – and a predominantly Islamic religion, it makes for a very unique and interesting country to visit. Luckily, it’s small and while you could find endless things to get up to you can see a lot even if you just have one day in Singapore.

Experience the Highlights  — One Day in Singapore 

The city, recently shot into the forefront of everyone’s mind due to the success of the film Crazy Rich Asians (the street food montages were enough to get people hopping on planes) and it’s the perfect film to watch (or book to read) if you’re looking to get excited for your trip to Singapore.

Free Airport Singapore City Tour:

Even if you only have one day in Singapore, there are plenty of things to see and do. Plus if you’re really short on time and are just on a layover, Changi Airport offers a free tour of the city which you can take from the airport. Otherwise, public transport is affordable and easy.

Transport in Singapore:

The easiest way is by subway, you can buy tickets for the subway at the machines at the station. There’s also a subway line and a bus service from the airport. If you’d rather travel by bus then the bus stops have clear maps of where they’re going (based on distance) and you just drop your coins in the box as you go in. Here’s a complete guide to the transport system.

Top tip: Singapore takes the three-pronged electrical socket (like the UK) and drive on the left.

Where to eat in Singapore:

If you’re looking for somewhere cheap to eat, check out one of the many hawker centres in the city. Street food prices, excellent quality, and a great way to try all of the delicacies at the same time which is ideal if you only have one day in Singapore.

Some favourite hawker centres include:

• Chinatown Complex Food Centre
• Old Airport Road Food Centre
• Maxwell Road Hawker Centre

Top tip: A recommended sit-down restaurant if you want to try some delicious dim sum is Din Tai Fung.

Singapore Must-Sees

Gardens by the Bay

Two things that come to mind when you think of Singapore are the Avatar-like trees and the Marina Bay Sands hotel (more on that below).

Gardens by the Bay is where you can find the beautiful gardens that Singapore is known for. Although there are many gardens in Singapore, the most well-known are the Cloud Forest Conservatory, Flower Dome Conservatory and the OCBC Skyway /Supertree Grove.

They’re all walking distance from each other, so it’s easy to get around. When you enter the Cloud Forest Conservatory, look up and you will see the 35-metre mountain covered in lush vegetation and the world’s tallest indoor waterfall cascading down. Start your journey at the top of the waterfall. Coming down, you will see various plants, gardens, caves and the view of the waterfall.

The Flower Dome Conservatory was recorded as the world’s largest glass greenhouse in 2015. The Flower Dome showcases various flora from five continents across nine different gardens. Along the way, you will also see statues and other hidden surprises.

The most interesting part of the Gardens is the OCBC Skyway and Supertree Grove. The Supertree Grove, or the Avatar-trees, range between 25 and 50 metres in height.

Although they are beautiful to admire during the day, I recommend seeing them at night when they light up and truly showcase their beauty. You can also wander at the base of the grove in the evening, and there are even spots to lay down and look at the stars.

In the daytime, go to the OCBC Skyway. At a height of 22 metres, this is the best place to see the Supertrees as well as a great view of the city.

Merlion

The Merlion is a symbol of Singapore, and no trip would be complete without a visit to this unique fountain statue. Its body symbolizes Singapore’s humble beginnings as a fishing village, while the lion head represents Singapore’s original name, Singapura, meaning ‘lion city’ in Malay. Come visit this statue in Merlion Park, and get a glimpse of the downtown skyline and Marina Bay.

Marina Bay Sands

Marin Bay Sands is perhaps the most iconic building in Singapore. This luxurious hotel features everything from restaurants and nightclubs to shops and theatre shows. Even if you can’t spend the night, I recommend you come here for the rooftop cocktails at night. (Click here if you are interested in staying the night.)

There are three bars which offer great views of the city. You have to buy a $20 SGD drink ticket before entering. This goes towards the cost of your drink. There are hidden service charges when paying for your cocktail, so be sure to have extra cash on hand!

Singapore Flyer

The Singapore Flyer is a Ferris Wheel located right on the bay. Standing at 165 metres, tall, this is another great place to see the city. If you want something extra, you can also get dinner and drinks as you take in the views from the top. You can also get a glimpse of Malaysia!

Where to Stay in Singapore

Singapore isn’t known for being a cheap place to stay, but there are some reasonably priced options that don’t skimp on quality. Here are our favourites.

Rucksack Inn: Based on Lavender Street, in a great central location (next to three subway lines and a small mall), this is a perfect option for budget travellers. It’s nicely decorated and has a genuine friendly vibe.

Capsule Pod Boutique Hostel: This place is gorgeous, beautiful decor and view plus private capsules so it’s perfect for people who don’t like ‘all in this together’ vibe. It’s based in Chinatown so perfect for exploring.

Porcelain Hotel: A beautiful hotel that’s perfect if you’re looking to splash out. It’s in Chinatown, has a spa, and is close to the metro.

If you just have one day in Singapore, there are plenty of things to see and do. Because these attractions are all located downtown, you can travel between them easily.

Read Before You Go:

Read our review of Ponti, set in Singapore. Sharlene Teo provides us with three ordinary lives; those of three ordinary women: the young horror movie actress Amisa in the late ‘70s, her own awkward and introverted daughter Szu in 2003, and Szu’s wiser friend Circe all grown up in 2020

Heading to Malaysia after? Luckily it’s just a simple bus journey from one to the other. Here’s our 24-hour guide to Kuala Lumpar.

And What is Love, Exactly?

There might be a case for the argument that good stories, original allegories, real examples of human behaviour, are getting harder to come by. We are drowning in stories right now. We are beginning to tread uncomfortably familiar ground. And the most familiar ground of all is that of ordinary life experiences and relationships shoved under the microscope.

In Ponti, Sharlene Teo provides us with three ordinary lives; those of three ordinary women: the young horror movie actress Amisa in the late ‘70s, her own awkward and introverted daughter Szu in 2003, and Szu’s wiser friend Circe all grown up in 2020.

The originality in these ordinary stories comes at us through their honesty. In simple terms, the events of these three women’s lives could be summed up as teen drama, family strife, struggles in love – typical affairs. But there is a brutal honesty at play here, as the girls are exposed as failures in one way or another. They are introverts, unpopular at school, unsuccessful at work. To be as honest as Teo herself has been: they’re losers.

“The classroom is so sweltering that all thirty-three of us sweat out half our body weight, a form of suffering which the girls most committed to their eating disorders view as beneficial and beautifying. The cooked classroom smells like Impulse deodorant and sanitary pads.”

Ponti doesn’t glamorise. It doesn’t discuss hope, dedication, or volition. It shows us three people whose lives are a bit shit. I was reminded of the cast of Bob’s Burgers – a cartoon depicting a working-class family who own a burger restaurant in a quiet US town. Each member of Bob’s family is clever or artistic in their own way, but they’re a bit shit at life.

Not talented enough to be rich or famous, but full of heart and character nonetheless. Amisa, Szu, and Circe are the same way: they are people doing the best they can with the hand they’ve been dealt. And for their actions, in which they either succeed or they fail, we come to love them.

Read More: Books to Read if you Loved Normal People

The three stories are told out of order, as we bounce through time from ‘70s to 2003 to 2020. Amisa grew up unhappy and is given the chance to star in a campy B-movie about a ghost of folklore: the Pontianak.

Szu lives with her failed actress mother and her manipulative con-artist of an aunt and forms a sisterly bond with schoolmate Circe. Circe, in 2020, has a tapeworm, has gone through a divorce, and her company has been tasked with the promotion of a reboot of the film that made Szu’s mother famous: the titular Ponti. These women are weird enough to be both lovable and pitiable in equal measure.

Love is a Bit Toxic, Sometimes

A repeated motif in this novel is that of transparency and exposure. Szu’s mother and aunt Yunxi work as clairvoyant mediums who are visited by people looking for comfort.

They – Yunxi especially – claim to be able to see into the souls of people to see what darkens their minds. There are other moments scattered across the pages of moments where characters feel as though they can see each other’s thoughts or feel exposed to the prying eyes and minds of others. Secrecy, and the denial of secrecy, plague the thoughts of these pitifully vulnerable people, lost in love as they are.

“As I smooth overpriced night cream on my face, I marvel at the irony of it: how I left one HDB flat and a marriage to move into a more impersonal, rootless dwelling … only to have the same thing happen. Tense, arid evenings, a stalemate of two, a man telling me to be kinder, better, to try harder; giving me advice I don’t want to hear, instructions.”

As they struggle with their secrets, their desires, and their failures, these girls have to contend with jealousy.

That infamous phrase (which I have always found to be uncomfortably true) that goes ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ sums up much of the rhythm of these girls’ stories. Circe’s family are rich and comfortable, a life which Szu, of course, covets. Szu’s mother, on the other hand, is an enigmatic and charming obsession for the teenage Circe, who comes to gravitate towards Amisa.

Their jealousies are nothing strange, especially for teenage girls, but rarely do we see such feelings and behaviours worn so blatantly on the sleeves of our characters. Once again, honesty in Ponti is queen. The narrative choice to interweave these stories is not only bold but incredibly difficult to pull off. Teo must have plotted this out for months upon months to achieve a narrative which jumps through time but still flows as one.

We learn more and more about Amisa through both her past and her future, all the while having her ultimate fate withheld from us. We see where Circe ends up, estranged from Szu, and are led along by the missing question of why for the entire novel. Teo keeps her secrets just as her characters keep theirs, and it is commendable to say the least.

Read More: If you enjoyed this you’ll love our review of Starling Days

Conclusion

Here is a raw, uncensored look into the lives of three losers. All women, written with honesty and affection. They are lovable in their corrupted but simple behaviours. They have guilty thoughts, suffer through jealousy, selfishness, and bad luck.

They’re far more shit than the women we typically see in works by Teo’s contemporaries, and that is to be unquestionably celebrated. There is no romance here, only life. Real, raw, uncomfortable life.

If you like this then you might like other books about and set in Southeast Asia or other books from Singapore chosen by Sharlene Teo herself.

Masato, a young ramen chef in Takasaki, Japan, is struck by the sudden death of his father. Feeling lost and alone, he leaves for Singapore in hopes of learning more about his Singaporean mother who died when he was only ten years old.

He aims to learn how to make the traditional Singaporean dish Bak Kut Teh, and to combine it with his speciality ramen as a way to honour his parents. And so begins a moving, turbulent, and powerful tale of family, loss, and suffering.

The film’s perspective is very much an over-the-shoulder affair, with us exploring, experiencing, and learning alongside Masato. Takumi Saito does an exquisite job in his role as Masato, keeping the audience close and ensuring that we feel every bump in the road on his journey to understanding his mother’s life.

The Peaks

Where the movie really shines is in its acting, with Saito being a more than perfect fit for this role. Appearing frightened and naïve without ever coming across as dull or irritating, he plays a role that may not be wholly original (the lost boy searching for his place in the world is a tired trope).

But though his role is not a reinvention of the wheel, his acting very much makes the turbulent tale feel like a freshly opened wound that you can’t help picking at. His acting consistently allows for a gripping – and at times unsettling – story. The supporting cast all shine, too, with Tsuyoshi Ihara and Jeanette Aw playing Masato’s father and mother respectively in some very affecting flashback sequences which tell the story of their Singaporean love affair.

Once again it must be said that this story is older than Shakespeare – the shunned foreigner, the overbearing parent, the outcast child – but the writing and acting here brings new life to a tired story. Make sure you’ve planned a nice dinner for after the film because all of the exquisite shots of cooking and food will definitely leave you hungry.

The Valleys

Ramen Teh is not without its trips and stumbles, however, one of which being the music. The soundtrack to the film takes only two forms: silence, and a small selection of lifeless piano melodies in a minor key.

These are played during very obviously sombre moments but they only serve to detract from the emotional impact of the moment itself. In any given scene the actors are pulling their weight to create a sorrowful mood, and every time this mood is cut through with some really dreadful and dreary chords.

Rather than emphasising any emotional impact, this music takes the audience so far out of what would otherwise have been an exceptionally moving scene.

Conclusion

That being said, Ramen Teh is still an unquestionably effective tale. As the story progresses, family drama is gradually replaced by issues of racism and the dark history of Japanese imperial control. Masato’s Singaporean grandmother is still eaten away inside by the death of her father and the treatment of her people at the hands of the Japanese almost a century ago.

I have to congratulate the filmmakers for bringing light to this. Conservative Japan has a nasty habit of ignoring or downplaying any mention of its recent past, but here it is admitted to and addressed with honesty and tact; something I am glad to see.

Overall, Ramen Teh is a massive success, with fantastic acting and some clever writing which dances along the line of comedy and tragedy with grace and elegance.

Ramen Teh is showing at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2018.

Check out our favourite films at the festival on Savvy Tokyo.

Looking for more films? Here’s our list of South Korean movies to enjoy.