Singapore

Another city of superlatives! From urban gardening to fresh air corridors, everything is used here in urban planning!

Finally we can go couchsurfing again! After a relaxed flight we arrive in Singapore and drive through the whole city to our couchsurfing host Mohammad. He is one of the many people in Singapore who do not come from the small state, but live there for professional reasons. In the first days he is very much involved, but later we can still spend time together.

Actually, we are a little exhausted from the trip, but we can’t stop taking a trip to the city centre to see the probably most famous building of the city: the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

Majestically enthroned is the hotel, which comprises three skyscrapers and a surfboard opposite the rest of the city skyline.

But Singapore has much more to offer than just an office building skyline or luxury hotels. There are many neighborhoods here that have evolved due to the influences of different cultures, such as Little India and Chinatown or the Muslim Quarter.

In Little India, Indian shops are lined up and you can choose from a variety of good dishes.

Nevertheless one imagines the actual India a little more chaotic and dirtier than the Little India in Singapore. This impression also continues in Chinatown.

But there the buildings have already reminded us a little more of the real China
Nevertheless it was quite neat and clear – what we were not really used to from Chinese cities (except Shanghai).
However, a cultural mixture is noticeable in all corners of the city.

The Muslim Quarter is also clean. What is remarkable in Singapore, however, is that very many different cultures and religions are present in a very small space.

This is how you see a magnificent mosque in the Muslim quarter…
…and can consume any animal in Chinatown. Although the roasted lizards were probably also draped up for tourists.
But there were other interesting snacks as well
Or even Street Art in Little India with an Indian touch.

Sometimes, however, the mixing of different cultures goes a little too far…

But how to twist and turn it: There is no getting around a cultural influence in Singapore – that of the English and Europeans.

Whether it is the government building of the city-state…
… or the old buildings on the river from the colonial era, which are used today by English pubs.

Of course, a small but fine street art scene has also developed in Singapore. Sometimes you can find more elaborate works of art…

And sometimes just simple messages:

If you walk through the city centre and the CBD, you will sooner or later see the landmark of the city.

Sometimes hidden
Sometimes obvious
Sometimes from an unusal perspective
Sometimes in a close-up

Within a few decades, Singapore has developed from a pirate moloch to a British colony to a metropolis with the ninth highest HDI in the world. Urban planning reaches 50 years into the future and is constantly evaluated and adapted to meet modern challenges. The public transport is extremely cheap, a distance of about 35 km in the well-developed metro network costs about 1.70 SGD (Singapore Dollar) – that corresponds to about 1.13 €. Urban planning also takes into account microclimatic conditions and, for example, has ensured that the city’s skyscrapers are aligned in such a way that fresh air supply is always guaranteed and rain to fill the reservoirs can always pass through the tall buildings on the waterfront.

The buildings are aligned in such a way that at a certain height the width of the building side is never in the main wind direction.

The view of the CBD is nevertheless impressive – especially at night! Directly adjacent to the property of Marina Bay Sands is another architectural and planning masterpiece – the Gardens by the Bay Park.

The famous Supertrees

The Supertrees are overgrown and form a source of fresh air for the city. In the evenings there is a nice light show with music, which we of course didn’t miss. Here are a few views from the park by day and by night:

On the left is the Skywalk, connecting two of the Supertrees
In the whole park there are several places where Supertrees stand – in the picture you can see the smaller specimens but they offer a good view to the landmark of the city.
The final lighting of the light show

Nevertheless the Supertrees are by far not the only project of Urban Gardening in Singapore. Many facades are overgrown. One example is the Hotel Park Royal.

Whether vertical or urban gardening – the plants on the hotel façade contribute to increased oxygen production and CO2 reduction in the city.

Of course Singapore has even more to offer. From a geographical perspective, the Clarkes Quay is interesting. A simulacrum at its finest. There, old warehouses from the colonial period were reconstructed, which can be visited in wind and weather and create an old harbour atmosphere. The atmosphere is rounded off with a variety of bars, clubs and restaurants.

An evening view into the simulated environment

Now only the symbol of the city is missing – the Merlion.

The Merlion is a mixture of lion (strength) and mermaid (origin of the city). In principle, the city originated from water: Land seizure is a common practice in Singapore and the entire area behind the Merlion has been taken from the sea.

After we could spend an evening with our couchsurfing host Mohammad and he could show us beautiful (and tasty) corners of the city, we had to pack our backpacks again after 5 days to get on the bus to Kuala Lumpur.