48 hours in Singapore

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-27 14:54

SATURDAY

9 a.m. - Start your day at the Killiney Kopitiam coffee shop on the main shopping belt Orchard Road. Favorites are soft-boiled eggs and toast with kaya, green-colored coconut jam, and coffee with condensed milk. Or soak up the previous night's excesses with laksa, noodles in a spicy coconut broth.

10 a.m. - Head west to the Botanic Gardens, a tropical park where parrots and sunbirds flit between rainforest trees and new orchids are named after world leaders. The birthplace of Southeast Asia's rubber industry, an "eco-garden" houses crops such as coffee and cacao, and the Orchid Garden shows off 20,000 varieties of never-ending colors.

12 p.m. - Lunch at Halia, a restaurant amidst the foliage of the Botanic's Ginger Garden. Western cuisine is given a regional twist, such as roast lamb with Javanese spices or spicy crab spaghetti, and washed down with infusions of wild ginger or wine.

3 p.m. - Head back past the designer facades of wide thoroughfare Orchard Road to Little India, a scruffier enclave of shops selling flower garlands, dosa pancakes and gold jewelry. Observe worshippers at the Sri Veerama Kaliamman Temple, devoted to the Hindu god Kali, or at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, the starting point for the body-piercing Thaipusam annual festival.

6.30 p.m. - Catch the equatorial sunset on the world's largest Ferris wheel, the Singapore Flyer. Its commanding position overlooks the financial district, Chinatown and the port, the world's busiest.

7.30 p.m. - Stroll to Gluttons Bay next to Singapore's main concert hall the Esplanade, facing the harbor, to pick from open air stalls selling barbecued stingray in spicy sambal, oyster omelet, satay skewers and claypots cooking at your table.

Or for something more upmarket, try the Regent Hotel's Iggy's, voted Singapore's best and the world's 60th best by Restaurant magazine. Its eight-course tasting menu includes sea urchin, wagyu carpaccio and foie gras tempura.

9 p.m. - Head north to the central reservoirs of Singapore and the Night Safari zoo, for a walk on dark forested paths past nocturnal animals such as hunting fishing cats and fruit bats, or sit back on a guided tram through Asia and Africa's big game.

11 p.m. - Check out the laid-back Arab Street area, home to fabric merchants, the imposing gold domed Sultan Mosque and cafes with water pipes and milky drinks made with roses or almonds.

2 a.m. - If peckish go to Geylang, a spot known for street food and brothels. Love hotels sit on even-numbered streets, while cafes line the odd-numbered streets. Famous dishes include smoky beef noodles on Lorong 9, frogs leg porridge and durians -- a spiky fruit notorious for its pungent smell.

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