Singapore Travel Guide: Design, Culture, and the Collected Look

If you love a collected look — the kind that draws from many cultures without belonging to any single one — Singapore may already be part of your décor without your knowing it.

Howard and I spent four days there for the first time last week, and I was surprised. I expected modern, clean and efficient. What I found was modern and ancient, glass towers reflected in a harbor where trading ships once anchored, a city that has absorbed centuries of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and European influence to become something its own.

It’s Sunday Faves time with Annie and Cindy and I’d like to show you what we saw in Singapore. We are home now from our Southeast Asia adventure and I’m still unpacking (mentally and physically)!

Where We Stayed: The Fullerton Bay Hotel

Our room looked directly onto Marina Bay. At night, Marina Bay Sands lit up across the water in blue. The Fullerton Bay sits on the historic waterfront. The city is young as a nation but old as a crossroads, and the hotel reflects that — traditional warmth, impeccable service, a location that puts you at the center of everything.

The pool on the roof was a great afternoon place to cool off with a view and …

breakfast alone was worth the stay. The spread was a miniature version of Singapore itself: Singaporean coconut fish soup and exotic tropical fruits alongside Indian butter chicken and fresh naan, Chinese dim sum, French pastries, and American bacon and eggs.

Dining: High House and Manam

On our first night, we had dinner at High House — a bar and restaurant perched on levels 61 and 62 of One Raffles Place. The view from that height, looking down over the entire illuminated harbor is stunning. (Thanks for arranging this, Howard).

Later in the trip Howard found Manam, a small Indian restaurant near Clarke Quay that turned out to be one of the most memorable meals of the trip. A Singaporean family was celebrating a birthday at the next table.

The grandparents spoke Chinese. When the cake came out, we all sang Happy Birthday in English together — and a few minutes later, two little boys solemnly delivered slices of tiramisu to us. That’s Singapore in one moment: multiple languages, one song, Italian/European cake shared with strangers.

Gardens by the Bay

For me this was the surprise of the trip. The Flower Dome is one of the largest glass greenhouses in the world, and when we visited, it was arranged by gardens around the world.

The colors, temperature and oxygen in there were so reviving!

The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

Yes, it reminded me of the movie Crazy Rich Asians. The arched glass roof, the canal running through the interior, Bulgari and Gucci side by side. It’s a mall in the way the Louvre is a building.

The architecture alone is worth the visit, and the mix of luxury retail alongside a bustling food hall — children playing on the video floor atrium, lots of energy.

The Peranakan Museum

This museum was the cultural highlight. We landed there at the right time to have a guided tour in English. Actually, we found English to be the common language for communication with so many international languages spoken there.

The Peranakan people — are descendants of Chinese traders who settled in the area. Our guide said that the Peranakan people have all different foreign ancestors but were born locally. (Sounds like us North Americans).

The pottery was amazing: entire collections of deep rose-pink porcelain painted with butterflies and peonies, commissioned specifically for wedding ceremonies. And there was lots of traditional blue and white pottery, too.

Then there was the batik — wax-resist fabric that traces back to 13th-century Java, layered with Chinese, Dutch, and Arabic influences by the time it reached Singapore. So intricate.

And the kebaya, the traditional dress: hand-beaded silk blouses over batik sarongs. The craftsmanship is extraordinary.

We had one final, unexpected reminder of that living culture back at our hotel. A bride crossed the lobby in a gown that stunned everyone (especially me).

It was Peranakan artistry in its highest form, worn on one of the most important days of her life.

I tried to read most of this book while we were there and it helped understand the culture. From Third World to First: A Statesman’s Powerful Story of Transformation from Poverty to National Leadership.

Merlion Park and the Skyline

No trip to Singapore is complete without a stop at the Merlion — the half-lion, half-fish statue that is the city’s symbol, spouting water into the bay with the financial district rising behind it.

Standing there with the skyline and the harbor, you understand what Singapore is: a city that built itself on trade, on the meeting of cultures, and the idea that the world’s best things belong together.

That, I think, is what the collected look is really about. Singapore simply lives it. It’s amazing how much travel teaches you.

Let’s see what my friends have discovered this week:

Cindy Hattersley Design

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PS. I felt like I packed well for this trip: What to Wear in the Heat and Humidity. And on Thursday we are doing a Summer Fashion round-up.

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