Doc Holiday: What to see and where to eat in Singapore

Singapore is a vibrant city. So, how can you see (and eat) the best of it in seven days?

Escape's Doc Holiday, Dilvin Yasa, answers your travel-related questions.

Do you have a “must-do” list of suggestions for Singapore? My daughter (late 20s) and I are particularly keen on food tours and night markets.

Absolutely, although I suspect eating my way through Singapore’s celebrated hawker centres and following up every meal with a dance at neon-lit ’80s themed bar Nineteen80 Bar might be considered niche. I still stand by them, of course, but if you’re not keen to have your fill of local delights at the likes of Maxwell Food Centre, Newton Food Centre and Amoy Street Market independently, you may like to book a food tour. Great options include Monster Day Tours’ Singapore Street Food & Night Tour, or Michelin and Local Hawker Centre Food Tour. Let’s Go Tour Singapore offers a broad range of tours around the Lion City – both culinary and garden variety, while Wok ’n’ Stroll remains a popular choice with visitors.

Apart from eating, you should take in a tour of Little India and the vibrant shophouses and temples of Chinatown, see the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Botanic Gardens and take a walk around Marina Bay (both of these are best at night). While you’re around these parts, the ArtScience Museum is also well worth a look (and a great way to escape the heat) and enjoying a drink at one of the many bars dotted around Clarke Quay is always a great way to end the day.

Orchard Road is central so it’s perfect for your stay and while you’re shopping the famous strip (most pay close attention to ION Orchard, Ngee Ann City Takashimaya Centre and Tangs) you may also wish to splash the cash at Bugis Street, as well as Haji Lane which is lined with boutiques, cafes and street art.

Since you’re in Singapore for a week, I would tack on time in and around Sentosa to hit up Palawan Beach and enjoy the lush greenery of the Imbiah Trail, a 2.4km nature walk. Sometimes you just need a reset after the hustle and bustle of city life and I find a couple of days here helps me unwind.

You could opt out of paying and hope for the best, but you’re likely to find yourselves separated, and wedged between two strangers if most other passengers have opted in. 

My wife and I have discovered we have to pay for seat selection with Fiji Airways, something we haven’t encountered before. Is this normal, and will we be separated if we don’t pay up?

How lovely it is that you and your wife are keen to sit together. I say this because I suspect many others (including me) would pay good money to be seated well away from their partner for a few hours of silence. Still, I can appreciate your frustration with having to pay extra for a fare you’ve already shelled out for.

Unfortunately, assigned seating charges are becoming the norm – not only with low-cost carriers where last-minute price gouging is almost an expectation, but with full-service carriers who’ve cottoned that charging families to stay together is a powerful revenue generator. (Some airlines, such as British Airways, even charge for seat allocation in business class.)

You could opt out of paying and hope for the best when check-in opens 48 hours before the flight, but this does mean you’re likely to find yourself not only separated, but wedged between two strangers near the back toilets if most other passengers have opted in. There’s also the chance that someone (who hasn’t paid extra for their own allocation) will swap with you if you ask nicely, but if your heart is set on sitting with a particular person or you have a seat preference, it’s always safest to pay the extra dollars. I’m not fussed about whether I have a window or aisle seat, for example, but I will always pay extra for assigned seats if I’m travelling with my children. It’s an annoying fee, I know, but unless you choose to exclusively fly with airlines who don’t charge it, or join frequent-flyer programs that can help you avoid it, our hands are tied.

There’s no reason why you can’t travel – even internationally – without a smartphone.

I’m in my 70s and would like to travel within Australia, however I only have a basic phone without internet access. Does that mean I’m unable to travel by plane any more?

There’s no reason why you can’t travel – even internationally – without a smartphone. While internet access in your pocket can make things quicker and more convenient (at times), you can still check in and have boarding passes printed the old-fashioned way.

Disregard recent noise surrounding the digitisation of our Incoming Passenger Card (for international travel); it would be foolish for authorities to only rely on tech when we have an ageing population, so there will always a paper option available. You just have to ask.

Originally published as Doc Holiday: What to see and where to eat in Singapore