Vibrant jungle metropolis

Raffles of Singapore is one of the most iconic hotels in the world. The name evokes images of Europeans lounging in pressed white linen suits on rattan day beds and the list of famous guests ranges from Charlie Chaplin to Michael Jackson. The hotel is so synonymous with the image of Singapore that it has been made a national monument.

The transition from the chic shopping boulevard of nearby Orchard Road to the lush forest is a striking one- Helen Raine

Unfortunately, this glamorous reputation meant that the price tag for a room was way beyond my rather humble budget, but you can’t visit Singapore without at least having a look at the place. So, staving off first night jetlag and feeling mildly intimidated by so much splendour (the doorman was infinitely better dressed than I was), I sloped into the bar where the famous Singapore Sling was invented.

Fortified with this fruity, foamy and potent pink pineapple concoction, it was easy to float around the light and airy public rooms of the hotel and imagine the novel writers and socialites of yore quaffing champagne at drinks parties.

Ah, to have stayed in one of the spectacularly well appointed suites at the hotel, overlooking the tranquil palm court. But that would have cost considerably more than my air ticket (the cheapest rooms are around €500, with suites considerably more), so I returned to my boxy, airless hotel.

This was located in a significantly less salubrious district of town and I passed a series of ‘ladyboys’, gorgeously made-up and waiting for business on the same street as the hotel. I consoled myself with the fact that there’s too much to see in Singapore to spend time and money on an expensive hotel.

There’s the rainforest for starters. Raffles was once just a boarding house on the river, part of a much sparser collection of buildings that made up Singapore, with jungle pressing in on all sides.

Land reclamation and dramatic development has changed all that, but there is still a patch of remnant primeval rainforest to explore at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

The transition from the chic shopping boulevard of nearby Orchard Road to the lush forest is a striking one. I ambled past a giant rain tree with a five-metre girth and wandered under rubber trees and kapok trees so huge they have been designated as ‘heritage trees’ by the government.

The gardens carried me briefly back to a time when wild boar and even a tiger casually sauntered into the Raffles lobby (both meeting rather unfortunate ends). Then the weather turned and put the rain into rainforest.

The walk and subsequent deluge had worked up quite an appetite, so in a spectacular contrast to the rarefied atmosphere of Raffles, I headed to Changi Village Hawker Centre in the north-east.

The ethnic mix in Singapore has created some of the best cooking in the world and these distinctly down-market food courts dish it up hot and cheap.

I braved the long queue at the Nasi Lemak stall for a platter of rice soaked in coconut cream, cucumber slices, a hardboiled egg and a spicy sambal sauce, an unlikely but delicious combination.

On the way to Changi, the bus passed the prison, whereupon the driver suddenly stopped and gesticulated at us encouragingly. At first we thought he was suggesting we visit some incarcerated relative, but it transpired he was pointing us towards the Changi Prison Museum, which details the dark and disturbing history of the prison during World War II when Singapore fell to the Japanese.

Some 3,000 civilians and 50,000 Allied soldiers were imprisoned here; 850 died and many more were worked to death later in labour camps.

Changi is also the gateway to Pulau Ubin, an island where a fragment of rural Singapore has somehow survived. I caught a rickety bumboat from the ferry terminal to discover what life must have been like in the kampong (village communities) before high-rises and tarmac swallowed the rest of Singapore. The vegetation is lush and green, with tall coconut palms waving over rutted, shady tracks to rustic shacks.

The locals are trying hard to keep urbanisation out of Pulau Ubin. It’s an indication of how wild the area still is that the oriental pied hornbill, previously extinct in Singapore, has returned with the help of some artificial nest boxes. There are now around 50 of these exotic creatures, sporting the extraordinary yellow ‘casques’ that serve to amplify the birds’ calls. You have a good chance of seeing them as you tour the island.

One of the best ways to do that is by bike. I pedalled past abandoned granite quarries and through old rubber plantations to hidden beaches fringed by mangrove swamps. My favourite spot was Chek Jawa.

I pedalled past abandoned granite quarries and through old rubber plantations to hidden beaches fringed by mangrove swamps- Helen Raine

This intertidal area used to be coral reef 5,000 years ago and is now host to an array of creatures such as sea stars, cowries and sand dollars. In the seagrass lagoon, the carpet sea anemones are the size of dinner plates and there are several varieties of absurdly colourful sea cucumbers.

The sea hares are also astonishing in their gelatinous shape and variety; get too close and they’ll emit a purple dye to deter you.

A recent one-year study turned up 102 species of intertidal sponges alone, including a species new to science. Access to the boardwalk is free, but to get onto the shore, you’ll need to register for a special guided walk at www.nparks.gov.sg.

You might think that after the rampant development of the rest of Singapore, places like Pulau Ubin would be sacrosanct, providing a respite from the madness of city life and a last refuge for Singapore’s wildlife. But development is king, and government schemes still threaten this last patch of wilderness.

Chek Jawa itself was slated for a reclamation scheme that would have destroyed this fusion of six unique habitats forever. The scheme has been deferred but not forgotten and the government will revisit the issue in 2012.

Just before sunset, I sailed back from the relaxed atmosphere of Pualu Ubin into the well-ordered streets of the main island.

The Singaporeans are the first to admit that a respect for rules forms part of their national psyche. Consequently, the city is spotless, well-organised and easy to get around, but chewing gum is forbidden in case it messes up the pavements, and some rather draconian laws mean you’ll be told off if you dare to take your morning coffee on the MRT subway train.

This rigid, squeaky-clean approach can make the city feel a tad dull, although the red-light district near my hotel suggests there’s an undercurrent of impropriety that the average tourist just doesn’t tap into.

There’s also something about the draw of Pulau Ubin that would have you believe that it, rather than the faceless modern buildings, harbours the secret heart of Singapore.

But perhaps that’s just nostalgia, and the driving force behind this most modern of cities is simply commerce and efficiency. Either way, Singapore is an astonishingly orderly city with some tantalisingly wild fringes, great for a two-night stopover.

Getting there

Emirates operates four daily flights from Dubai to Singapore. Emirates flies from Malta to Dubai via Larnaka, Cyprus, on a daily basis.