← All articles · Singapore ·

Singapore

Singapore in two days: the Night Safari at Mandai, Mustafa Centre's six 24-hour floors, Arab Street and the Sultan Mosque, and Changi's calm Terminal 4.

We spent a weekend in Singapore and managed to pack in far more than we expected. Two days is short, but this city is built for it.

The best of Singapore in a weekend, or a long layover. Watch on YouTube

The headline act was the Night Safari at Mandai Wildlife Reserve, a nocturnal animals show, walking trails and a safari tram that lets you watch animals that only come alive after dark. It’s unlike any zoo visit we’ve done.

Food never disappoints here. Hunting for breakfast we passed a Sri Lankan restaurant before settling on an Indian place serving both North and South Indian food, dosa was an easy choice, and Chinese food is on practically every street. Later we found a Harry Potter-themed café for dessert: magical snacks, cocktails, smoke effects and actual fire at the table.

The itinerary

In between: the Mustafa Centre, a massive 24-hour complex where six floors hold everything from chocolates and electronics to gold jewellery (with tax refunds on site); VivoCity at HarbourFront, Singapore’s largest mall and the gateway to Sentosa, with a festive lunch at a pet-friendly Aussie café; and Kampong Glam’s Arab Street, full of murals and small shops, crowned by the golden dome of the Sultan Mosque.

We wrapped up at Changi Airport Terminal 4, calm, modern and beautifully designed, and honestly a fitting final sight for a city that gets the details right. If you had one weekend in Singapore, what would you add?

Photos from Singapore

A few stills from the weekend, December 2025, to go with the video.

Inga and Dileep hugging on the palm-lined pedestrian street in Kampong Glam, the golden dome of the Sultan Mosque rising behind
Kampong Glam, with the Sultan Mosque's golden dome keeping an eye on the souvenir stalls.
The four of us around a white table with blue Iznik-style tiles at a pavement cafe on Arab Street, shophouses, skyscrapers and a rooftop Santa behind
Turkish coffee stop on Arab Street: one tiled table, four takers, and a rooftop Santa across the road confirming it really is December.
Four of us around a table of plates in a curved booth beneath a canopy of hanging greenery at a VivoCity restaurant
The festive family lunch at VivoCity from the video: four plates, one indoor jungle.
The family at a dark brick-walled cafe table with glowing potion bottles, tiny cauldrons and dry-ice smoke, framed portraits covering the wall
The wizard-themed dessert stop: potions glowing, smoke pouring, portraits silently judging our order.

Postcards from our first visit, May 2010

Singapore and us go back further than the video. We first landed in May 2010, and the old camera came home with these.

Dileep with a camera in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, palms and a lake in the background
The Botanic Gardens in 2010, back when Dileep's camera bag was the biggest thing we travelled with.
Inga sitting on a wooden bench on the lawn above the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage in the Singapore Botanic Gardens
Front-row lawn seats at the Symphony Stage. No concert that day, so the palms performed.
Inga smiling behind a paper dosa longer than the tray of chutneys under it, with a mango lassi on the table
Even in 2010 the dosa hunt was on. This one arrived longer than the table was wide.

There’s more from this trip on our YouTube channel, we film the real sights and sounds, no fluff. You’ll also find us on TikTok and Instagram.