Singapore
The scents of Chinatown in the warm October air of Singapore
The air is warm and heavy as soon as I step onto the street in October. Somewhere nearby, someone is grilling chicken over charcoal, and the smoke blows straight my way. The city makes it immediately clear that nothing ever stands still here.
27 September 2026 · Wayloha editorial · 4 sources
A first step into the bustle
I stand still in the middle of a street and let the people walk around me. Glass towers rise above the old rooftops, as if two eras simply live side by side here. Singapore was founded as a British trading post, and you can still see that history in the streets of the old neighbourhoods.
The city is remarkably organised: the metro runs punctually and the buses are clean. Yet nothing here feels cold, because chatter, the shouts of market traders and honking sound everywhere. It is warm during the day, with an occasional short rain shower that disappears just as quickly as it arrives.
In Chinatown you smell the history of the city before you even see it.Singapore
Between temples and old facades
The facades in Chinatown stand out immediately: brightly coloured, with shutters and decorations that have hung there for decades. Tucked between the shops is the Sri Mariamman Temple, with a gate covered in statues of gods, which you can simply walk into. Inside it is cool and quiet, a stark contrast to the bustle outside.
A few streets away lies The Baba House, a building from the last century that shows how a family used to live here. In Tanjong Pagar you walk straight from that past into the new world: low rows of shophouses next to glass office towers. It is a neighbourhood where you can easily wander for an afternoon without a fixed destination.
At the table with the locals
By midday I am hungry, so I walk to a hawker centre, a large covered marketplace full of small food stalls. For a few euros you sit at a shared table with a bowl of noodles, a plate of chicken rice or a curry, made by the same family that has run the stall for years. Around me, office workers, older people and schoolchildren sit right next to each other.
As evening falls and the heat drops slightly, the city's coffee houses stay open around the clock. You can walk in at any hour for a strong coffee or a plate of eggs with toast. In October that is exactly the right moment: the warmth of the day fades and the city grows just a little quieter.
Away from the well-known streets
One day I take the metro towards Katong Joo Chiat. The houses here have ornate tiles and shutters in pastel colours, built by a community that settled here generations ago. The streets are wider, quieter, and fewer tourists walk about.
Outside the city, in the more distant areas, a few old kampongs remain: small villages with wooden houses on stilts, a remnant of how Singapore used to look everywhere. It is a different side of the country, far from the shopping centres and skyscrapers, and that is exactly why it is worth seeing.
As evening falls over the city
Towards evening, the sky above the skyline turns orange and the lights come on everywhere. In neighbourhoods like Tanjong Pagar and Chinatown, the terraces fill with people having a drink after work. It is busy, especially at the weekend, so keep a close eye on your bag and phone among the crowds.
Before I go up to my room, I think of my plug: Singapore uses the same sockets as the United Kingdom, with three rectangular pins, so nothing will come out of my charger without an adapter. Outside, a soft evening breeze blows through the streets, one of the small gifts that October brings with it.
