Coming to Singapore after Hong Kong is like arriving at Disneyland after driving through Los Angeles — it’s clean, precise, perfect and a breath of fresh, if humid, air. That’s not really a fair comparison, it’s just such a dramatic contrast from the incredible scale and concentration of humanity in Hong Kong to the bright and colorful, serenely laid out, beautiful Singapore.

Singapore is an Asian treasure with surprising diversity. I say surprising because, as stated earlier, I arrived here from Hong Kong, and if there was ever a metaphor for diversity, Hong Kong is it. But within a few minutes of walking through Singapore City, I came across more variety of international cuisines than anywhere I’ve experienced before. Pan-Asian, Indian, European, Cuban, American, British, Turkish, Arabic and countless more. The patrons at all these places likewise from all over the world.That’s when it dawned on me that the real heritage of Singapore — and Hong Kong — is its history as an important port of call in international trade and shipping. It’s clearly a dominant force in not only their economy, but the very way these cities came to be. As I look out over the vast harbor, hundreds of tankers and container ships lie at anchor in pristine coral-blue waters. This is about the most beautiful harbor I’ve seen, anchoring the south-eastern tip of the famous Malacca Strait, the world’s busiest commercial waterway.All this helps explain my first impressions of Singapore: a very British Colonial heritage with a unique signature of its own rooted in Pan-Asian culture reflecting influences and culture from Turkey all the way to China.You know you’ve arrived somewhere special when, after you leave the fully-carpeted airport (odd thing to point out that, but I don’t recall the last time I saw a fully carpeted airport concourse), you hop into the air-conditioned taxi and are whisked comfortably along perhaps the world’s most beautiful airport highway. Seriously, every inch of the road from the airport to the city is lined with perfectly trimmed beautiful bougainvillea and tidy gardens, and it feeds directly into the picturesque central business and river districts. Did I just say ‘picturesque central business district’? Yes. I did.Singapore City is one of the most beautiful, walkable and well-laid out cities I’ve ever seen. From my hotel located across Marina Bay from the Central business district, it’s a short walk through perfect parks and convenient (and cool!) underpasses to everything the city has to offer. I picked the Marina Mandarin Hotel for its central location and excellent city/Marina views. Fantastic hotel, with an odd design (more on that in a moment), outstanding rooms and world-class service. However, the whole room-with-a-view thing I didn’t really need to worry about, because there are hundreds of perfect vantage points to photograph and experience this city while walking around. What’s odd about the design, is the direction the windows are facing, none face the perfect photo opportunity of the central business district, you choose either harbor/marina or city view. It’s quite a lean off the balcony to get the shot above!The Marina Mandarin Hotel was a good deal all-round, rates high on my list. Food prices very reasonable, room outstanding, amenities and location could not be better, then again, it’s hard to go too far wrong in Singapore. I’d recommend any of the hotels in the Marina, Riverwalk and Central Districts based on location, though prices can get a bit steep with many of them.Singapore City is safe, clean (I’ve said it before, but seriously, this place is clean!) and very approachable on foot. Where in Hong Kong I used my ‘business people’ tracking skills to follow people who looked like they knew where they were going, in Singapore, firstly, I didn’t need to do this because it’s easy to find your way around as long as you know where the river is. Secondly, I found that most of the ’suits’ I followed were heading for the numerous British pubs located along the river banks - it was, after all, Friday evening! There’s quite a drinking/dining scene here which is very focused on the riverbanks. It’s very friendly, and quickly becomes very busy as the sun sets.For the complete story: 48 HOURS IN Singapore, Please buy my new book: Around The World In Eighteen Days, featuring 48 Hours In Hong Kong, Singapore, Cairo, Istanbul and 96 Hours Across Europe By Train. Click here for more information…