Have your fortune told by a psychic parrot, sample delicious banana leaf curry, and listen to the sweet strains of Hindu music floating from the open windows. Shops overflow with silks, spices, and gold jewelry. If you're in town during the Deepavali festival, don't miss the nightly light show. 3 Green Retreat. Plunge into the jungle at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, a pristine patch of rain forest that's never been logged.
Wildlife also is abundant.
Pythons slither through the undergrowth,monkeys hoot and holler in the trees, and white-bellied sea eagles hover high above the forest canopy. You'd swear you were in Borneo instead of in the middle of a modern city. 4 Urban Gem. When your shopping feet get tired of pounding the pavement along Orchard Road, duck into a quiet side street called Emerald Hill Road. Bars and caf s offer local libations, such as Tiger beer or the Singapore sling, while the upper reaches of the street are the bastion of exquisitely restored Peranakanmansions from earlier in the century.