• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Go to Expat Living Hong Kong
Get our Newsletter

Lifestyle Guide To Moving To & Living in Singapore - Expat Living HomepageLifestyle Guide To Moving To & Living in Singapore - Expat Living

Moving to Singapore and not sure where to start? Expat Living is the essential lifestyle guide to living in Singapore.

Login Pelcro Shop

Menu
  • Living in Singapore
      • Living here
      • Property
      • Neighbourhood Guides
      • Work & Finance
        • Christmas gift wrap, cards & more
        • What’s On: Things to do, what’s new and more
        • horoscopes for julyMonthly Horoscopes – December 2023!
        • What it’s like living near Braddell Road and Woodleigh Park
      • View all
    Close
  • Things To Do
      • Things to do
      • EL Events
      • Calendar
      • Competitions
      • Noticeboard
        • Crazy Christmas™ Balls of the BellesWhat’s on this week and beyond
        • horoscopes for julyMonthly Horoscopes – December 2023!
        • Puzzle Pages – answers for December 2023!
        • Pan Pacific Orchard in Singapore - Christmas at Mosella and Florette8 ways to celebrate Christmas & New Year’s Eve
      • View all
    Close
  • Kids
      • Enrichment
      • Kids Things To Do
      • Mums & Babies
      • Schools
      • Tots & Toddlers
      • Tweens & Teens
        • Seriously cool children’s furniture & kids beds
        • Lylo car short-term car rental to Malaysia3 ways to simplify your routine transport needs
        • when to start preparing for SAT prep SingaporeHow to get good SAT scores?
        • Christmas gift ideas toys for kidsChristmas Gift Ideas for Kids – Toys, Clothes and More
      • View all
    Close
  • Homes
      • Furniture & Décor
      • Real Homes
        • Home News: New furniture, home décor & services
        • artwork where to buy paintings in Singapore artistsNeed artwork? Here’s where to buy paintings in Singapore
        • ideas for bathroom decorBathroom accessories – pretty & practical!
        • Affordable art in SingaporeBuying affordable art in Singapore – it is possible!
      • View all
    Close
  • Travel
      • Asia
      • Australasia
      • Rest Of The World
        • The Latest Travel News & Hotel Deals
        • Golf courses in Phuket golf resort golf packages in ThailandGreat golf courses and getaways in Thailand
        • Mandala Club: Niseko - ski-in, ski-out clubhouse in Niseko Village - best restaurantsIs this the coolest new club and restaurant in Niseko yet?
        • Avana Retreat Vietnam resorts cloud poolVietnam resorts high in the mountains!
      • View all
    Close
  • Wine & Dine
      • Asian Cuisine
      • Western Cuisine
      • Bars & Clubs
      • Groceries & Speciality Services
      • Recipes & Classes
        • New Nibbles: Foodie news!
        • Christmas dinners, drinks, ready-cooked turkeys and takeaways!
        • Christmas presents for himGifts for men and Christmas presents he’ll love!
        • Pan Pacific Orchard in Singapore - Christmas at Mosella and Florette8 ways to celebrate Christmas & New Year’s Eve
      • View all
    Close
  • Style & Beauty
      • Fashion
      • Hair & Beauty
        • Christmas gift wrap, cards & more
        • Beauty news: New beauty products, makeup and more!
        • Fashion News and Sales in Singapore!
        • professional stylistLife as a professional stylist
      • View all
    Close
  • Health & Fitness
      • Dental
      • Fitness
      • Medical
      • Wellness
        • medical tourism international medical clinics Medical treatment overseasIs it worth heading overseas for medical care?
        • Health News: What’s up!
        • dental clinics teeth whitening kit whitening treatmentWhere to go for teeth whitening in Singapore?
        • prostate cancer men's healthMen: It’s time for a health screening!
      • View all
    Close
  • Shop
    • PRINT MAGAZINE
    • DIGITAL MAGAZINE
    • Close

5 places to go in Singapore to escape!

28th November 2022 by Expat Living 3 Min Read

https://expatliving.sg/places-to-go-in-singapore-to-escape/

Despite the rapid urbanisation, there’s still a handful of historical places to go in Singapore where you can take a trip down memory lane, and get the feeling that you’ve left the modern world behind for a time. Enjoy the experience, though, because these places may also be gone, or irrevocably changed, before we know it!

Expat Living reader PEIHUA GOH shared a few of her favourite places to escape.

#1 A beach break

There are a few places to go in Singapore for a “proper” beach break. If you’re looking for soft, white sand and turquoise waters, say hello to the still relatively isolated Lazarus Island, and its historical neighbour, St John’s Island, right next door. St John’s was once used as a quarantine centre for immigrants suffering from cholera and leprosy, and later as a drug rehabilitation centre for immigrants. Don’t let its chequered past put you off, though! Today, it’s a quiet weekday getaway (weekends can get busy), reached easily by ferry.

Getting there: Boats depart at least twice daily from Marina South Pier.

Lazarus Island beach places to go in singapore
Stroll along the scenic beach at Lazarus Island

#2 A fading past

Think of a village or kampong and you likely think of tin-roof houses and dirt roads. Believe it or not, scenes like this can still be seen in Singapore, at Lorong Buangkok Kampong. This is the last remaining kampong (village) on the mainland. With its rural surroundings, rustic charm and slower pace of life, it’s a slice of old Singapore that’s fast being forgotten. Residents pay a small monthly rental fee of around $30 a month to the current landlord, Madam Sng Mui Hong. Although the houses are now equipped with water and electricity, some women still cook with makeshift campfires in large, communal pots – a testament to the “kampong spirit” that persists despite years of change in the surrounding city. While no confirmed plans have been announced for the area, there’s a chance this kampong may soon be lost to urban redevelopment.

Getting there: Lorong Buangkok is in Hougang, in the northeast of the island.

#3 A little-known graveyard

Surprisingly, Singapore is home to the largest Japanese cemetery in Southeast Asia – one with almost 1,000 graves. Donated by three Japanese brothel owners in 1891, the Japanese Cemetery Park was initially used as a burial ground for prostitutes. With the onset of WWII, however, Japanese merchants, traders, war criminals and soldiers were also buried there. Notable graves include Commander Hisaichi Terauchi who led the Japanese occupation of Singapore and Indonesia, and Yamamoto Otokichi, recognised as Singapore’s first Japanese resident.

Getting there: Enter the cemetery from Chuan Hoe Avenue, Hougang.

Japanese Cemetery Park
Visit the largest Japanese cemetery in Southeast Asia

#4 A place frozen in time

For a trip back in time, look no further than Pulau Ubin, another of Singapore’s surviving kampongs; this one is off the coast of the mainland – and still unspoiled by urban development. Settlers on Ubin back in the 1960s depended on granite quarrying for their livelihood; only a handful remain living on the island today. The island’s relatively untouched nature also makes it an ideal destination for lovers of the great outdoors. You can check out the Chek Jawa Wetlands for marine life; or hire a bike and cycle the quiet roads and paths; or, if you’re an adrenalin junkie, take things up a notch at the Ketam Mountain Bike Park, which has trails of varying difficulty.

Getting there: Take a bum-boat from Changi Point jetty.

Pulau Ubin
Take in the lush greenery at Pulau Ubin

#5 The Green Corridor

The Bukit Timah Railway is one of the few remaining sections of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) railway running between Singapore and Malaysia. In 2011, decommissioning of the KTM railway led to the termination of all train services between Woodlands and Tanjong Pagar. Although now defunct, the remaining railway tracks and the station at Bukit Timah are interesting places to go in Singapore that remind us of the historical ties with Malaysia. The remaining space where the track used to run has since been converted into a public park; it’s part of the Rail Corridor project of the Nature Society (Singapore) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Getting there: Enter the railway from the corner of Bukit Timah Road and Rifle Range Road.

KTM railway at Bukit Timah places to go in singapore
Explore the old KTM railway corridor

Explore more historical walks in Singapore and great hikes.

Categories: Things To Do Tags: Bukit Timah Railway Japanese Cemetery Park Lazarus Island Pulau Ubin Singapore St John's Island

Expat Living

Expat Living has everything to help you make the most of living in Singapore! We've got information on neighbourhoods, things to do and see, dining, entertainment, schools, travel, fashion, furniture, finance, health and beauty. And more!

You May Also Like

Pan Pacific Orchard in Singapore - Christmas at Mosella and Florette

8 ways to celebrate Christmas & New Year’s Eve

Theatre show in Singapore Blue Man Group performance art rock music

The Blue Man Group brings a Bluevolution to Singapore

Leica photography exhibition – Her Lens, Her Narrative

Primary Sidebar

  • Competitions
  • Noticeboard
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy

© 2023 Expat Living Singapore, All Rights Reserved.