Five different things to do a business trip in Singapore

If you're anything like us, you have a sort of love-hate relationship with Singapore.

On the one hand, it's a seriously accessible, connected modern city with very few culture clashes.

At the same time you've probably visiting Singapore there a hundred times (or felt like it), you're bored of Orchard Road and there's only so much laksa you can eat.

So on our most recent trip to the Merion City, we put our heads together over a map with the concierge team at the Four Seasons Singapore to suggest some new openings, hidden gems and things you might not have seen before, and which would go well on a business trip.

And there's not a Singapore Sling among them.

Urbanism can be interesting!

The Singapore City Gallery is a surprisingly fascinating couple of hours' wander, full of interactive historical displays and dioramas about how Singapore came to be, and how its highly urban society is designed.

Run by the government's Urban Redevelopment Authority, the story is much more than you'd expect.

Who doesn't love an enormous diorama?

(It's also across the street from the Maxwell Road hawker centre -- stop off for your Tian Tian Hainan Chicken Rice fix on your way out.)

Shopping -- no, not Orchard Road

Sorry Orchard Road, we're kind of over you. But there's still heaps of decent shopping to be done in Singapore, and our current favourite -- especially for peoplewatching more interesting than the Orchard Road clones -- is the Mustafa Centre in Little India.

It's a busy four levels of nearly anything you can imagine (with a healthy concentration of Indian merchandise), and the 24-hour shopping is well worth a jetlagged midnight prowl.

Shopping -- part 2 (it's Singapore, after all)

If you're after a few authentic things to bring home for colleagues or family, the very worthy Chinatown Social Enterprise shop has great unique handicrafts and, being a social enterprise supporting local elderly and disabled residents, brings a warm fuzzy feeling too.

Coffee lovers pining for a relatively decent brew should head out to Tiong Bahru's streets, among one of Singapore's oldest housing estate, and follow their nose to find a good brew -- the good spots change regularly, so ask your concierge.

Quirky, unusual items to bring home can be found in shops around the estate, but try a roam down Tiong Bahru Road and Seng Poh Lane.

Pick and choose among Singapore's new art galleries

Unlike many other Asian cities, Singapore doesn't have an artists' district as such, with low rents and old warehouses to make hipster galleries.

Try the new-as-of-September Gillman Barracks out near Labrador Park, the Keppel Distripark's galleries in Tanjong Pagar (really, out in shipping container land -- ask your concierge for the latest on the gallery of the month) or the redeveloped Dempsey Hill up along Holland Road.

Gillman Barracks' buildings alone are worth a look.

Go explore the Gardens by the Bay

On the far side of the Marina Bay Sands landmark/monstrosity, check out the new Gardens by the Bay park complex.

It's best visited on a cool evening or early in the morning if you're down that end of town.

With Marina Bay itself now pretty much completely a freshwater reservoir, there are all kinds of nifty things going on there, from jogging to rumours of upcoming watersport activities. Keep an eye and an ear out, and ask your concierge and colleagues.

Have you visited any of these places? What did you think? And what's your favourite haunt when you're in SG? Share your comment below (lah)!

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.