Singapore Botanical Gardens: Singapore is very built up and exciting but this is good for a chill out and escape for a bit if you have the time!

Just outside the city centre - can take a taxi or walk there - if it is a nice day and clouds not too daunting of a thundery shower then the walk is good! Lots of maps show the gardens but are different to many others in the world, are quiet, relaxing and near to some good cafes! Good chill out place in a bustling city!

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52 hectares of well laid out lawns and plantings with small sections of tropical forest with good paths. Plants are well labelled and there are instructive booklets available in the garden shop Best is the large orchid collection with many new varieties bred in-house Good restaurant and other catering facilities.

Map of Singapore - 52 hectares are difficult to hide on a small island.
www.sbg.org.sg/index.asp

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Largest and last piece of original rainforest left on the island. Walk up the incredibly steep hill (mind the monkeys!) for a fantastic view from the top. Thick forest offers a respite from the high temperatures.

Bukit Timah Road; get the bus toward Malaysia (I think it's the 70 and/or 170), or a taxi.

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Award-winning zoo has very few fences, using natural boundaries and breakers to corral the animals instead. Gives a real feeling of being among the animals instead of peering through bars. Watch out in the butterfly house if you don't like insects landing on you!
Also, try Jurong Bird Park - exotic and beautiful

Easiest way to get there is to take a taxi - plentiful and cheap from downtown or anywhere, really!

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An island off the north east coast, a place which is largely how Singapore used to be before development took off.

Take a short bumboat ride and spend half a day or longer strolling through the rain forest enjoying that rare Singaporean comodity: peace and quiet. If you want to move more quickly, hire a bike on the island. Don't forget to leave time to eat at the food shacks near the landing point.

This website gives all the information you need. The boats leave pretty frequently so there is no problem about getting over there.
www.wildsingapore.com/ubin/index.html

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Here you can cycle, rollerblade, walk, run, eat drink, or sit and read your book. Bikes and blades can be hired cheaply by the hour. This is a fully landscsaped linear park with lots of trees and flowers, running alongside the sea halfway between the airport and the centre of town.

There are also several work-out stations, and a couple of reflexology circles. These are uptured pebbles of varying degrees of sharpness laid out in a circle for you to walk on and invigorate you feet with a self foot massage. There are also clumps of restaurants and bars serving different kinds of foods.

About 20 minutes by taxi from Orchard Road. Ask for East Coast Park.

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The Chinese and Japanese Gardens are beautiful, peaceful, spacious and, usually free of other tourists. Open daily. Small admission charge.

On the MRT take the East West Line (westwards) to 'Chinese Garden' EW25.

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The small outdoor performance area at the Theatres on the Bay on the Esplanade hosts free concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. Concerts also take place less frequently on the stage built on Symphony Lake in the Botanic Gardens. Both are idyllic settings in very different ways, and you may get some good music, too.

Events on the Esplanade are advertised there (nearest MRT station City Hall). Enquire at an information centre about concerts in the Botanic Gardens. The gardens are just beyond the top of Orchard Road, and a definite must-see in their own right.

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Like a zoo, but just for birds. Centre piece is a re-entrant valley up into the hill with a net high above the tree canopy so all the birds fly around 'free'. Worth the visit.

2 Jurong Hill, Singapore 628925
Tel: 65 6265 0022
www.birdpark.com.sg

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Wetland - which largely means mangrove swamps. Well laid out walkways take you through a variety of natural habitats. The wildlife, especially the birds, is stunning. Gives two or three hours of peace in the Singapore experience.

On the north-west coast of Singapore.
www.sbwr.org.sg
Like everywhere on the island, it is easy to get to by public transport: the website explains all you need to know.
(Of course, even taking a taxi is not particularly expensive - at least not be European standards.)

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An amazingly long and beautiful walk through the jungle. About 9 or 10 kilometres of walkway through amazing primary rainforest, perfectly preserved.

The Treetops trail is awesome - a walkway a hundred feet in the air, through the vegetation. The ground-level walkway is well signposted, and even though it feels like you're in the middle of nowhere, you're never too far away from civilisation.

Runners and walkers scoot round here every Sunday morning - it makes a great start to the day - but the shady paths make it a pleasant walk at any time of the day. A real treasure and a great alternative to hitting the malls while you're in Singapore.

Just get a cab and tell the driver Macritchie Reservoir. He'll take you to the front entrance. Walk so the reservoir is on your left, and keep turning left; after 9 or 10 kilometres you'll end up back where you started.

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