My favorite places in Singapore were the botanical gardens (above) and Palau Ubin (below).

If you’re in Singapore, you definitely have to see the big shopping malls and eat lots of amazing food, but you should also reserve some time for outdoor spaces like the botanical gardens and the islands. There are so many islands near Singapore!

Palau Ubin is amazing because even if you have only four hours on a layover, you can still leave the airport and have plenty of time at Palau Ubin. Once when I didn’t have enough time to spend the night in Singapore, I left my luggage at the airport and went to the island on a five hour layover. It only took about 10 minutes to get a cab and arrive at the ferry dock for Palau Ubin. The ferry took about half an hour, then I rented a bike to visit the islands and see mangroves and wildlife. You can see all kinds of wildlife but I mostly saw wild boar - which weren’t as threatening as I had imagined.