Mid-range · 6-hour walk · Singapore
Chinatown, Kampong Glam and Little India in six hours
The three immigrant quarters the colonial plan separated, in one day, on two short MRT hops.
Raffles' 1822 town plan assigned each community its own district, and two centuries later the boundaries are still exactly where he drew them. Walking all three in a day is the best single argument for what Singapore actually is, and it is cheap: the temples and mosques are free, the food is hawker-priced, and the MRT legs between quarters are minutes.
The route, stop by stop
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Buddha Tooth Relic Temple
Tang-dynasty style, finished in 2007, with a roof garden and a prayer wheel on the top floor. Free, and the basement museum is better than the relic claim.
40 min here Walk here → -
Sri Mariamman Temple
The oldest Hindu temple in the country, in the middle of Chinatown, which tells you how well the 1822 boundaries held.
20 min here Walk here → -
Thian Hock Keng Temple
Built by Hokkien sailors in 1839 to thank the sea goddess for the crossing, on what was then the shoreline. Not a nail in the structure.
25 min here Walk here → -
Sultan Mosque
Arrive by metro from the previous stop
The golden dome base is made of glass bottles donated by poor Muslims in the 1920s so they could contribute too. Modest dress; robes are lent at the door.
40 min here Walk here → -
Haji Lane
Two metres wide, entirely muralled, and the shophouse street everyone photographs. Arab Street one block over is the older trade — textiles, rugs and rattan.
30 min here Walk here → -
Tekka Centre
Arrive by metro from the previous stop
Little India's wet market and hawker centre in one building. Order the biryani upstairs; this is the cheapest good meal on any route in this city.
45 min here Walk here →
More in Singapore
Every walking route in Singapore, or the full Singapore guide for where to stay and what a day costs.