5 Most Important Places to See When in Singapore

Yes, Singapore is small. But like a little gem, it will leave you mesmerized.

While the prices of goods, food and tickets are far more expensive than the neighbouring Malaysia, the former fishing island is the place to go if you want to discover South East Asia in style.

To help you see more and do more in a short time frame, here are 5 most important places you must see when visiting Singapore

20 years ago, the statue of the Merlion was the country's icon. But now, the Marina Bay Sands in the Sentosa Island, Singapore is fast replacing the white statue.

Designed by an Israeli architect, the 3 buildings' main attraction is the Skypark -- the place where you could see the whole country from it's 360 degrees observation deck or the infinity pool.

At over $20 per head, the entry is pretty steep but not going up the Skypark in Singapore is like going to Paris and not seeing Paris from the Eiffel Tower.

While there don't forget to watch the Light & Water show at the building's Event Prominade conducted every night for free.

If there's a place where the wealthy could shop for weeks without running out of malls to visit, it'd be the Orchard Road.

As if made for Paris Hilton, the road is home to space-aged malls, sweat inducing luxury boutiques and rows after rows of shops that will definitely break your bank.

But even if shopping is not your priority, visit this road to understand the materialistic mentality of Singaporeans and to see what's hip on this side of the world.

1. Bring lots of cash (or card with healthy bank balance). Most attractions are expensive.

2. No littering. Unlike most countries, Singapore do enforce their laws. Make sure your kids throw their candy wraps into the bins or you'll make the Singaporean cops $300 richer.

3. Absolutely no chewing gums. If you really want one, you must cross the border and chew them in Malaysia.

This Universal Studios theme park perhaps is the main reason why Malaysians would sacrifice exorbitant exchange rate to come into Singapore.

This Sentosa Island attraction has 7 themed areas -- from Mummy Returns to Transformers, with gentle rides for kids right up to voice vanishing Transformers 3D.

Crowds here are perpetually large. In fact, because queing takes a few hours, most people opt to buy their tickets online.

Make sure you allocate a day for this park. Although most of your time will be spend waiting in the queue, the USS is considered one of the best Southeast Asian themepark to spend your whole day.

Like any other countries in the South East Asian region, Singapore is proud of its flowers and native plants.

But the similarity stops there. Because while the rest of its neighbours boast parks after parks, the rich and modern Singapore opts for conservatories, a smart move to counter the heat of the tropics.

Built in the Singaporean bay area, the massive garden is free to enter but there are fees if you want to get into the air-conditioned conservatories as well as the walk across the garden via a suspended bridge called the OCBC Skyway.

But if you do not have much time to see everything, come at night and enjoy the beautiful yet functional supertrees. The 50m vertical supergarden are equiped with photovoltaic cells and is made to be as self sustainable as a natural tree.

The exciting Singapore Zoo should also be in your list of must do in the island. Unlike most zoos, the island’s zoo is an open zoo, which means the tame animals are given the freedom to roam in the areas built to mimic their natural habitat.

But that’s not all. There are a few interesting attractions you may book.

You may enjoy your breakfast with an English breakfast set in the zoo with one of the zoo’s star orang utan as your host. There are also a wading pool for your kids to enjoy and a petting section where you could feed kangaroos and other animals from your palm.

To top those, the zoo is also home to bears, including a massive polar bear.