Travel Editor Lydia Don documents her life in Singapore as an exchange student, describing it as a special experience that she will never forget
What started out as a dream has been made into a reality. Over the 2024/25 academic year, I studied at the National University of Singapore (NUS). After having visited the country in 2017, I could not get it out of my head. Any time the prospect of a holiday as mentioned amongst my family, Singapore was the first and only word I would respond with, knowing this was an unrealistic prospect. Fair to say I was completely enamoured with Singapore, a country nearly 7000 miles away from home that I thought I would only visit again in my wildest dreams.
University Life
NUS is widely known for its impressive academic credentials. A top 20 university in the world, with rigorous entrance exams and demanding schedules. At first, this was intimidating. Five modules per semester, all with many more contact hours than I was used to at UoB. However, as an exchange student working on a pass/fail basis, this intimidation wore off as I realised the courses and professors were respectfully manageable and approachable. The campus, too, offered some very welcome respite, with its many green spaces, free swimming pools and food courts, all spanning an area big enough to require its own bus service. UTown was where I spent most of my time in the first semester, with concerts and pool days happening every week at the drop of a hat.
UTown was where I spent most of my time in the first semester, with concerts and pool days happening every week at the drop of a hat
The accommodation was, well, hot. Sweltering, actually. Singapore does not even know what the word ‘cold’ means, experiencing yearlong temperatures between 25 and 35 degrees on average. Unfortunately, the aircon room I applied for wasn’t something I was given. Instead, a simple shell of a bedroom with no AC and no bathroom at Prince George’s Park Residences. The nights at first were difficult, though I did not spent a lot of time in my bedroom itself, instead choosing to explore the island with my friends who I met in second semester.
Making friends at NUS seems to be a very natural process as an exchanger. I found I mostly made friends with fellow exchange students despite expecting to befriend locals (who I later discovered were, on the whole, very reserved). I made most of my friends in the second semester, bar a few notable exceptions. Social events, whether that be university-wide, faculty-specific or accommodation-based are happening constantly, so it really is impossible to ‘have nothing to do’.
Singapore as The Tourist
Playing tourist in your own home certainly run true as Singapore started to feel more like home. Since I hadn’t visited in seven years, I was eager to revisit the places that made me fall in love with Singapore to begin with. Gardens By The Bay, Marina Bay, Chinatown, Little India, among many other places too. These are the areas mostly in the downtown area where tourists mostly frequent. Despite this however, these places are where I have the most precious memories. Evenings cycling around the bay, getting drinks at Boat Quay, eating at Maxwell Hawker Centre or Lau Pa Sat, and lying on the pristine floor watching the Garden Rapsody light show: they’re memories that I will keep with me forever. This really taught me that so-called ‘touristy activities’ needn’t always be assumed as underwhelming or cringeworthy pastimes. In Singapore’s case, many of the touristy areas and activities are touristy for one reason: because they’re genuinely amazing!
In Singapore’s case, many of the touristy areas and activities are touristy for one reason: because they’re genuinely amazing!
There are other, more special activities, that Singapore occasionally offers too. DBS (a local bank) offer the ‘sailing by the bay’ activity where, for free, you are able to sit on sailing boat and experience Marina Bay on the water with the sea breeze flowing through your hair. It was amazing to see the CBD, MBS, The Fullerton, The Merlion, and Esplanade from a whole new perspective. Speaking of Esplanade, situated opposite the CBD is the Singapore Grand Prix street circuit. I was lucky enough to attend the Singapore Grand Prix in September 2024, and what an experience it was: being one of the only night races in the grand Prix calendar, it was amazing to wander the grandstands, watch music performances from the likes of Kool and the Gang and Kylie Manogue, and, of course, watch the cars race past. To top it off, we were able to walk the track right after the race, with the illuminated Singapore skyline shining in the distance, the very skyline that I saw bathed in red and showered with fireworks during the national day celebrations in August 2024.
Singapore as The Local
Of course, I was excited to experience Singapore on a more local level, as a self-proclaimed – but perhaps inauthentic – local myself now. Areas I particularly enjoyed exploring were Tanjong Pagar – a place offering swathes of lively bars, coffee shops and a beautiful mix of colonial and modernised peranakan architecture – Outram Park, Tiong Bahru, and Katong, a largely gentrified area on the east coast of the island offering nature, a stretch of beach, and street art with nods to the area’s cultural past. Just roaming around these areas without tourists blocking the paths did provide some light relief (though, I do realise how potentially hypocritical this sounds coming from myself).
Singapore’s natural landscapes are places tourists also often avoid. Since the country is so hot and often unbearably humid, hiking and running is typically not something that those unaccustomed to the heat can handle. Saying that, I am pretty accustomed by now and even then it is a struggle! But it is well worth visiting the old Bukit Timah railway station and walking a part of the rail corridor, a span of train tracks which stretched between the south and north of the island. The MacRitchie Nature Reserve is also one place I really enjoyed hiking through: an expanse of woodland, with the notable treetop walk which offers you views of pure nature, something of a rarity in this garden city. Just be careful of the monkeys who were absolute menaces with myself, my friends and our belongings – these creatures really are ruthless. If these troublemakers discourage you, then making the 2 hour trek over to Changi Village is absolutely worth it. Yes, it was probably the longest journey I have had to do in Singapore. But, being situated right at the bottom of Changi Airport – the busiest and best airport in Southeast Asia – means watching the planes effectively scrape the top of your head as they come into land from the beach beneath them is a really amazing experience (especially for an aircraft enthusiast like myself).
The MacRitchie Nature Reserve is also one place I really enjoyed hiking through: an expanse of woodland, with the notable treetop walk which offers you views of pure nature, something of a rarity in this garden city.
Travelling Opportunities
One of the other major draws of Singapore was the travelling opportunities it has offered. Cheap flights with Scoot and Air Asia are everywhere, and the close proximity of Singapore to places in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, among other countries, means short weekend trips and longer reading week holidays were very easy to do with whatever budget you set yourself. I travelled a fair bit over the academic year, as well as over the Christmas holiday and after my final semester came to an end. I found travelling around Southeast Asia to be a transformative experience which really teaches you how to plan and communicate amidst language barriers, but also it teaches you about how to live to the fullest. I have become a much more confident, spontaneous and thoughtful individual after travelling both solo and with groups to countries with cultures completely different to my own. From canyoneering in the Philippines, to seeing sunrise at Angkor Wat, to walking the lantern lit streets of Jiufen in Taiwan, Singapore brought me closer to my true passion in life: travel.
I have become a much more confident, spontaneous and thoughtful individual after travelling both solo and with groups to countries with cultures completely different to my own.
And now here we are, May 2025, leaving Singapore after the best 10 months of my life. This year brought with it the most unforgettable adventures, a new way of life, discovery of a country I adore even more, and, above all, lifelong connections with my friends who I love endlessly (you know who you are!). All on a tiny island in the middle of Southeast Asia which I will be forever grateful to have called my home.
Read more from Travel here:
Surviving your First Month in Singapore: A Student’s Perspective
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