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The best hostels in Singapore: 2013

Considering the average price of a hotel room in Singapore has risen into the 'ridiculously expensive' range, it's no surprise that a new crop of hostels has opened to fill the void of somewhere to sleep for S$20-50 per night. Whether you're looking for a pod-style bed with extra privacy or a designer hostel with high-tech amenities, you'll find it among our picks for the best hostels in Singapore 2013.

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Helping Singapore's transient workers

Visitors to Singapore always speak of its impeccably clean streets and ultra-modern architecture, but few know the secret behind the city-state's flawless appearance: transient foreign workers. As the wealthiest country in the region, Singapore is able to 'import' people from neighbouring countries to do its dirty work for wages of a couple of dollars per hour.

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A taste of Melaka

The Malaysian city of Melaka has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its exciting history, but we think it also deserves recognition for its amazing food. Over the 500 years since this port city was founded, people from China, India, the Middle East and Europe have travelled here to do business and many stayed, contributing their favourite recipes to Melaka's food culture. Few places can rival Melaka for diversity in local food, so between museum visits and antiques shopping plan to enjoy meals of noodles, curries, tandoori and these Melakan specialties.

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The best places to stay in Singapore

From bare-bones dorms to suites with private butlers, the city-state of Singapore has something to meet any accommodation need. As Singapore is infamously expensive the bargains fill up quickly, so if you hope to score one of these top-rated hotels and hostels a reservation is essential.

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Singapore's best happy hours

After paying mere dollars for large beers and bucketfuls of booze in most Southeast Asian countries, a night out in Singapore comes with serious sticker shock. This infamously uptight city-state imposes a hefty sin tax on alcohol: expect to pay S$12 for a beer and S$15 upwards for a cocktail at bars and restaurants. If you're on a tight budget this may be an opportunity to let your liver detox, or do what Singaporeans do best and shop around for a sale.

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Singapore's Hip Haji

When you think of Singapore and shopping, don't think of Orchard Road's swanky mainstream designers, repetitive chain stores and cookie-cutter coffee houses. Nestled between busy North Bridge and Ophir Roads instead you'll find Haji Lane, Singapore's fashionista haven, offering quirky boutiques, vintage and local fashion, unusual homewares, and offbeat little cafes and restaurants.

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Singapore on a budget

If you're on an extended trip through Southeast Asia, with its first-world prices Singapore can be a real budget buster. Here are some tips to stretch your Sing dollars that little bit further from a long-time budget traveller turned Singapore resident.

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The Festivals of Singapore

Many travellers on the Southeast Asia circuit skip Singapore, writing it off as just another big, bland city. While it's undeniably true that Singapore isn't in-your-face like Bangkok or rustically charming like Vientiane, that doesn't mean this capital can't be an interesting place too. Where Singapore shines is its multiculturalism -- there are three very unique cultures each battling to keep their traditions alive in a city that embraces modernism. Visit Singapore for one of these upcoming festivals then see if you think it's still a dull place.

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Top 10 Hawker Centres: Part 2

This week we'd like to introduce Part 2 with a few words of hawker centre etiquette. Singapore is a crowded place and so are its popular hawker centres. This has lead to the phenomenon of 'choping' -- reserving an empty table before you go get your meal. No, those aren't free napkins at each table, they're being used to 'chope' it. Packets of tissue are the most common item used (and usually sold 3 for S$1 by touts outside the hawker centre), but we've also seen it done with newspapers, books, umbrellas, mobile phones, and even purses.

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Top 10 Hawker Centres: Part 1

Singapore is a food lover's paradise. Luckily for those on a shoestring budget the city's best eats aren't at five-star restaurants but at the plentiful hawker centres. Squeaky-clean Singapore forbid street food decades ago, rounding up its sidewalk chefs into foodcourt-like settings called hawker centres. They're clean, cheap, and offer diverse and delectable food. Hawker centres are everywhere, but if you're feeling overwhelmed by choice here's the first five of our top 10 picks -- we'll share the other five next Friday.

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Singapore: Escape the urban jungle

Once you've shopped your way down Orchard Road, slurped on char kway teow at a hawker centre, and spent more than the cost of your dorm bed on a Singapore Sling at ye olde Raffles Hotel, what more does Singapore have to offer? Well, it isn't known as the "Garden City" for nothing (and the "Fine City", and the "Lion City"...), and visitors who venture beyond downtown will discover plenty of serene green refuges scattered throughout this mini-country.

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