Season Guide - Singapore - Hilton Racing

Once fully relaxed, I decide to get high. At more than 165 metres tall, the Singapore Flyer is the biggest ferris wheel in the world – more than one quarter taller than the London Eye. I head up at dusk and gaze out at the sun setting over the South China Sea in one direction and the skyscrapers downtown that seem to rise up out of the pagoda-roofed shacks of Chinatown in the other. It looks like Bladerunner meets Chinatown.

From the most modern building in town, I head straight to the oldest and grandest. The vibe may be a little Disney these days but there's no denying the white-washed Raffles hotel is one of the great colonial hotels. I stroll through the Tiffin Room, before setting into my seat in the Raffles Courtyard. I order a - what else? - Singapore Sling.

Dinner is a moveable feast. My amuse bouche and hors d'oeuvre are in a hawker centre, an open-air food court where each stall serves one dish. I follow my nose and soon find myself tasting won-ton soup, chili crab, barbecued tiger prawns, fish head curry and the great Komg Bak pork rolls.

For my main course and desert - steamed fish in coconut curry, pepper beef pan-fried with garlic - I head back downtown to IndoChine. On the banks of the Singapore River, this restaurant has the best views in the city. I sit outside in the soupy tropical night air and watch the ancient boats glide past in front of the skyscrapers, their boxy silhouettes and lights perfectly-reflected in the black water.

For desert, I walk down the bougainvillea-draped streets to Geylang. It's the red light district but I'm up for a fruity time. (The area is noted for its fresh fruit and sorbet stalls). I opt for the sweet 'n' sour fresh mango with sour sop sorbet.

To keep the party going, I avoid Clarke Quay or Boat Quay, which are full of sunburned Europeans, and head, instead, to Emerald Hill, the latest must-be-seen-in district. In the Alley Bar, I sip one of Singapore's new artisan beers, which is flavoured with local lemongrass.

It's well into the small hours now but the clubs are only just getting going. Asian dance music can be a bit monotonous, so I head for the latest outpost of the London superclub, Ministry of Sound, where local DJs mix Asian hits with western music.

Dawn breaks early in Singapore and the only way to greet it is by strolling through the Botanical Gardens. As the sun burns off the smudgy dawn mist, I watch the locals practising a medley of Asian martial arts. Last pit stop before returning to the comfort of the Hilton, is Chin Mee Chin bakery on East Coast Road where I join the queue of locals for coconut jam buns - the local, far tastier, answer to Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

A nanny state? It looks like nanny gets the night off.