You’ll only have a short time in Singapore to experience the city-state’s art, culture, cuisine, and shopping. To maximize every moment of this trip, start your Asian immersion as soon as you board your plane. This year Korean Air celebrated its 50th anniversary of bringing travelers to Asia, and it now serves 16 gateways in North America. 

Its award-winning in-flight menu features Chinese, Japanese, and Korean—as well as Western—meals that embody the airline’s “farm to flight” ethos. Yes, the airline grows its own food, which appears as ingredients in its bibimbap, miyeokguk, and other dishes. 

You can live large and opt to fly in First Class or Prestige Class, where you’ll enjoy amenities from Atelier Cologne. If you’re on the A380, you’ll also find an inviting cocktail lounge, the Celestial Bar. Fly Economy Class and you’ll enjoy exceptionally comfortable ergonomic seats and the same flawless service that Korean Air offers to all passengers.

After a short layover in Seoul, you’ll continue on your journey to Singapore and make your way to the Six Senses Duxton (just 20 minutes from the airport). The hotel, which opened in 2018, is located in a row of restored shophouses in the city’s old Chinatown, in central Singapore. It embodies what makes Singapore so fascinating, with a mix of British, Chinese, and Malay elements in a building that celebrates the city’s past while also embracing contemporary design (the interiors are by designer Anouska Hempel).

Then head to your Chinese medicine consultation with the hotel’s in-house physician, where you’ll learn about the roles of acupuncture, massage, exercise, and diet in promoting health. Even if nothing in particular ails you, you can ask for personalized recommendations of teas that can help you get over any jet lag.  

For lunch, head to the Maxwell Hawker Centre—an easy five-minute walk. Thanks to Singapore’s extremely rigorous standards for cleanliness, you can enjoy street food here without the same concerns you might have in other cities. You’ll find stalls selling dumplings, soups, and the city’s signature dish, Hainanese chicken, for just a few dollars.

Then stroll the nearby Ann Slang Road, lined with shophouses that now feature boutiques. End your day with a sunset cocktail at Potato Head, a rooftop bar in an iconic Art Deco building just a few minutes from your hotel.

Start your day with some stretches and breathing exercises—all guests of the Six Senses Duxton are invited to join morning yoga sessions at a nearby park—followed by breakfast at the hotel.  

You’ll then be met by a guide for a private tour of Singapore’s highlights, beginning in the city’s oldest urban quarter, Kampong Glam. Presiding over the neighborhood is the golden dome of the Sultan Mosque, constructed in 1824, just two years after Sir Stamford Raffles designated the area as a home for Singapore’s Arab and Malay residents. In the shadow of the mosque, Arab Street is a lively strip of designer boutiques, gift stores, and food stalls. 

You’ll then explore more of Chinatown’s restaurants, teahouses, and shops. It’s a neighborhood that has a very typical Singaporean mix of old and new, with centuries-old temples sitting next to hipster bars and cafes.  

Continue on to the adjoining Little India neighborhood, where you’ll see the Sir Mariamman Temple—a gem of traditional South Indian architecture constructed in 1827. Here, streets are lined with flower-garland shops, fruit and vegetable vendors, and curry houses. At the Tekka Centre, the ground floor has a hawker market, with stalls selling cheap and tasty food. Upstairs you can shop for saris, Bollywood soundtracks, and anything else on your list of must-buy Indian items.  

In the afternoon, the Yixing Xuan Teahouse, near the Six Senses Duxton, will host you for a tea appreciation class. By the end of your visit, you’ll be a connoisseur of all the different varieties of black, green, and white teas, as well as the various flowers and grains that give them their remarkable variety.  

This evening, dine at one of the 37 Michelin-starred restaurants in Singapore. While it might not come as a surprise that the city is home to some of the best Chinese and Japanese restaurants in the world, it also boasts French restaurants that impress even the ultimate arbiters of French cuisine: the critics at Michelin. One of those spots, Rhubarb le Restaurant, is located just a minute on foot from your hotel. Here, chef Paul Longworth prepares classic French dishes with subtle Asian touches, like wakame pearls (a Japanese seaweed).  

After dinner, take a short walk to your hotel’s sister, the Six Senses Maxwell, for a nightcap at Max’s Rooftop Bar.

After breakfast, visit the Singing Bowl Gallery, about a five-minute walk from the hotel on Erskine Road. Himalayan singing bowls have become popular in recent years in the United States, with increasing interest in the healing powers of sound baths. A short workshop will explain the physics and art of creating the bowls, as well as how to make them sing. 

Then your guide for the day will meet you for a private food tour. The first stop is Kim Choo’s Kitchen, which has been producing its popular rice dumplings since 1945. Beyond the dumpling, Kim Choo’s is known as a showcase for Peranakan cuisine. The Peranakan are the descendants of early Chinese migrants to the Malay Peninsula, and the dishes here reflect a unique hybrid of Chinese and Malaysian ingredients. A Peranakan meal is hard to find outside of a few cities in Malaysia, Singapore, and parts of Indonesia—making this culinary cultural experience one to be savored.  

You can taste more Peranakan dishes as you stroll along Joo Chiat Road, one of the centers of the Peranakan community. In addition to enjoying a bowl of laksa (a spicy coconut-milk-based soup), you’ll want to admire the lovely shophouses in pastel hues that line the street.  

Later in the day, stroll along Orchard Road, Singapore’s counterpart to London’s Oxford Street—except with more shopping options, many housed in malls that are showpieces of contemporary architecture. You’ll find almost every popular and luxury brand you can think of along the street. The glittering ION Orchard Mall houses Cartier, Prada, and Yves Saint Laurent stores. Rockstar at Orchard 22 is a good place to shop for up-and-coming brands, while the Takashimaya department store offers elegant Japanese items, from men’s and women’s fashions to home goods.  

Celebrate your final evening in Singapore with dinner at the Yellow Pot, the Six Senses Duxton’s restaurant that features a menu of Chinese dishes with contemporary twists. Toast Singapore with Escape To Kaifeng, the restaurant’s signature cocktail of gin and chrysanthemum.

Singapore may just be the first stop on an Asian odyssey—the city is a popular place to ease into Asia for travelers from around the world. Perhaps you’ll continue on to the ancient wonders of Bagan in Myanmar or Angkor Wat in Cambodia, or another of Southeast Asia’s intriguing cities, like Bangkok or Hanoi. If, however, this is the end of your trip and it’s time to return home, Korean Air will make the parting easier. On your flight home, enjoy comforts like fully flat seats in First Class and Prestige Class, and a spacious 34 inches of legroom in Economy Class. Whichever you’ll fly, recline and enjoy the extensive entertainment selections, made even better by remarkably big screens at every seat.