2 Best Sights in Civic District, Singapore

Used primarily as a playing field, the Padang (Malay for "field" or "plain") is behind the Singapore Cricket Club and has traditionally been a social and political hub. Once called the Esplanade, it was half its current size until an 1890s land reclamation expanded it. During World War II, the Japanese gathered 2,000 British civilians here before marching them off to Changi Prison and, in many cases, to their deaths. Today, it serves as a sports facility for cricket, hockey, and rugby teams.

Beyond the Padang's northeastern edge, across Stamford Road and the Stamford Canal, are the four 220-foot (67-meter) tapering white columns of the Civilian War Memorial, known locally as the Four Chopsticks. The monument honors the thousands of civilians from Singapore's four main ethnic groups (Chinese, Malay, Indian, and "others," including Eurasians and Europeans) who lost their lives during the Japanese occupation or were dispatched to build the Burma–Siam Railway.

Founded in 1852 and housed in a charming 1884 building with 1907 and 1921 modifications, this club was for a long time the center of social and sporting life for the British community (they played cricket on the Padang at least from the 1830s). It now has a multiracial active membership and offers facilities for various sports, in addition to bars and restaurants. If you're going to be in Singapore for more than a couple of weeks, you can apply, with the support of a member, for a visiting membership. The club isn't open to the general public, but from the Padang you can sneak a quick look at the deep, shaded verandas, from which members still watch cricket, rugby, and tennis matches.