Orchard Road is a zoo, just a different kind. If you really need to see 4 Esprit's in one road, or go to Tony Roma's, or pick up a prostitute, Orchard Road is the place to go. It's trying hard to be the 51st state of the USA. In other words, it's a complete waste of time, except to marvel at how much Western crud you can pack into one place.

The Indian area north of the city is interesting, there are some museums to the west of the city, there's Chinatown to the south and Satay Club and the Quays near that. The boat trips are a nice, cheap (or free, if you're on a Singapore Airlines stopover) way to see some of the city.

If you are interested in shopping, silk is cheap down at Clarke Quay. Lots of odds and ends are cheap in the Indian markets too.

As many others have done also, I found the famed Night Safari at the zoo excellent.