Swagatam Tours Private Limited

Holidays of Asia

Singapore Tourism

• Introduction
Singapore has traded in its rough-and-ready opium dens and pearl luggers for towers of concrete and glass, and its steamy rickshaw image for hi-tech wizardry, but you can still recapture the colonial era with a gin sling under the languorous ceiling fans at Raffles Hotel.

At first glance, Singapore appears shockingly modern and anonymous, but this is an undeniably Asian city with Chinese, Malay and Indian traditions from feng shui to ancestor worship creating part of the everyday landscape. It's these contrasts that bring the city to life.

One day you're in a hawker stall melting over a bowl of Indian curry, the next you're enjoying high tea in whispered environs complete with air-con, starched linen table cloths and gliding waiters. Super-safe and mega-clean Singapore may be, but its sultry rhythms wash inexorably beneath the regimented beat of big-city life.

In the crowded streets of Chinatown, fortune tellers, calligraphers and temple worshippers are still a part of everyday life. In Little India, you can buy the best sari material, freshly ground spices or a picture of your favourite Hindu god. In the small shops of Arab St, the cry of the imam can be heard from the nearby Sultan Mosque.

• When to Visit Singapore
Go anytime. Climate is not a major consideration, as Singapore gets fairly steady annual rainfall. Co-ordinate your visit with one of the various festivals and events: Thaipusam is a spectacular festival, occurring around February. If shopping and eating are major concerns, April brings the Singapore Food Festival and the Great Singapore Sale is held in June.

• Attraction in Singapore
» Arab St
The Muslim centre of Singapore is a traditional textile district, full of batiks from Indonesia, silks, sarongs and shirts. Add to this mix rosaries, flower essences, hajj caps, songkok hats, basketware and rattan goods, and you have a fair idea of the products haggled over in this part of the city. The grand Sultan Mosque is the biggest and liveliest mosque in Singapore, but the tiny Malabar Muslim Jama-ath Mosque is the most beautiful. There's fine Indian Muslim food along nearby North Bridge Rd and the foodstalls on Bussorah St are especially atmospheric at dusk during Ramadan.

» Chinatown
Chinatown is Singapore's cultural heart and still provides glimpses of the old ways with its numerous temples, decorated terraces and its frantic conglomeration of merchants, shops and activity. Gentrified restaurants and expensive shops are gradually overtaking the venerable incense-selling professions.

» Colonial Singapore
The mark of Sir Stamford Raffles is indelibly stamped on central Singapore. By moving the business district south of the river and making the northern area the administrative centre, Raffles created the framework that remained the blueprint for central Singapore through generations of colonial rule and the republican years of independence. Places of interest include: Empress Place Building, an imposing Victorian structure, built in 1865, that houses a museum, art and antique galleries and a chic restaurant; the incongruous Padang, where flannelled cricketers once caught, bowled and batted in the searing heat; Raffles Hotel, a Singaporean institution which has become a byword for oriental luxury; and any number of imposing churches, such as St Andrew's Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd.

» Jurong
Jurong Town, west of the city centre, is a huge industrial and housing area that is the powerhouse of Singapore's economy. This might seem an unlikely spot for a number of Singapore's tourist attractions but it is home to the Haw Par Villa (an incredibly tacky Chinese mythological theme park), the beautifully landscaped Jurong Bird Park, Chinese Garden and the hands-on Singapore Discovery Centre.

» Little India
This modest but colourful area of wall-to-wall shops, pungent aromas and Hindi film music is a relief from the prim modernity of many parts of the city. This is the place to come to pick up that framed print of a Hindu god you've always wanted, eat great vegetarian food and watch streetside cooks fry chapatis.

• Off the Beaten Track
» Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
North of the CBD, this reserve is the largest area of primary rainforest in Singapore. The park is filled with over 800 species of native plants including giant trees, ferns and native wild flowers. This is also where you'll see long-tailed macaques, lemurs, reticulated pythons and the racquet-tailed drongo.

» Changi Village
There aren't too many places in Singapore that could be considered virgin wilderness but there are some that offer an escape from the hubbub of the central district. Changi Village, on the east coast, no longer has traditional kampong houses but it does have a village atmosphere.

» Pulau Ubin
Changi Village is a convenient jump-off point for the northern island of Pulau Ubin. As soon as there is a quota of 12 passengers, a bumboat takes you across to the island where you can find quiet beaches, a kampong atmosphere and popular seafood restaurants.

The tranquil rural flavour of Pulau Ubin is as far removed from the cosmopolitan bustle of Singapore central as it is possible to get. The island is small enough to cycle around and this is still the best way to explore its fish farms, holy temples, coconut palms and deserted beaches.

» Southern Islands
Although some of the southern islands are industrial bases, there are a few off-the-beaten-track islands where you can find a quiet beach. Sisters' Islands are good for swimming and, with their nearby coral reefs, are a popular diving spot. Other islands worth checking out are Lazarus Island and Pulau Buran Darat.

• Reaching Singapore
Most airlines fly into Singapore's heavily trafficked Changi International Airport. The best way to get from the airport to the city (20km/12mi away) is by train, but there is also a wide choice of bus and taxi services.

Singapore is the southern terminus of Malaysia's rail system, and three trains go to Kuala Lumpur each day. If you're going to or coming from Malaysia, your options are myriad, ranging from comfy buses to ferries and even taxis.

A swag of airlines fly into Singapore's ultramodern Changi International Airport - often voted one of the best airports in the world. It's certainly one of the most heavily trafficked, with a glut of facilities ranging from 24-hour meditation centres to boutique shopping. The best way to get from Changi Airport to the city (20km/12mi away) is by train. There is also a wide choice of bus and taxi services.

Singapore is the southern terminus of Malaysia's rail system and there are three trains a day to Kuala Lumpur (four on weekends).

Lots of visitors to Singapore combine their stay with a visit to Malaysia, which is just a kilometre away across the causeway over the Straits of Johor. You can travel between Malaysia and Singapore very easily by bus. Immaculate air-conditioned buses link Singapore to almost all large Malaysian cities; fares are generally inexpensive.

A second causeway has opened between Singapore and Malaysia to ease congestion - it links Tuas in Singapore with Geylang Patah - and is known pragmatically enough as the Second Link. It can only be used if you have your own transport.

You can travel between Malaysia (just a kilometre away) and Singapore very easily by taxi.

A passenger ferry operates between north Changi and Tanjung Belungkor, east of Johor Bahru, and a daily high-speed catamaran links Singapore with Malaysia's Tioman Island. There are no direct passenger ferries between Singapore and the main ports of Indonesia, but it is possible to travel between the two countries via the Indonesian islands of the Riau Archipelago, immediately south of Singapore. Modern ferries link Singapore with the islands of Batam and Bintan in the archipelago. Speedboats link Batam with Pekanbaru in Sumatra, and several ships a week link Bintan with Jakarta.

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