Singapore Travel - Enjoy a Singapore “Fling”

A busting city-state
Singapore is a modern tropical city and a thriving business and financial center for southeast Asia. It has the world’s busiest port, and its airport serves more than 60 major airlines, including the country’s own international carrier, Singapore Airlines.
This is a bustling city-state with excellent communications and transport, including a hi-tech mass rapid transit system and plenty of taxis. Singapore has an astonishing mix of old ethnic areas, modern offices and shopping complexes, as well as over 70 excellent hotels, 18 lush golf courses, and a host of tourist attractions.
When the sun goes down, Singaporeans come out to play. From classical symphonies to Chinese operas, jazz to ballet, rock to Hollywood’s latest hits, Singapore offers unlimited entertainment. The discos rock with the latest hits and the clubs play all your favorite tunes. You can boogie to live music on Bugis Street or you can be a star for the night at one of Singapore’s popular karaoke lounges. Alternatively, you can go on a pub crawl in Tanjong Pagar, Boat Quay, Clarke Quay or along Orchard Road.
Singapore offers sports for all sorts. Hire a sailboard at the East Coast Parkway, or bike along the eight-kilometer track. Swim at a sandy beach, feast on seafood at a clutch of nearby restaurants, or try your hand at kite flying.
Catch a ferry to the outlying islands of St John’s and Kusu where swimming lagoons and cool, shady groves combine to make for a relaxing day out of the city. Drop into the Bukit Timah Turf Club for a day of horse racing at one of Asia’s most beautiful courses, or watch a polo match at the Singapore Polo Club. You can play a round of golf or brush up on your tennis at the hotel courts or nearby public facilities.
Contrasting Cultures
Singapore is constantly alive with the colorful cultures and traditions of the countless people from Asia and beyond who call the island home.
Little India, Arab Street and Chinatown are all fascinating areas that capture the essence of Singapore’s diverse cultural heritage. These are the worlds of silken saris and intricate batiks, ancient temples and intriguing chophouses. Here, the garland weaver, the clog maker, the soy sauce brewer and the temple idol carver work alongside the calligrapher and the fortune teller, the traditional Chinese healer, the goldsmith and the mask maker.
Trishaw riders weave in and around the back lanes, lined with architecturally unique shop houses, coffee shops and markets.
A World of Attractions
Apart from its shopping and ethnic areas, Singapore offers a range of other attractions. Its beautiful open-concept zoo has captured international attention. Here, in a park-like setting, natural barriers replace bars, giving the best possible environment for kept animals. Have breakfast with a gentle orangutan, and see endangered species such as the Sumatran tiger, the pigmy hippopotamus and the golden tamarin.
The Jurong Bird Park has 20 hectares of beautifully landscaped parklands housing thousands of colorful birds, many of them free to come and go as they please. The whole family can enjoy the comical parrot circus and be enthralled by the birds of prey in the King of the Skies Show.
Sentosa Island, now linked to the mainland by a causeway bridge, is devoted to fun and entertainment for the whole family. Apart from superb beaches, Sentosa offers two golf courses, swimming lagoons, and an Asian village featuring ethnic foods, arts and crafts from all over the region, plus thrilling rides. There are also museums highlighting maritime history and Singapore’s early days, including the years of World War II. In addition, Sentosa offers two resort hotels, underwater sights in its walk-through oceanarium at Underwater World, a museum featuring rare stones, a dancing fountain, water sports, nature trails, and an old fort.
Chinese mythology is celebrated at the famous Haw Par Villa where hundreds of statues depicting ancient legends are brought to life using electronic wizardry that is unmatched in Asia. Cheer for the “good guys” at the Legends and Heroes Theatre and see the creation of the world in an action-packed audio-visual presentation.
Go back in time to China’s 7th century Tang Dynasty with a visit to Tang Dynasty City, an intriguing cultural and historical theme park. This is a faithful re-creation of the ancient Chinese city of Chang-An, complete with emperors, courtiers, bandits, concubines and 1200 life-sized terracotta warriors.
At the Empress Place Museum, displays of rare archaeological and cultural treasures from China are found in a magnificent 19th century colonial building, while outside, bum-boats ferry visitors along the Singapore River which threads through the financial district.
For more than 150 years, the river was Singapore’s trading heart. Now the pre-war trading houses and godowns at Clarke Quay and Boat Quay have been elegantly restored as shops, restaurants, markets and bars, and the area has been transformed into the city’s newest and most exciting leisure and entertainment center.
For many visitors, Singapore is synonymous with Raffles Hotel, formerly the haunt of royalty, film stars and famous authors, and now beautifully restored to her former glory. Sip a Singapore Sling in the famous Long Bar, enjoy a curry in the Tiffin Room, and visit the museum and Jubilee Hall to delve into the fascinating history of the “ Grand Old Lady of the East. “
For those who prefer to get away from the madding crowd and commune with nature, the beautiful tropical Botanic Gardens sprawl over 52 hectares close to the city center. Tree-studded reserves abound in Singapore, including the lush 81 hectare Bukit Timah Nature Reserve with its primary rainforest. Add beachside parks and unspoiled reservoir belts, and it’s easy to see why Singapore is known for its clean, green, tropical environment