You can tell a lot about a city by what it chooses to celebrates. The Philippine cities hold fiestas to honor their patron saints while Japan holds peach blossom festivals every April to cherish the blooming of its floral heritage . Singapore, which doesn’t have the centuries of culture, instead celebrates what its best known for: shopping and food.

Playing with its strengths, the Lion City holds The Great Singapore Sale (GSS, for short) this May 23 to July 20. For eight shopping-filled weeks, this event, co-organized every year by The Singapore Tourism Board and many other retail companies, stores, and malls, invites shoppers from all over Asia and beyond to participate in the many activities, discounts, and promos. GSS is definitely established as a shopping event that is not to be missed, even among international visitors who spent some $3.7 billion in 2006 on shopping in Singapore.

Here is a sample of the activities you can expect during the GSS:

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Posted in Events, Singapore, Things to do |

Kampong Glam is known as the ”Muslim quarter” of Singapore. Designated by Stanford Raffles as the residential section for Malays and Muslims way back in the 19th century, Kampong in Malay means “village” while Glam is short for ”Gelam”, a type of eucalyptus tree that once flourished in these parts. It is now a heritage site for its many mosques, palaces, and distinct buildings, and one of the best places to immerse yourself in Singapore.

A walking tour in Kampong Glam starts at the Malay Heritage Center at Sultan Gate. Once the palace (istana) of the ruling Sultans of Singapore, it has been restored as a heritage museum, with eight themed galleries, dioramas, multimedia, and other showcases. Cultural performances and workshops are held every Wednesdays and Sundays, such as sarong tying, batik painting, Malay martial arts (silat), and native music. The grounds are free to traverse but the museum entrance costs SGD 3.

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Posted in Attractions, Singapore, Things to do |

It’s to the benefit of Singapore that it contains completely different cultures within reach of a train ride. Walking tourists can thus experience a little bit of Asia all within one island. Such a great example would be the community of Little India.

Little India started off as the designated community for Indian laborers and immigrants under the urban planning of Sir Stanford Raffles back in the 19th century. Although the Indian populace is longer required to reside in this area, efforts have been made to keep the cultural heritage of this place alive. Little India is now the focal point of the Indian community of Singapore, and the last area where many of the traditional trades and practices still thrive.

The best place to start your walk is right off Little India MRT station at Exit C, facing Bukit Timah Road. A few shops down the path and you will see Tekka Market, a wet market that provides for the daily needs of the residents in the area. Along Dunlop Street is the Masjid Abdul Gapoor, a mosque that is fitted with a sundial at the entrance. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Attractions, Singapore, Things to do |

Among the Asian cities I’ve traveled to so far, it is The Lion City that has most gone out of its way to welcome visitors like me. Through the support of the Singapore Tourism Board, this island-state offers a wide array of means to see the sights. From DUCKTours to bumboat rides, any tourist with even a few hours to spare can check out the cool places and historical sites Singapore has to offer.

For travelers who wish to immerse themselves into the true SG experience, nothing beats a walking tour among its heritage spots. And one essential place for any SG walking tour would have to be Chinatown. Singapore’s Chinatown is unique in that its middle kingdom culture has harmoniously blended in with the other ethnic groups in the small island to create a wonderful blend of Asian influences.

A good spot to start your personal exploration is right off the Chinatown MRT station along the blue line. From Exit A, visitors will immediately see Pagoda Street, so-named because of the Sri Mariamnam Temple located at its end. This festive street is bedecked with colorful red lanterns criss-crossing along its length, and packed with an assortment of Chinese shops on both sides. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Attractions, Singapore, Things to do |

In Discover a Slice of Paradise in Sentosa Part 1, you learned how to get to Sentosa. You were also introduced to some of the popular attractions in this little island in Singapore like the Animal and Bird Encounter, Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom, Underwater World and the Dolphin Lagoon. But there are more attractions and activities to choose fromw…

THE MERLION & MERLION WALK - When you step outside of the Images of Singapore museum, you will be led to the Merlion and Merlion Walk. Here you will find the biggest Merlion replica. The Sentosa Merlion, which is half lion and half fish, is about 37 meters high. You can take the lift to the top floor and enjoy a panoramic view of Singapore and other nearby islands. The scales on the Sentosa Merlion are also known to glow with different colors at night. At the back of this gigantic Merlion is a 120-meter long walkway which is referred to as the Merlion Walk. The Merlion Walk is lined with thousands of tiny bulbs and that is something that you should definitely see during your night stroll in Sentosa.

FORT SILOSO TOURS - Fort Siloso is a concrete reminder of the World War II in Singapore. Here, you’ll be able to see life-sized wax replicas of people who played an important role in the Japanese surrender. Visitors can view entertaining interactive exhibits like the Surrender Chambers, Voices of Singapore, etc. You can browse through memorabilia like old photographs, documents and film clips are being displayed. Furthermore, one can explore the old tunnels. That’s a different kind of adventure in itself. There are also real cannons and a lot of guns from the 17^th century that can be explored. As an added bonus, you can also view some docudramas about the war that can help visitors better understand Singapore’s unique history. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Attractions, Beaches, Singapore |

Singapore is another favourite destination in Asia among tourists. When you find yourself in checking in at a hotel in Singapore, one place that you should never miss is the world-famous SENTOSA.

SENTOSA, which in Malay means peace and tranquillity, is so popular that millions of people all over the world flock to this island-resort/heritage center/theme park/nature park each and every year. You can reach Sentosa Island through a number of ways:

BY CAR - Car owners are required to purchase the S$2 per car per entry fee plus the island admission fee of S$2 for each person onboard)

BY TAXI - Passengers would have to pay the island admission of S$ 2 per person onboard over and above the taxi fare

BY MRT – You would have to take the North-East Line and get off at the Harbour Front MRT Station. There are two ways to reach Sentosa from here. One way is you can go to the third level of the Vivo City Shopping Mall then transfer to the Sentosa Express. Another way is to look for the Harbour Front Bus Interchange and ride the orange Sentosa bus. The ticket for the orange bus is S$3 per person.

BY PUBLIC BUS – Another way to get to the island is by ride a bus that will take you to Telok Blangah Road. Find your way again to the Harbour Bus Interchange so that you can catch the orange Sentosa bus. The bus numbers that you should take note of are as follows: 65, 80, 93, 188, 855, 10, 30, 97, 100, 131, 143, 145, 166

BY CABLE CAR – I am such a fan of cable cars which is why this is my favourite. There are even two kinds of cabins to choose from. There’s the normal cabin and there’s the exciting glass-bottom cabins. You can log on to www.mountfaber.com.sg for more details on the rates, location and operating hours.

Your adventure begins the moment you arrive in the Island. You can visit a multitude of attractions and activities that Sentosa is known for:

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Posted in Attractions, Singapore |

People mistakenly call the Singapore Flyer as the world’s biggest and tallest ferris wheel, but there’s a huge difference between a ferris wheel, and a giant observation wheel, which the Singapore Flyer is at 165 meters, or 42 story building high with a 150-meter diameter wheel. The 28 air-conditioned capsules are as big as a small bus and can comfortably accommodate a maximum of 28 people while still offering a breath-taking panoramic view of Singapore.

Operating Hours

The Singapore Flyer started operating last February 11, 2008, surpassing the Star of Nanchang which used to hold the title of biggest and tallest. It opened to the public last March 1, 2008 and has continuously operated daily from 8 am (start of ticket sales, with the first flight at 8:30 am) until 10 pm (end of ticket sales). One ride is a single rotation of approximately 30 minutes, and allows passengers to embark at one side and disembark on the other side so that the slow rotation continues smoothly without needing to stop.

Location and How to Get To the Singapore Flyer

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Posted in Attractions, Singapore |