Travel Feature - Singapore

A mere four and a half hours away from the routine of daily life in Bangalore is a vibrant, sunny, tropical island nation where Asian tradition and culture exist harmoniously alongside sleek modernity and skyscrapers. In the 14th century, a Sumatran Price mistook a tiger for a lion and the Sanskrit term 'singapura' was given to this nation. But it was Sir Stamford Raffies, a 19th century British civil servant who founded Singapore in 1819. The British colony on Singapore gained independence only in 1965. Today, Singapore with its population of 3 million people is one of the most economically effective countries in the world.

Okay, now that you've got your history and geography straightened out and you know exactly how guide books would describe Singapore, lets get down to some real stuff. Singaporians have two favourite Pastimes -eating and shopping and being a visitor, its not difficult to get used to this. But before you satisfy your hunger or burn a hole in your pocket, lets be good and go through the places that you should visit if you're in Singapore (the educational sight seeing Parents insist on!) For the animal/ nature lover, there are lots of places to go -the Jurong Bird Park, the zoo, the crocodilarium and the Chinese and Japanese gardens. Whats really cool in the night safari where you get to walk through the vegetation and see the animals up close.

If you are more in to space-craft rather than animals, you should visit the singapore science centre as well as the discovery centre. The omnimax theatre at the discovery centre shows amazing movies. Currently, the 'mysteries of egypt' and a movie on forest fires is running. If you are the museum kind of person, Singapore has 3 great museums, filled with asian art and history .

Another 'must visit' place is Sentosa Island To begin with, you go there by cable car and the view is spectacular. On the island, there is a walk through aquarium, a water park and a volcano theme park, to name some of the stuff you can do. Also, go to the Suntec City mall and see the world's largest fountain - the fountain of wealth. One of the sins is gluttony and there's no way you can't sin when you're in Singapore. You could probably eat throughout the day (there's always someone at the food courts to keep you company) and you would never have to repeat a style of cooking. From Chinese to Thai to Indian to Malay to just basic Mcdonalds and Burger King, its all there. Sure its gonna be more difficult for you to have such a wide variety if you are a vegetarian but for all the carnivores out there, you'll have a blast. You get the best local food at the food courts at every mall as well as hawker centres. In Particular, there are lots of restaurants at Boat Quay and Clarke Quay.

If you are a window shopper, you'll have a blast. All the known malls and stores have clothes and cosmetics and shoes and accessories that bear all the brand names from the world over. You might even splurge a bit and actually shop there.  The lifeline of Singapore shopping is Orchard Road with its massive malls that sell everything under the sun. Another place to go to is the Parco Bugis junction which is full of shops and cafes and actually has air-conditioned streets. If you are looking for more affordable stuff, go to the flea markets and shopping centres of the more residential areas. There are also lots of bargain centres in Little India, Chinatown and Clarke Quay.

Singaporians like to think that Singapore is the place where the world meets.   With a population of people from different ethnic backgrounds, four national languages and millions of tourists, this could be true. When you look at the breathtaking view from the Weston Stamford Hotel (which having 66 floors is the tallest hotel in the world and allows you to see the whole city from the higher floors) and you see the lights of Singapore twinkling at night, along with the lights of neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia (no kidding, you can actually see them), you think that you could holiday in this city forever and life could probably get no better.