Why The Lion City? Legend suggests that Prince Sri Tri Buana gave Singapore the name when he came to the island in 1299 and saw a creature that he thought was a lion. It is unlikely that there were lions in Singapore, though tigers did roam the island until very recently. ‘Singa’ in Malay means ‘lion’ hence the name Singapore.
Singapore is made up of 63 islands, including the main island. Around 10 percent of Singapore’s land has been set aside for parks and nature reserves and the highways are lined with beautiful, colourful, flowering shrubs, which is why it is now known as “The Garden City”.
Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons, it usually rains in the afternoon and the temperature is always reasonably high, which makes it a great destination for holiday makers.
There are many great attractions to choose from and some of the best are on Sentosa Island, such as Universal Studios, indeed, different themed areas seem to cover the whole island including Resorts World, The Sky Tower, The Merlion, iFly (one of the world’s largest indoor sky diving simulators) and a beautiful lagoon area with manmade sandy beaches.
A short distance away on the main island, yet another casino, Gardens by the Bay with two massive ‘durian’ shaped covered areas where you can admire 250,000 rare plants and stroll among 16-storey-tall Supertrees! There is also Vivo City and The Singapore Flyer with fabulous views of the City by day and night. You can even book a ‘cabin’ for a special occasion and marvel at the F1 Circuit from the top!
These areas are quite new, but there is also a vast amount of ‘Old’ Singapore to visit, including The Raffles Hotel which houses the famous Long Bar serving the original ‘Singapore Slings’, countless Chinese Temples, Changi Prison, Little India, Clark Quay and Jurong Bird Park.
Singapore is a shopper’s paradise with the number one attraction surely being Orchard Road. Christmas is always extra special here as it competes with the rest of the world in being one of the best decorated for the occasion!
A very special place to visit is The Marina Sands Hotel which has an infinity pool on the roof! This is a trio of luxury hotel blocks joined at the top with a massive platform which houses the pool, a lovely bar and a walkway around almost the whole of it with the very obvious fabulous views of Singapore!
Hotels are abundant, the choice of food outlets is immense and the transport system is easy, buy one ticket and you can travel on the buses or the MRT, and all you need to do is top up the card when your money runs out.
Singapore is clean, one of the most law-abiding countries in the world and also steeped in history. I have been many times and still look forward to going, not just because I have family to see but because Singapore, The Lion City or The Garden City, is a super place to visit! Why don’t you find out for yourself?
