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| The Malaysian
tiger as viewed on Night Safari. |
| Courtesy Singapore Zoological
Gardens |
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| Raffles
City shopping center is one of 150 shopping
malls in Singapore. |
| Photo Paul Douglass |
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| Lau Pa Sat
hawker center offers an array of ethnic cuisine. |
| Photo Paul Douglass |
Picture yourself on a tropical isle where the natives
are oh-so-friendly, the food is wonderful yet inexpensive,
the streets are very safe even late at night, taxi
rides are cheap, getting around on the subway system
is a snap, there is no tipping to speak of and where
everyone speaks your language.
Welcome to Singapore, the “Garden City”
of Asia.
This small island and former British trading post
has taken on a new role as a global travel hub.
As Mr. Yoo Khee Leng, CEO of the Singapore Tourism
Board, puts it, Singapore is “a very cosmopolitan
New Asia” that is “constantly refreshing
itself.”
Modern and efficient, with many aspects of a city
reassuringly familiar to Americans (there are plenty
of Starbucks coffee shops to choose from), Singapore
offers travelers the perfect introduction to the
mysteries and attractions of exotic Asia.
Singapore is literally the place where East meets
West. Many Singaporeans have close ties with Americans
and Europeans in some way, often as a result of
studies abroad. Yet culturally and ethnically, they
are overwhelmingly Chinese. Most Singaporeans –
77 percent - trace their roots to China and speak
a dialect of Chinese at home. Many Asians, especially
those from China, find Singapore a comfortable and
convenient place to come to sample western, and
especially American, culture. Of the seven million
tourists who visit Singapore each year, an increasingly
large number arrive here from mainland China.
Tourists - and natives - love to shop here. There
are an estimated 150 shopping malls in downtown
Singapore, including such familiar brands as the
Gap, Esprit, and Brooks Brothers, but also the homegrown
variety, such as Metro and Tang’s department
stores.
For the North American visitor, Singapore may not
be the least expensive shopping venue in Asia but
it does offer the color, tastes, and sensations
of Asia in a single compact space. Visitors will
want to take a stroll along the ritzy but fabulous
Orchard Road shopping boulevard, check out the Chinese
kitchenware in Chinatown, nose around the sari shops
in Little India and explore the tiny batik and lace
shops along Arab Street.
Let’s say the reader has a few days to spend
in Singapore along the way, perhaps, to some other
Asian destination. Any vacation itinerary might
do well to include the following:
Arrive at Singapore’s Changi International
Airport (www.changi.airport.com.sg), rated the world’s
best large airport, and described by Conde Nast
Traveler magazine as “Terminal Bliss.”Serving
nearly 60 airlines and 137 cities, Changi Airport
is a major air hub in the Asia Pacific region.
Changi is a mini-city with so many shops (100),
attractions and gourmet restaurants that it has
become a destination in itself. This airport features
orchid gardens, a movie theatre, Internet hubs,
hotels with spa facilities and oxygen therapy centers
at $15 per 10-minute session. Live entertainment
is on hand at Terminal 1 for the enjoyment of layover
passengers on some weekends, such as the World Champion
Dancers of Lindy Hip and Latin Ballroom and performances
by acapella groups from around the world.
Just minutes from the airport is the Singapore
Zoological Gardens where you can experience the
world famous Night Safari (www.zoo.com.sg).
The Night Safari is the world's first wildlife park
designed to be visited at night, and it is well
worth seeing.
Set in 40 hectares of dense secondary forest, the
Night Safari offers guests the unique experience
of exploring wildlife in a tropical jungle under
the stars. Through the use of subtle lighting techniques,
guests are able to view over 1000 nocturnal animals
of 100 species in vast naturalistic habitats. Rare
species can be observed at close range from behind
the protection of invisible electric fences.
Dr. Cheng Wen Haur, Executive Director, says that
displaying tropical animals at night is an ideal
way to observe them since 90 percent of the animals
are nocturnal and therefore most active after dusk.
Singapore's predictable sunset at around 7:30pm
and cool nights with little rainfall mean fewer
operational problems for an outdoor night attraction.
After getting acquainted with a live Malaysian
Tiger, a Babirusa or a Sloth Bear, take a 20-minute
taxi ride to downtown and stop in at the famous
Raffles Hotel (www.raffleshotel.com),
the “Grande Dame of Singapore.” Its all-white
colonial architecture and distinctive tropical ambiance
are not to be missed. If you don’t want to
pay $600 or so a night for one of the hotel’s
deluxe rooms, then at least stay long enough to
sample a Singapore Sling cocktail in the hotel’s
Long Bar. In 1915, a bartender at the Raffles Hotel
invented the famous reddish gin-based cocktail that
became a trademark of the country.
Within a short walk from the hotel are the lively
Boat Quay and Clark Quay areas along the Singapore
River. The bars and outdoor restaurants are packed
well into the wee hours. Drop into Harry’s
Bar for some jazz or listen to live blues bands
at the Crazy Elephant. Chinese opera troupes perform
for free at Clark Quay or for a fee at the Victoria
Theatre.
For a sample of an old-fashioned Asian food court,
there is the Lau Pa Sat, meaning “Old Market”
in local Hokkein-Chinese dialect, located on Boon
Tat Street. It is the largest Victorian cast-iron
structure in Southeast Asia. Then stop by a hawker
center such as the one at Bishan Street 11 to gaze
at the amazing array of ethnic cuisines. And for
perspectives on Asian culture and history, don’t
miss the Asian Civilization Museum on Armenian Street.
Visitors who have the luxury of time may wish to
take the short ferry ride to nearby Bintan Island
for a relaxing beach vacation. Technically part
of Indonesia, Singapore developers formed a partnership
with the government in the 1990s to develop the
island into a golf and water sport vacation paradise.
The island even has a Club Med. Another good bet
is the Nirwana Gardens Resort (www.nirwanagardens.com),
whose name aptly translates into “perfect bliss.”
Indeed, the resort offers a perfect respite to the
urban dweller. For a complete mind and body revival
sign up for a session at the resort’s luxurious
Asmara Tropical Spas. Using ancient recipes from
Jamu and Asian folk traditions, the exotic blends
and healing aromas will take the body to a new place.
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