Singapore

Description

Singapore, officially called the Republic of Singapore, is situated off the southern point of the Malay Peninsular in South East Asia 87 miles (140km) north of the Equator.

The Malay Annals relate how Singapore was founded centuries ago when a Sumatran prince landed on the island of Temasek and saw a lion. He took it as a good sign and founded a city called 'Singapura' meaning 'lion city'.

Sir Stamford Raffles, famously known as the father of modern Singapore, signed a treaty with the Sultan of Johor on February 6 1819 that gave the British the right to establish a trading post in Singapore. The new trading post expanded rapidly. Europeans, Chinese, Malays and Indians arrived to live and work.

By 1900 the population had risen to around 220,000. In 1924, a causeway opened connecting the northern part of Singapore to Johor Bahru.

During World War II Singapore's expansion came to an sudden halt when the island was captured by the Japanese in February 1942. Three and a half years later Japan capitulated and the British re-took Singapore.

In 1959 the rise of nationalism led to self-government and the country's first general election. Lee Kuan Yew was installed as Singapore's first Prime Minister.

Today the city is an international center for business, marketing and banking, and the base of huge businesses like Oversea-Chinese Banking, Wilmar International and DBS Group.

Top attractions in Singapore include:

1) Merlion Park. This is the home of the fabled Merlion statue, is located in front of the Fullerton hotel on the shores of Marina bay. The statue, 28 feet high with the body of a fish and the head of a lion, is Singapore's national symbol.

2) ArtScience Museum. The museum has a striking lotus flower shape, conceived by the renowned Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. The fixed exhibition at ArtScience is 'Future World: Where Art Meets Science', here the visitor is immersed in a dynamic digital world of art centering around the subjects of Town, Nature, Park and Science.

3) National Gallery Singapore. Opened in 2015 in the one-time City Hall and Supreme Court buildings, the National Gallery Singapore boasts the largest public collection of artworks in the region. In the Supreme Court wing (the one with the dome) explore the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery showcasing the work of Southeast Asia artists including Latif Mohidin, Raden Saleh and Hernando Ocampo. In the City Hall wing tour the DBS Singapore Gallery with more than 300 masterpieces from local artists including Chen Chon Swee, Georgette Chen and Liu Kang.

4) The Long Bar Raffles Hotel. Raffles Hotel, made famous by literary heavyweights such as Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad and Somerset Maugham, is a colonial-era hotel built by the Sarkies Brothers, Armenian businessmen, in 1887. The star attraction for visitors at the hotel is The Long Bar, home of the world-famous Singapore Sling cocktail. Feel free to throw your peanut shells onto the floor, a generations old custom.

5) Gardens By The Bay. Opened in 2012 Gardens by the Bay is a jewel of horticulture and garden creativity that shows flora in a completely new way. A short distance away from mega skyscrapers and noisy traffic, the Gardens provide a soothing space to explore plants from around the world and the Supertrees, the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome show plants in a totally unique way.

6) Siloso Beach. Siloso beach on Singapore's Sentosa Island is a long stretch of clean fine sand, backed by tall palm trees. Facilities available include parasol and beach chair hire, showers and restrooms. When you're tired of the beach, why not go to one of the other draws on Sentosa island. These include Skyline Luge Sentosa, Megazip Adventure Park, Universal Studios Singapore, S.E.A. Aquarium and Madame Tussauds.