Malaysia Singapore & Brunei
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© Lonely Planet 492 Singapore Love it or loathe it, Singapore is hard to ignore. It’s a long-haul-stopover favourite, and yes, it’s guilty on all counts of pandering to hordes of package tourists who get shepherded around on air-conditioned buses. But stay for more than a few days and you’ll find an intriguing brew of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Western cultures all blended into a diverse cultural melting pot. And it’s anything but boring. Sure, the graffiti-free trains run on time, and on top of being bilingual (English is the first language here), everyone looks clean-cut and wholesome, but who needs pol- lution, poverty and chaos? Food and shopping are the two main preoccupations of Singaporeans. And why not? There are thousands of food outlets serving every conceivable cuisine to suit every budget. Broke? Pull up a plastic chair at a hawker centre and order a Tiger beer and whatever Asian delight the next table is having. Flush? Splash out on a 10-course degustation with paired wines at one of the region’s top restaurants. And the shopping? Mall after mall of all the top brands, at reasonable prices too. But Singapore is never one to rest on its laurels. Two new ‘integrated resorts’ will lure tourists with glam casinos, theme parks and big-ticket attractions. And the Formula 1 night race and in- augural 2010 Youth Olympics has helped put Singapore on the international sporting stage. Singapore is the perfect antidote to the brashness, dust and grime of the rest of Asia. Go on, tack on a couple of extra days to your trip and stop by for some pampering and deserved downtime. HIGHLIGHTS ‘Bolly’ jamming with the teeming masses in Little India ( p500 ) over the weekend Immersing yourself in the cultural complexities of Straits Chinese culture at the Peranakan Museum ( p496 ) or the Asian Civilisations SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Museum ( p495 ) Pulau Ubin Giving thanks to the gods at the busy Kuan Singapore Zoo & Night Safari Im Thong Hood Cho Temple ( p497 ), or Bukit Timah Nature Reserve MacRitchie spending time on quiet reflection at St Reservoir Andrew’s Cathedral ( p497 ) Little India Cooing and gushing at the animals in the Kuan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple & Peranakan Museum & Singapore Zoo ( p504) and at the Night St Andrew's Cathedral Asian Civilisations Museum Safari ( p504 ) Southern Ridges Rampaging through greenery at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve ( p505 ), MacRitchie Reservoir ( p505 ), Pulau Ubin ( p504 ) and the Southern Ridges ( p507 ) POPULATION: 4.8 MILLION AREA : 710 SQ KM lonelyplanet.com SINGAPORE •• History 493 SINGAPORE IN… Two Days Start your day with a stroll at the idyllic Singapore Botanic Gardens ( p501 ). After a kopi (coffee) and kaya (coconut jam) toast breakfast, hit the Orchard Road ( p557 ) shops or spend the afternoon museum-hopping. The Singapore Art Museum ( p496 ), National Museum ( p494 ), Peranakan Museum ( p496 ) and Asian Civilisations Museum ( p495 ) are all within striking distance of each other. Break up the gallery crawl with a circuit through Fort Canning Park ( p496). Find time for an afternoon tipple with a Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel (p496 ) and make your way along the Singapore River for dinner ( p539 ). End your night with a drink at the New Asia Bar ( p547 ) on the 70th floor of Swissôtel, the Stamford. Day two begins with an MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) trip out to Little India ( p500 ). Do some shopping at the massive Mustafa Centre ( p557 ), have some delish Indian feed for lunch and do some temple-spotting. Grab a taxi to the Singapore Zoo ( p504 ) for some daytime animal action and stay on for nocturnal animal action at the Night Safari ( p504 ). If animals aren’t your thing, make it out to Kampong Glam ( p500 ) for a hit of Malay culture, and stay for kebabs and sheesha. Wind yourself down or rev yourself up with revellers at Clarke Quay ( p549 ). Four Days If you’re staying a couple more days, kick off day three with a cable-car ride from Mt Faber ( p507 ), then cross to Sentosa Island ( p509 ) – at least a day’s frivolous indulgence. Retreat to the all-night bustle of the Maxwell Road Food Centre ( p542 ) in Chinatown for dinner before boogieing on down at the St James Power Station ( p551 ). Go green on day four – make it out to the treetop walk at the MacRitchie Reservoir ( p505 ), blitz through the snaking trails of the Southern Ridges ( p507 ) or just take a bumboat out to Pulau Ubin ( p504 ) for some cycling and mangrove boardwalks. On the way back from Ubin, pay your respects at the Changi Museum & Chapel ( p503 ) or drop by Chinatown ( p498 ) for temples and shopping before a show at the Esplanade ( p495 ) or a slap-up pepper-crab feast at the East Coast Seafood Centre ( p542 ) as the ships of the world bump and sway in the Straits of Singapore. HISTORY the electorate to turn to new leadership? As of Singapore has hardly looked back since Sir September 2009, there was no news. The next Thomas Stamford Raffles stepped into the elections are due by February 2011. mud in 1819 hell-bent on making the island SINGAPORE a bastion of the British Empire (see p34 ). ORIENTATION Despite a few ups and downs – invasion by the Singapore is a city, an island and a country all Japanese in WWII ( p36 ) and getting booted rolled into one. It’s about 45km west to east, out of the nascent federation of Malaysia in 25km north to south. While there are built-up, 1965 ( p39 ) – the island has prospered in its high-density areas all around the island, the role as a free-trade hub for Southeast Asia. main city area is in the south. The downturn in the worldwide economy in 2009 had its effect on Singapore. Exports The City shrunk, unemployment increased and the gov- Downtown Singapore nestles around the ernment announced a S$20 billion economic- Singapore River in the south, which, after stimulus package. Despite all this, to the casual decades of decline, has re-established it- spectator, Singaporeans’ love of shopping and self as the city’s watery heart. South of the dining out continues unabated. river are the stalagmites of the CBD and the In March 2009, a move by the elections tourist epicentre of Singapore’s cultural life, department to update registers and adjust Chinatown. Immediately north of the river polling-district boundaries sparked election is the Colonial (also referred to as the Civic) talk – might the People’s Action Party (PAP) District, dappled with elegant colonial archi- be planning to call a snap election before the tecture, museums galore, gargantuan shop- fear of further worldwide recession caused ping malls and the iconic Raffles Hotel. 494 SIGHTS •• Colonial District lonelyplanet.com Lining the river itself are Boat Quay, Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay, once swampy, SIGHTS nefarious warehouse districts, now progres- sive entertainment and eating precincts. COLONIAL DISTRICT The Marina Bay area at the river mouth is The Colonial District owes its name and loca- being heavily redeveloped – expect a mass of tion to the British. Not long after Sir Stamford building sites that will only be fully cleared Raffles ‘ discovered’ Singapore in 1819, he up by 2011. found that the area had all the necessities of Most of Singapore’s tourist action re- a place of governance – it was central and volves around Chinatown and along the close to the ports – and made Fort Canning mall-littered Orchard Rd, just north of Hill a base of operations. Squalid warehouses the Colonial District. Heading slightly eventually made way for an ordered city grid. northeast, one will find the unfettered, Most of these colonial elements were left in colourful Little India district, and the place even after Singapore gained independ- gracious Kampong Glam, Singapore’s ence in 1965. Like the rest of Singapore the Muslim quarter. district is constantly being tinkered with. The government has pumped millions of Singapore Island dollars into revitalising the waterfront for To the island’s west are the predominantly the Formula 1 motorcar night race and the industrial areas of Jurong and Tuas, which building of the Marina Bay Sands integrated are peppered with tourist attractions, many resort. The area is also home to the Marina surprisingly family-oriented. Heading Barrage, a 10,000-hectare freshwater reservoir south you’ll bump into Sentosa Island – that doubles as a park. An intriguing mix of Singapore’s recreational playground. Within colonial architecture and ubermodern sights, sight of Sentosa are the southern islands: St the Colonial District is a perfect introduction John’s, Kusu and Lazarus. to Singapore. East Coast Park stretches east from At the river mouth is Singapore’s water- the city – imported sand on reclaimed spouting mascot, the funky 1960s Merlion land. Inland from here are the unpol- (Map p517 ) – half-fish, half-lion. The local ished Geylang and Katong areas, with the media went into a frenzy when the statue lorongs (alleys) off Geylang Rd harbour- took a lightning bolt to the dome in early ing Singapore’s surprisingly saucy (some 2009. Repairs were made in double-quick say sleazy) red-light district. The much- time, much to the relief of locals who were lauded Changi Airport occupies the east- sick of reading about it on the front page of ern corner of the island. Changi Village local rags. and Pulau Ubin are north of here. Not far from Changi is Pasir Ris, home to a quiet strip of beach and family-friendly National Museum of Singapore amusement parks. A facelift in 2006 has turbocharged this once- The central north of the island has much dull museum (Map p517 ; %6332 5642; www.national SINGAPORE SINGAPORE of Singapore’s undeveloped land, tracts of museum.sg; 93 Stamford Rd; adult/child S$10/5, Living Gallery primary and secondary rainforest, reservoirs, free 6-9pm; hHistory Galleries 10am-6pm, Living Galleries the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari, and the 10am-9pm).