Attractions in Singapore
Haw Par Villa Dragon World
262 Pasir Panjang Road
Tel 774-0300
9am-6pm daily
MRT to Buina Vista station and bus 200 to Haw Par Villa
A Chinese mythological theme park featuring age-old silent statues, exhilarating rides, live performances and theatre shows. A roller coaster ride is very popular, but the main attractions are the telling and reenacting of the myths and the famous statues.
Jurong Bird Park
Jurong Hill
Jurong Town
Tel 265-0022
9am-6pm Mon-Fri. 8am-6pm weekends.
MRT to Boon Lay station and special loop bus 194 to No.251
This park features more than 5,000 birds from all over the world in a lush parkland setting.
Jurong Crocodile Paradise
Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim
Jurong Town
9am-6pm daily
Same transport as to Jurong Bird Park
A crocodile farm featuring underwater viewing areas and crocodile wrestling shows daily.
Tang Dynasty City
Yuan Ching Road and Jalan Ahmad Ibrihim
MRT to the Lakeside station and then bus 154 or 240
9:30am-6:30pm
Admission charged
This multimillion dollar theme park is a recreation of the Tang Dynasty capital which was the center of China's golden age from the 6th to 8th centuries. Behind the high walls the main street features a courthouse, geisha house, shops, temples, restaurants and theaters. Camel rides, craft demonstrations, antique displays are all part of the experience. The park has shops selling refreshments, antiques, a wax museum of Chinese notables, kung fu demonstrations and other street performances.
Kusu Island
Kusu is located 7 km (4.5 miles) south of Singapore
Take the ferry from the World Trade Center.
A small island that, according to legend, was a turtle and transformed itself into land to save drowning sailors.
Little India
Serangoon Road
An area full of stores, restaurants and antique dealers specializing in Indian goods.
Sentosa Island
Ferries running from World Trade Center in daily 7:30am - 10pm
A former military base, this island is now devoted to entertaining its guests. Within the island are museums, gardens, a butterfly park, swimming lagoons, golf courses, a large roller skating rink and various rides.
Underwater World
Sentosa Island
Tel 275-0030
Asia's largest tropical oceanarium.
Botanic Gardens
Intersection of Holland Road and Napier Street World-famous tropical gardens where you can enjoy lush greenery and a beautiful orchid garden.
Chinese Garden and Japanese Garden
Yuan Ching Road
MRT to Chinese Garden station
Jurong
Mon-Sat. 9am-7pm Sunday 8:30am-7pm
Over 35 acres (14 hectares) of beautiful scenery. Stone gardens, bonsai display, goldfish ponds, stone lanterns and small pagodas. Very colorful, pavilions, bridge, beautiful setting.
Mandai Orchid Gardens
Mandai Lake Road
A lush tropical orchid garden created in an area usually not particularly suited to orchid plants.
Chinaman Scholars Gallery
14B Trengannu St.
Chinatown
Tel 222-9554
Daily 9am-4pm
Admission charged
this living museum is designed to look like a Cantonese home of the 1930's. It includes authentic clothing, furnishings, artifacts, photographs and musical instruments.
National Museum
Stamford Road
Tel 337-7355
This museum has extensive collections focusing on regional history, cultures and crafts. Exhibits include archaeological finds from the Asian region, articles relating to Chinese settlement and trade, Malaysian and Indonesian arts and crafts. It also has superb examples of jade including the 380 piece Haw Par jade collection.
New Ming Village and Pewter Museum
49A Duxton Road
Tel 221-4436
MRT to Clementi Road and then bus 78 to Pandan Road
Free admission.
8:30am-5:30pm
Examples of both old and modern works are on display here. Reproductions of porcelain from the Ming and Qing dynasties are crafted here. Watch craftsmen at work. there is also a small pewter museum.
Chettiar Hindu Temple
Tank and River Valley Roads.
Open daily 8-noon and 5:30-8:30.
This structure housing the image of Lord Subramaniam is a recent (1984) replacement of the original, built in the 19th century. The 21-meter-high gopuram (pyramidal gateway tower), with its colorful sculptures of godly manifestations, is astounding. The chandelier-lit interior is lavishly decorated; 48 painted-glass panels are inset in the ceiling and angled to reflect the sunrise and sunset.
Raffles Hotel
1 Beach Rd., Colonial Singapore
(dress standards apply)
Admission charged.
In 1896, the Armenian Sarkies brothers took over a "tiffin house," or tearoom, and greatly expanded it, transforming it into one of the grandest hotels in Asia. Though rarely under British management, the hotel was long viewed as a bastion of colonialism. The hotel is no longer open for tours, but visitors can stroll around the lobby, and can visit the museum of Raffles memorabilia on the third floor; attend the multimedia show on the hotel's history at the Jubilee Hall playhouse (show times are at 10,11,12:30 and 1. ) It is also possible to take refreshment in a reproduction of the Long Bar, where the famous Singapore sling was created in 1903 by the bartender Ngiam Tong Boon High tea is served daily in the Tiffin Room.