Hi friends, hope you all had a wonderful 2018. This is my first blog post for 2019 and I want to finally introduce you to the long overdue guide to Singapore!
You've known it as the set for the hit movie Crazy Rich Asians (CRA); you've been mesmerized by its regional accent; you might have confused it as a part of China (but it is not. We'll talk briefly about the past of Singapore in a bit.) Now, there is a lot more to Singapore than meets the eyes so I want to share with you my experience in Singapore and hopefully add some color to this mysterious country that only has one city.
If you just want a crush course on Singapore, you may refer to my previous post that touched on some basic & fun facts about it. (Click Here!)
As I mentioned in the previous post, I am breaking down this guide into 3 parts to navigate our "venture to the East" (CRA movie credit):
Sightseeing
Eating around
Night life
I'm glad that you are intrigued. Now let's get started!
I. Sightseeing
Where to find the Merlions? Moreover, what is even a Merlion?
Merlions of Singapore
Interestingly, no Merlions were featured in the CRA movie even though they are symbols of Singapore. This made-up word, Mer-Lion, symbolizes an imaginary creature that is half mermaid and half lion. It looks something like what is being shown below.
> Quick detour into Singapore's past:
What do mermaids and lions have to do with Singapore? - - The mermaid part is relatively straight forward as Singapore is an island. Mermaid signifies Singapore's close relationship with the sea.
- The lion part is more mythical as it goes back to the legend of how an Indonesian prince saw a lion when he first found Singapore. Thus he named it Singapura, which means 'the lion city' in Malay. As you may have sometimes heard, the name Lion City carried on to be a nickname of Singapore.
When Singapore finally announced its independence from Malaysia in 1965, it went through some rebranding and Merlion emerged as a symbol of this independent new country: Singapore. (If you did the calculation, Singapore is just 54 years old as of 2019.)
Now that we've answered what a Merlion is, you might be asking, where can one find such things? Well, Singapore made it quite easy for you to do so as there are 5 official Merlion statues in the country.
The one shown in the previous picture, is the Sentosa Merlion, which is the biggest among them all. The most famous one, however, possibly is the one in Merlion Park. You may have recognized it as the water spitting Merlion featured in many facebook feeds. It is indeed the original Merlion that has been transplanted from its original location to the newly minted Merlion Park.
Interestingly, a small replica of it is right behind this signature one, and constitutes the third Merlion. The other two are located in Mount Faber and Tourism Court.
Central Singapore
Raffles Hotel
Even though Merlions didn't get their TLC in the movie, a lot of fancy places became sets of CRA. One of the fanciest places is Raffles Hotel, which is said to be where Rachel and Nick stayed during their trip to meet the parents.
Sadly, the hotel was under construction when I was there but it will reopen on Sep 16 this year (2019) so if you have thousands of dollar to spend then you may fancy booking a stay with them.
The old bar of the hotel, Long Bar, has always been operating. It is said to be the home of the famous local drink, the Singapore Sling. It is a sweet alcoholic drink that is mixed of gin, pineapple juice, lime juice, curaçao and Bénédictine. There are also some fun traditions in the bar and I will expand them in the night life post of the guide.
Gardens by the Bay
Back to the movie sets again. Were you intrigued by where Nick and Rachel hosted their outdoor wedding? Do you remember the plant-shaped light towers in the background? The set for that scene is a famous tourist spot in Singapore called Gardens by the Bay.
Besides having real plants, it is known for showcasing some electric 'plants' called super trees that are 80 to 160 feet (25-50 meters) tall. On top of some of them, there are observatory decks and bars/restaurants for you to get a good view of Central Singapore.
Marina Bay Sands
It is impossible not to hear of Marina Bay Sands or MBS, when you are in Singapore. MBS is a hotel that has the infamous infinity pool and is known for its distinguishable architecture. A friend of mine called it a spaceship and I would say it's quite fitting.
Since the hotel is so massive and distinctive, you may find it in almost all pictures of Central Singapore.
(A view of the 'spaceship' from afar.)
Honorary Mentions
Of course there are plenty of other landmarks in central Singapore like the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Sri Mariamman Temple which is right next to the Chinatown, ArtScience Museum, Red Dot Design Museum, and more. I've only picked the most quintessential spots for you to visit. If you have more time, please feel free to explore any of the honorary mentions. They each have something special to offer.
One more comment before we move out of Central Singapore. Singapore is quite a diverse country. Its mix of many culture (e.g. Chinese, Malay, Indian, and more races) is reflected in the juxtaposition of landmarks of different styles as well. One example of Singapore's multiculturism would be Masjid Sultan.
Masjid Sultan
Masjid Sultan is located in Kampong Glam, which is a Native-Malay and Muslim community in Central Singapore. Residents of this area maintain their traditions as much as they could so you can experience a different flavor of Singapore here. If you visit the mosque as the right time, you can hear the worshippers chanting alongside the sound of the ringing bell.
Sentosa
One thing that you might have noticed from all the previous pictures is that Singapore has some great architectures. Its style ranges from colonial Victorian style buildings to bold modern architectural statements.
It is thus easy to miss many of its nature havens, Sentosa being one of them.
Sentosa is a huge man-made resort island within the island of Singapore. Here, you can catch a breeze of South Eastern relaxation at the plentitude of beaches.
One of the most famous ones is Tanjong Beach Club. It is frequented by many nature-loving young peeps, expats, and cute dogs.
It can get super crowded during the weekend since everyone knows this place as the getaway spot. Yet, it is certainly worth a visit to de-compress and chill-out.
If you can't settle on just one beach to visit, well then lucky for you, each beach is quite close to each other and thus easily accessible through the siloso beach walk.
Other Regions
Another fun fact is that as Singapore emerged into a Country of its own, it had the time and knowledge to practice sophisticated urban planning. As a result, Singapore is carefully divided into 5 regions. Besides the Central Region that we got to know in details, there are also East, North, North-East, and West regions.
When you fly into Singapore, you first land in its East Region (Changi Airport).
North-East Region is mostly residential, though recently there are more businesses and massive malls with scenic views.
West Region is more academic as the famous national universities of Singapore are located here. Taking advantage of its academic flare, West Region is becoming the tech center of Singapore where many local start-ups take residence in.
If you have any interest in any other flavors of Singapore, feel free to give these regions a visit.
So to recap, you've seen some highlights of the landmarks in Singapore, mostly in Central Singapore and Sentosa. We also touched upon some history of Singapore to enrich your understanding of the story behind the landmarks.
Since the post is already getting long, I'll follow up with another post (or two) on the food and night life in Singapore. Let me know if you have any comments or requests. I'll leave a picture of the signature drink Singapore Sling here to entice you. Stay tuned!
