Singapore History Museum:
Established in 1887, the Singapore History Museum offers its visitors a splendid
look into Singapore's history. The museum is located at the Riverside Point,
closest MRT Station is Clarke Quay. Currently the museum is undergoing an extensive
reorganization and development and is scheduled to reopen in 2006.
Sentosa Island
Sentosa Island lies just down 15 minutes away from Singapore's city center.
Sentosa Island features many interesting places to spend your time, from the
artificial beaches of Palawan to the magnificent Underwater World. Sentosa Island
can be reached easily; take the MRT to station Waterfront, there take a shuttle
bus. However, it is more fun to take the cable ride to Sentosa as it will give
you the chance of having a nice view over the city and the island. Here is a
list of the many things you can do at the island:
Butterfly Park:
This facility, on Sentosa Island, Singapore, houses over 3,000 mounted specimens
and approximately 60 live species in a large outdoor conservatory. Visitors
can observe butterflies in all stages of development and activity. Tropical
butterflies and insects from Southeast Asia make up 80% of the collection, including
spectacular examples from South America, Africa, and the rest of Asia.The World
Insectarium has butterfly breeding farms in Penang and Sarawak, Malaysia. It
conducts valuable research and assists scholars and scientists from around the
world .
Underwater World:
Claimed to be Asia's largest tropical oceanarium, it features a walk-through
aquarium with lots of sharks and fishes and many smaller tanks. Entrance to
this oceanarium is rather expensive (fee includes entrance to Dolpin Lagoon).
At Underwater World Singapore, a 'voyage to the bottom of the sea' begins at
the sandy beaches and shallow rock pools at the water's edge. From here, visitors
start their descent, passing brightly coloured corals and all kinds of exotic
ocean-dwellers along the way. Finally they come to a spectacular 83-metre-long
acrylic tunnel, home to great shoals of fish, prowling predators and a host
of other creatures that inhabit the ocean depths.
Source: Underwater World
Dolphin Lagoon.
At this Lagoon you can watch dolphins do all the usual tricks (jumping through
hoops, balancing balls, etc). Entrance fee to this place is included with the
fee paid for the Underwater World.
Merlion: A stretched-out 37-metre version of the statue by the Singapore River.
The Merlion is lit up at night and even shoots lasers from its eyes. This grotesque
statue enables you to take a elevator up into its mouth and gaze out over the
nearby Port of Singapore, as well as experience some seriously cheesy exhibits
downstairs.
Fort Siloso:
Once the largest British naval base in Fortress Singapore, its guns staring
balefully out towards the sea in preparation for enemy attack. Of course, the
Japanese rode bikes down the peninsula instead; after your visit here, be sure
to visit the Battle Box to find out what happened then. Now turned into a museum,
you can follow a tour through the area (complete with lots of wax figures) to
find out what the life of a recruit was like. Fort Siloso nearly doubled in
size after an expansion in 2004.
Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and Bird Park
Three great attractions located in the North-West of Singapore. All parks
are located close to each other. Tickets can be bought for each single attraction
or for all three attractions together (much cheaper!).
Singapore Zoo:
The Singapore Zoo is said to be one of the best zoos in Asia if not the world.
The animals are kept in spacious, landscaped enclosures, separated from the
visitors by dry or wet moats. To spare yourself walking under the hot tropical
sun, you can board a little train that trundles through the park.
Night Safari:
The night safari is part of the Singapore Zoo, but is located on completely
separate grounds that are closed during the day, is the world's first wildlife
park built to be viewed at night. The grounds are in fact larger than the main
Zoo and only parts are accessible to visitors on foot, so most people opt for
the guided tram tour instead The tram tour is highly recommended unless you
have the time to do a lot of walking. Lighting throughout the park is minimal,
but sufficient. Stopping at the second tram station is a must as there is a
walking path (The Lepard Trail) for viewing giraffes, flying squirrels, lions
and others. Flash photography is not allowed, so a tripod is recommended. Some
other animals you can expect to see include are various types of tigers, elephants,
bats, flamingos, porcupines, leopards, otters, badgers, and storks.
Jurong Bird Park
It is the largest in the Asia Pacific and claims to be one of the
finest bird parks in the world. Its collection of more than 8,000 birds
from 600 species is among the largest in the world. The Park specialises
in birds from Southeast Asia and the more exotic and colorful tropical
birds.
