Singapore – Places to See (Attractions)

• AuthorAlicia Dunlop
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Singapore – Places to See (Attractions)

Hello & welcome back. In last weeks blog, I gave an overview of the districts we visited. In this weeks blog, I thought I share some of our thoughts on the attractions we visited during our stay in Singapore. Welcome to Singapore Places to See (Attractions).

Singapore Zoo 

I was really impressed with Singapore Zoo. The animals seemed as happy as they could being kept in captivity. They all looked in great condition & pretty relaxed. To be honest I didn’t expect anything else. It was lovely to see so many young animals – the orang-utans being my personal favourites when we visited. It was wonderful watching them play together clearly enjoying life. 

These days zoos play a much bigger part that just showcasing animals for the general public to see. What Singapore Zoo does really well is highlight the plight of the animals in the wild – environment degradation, habitat loss, poaching and the conservation activities that are underway to try & reverse their impact. They do this in an interactive way for kids & offer guidance for changing their behaviour now.

Endangered

34% of the animals on display have threatened status. For example, staggeringly there are now less than 4000 tigers left in the wild. Their numbers devastated by habitat destruction & poaching. Despite hunting bans, these beautiful big cats are illegally hunted for use in traditional Chinese medicines despite the lack of any medicinal purpose. The zoo highlights this & educates young people on modern alternatives and what they can do to ensure demand for these beautiful animals is removed. The zoo has 2 stunningly beautiful white tigers. Sadly, there are now estimated to be 12 wild white tigers left in the world & 200 in captivity. 

Night Safari

We also took the opportunity of visiting the Night Safari on the same day – well the two zoos are next to each other. I really enjoyed our little journey through this park. The only thing was we went at dusk and many of the animals were only just waking up, so we didn’t see them quite at their best and most active. 

Hint: Book direct through the zoo’s website. If you visit multiple parks you’ll get a discount on the individual admission fee. Find out more here.

S.E.A Aquarium 

The aquarium and animals on display are amazing. Being able to see sea dragons and jellyfish up close is pretty cool. Wandering through tunnels where hammerhead and other types of shark swim above & beside you is surreal. My personal favourite was the ship wreck but I’m sure you will have your own favourites!

I expected to see more on marine conservation… the impact of plastic in the oceans, suggestions on what to do to avoid marine pollution etc. Personally I think they could do a lot more to highlight the plight of marine eco systems and the flora and fauna that live in them. I feel the focus was too much on having a photo taken, instead of education. I think with so many children of school age, it was a massive opportunity missed!

Marina Bay Sands

You can find out more about visiting the aquarium here.

This iconic hotel has quickly become one of the most recognisable structures on the Singapore skyline. It is easy to see why. One of the worlds largest hotels and certainly the largest in Singapore. It is particularly photogenic at night and the twice evening light shows are definitely worth making the effort to see. Next time I visit Singapore, I will stay here!

Gardens by the Bay

This would be top of my list when visiting Singapore. Basically, in a stripped back form, it is a great big landscaped garden with some greenhouses. However, how the designers have brought it together and executed it is simply stunning. You can visit day and night. To wander around the gardens is free, however there is a fee to enter the Flower Dome and/or Cloud Forest. If you want to get a slightly different perspective you can also pay to walk along the OCBC Skyway. With a rational fear of falling (even when standing on a chair) this wasn’t something I could do but I believe the views would be wonderful from up there.  

We visited at 9pm and managed to see the end of the Garden Rhapsody show – which is a daily light and music show they put on in Supertree Grove. At that time of night, it was incredibly peaceful. Most of the crowds had left and were returning to the city. I loved Supertree Grove! I’ve simply never seen anything like it before in my life. The fusion of man-made structures and landscaping with plants and the way they light the park and the Supertrees up is wonderful. 

Hint:

You do not need to pay for a tour to visit. The gardens are easy to wander around and you can self guide quite easily. If you decide to visit the conservatories, simply buy your tickets at the ticketing counters on the day. It will save you money. You can find out more here.

Parkview Square

I loved the Parkview Tower and Square! Its neo art deco style made me think it was built a hundred years ago. In fact, it was completed in 2003. It is one of the most expensive buildings ever built in Singapore. Architecturally it is stunning!

The Square contained a variety of modern art with the striking Golden Crane as a centre piece. There is an inscription in Chinese on the supporting column of the crane. Apparently it is a poem that refers to a mythical crane looking towards the direction of its temple, eager to fly the thousands of miles back — Depicting the homesickness of the owner.  I have to say, we spent a very happy hour wandering around the square viewing and photographing the artwork on display.

We stepped inside the tower block and was greeted with the most amazing restaurant / bar. There was an information board in the square highlighting that there is a museum on the third floor. It detailed the latest exhibition (which unfortunately was closed when we visited) but we still stepped inside.

The bar is the Atlas Bar which is famed for its Gin Tower and the food it serves. So this is another item on the agenda for next time I visit Singapore – lunch in Atlas Bar.

You can find out more here.

Think about planning your trip

When I was planning our trip the thing that struck me was the number of tours charging fees for places like Merlion Park (which is free), Night Safari (get a discount and visit the zoo on the same day), Sentosa Island (jump on the MVP) etc. – all of which are easy to arrange and plan yourself at a fraction of the cost. So the best advice I can give you look at all available options and plan it your self!

I hope you have enjoyed my ramblings about my favourite places to see (attractions) in Singapore and some of the images I have shared with you.

Next week our journey continues as we fly to Perth in Western Australia. Have a good week. See you next time! Alicia

Travel and Landscape Photography – Alicia Dunlop; Alicia Dunlop Photography.