Singapore

The flag of Singapore consists of two equal horizontal red over white stripes.  The red stripe represents the purity and virtue of its people while the red stripe represents universal brotherhood.  Within the red stripe is a white crescent symbolic of Singapore as a new nation and the five stars symbolize the nation’s ideals of democracy, equality, justice, peace, and progress.

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Sensational Singapore! —

Our Far East Asia cruise ended in sensational Singapore where we decided to stay a few extra days.  We booked the famed Marina Bay Sands hotel, with its iconic three towers connected at the top by a level of restaurants and infinity pool that looks out over the city.  After disembarking our cruise ship, we took a short taxi ride to the hotel.  Once checked in and bags dropped, we made our way to the rooftop infinity pool area of Marina Bay Sands and wow!  Just wow!  The atmosphere was incredible, the pool was incredible, the views were incredible!!  Life is good relaxing by the iconic infinity pool in the sky, sipping on a Singapore Sling and soaking the warm sun’s rays.  Singapore is located nearly at the equator (only 1 degree north) and the temperature is 30-31C (86-88F) year round, so even in December it was a lovely pool day.

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Gardens By the Bay

From our hotel room we could see the very popular and beautiful Gardens By the Bay, a huge nature park with artificial ‘super trees’ to promote Singapore’s focus on being a ‘garden city’.  We walked throughout the gardens both during the day and at night when the ‘super trees’ are lit with multi-coloured lighting.  The gardens were absolutely gorgeous!  The gardens are definitely worth a visit.

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Sentosa Island

Sentosa Island is a very popular resort and theme park on the southern coast of Singapore.  We took Singapore’s convenient metro system to the Harbour Front stop where we found the ticketing office for the sky lift cable ride onto Sentosa Island.  In the Malay language ‘sentosa’ means tranquility and peace.  This tranquil island hosts a Universal Studios Singapore, S.E.A. Aquarium, Resorts World, Adventure Cove Waterpark, two white sandy beaches, a casino, a gorgeous shopping complex, a golf course, and more.  It was a great day out and worth the visit!

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Singapore Waterfront

If staying in the Marina Bay Sands hotel, you will have great access to a connected shopping mall that line the Singapore waterfront.  There are numerous restaurants that offer cuisine from around the world.  There is a very convenient metro stop there as well that provides easy access to all parts of the city.  Views of the harbour and skyline are remarkable in both day and night.  The nighttime skyline is a must see as is the incredible light and water show called ‘Wonder Full’!!  It was an amazing show of music, images displayed on water mist, and laser lights!  It is definitely a ‘must see’ experience!!

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Facts & Figures

—  Singapore (or Singapura in Malay) means ‘lion city’; according to the Malay Annals, Singapura was founded in 1299

—  Today Singapore is its own sovereign city-state (country) located at the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula only 1 degree north of the equator

—  After gaining independence from British rule, Singapore was part of Indonesia until 1965 when it seceded due to ideological differences to become its own sovereign nation

—  Singapore is home to 5.6 million residents, most of whom are bilingual

—  Singapore is a global hub for commerce and finance, boasting the world’s third largest foreign exchange market

—  The ‘merlion’ is a national symbol for Singapore, derived of a lion’s head and fish body; the merlion was created in the 1960s as a mascot for Singapore tourism

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Travel Tips

—  Singapore has a very efficient and easy to use metro (subway) public transportation system

—  English is the official primary language of Singapore; most all signage in Singapore will have 4 languages–English followed by Malay, Mandarin Chinese, and Tamil (Indian/Sri Lankan)

—  Currency used in Singapore is the Dollar (S$)

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If you are a world trekker like us and want to become more ‘worldly’, then you will want to try our books below.  Thanks to the former British Empire and current Commonwealth, the English language is widely spoken across the world, however it is spoken quite differently depending on where you are traveling.  We believe the books below are essential to worldly trekkers and think you will find them both fun and informative.  The books include a dictionary of everyday words and phrases, traditional cuisine, some history and culture, and other handy information.

Simply click on the book covers below to find out more:

   

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Psalm 100:5 – New Living Translation (NLT)

    ⁵  For the Lord is good.  His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.