Singapore is one of the most attractive representative destinations in Southeast Asia because of its history of development and civilized life. Not only that, this country is also attracted by countless artificial, semi-wild attractions and monumental architecture.
Singapore was one of my must - go - list lists during my younger years. It was the first country I wanted to visit for my first overseas trip. This is because the country has made incredible progress in a short period of development that I want to see as well as 'break' headphones to learn from. Besides, transportation from Vietnam to Singapore is quite easy. You can absolutely hunt cheap airline tickets to visit the lion country at any time.
Here are some overview reviews of Singapore tourism from the writer who had the opportunity to visit this country a number of times. With these reviews, hope to help you easily visualize the lion island nation and plan suitable sightseeing for your trip.
What is in Singapore?
If you take some time to learn, you will find Singapore is a very interesting country. It is about the history of national development, history of economic development, ethnic groups living together and many religions that seem to be confronted but co-exist.
Modern Singapore developed
History
This small island nation impresses the whole world because its starting point is only a small, poor fishing village. In just a few dozen years, under the leadership of President Lee Kuan Yew, has grown tremendously and become one of the four Asian dragons and shocked the whole world.
A brief overview of Singapore history from the earliest times, it is known that this island has a written history dating back to the 3rd century. Around the 14th century, it became a harbor with an important history under the rule of the emperor. Srivijaya Parameswara.
In modern times, from 1819, Singapore appeared a harbor built by Stamford Raffles. At the same time, Singapore was under British colonial rule and became the center of trade in goods transshipment in Southeast Asia.
During World War 2, Singapore fell to the Japanese empire (1942 - 1945), after which it continued to be ruled by Britain.
In 1963, Singapore merged with the Malay federation and formed Malaysia.
In 1965, due to political instability, Singapore separated from Malaysia. From here, the country is facing a lot of difficulties but has gone into setting up a modernization program to improve the country. By 1990, the lion island nation had risen to world power. Currently, Singapore is a unitary multi-party parliamentary republic.
Culture and religion
Singapore is a country with diverse cultures, beliefs and religions because it has races from many different places.
Despite their diverse ethnic backgrounds, Asians are still predominant. The Chinese community is the highest (75% of the population), the significant minority is the Malays, Indians, and Eurasians.
Ethnic groups have inherently great differences but now exist, living peacefully in a country like Singapore is really strange and interesting. The same thing happens with religion. The religions coexisting here are Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, etc.
Chinatown Sinagpore
Cuisine
Due to the diversity of cultures, Singapore cuisine is extremely rich. Here, visitors will have the opportunity to taste any taste in the world. However, the most outstanding dishes are Chinese, Indian, Malay, Indonesian and international dishes.
In which Chinese dishes have all flavors, sweet, spicy. Indian food is characterized by curry, etc. The special thing is that the culinary influences each other, a Chinese chef can use the ingredients of Indian food and vice versa, extremely interesting.
Singaporean cuisine is plentiful, affordable and also has plenty of outdoor dining. Besides, there are also a variety of vegetarian dishes or hala dishes for Muslims, serving all the needs of everyone.
A special Indian dish
The sights, fun, tourism
Singapore has many amusement parks suitable for both adults and children, highly educational. Many projects are extremely monumental and of great value such as: Garden By The Bay, Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari, Singapore Zoo, Sea Aquarium.
Specially designed destinations for kids to help them develop skills include Kidzania, MOSH Park! ...
Besides amusement parks, Singapore also has a lot of valuable museums. Along with that are unique constructions by the talented creative minds of the people that make you dazzled like the Marina Bay Sand hotel complex, the giant Garden By The Bay botanical garden, Sentosa artificial island ...
Jurong Bird Park
How many days should Singapore travel?
Traveling to Singapore, you can go 1 day, 2 days, 3 days or 4 days. If you do not have much time, you can enlist to visit Singapore 1 day and then move to another place (eg Malaysia).
In case you have more time, stay in Singapore to experience and explore the unique features of this country. 3 - 4 days is the most complete time to explore all aspects of Singapore.
When to travel to Singapore?
Singapore has quite similar weather in southern Vietnam, the weather is hot and humid all year round so you should go at any time suitable for sightseeing. However, there are times in Sing also when the strong off season of brands, clothing items. So you can take advantage of going at this time to satisfy shopping preferences.
In Singapore there are 2 main discount seasons called GSS (Great Singapore Sale). Time divided by 2 main seasons are spring-summer (June) and autumn-winter (December).
Traveling in Singapore by what means?
The means of transportation in Singapore include MRT, bus, Hop On Hop Off Bus, taxi, Grab / Uber ... However in Singapore, the price is quite expensive, so the most economical and fastest means are MRT (subway).
My first advice is that you should buy an EZlink card - a smart electronic payment card for both MRT, buses and taxis. This card can also be used for shopping and can top up (recharge) as well as return when used and get a deposit for the card.
Currency
Singapore uses the Sing dollar. Should change money first in Vietnam rather than to Singapore to change because traveling to change money is quite inconvenient. Restrict money exchange at the airport because the exchange rate here is quite high.
To exchange money in Vietnam, visitors can exchange at banks or gold shops, foreign currency exchange desks ... In which money exchange in gold shops, money exchangers outside is the most convenient, quick procedure, reasonable rates.
Dollar Sing
Eating
Singapore has a diverse culture, so the cuisine of this country is equally diverse. As introduced above, in Singapore, you can enjoy any taste from all over the world. Chinese dishes have a variety of flavors, Indian dishes have typical flavors such as curry, Indonesian dishes, Malay dishes ... However, for Vietnamese palates, some unfamiliar dishes will find it quite difficult to eat.
Language
The official language of Singapore is up to four languages English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. If you travel to Singapore, you can use English to communicate. However, English in Singapore has a lot of accents (Chinese English, Indian English ...) and mixed with many different words - often called Singlish. This is the unique English language of Sing people. You should be prepared to "strain your ears" to receive many voices at the same time as they will use very strange, very "creative" sentences.
What to wear when traveling to Singapore?
Singapore's weather is similar in southern Vietnam, so visitors can completely wear cool and light costumes to travel. In addition, in my experience, you should prepare hats, sunglasses, sunscreen because the weather is not too sunny, but going outside is a bit uncomfortable.
Because the attractions in Singapore are quite large, large scale, as well as the distance between MRT stations is quite far, visitors will need to walk a lot. So note that wear comfortable sneakers or sandals to limit foot fatigue.
Hotel booking tips in Singapore
Because prices in Singapore are expensive compared to the standard of living of other countries in the region. Therefore, travelers should calculate in advance to prepare a reasonable budget for the trip. To book a hotel, you based on the budget can spend and choose the appropriate reservation area. If you save money, you can book rooms in areas like China Town, Little India, Kampong Glam, Clarke Quay. If you like to shop, book it near Orchard Road. If the budget is high then book Civic Area, Marina Bay Area.
Besides, if you save, you can stay in the dorm, rent a hostel. If you have a good budget, you can experience more luxurious accommodation services such as hotels, airbnb ...
Where should Singapore travel?
Singapore has a small area like a city so it is very easy to go around Singapore. In my opinion, here are some places to visit when traveling to Singapore:
Sentosa island:
This is a great entertainment complex, accommodation, cafe, restaurant, beach, park ... of Singapore. Almost all famous attractions of Singapore are here: Universal Studio Singapore, Trick Eye Museum Singapore; KidZania Singapore; Madame Tussauds Singapore; Adventure Cove Waterpark; Siloso Beach Resort; Music Of Wings Of time; iFly skydiving center ... People call it the island of joy because there's nothing missing on Sentosa Island.
A special feature: Sentosa is an artificial island - built by Sing people in the sea.
Singapore Sentosa Island
Garden By The Bay:
This is a famous botanical garden of Singapore with giant super trees that "glow" at night extremely interesting. During the day, here you will be lost in a green oasis in the heart of the city with a huge variety of plants and flowers. You will also have the opportunity to visit many unique geographical regions of the world that are collapsed here with typical tree species.
Marina Bay Sand Hotel Complex:
Marina Bay Sand is a complex of business and resort complexes combined with casino. This work consists of 3 high towers and an infinity pool on the rooftop with sweeping views of the city. From a distance, it looks like a boat ready to surf the sea. The complex, launched in 2010 with an area of over 155,000 square meters, is a sight to behold.
Prices on shopping, dining experience, bars or resorts here belong to expensive goods. For sightseeing, you can take a stroll around the ground floor, which has a restaurant with a rich buffet. You can also go straight to the bar to "enjoy". (Above is the hotel should not be up). Besides, you can have fun shopping at Marina Bay shopping district. Have fun at Marina Bay shopping area
Combined visit to Malaysia:
Traveling to Singapore, you should also enlist and combine to visit Malaysia if you have a lot of time because the transportation is quite convenient. You can take a plane, you can also take the train and then the bus through Woodland (Singapore) - Johor Bahru border (Malaysia).
Johor Bahru is a great destination for shoppers because there is a huge Johor Premium Outlets store that always sells off at attractive prices. There is also a children's amusement park Legoland, Hello Kitty Park and many other parks. Istana Besar Palace, Kampung Bendehara Night Market are also interesting places.
What should tourism in Singapore experience?
Singapore is a small country, but there are countless attractions, architecture, semi-wildlife parks and attractive designed entertainment programs. Coming to Singapore, in my opinion, you should definitely experience the following new really called "has come to Singapore".
Take photos with the Merlion - the national symbol of the lion island nation:
Famous for its legendary story in the history of forming the country, the Merlion mascot has been chosen by the Singaporeans as a national symbol and is extremely proud. Every visitor to Singapore, everyone checks in with the statue to commemorate the opportunity to visit the island nation.
Currently Singapore has all 5 statues, however, the largest, most famous and original statue of Merlion is 8.6m high, weighs 70 tons, located in Merlion Park, right on Marina Bay.
Take Hop On Hop Off Bus Singapore
Traveling to Singapore, an experience you should not miss is taking the Hop On Hop Off Bus Singapore tourist bus.
This car has 3 main routes with 3 color lines: Blue - red - yellow. Each stop of this car is an attraction, shopping or beautiful sights of Singapore. Experiencing this bus route, you will get an overview of the city's history as well as information about attractions via car audio.
Take Hop On Hop Off Bus Singapore
Have fun at Universal Studio Singapore
Universal Studio Singapore is the first world-class movie theme park in Southeast Asia. This park is an excellent reproduction of the Hollywood capital of light - a dream destination for moviegoers. This is also one of the indispensable tourist attractions when you have the opportunity to come to Singapore.
Visit Universal Studio Singapore - you will meet and take photos with your favorite cartoon characters, return to the childhood world, visit 7 exciting wonderland and have the opportunity to buy souvenirs nicely related to my favorite movie / character.
Watch the light show:
For me personally, Singapore is home to the most attractive lighting show of all the light shows I've watched. Especially the Wings Of The Time show - The Wings of Time is performed on an outdoor stage, on the coast of Sentosa Island.
The show has 2 shows every night, throughout the year. It was a show with a story, a prologue - a knot - a knot - a story with deep human meanings and interesting details. The story revolves around the friendship of Rachel and Felix with the bird Shahbaz - a prehistoric bird.
The vivid images created by the combination of light and water, the perfect music make Wings Of The Time extremely impressive.
Show Wings Of The Time
Visit the museum:
Although Vietnamese people do not have the habit of visiting the museum, this is really a point to see in Singapore. The museums of Singapore have very valuable collections and are especially designed and displayed in a very unique artistic style. The names can be mentioned as: ArtScience Museum, Maritime Museum, National Museum of Singapore, National Gallery Singapore ...
Visit a semi-wild park:
According to what the writer observes and learns, today, Singapore attaches great importance to preserving and developing nature parks. The reason is that the island nation is very poor in resources (basically nothing). In the process of development and territorial expansion also took hills and filled the sea, so the area of natural rain forest has gradually shrunk.
At the present time, Singapore is very invested in developing large-scale semi-wildlife parks, recreating natural landscapes and climates as well as plants from around the world. Visit one of these parks, you will witness firsthand the talented hands of Sing people as well as the investment in educational development, human development integrated into maintaining the green of nature. Some points to visit are Garden By The Bay, Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Zoo, Sea Aquarium, Night Safari, River Safari ...
Experience booking sightseeing tickets, show tickets: Before traveling to Singapore, you should plan the schedule and re-list the attractions you want to visit. Where you need to buy an entrance ticket, you should buy tickets in advance on the travel agency website to make sure there are seats and cheaper, more economical. Besides, the combo with shuttle cars to and from you will be more convenient for your trip.
Join Great Singapore Sale - GSS (Singapore Super Promotion Season)
As the leading shopping center in the region, Singapore concentrates on countless large shopping malls with many famous brands. Shopping malls include Orchard Road, Marina Bay Sands, Bugis and Haji Lane, Little India, Tiong Bahru, Tampines 1 and Queensway Shopping Center, VivoCity, Changi Airport, etc. .
However, the most notable point is that every year in this country there will be Great Singapore Sale - GSS (Singapore Super Promotion Season) will open extremely attractive promotions. Sale off sometimes discount up to 70%. Sale off items range from fashion clothes, shoes to jewelry, toys, electronics, spa packages, hotel rooms, entrance tickets ...
Enjoy Singapore Frog porridge:
A Singaporean simple but delicious dish, Singapore frog porridge is a very popular night dish in this country. To enjoy this dish, you can absolutely find at the street vendors that are open from the evening to the night. The most famous is the Geylang district frog porridge.
Because of its popularity, Singapore Frog porridge is now present in all neighboring countries, including Vietnam, but nowhere else does this dish taste as good as in Singapore.