XLH's VirtualTourist Home Page

Well, I've left this page empty long enough, so here's a little something about me and this little country i'm born and live in.
Tourists, when they visit Singapore, tend to be in awe of how clean, green, orderly, and modern it is, with our tall skyscrapers, high-tech facilities and amenities and so on. Hence , when they visit, they usually go for picture taking at the Merlion, maybe have a drink at the bar at Equinox, and visit Chinatown. Locals engage in the above as well, of course, but Singapore has much more to see and i've got to admit, i'm just beginning to appreciate what our own tiny island has to offer. Read on and tell me if you disagree?

Well, where do we start? I guess a little bit of history would be appropriate. Sngapore's modern history started from 1819, when Sir Stamford Raffles landed on our shores and proceeded to make this a strategic outpost of the British Empire. It was at the centre of a trade route between China and Europe, where traders from these countries would sell their silk (Chinese) for western medicine etc. Lots of buildings from this era and later still stands, and they are about the oldest buildings left standing in Singapore. It includes the Central Fire Station (which now houses a Museum, pictured here), Empress Place Building, Old Parliament House, Victoria Theatre, Supreme Court and City Hall. At the centre of all these is the Padang, a rugby/soccer field where the National Day Parade is sometimes held, and can all be reached within walking distance, with the nearest MRT station being City Hall.

Notice the emphasis on the S. Singapore is a tropical island itself, but on the mainland, one tends to feel more of the cold, emotion-less, and character-less concrete buildings. Get off the mainland, however, and one can feel the more relaxed, laid-back and wild atmosphere of South East Asia.
Off the northeastern coast of Singapore lies Pulau Ubin, where there still is wildlife like otters, monitor lizards, boars, and hornbills to be found. It also has Chek Jawa, a tidal flat where marine life can be investigated, and the whole island can be explored on a 1 day cycling trip. Off the south are a few notable islands with pristine waters and quite abundant marine life (which of course, cannot be compared to Tioman or Phi Phi). They include Sisters Islands, St. John's Island (linked to Lazarus Island), Pulau Hantu and Kusu Island. These can be explored as day trips as well, with picnics, swimming, and trekking being the most sensible things to do there, or of course, you could just choose to bring a hammock and sway with the wind?

And now, we come to the present, looking at the buildings through the eyes of a local (yours truly, of course). I thought the most striking feature of our 'skyline' has to be The Esplanade, home of the performing arts. It is in the shape of a durian (in the local context) but yet is made of glass such that it looks futuristic(unfortunately, it is just behind the trees in this picture). Then, there are those high-rise buildings that keep scraping the sky, (to be continued...)