describe the beauty of Singapore
Answers
Explanation:
1. A party like it's 1965
Question: Which was the coolest debut of 1965?
A) The Beatles release "Rubber Soul"
B) Actress Gong Li is born
C) Singapore achieves independence
There's a lot to love from '65, but if you answered "C," you'll want to stand tall amid the red and white flags waving at center stage this weekend when Singapore unleashes its Golden Jubilee birthday bash.
Celebratory events last the best part of the year, highlighted by the August 9 National Day Parade, with aerial stunts from the Air Force and a fireworks display we're told will make others look like cheap sparklers by comparison.
Destination: Singapore
2. An airport people love
Sunflower garden, Singapore's Changi airport
No joke. There's a sunflower garden in an airport.
Courtesy Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport is consistently voted the world's best airport in both industry and consumer polls. Among unexpected highlights there's an outdoor nature trail, swimming pool, movie theater, hawker-style food stalls, beauty and reflexology centers, children's play areas, sleeping areas and massage chairs all over the place. If only the flights were delayed more often.
3. Perfect place to workshop your veddy Bwiddish accent
Raffles Hotel sounds British and looks it. But it was conceived by three Armenian brothers, who wanted to ape the Brit style and attract wealthy 19th-century travelers.
Raffles became a hub of Singapore society and bolthole to stars from all over the world. Today it remains as posh as Victoria Beckham.
Raffles Hotel Singapore, 1 Beach Road, Singapore 189673 Singapore;
4. Best-ever crustacean dish
Chili crab was created in 1950 by Singaporean chef Cher Yaw Tian and her husband Lim Choon Ngee. It's since become the unofficial national dish of a food-loving nation. Restaurants and coffee shops serve it by the ton nightly.
The runner-up crustacean dish, Singapore's signature black pepper crab, would take center stage anywhere else.
5. Fashion Week for the rest of us
Unlike the official fashion weeks in Paris, Milan, London and New York, which are open only to media, buyers and celebs, Singapore Fashion Week sells tickets to the general public.
6. Cocktails beneath lantern-lit skies
Potato Head Folk is a newcomer to Singapore's rooftop bar scene.
Potato Head Folk is a newcomer to Singapore's rooftop bar scene.
courtesy potato head folk
Intimate, lantern-strewn bars dot rooftops from the Central Business District (Southbridge overlooking the river, Lantern Bar overlooking the bay) to Chinatown (The Rooftop Garden). With year-round balmy evenings, the city's many rooftop bars are open most nights, unlike in other cities where they close down once summer is over.
7. No waiting around
When it comes to public services, visitors seldom have to wait. Strict performance targets at the airport, for instance, mean travelers don't have to loiter around the luggage carousel.
The first bag off a wide-body airplane has to be on the carousel in 12 minutes; the last has to arrive within 30 minutes. It just gets quicker from there -- Singapore trains always run on time.
8. Sharing popcorn (among other things) simplified
At Gemini cinema, the comfy seats come two by two and with moveable arm rests, making a cozy space for couples.
9. English no one else understands
It never fails to amuse locals when foreigners try (and fail miserably) to use Singlish, Singapore's own animated colloquial slang. But that doesn't mean visitors shouldn't learn a couple of expressions.
When bargaining, you can say: "So expensive! Cheaper can? I no money lah."
Singlish is a blend of the country's many languages and dialects, including the Queen's English, Bahasa Melayu, Tamil, Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Bengali and Punjabi. While some Singaporeans frown on Singlish as an embarrassing crime against grammar, others see it as a colorful and unique expression of the nation's multiculturism.
10. Supertrees
They're even more super at night.
They're even more super at night.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images/file
Who needs photosynthesis? Singapore has 18 man-made "trees" between 25 and 50 meters tall, each loaded up with intricate vertical gardens. The colossal solar-powered supertrees are part of the 250-acre Gardens by the Bay. The evening light show gives you a neon appreciation for Singapore's unique relationship with nature.
11. A bridge to another world
Sentosa Island has sandy beaches, resort hotels, a marina, beach and yacht clubs, adventure parks and historic displays -- and it's reachable by bridge from mainland Singapore.
Singapore is an living hell. Please don't visit that city. If hell existed it should resemble something like Singapore. I spent 10 days there and my experience in that mess will haunt me for years to come.