Singapore’s small however idyllic shoreline © Jessica Palmer
Lonely Planet Pathfinder, Jessica Palmer of familyholidaydestinations.com, lately spent 11 days exploring Singapore together with her household. From the colourful hues of the Gardens by the Bay to the surprisingly tranquil East Coast Park seaside, listed below are her highlights…
Cities will not be often my factor. Regardless that they are often extremely vibrant and thrilling, I do not benefit from the lack of nature, contemporary air and, usually, cleanliness of the concrete jungle… Singapore nonetheless, is totally completely different! Singapore has nature, color and house. It has structure designed with greenery in thoughts, and gardens designed with therapeutic in thoughts. Singapore is fashionable, clear and pleasant. I got down to discover Singapore’s inexperienced areas with my younger household, and really shortly found that it actually does deserve the title of ‘Inexperienced Metropolis’, and is a improbable place to go to with youngsters!
Sci-fi film landscapes
This seems to be like one thing out of a sci-fi film, proper? It’s really the view from the Singapore Flyer two minutes earlier than the heavens opened! The Singapore Flyer is mainly an enormous Ferris wheel, or because it’s referred to as right here, an ‘commentary wheel’. You’re 101 acres of wonderful inexperienced lung proper within the coronary heart of Singapore – the well-known Gardens by the Bay. Hiding behind the rain haze is the South China Sea, filled with monumental ships carrying all kinds of issues.
Biking Pulau Ubin island
An inexpensive, ten-minute bumboat experience from Changi Level ferry terminal will take you to the island of Pulau Ubin. After stepping off the wharf into Pulau village, you may be greeted with a single avenue, lined with lots of of pushbikes for rent and loads of choices for youths. From right here we cycled on dust tracks by way of the jungle, passing cheeky little long-tail macaques rummaging by way of a bag they’d clearly stolen, earlier than lastly arriving at Chek Jawa Wetlands. Right here you’ll be able to stroll on a sturdy bridge over the mangrove wetlands, in addition to a coastal bridge over the ocean. If it’s low tide you’ll be able to see a number of marine life beneath the coastal bridge too.
Fort Canning Park
I got here throughout a building employee escaping the Singapore humidity by having a nap within the shade of this overgrown fort wall. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than his supervisor marched up the hill and advised him to get again to work! I had a bit chuckle to myself as, not for the primary time, I used to be reminded that some issues are the identical it doesn’t matter what nation you’re in.
Fort Canning Park is a stupendous inexperienced house on a hill that has witnessed a few of Singapore’s historic milestones. It was as soon as house to the palaces of 14th century kings, in addition to the headquarters of the Far East Command Centre and British Military Barracks. In 1942, a choice was made to give up Singapore to the Japanese within the underground tunnels and bunkers generally known as Battlebox, which now you can go to through a tour.
Seashore life
That is Singapore’s East Coast Park, and while the seaside is not any French Polynesia, it’s nonetheless good and clear with loads of sand and ocean. The seafront park stretches for 15km and has coconut palms, bushland, overgrown timber, and plenty of inexperienced grass. There’s additionally an superior youngsters park and restaurant space, in addition to a paved strolling monitor that cyclists and skaters make the most of.
Jacob Ballas Kids’s Backyard
The Jacob Ballas Kids’s Backyard is severely superb! It’s positioned on the Singapore Botanic Gardens and is a superb instance of how Singapore caters to little folks. Chock filled with greenery, the backyard in some way manages to mix each enjoyable and studying, with a hedge maze, water play space, playground, impediment course, zip-line and a potting and sensory backyard. The youngsters actually loved being allowed to the touch and odor the completely different herbs and vegetation within the sensory backyard, and, to be trustworthy, I did too!
The Cloud Forest Dome
The Cloud Forest Dome is out of this world! This three-storey waterfall is what you’re greeted with upon entry, and a sequence of pathways (and escalators and elevators should you want) take you to the highest and again down once more with completely different zones and gardens alongside the way in which. An enormous bonus is that each this dome and the flower dome are cooled, which is a welcome reduction from Singapore’s humidity!
Do you like to put in writing about your travels? Or maybe Instagram is your factor? Discover out extra about how one can contribute to Lonely Planet right here.
