The Merlion Park – when you see the Merlion Statue, then you definitely are in Singapore. The Merlion, the ones that never stops spitting tons of water daily, is the official symbol of the Singapore Tourism Board, and obviously becomes one of the most visited and photographed icon in Singapore. The Merlion Park where the Merlion statue stands is located beside the Singapore River and is large enough on its 2,500 square meter area. It has a viewing deck that accommodates up to 300 people. Food will never be a problem when in the park because nearby is the One Fullerton that houses many restaurants and bars. If you want to stay nearby the Merlion Park, the historic Fullerton Hotel is always ready to accommodate.

The Marina Square – an old one yet has all what it takes for your shopping craving indulgence. The Marina Square is one of the older malls in Singapore with a land area of 700,000 square feet. In this gigantic complex, you can see a vast variety of products from movies, to fast foods, to pharmacies, to world’s famous retails brands and more. With the numerous products mentioned, the Marina square is not only one of the older malls that has all what it takes, but also hailed as one of the biggest malls in Singapore.

The Millenia Walk – if you are into shopping for known brands, then you must proceed to the Millenia Wallk. Consider as the home for world’s famous brands flagship stores, you can see at the Millenia Walk some of the Australian chain store like the Harvery Norman, the German brewery Paulaner Brauhaus, renowned fashion brands Fendi and Guess, and a whole lot more. In addition, the Millenia Walk also has the Time Square that offers an entertainment concept called the Park and Dine. In the event, you will see various high end dining brands all together in one on a private street. If you want to stay near The Millenia Walk, the Conrad Centennial and the Pan Pacific Hotel are located nearby.

The Esplanade – located at the mouth of the Singapore River, the Esplanade is home to many of the Singapore’s excellent performing arts community. The building’s structure is reminiscent to Sydney Opera House, but the locals of Singapore jokingly refers it as the” Durian” as it looks like the local fruit Durian. The Esplanade can accommodate up to 1,600 people for concerts and 2,000 people for theater. Aside from the theater and concert hall, the Esplanade also houses the Esplanade Mall wherein visitors will be able to see numerous restaurants and shops around. The Esplanade Park is also located nearby and it features numerous monuments like the Cenotaph, the Indian National Army Monument, and the Lim Bo Seng Memorial.

The Singapore Flyer – as the tallest observation wheel in the world, riding on this wonderful wheel will give you the chance to have a scenic view of the city and it neighboring countries Malaysia and Indonesia right in your own air-conditioned cabin, which is just 541 feet above the ground. Amounting to only $29.50 per adult, one can already have 30 minutes of adventure. Located in 30 Raffles Avenue Singapore 039803, getting there has never been easy with a ride in the MRT North South Line and getting off at the Marina Bay Station.

Climb Adventure – love outdoor adventure but done indoor or shall we say, love wall climbing? Then the Climb Adventure is the best place to be. Everyone can be like spider man with the various climbing walls for different skill levels the Climb Adventure has. Walls are housed in an air-conditioned environment, which is by far safer and more fun. You never have to worry if you are a newbie in wall climbing because Climb Adventure’s friendly and well-versed instructors are also available and much more willing to provide you with some helpful tips in wall climbing. For only SGD 13.00 or SGD for a family pass of 2 adults and 2 children, one can already have their adventure Mondays thru Friday 10:00am to 10:pm and up to 6:00 on weekends and holidays.

Wild Wild Wet – every member of your family will surely enjoy in this biggest water park in Singapore. This fun attraction has giant water slides, liquid roller coasters, and river rides galore. What is great from this water park is that safety is considered first and they provide life jackets to kids for use inside the park. Dining has never been a problem with KFC and Pizza Hut around. For only SGD12.90 and SGD8.80 for adults and children respectively, your family can already have a wet and fun adventure while holidaying in Singapore.

Escape Theme Park – this is the perfect place for adventure to those who are a big fan of theme parks and the rides around it. The Escape Theme Park in Singapore has seventeen rides like Ferris wheel, roller coaster, go-kart races and many more. One can also have a fun walk-through a haunted house to the highest log flume in Asia. Admission will only cost each visitor SGD16.50 and SGD8.30 for adults and children ages 3-12 years old respectively. Family passes of 2 adults and 2 children is only SGD40.00.  The park is open from 10am to 8pm on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays and is closed the rest of the week.

What the Singapore Zoo made unique with the other zoo around is its having a concept of an open zoo. Cages are almost invisible to the eyes of the zoo goers. One great example of it is the deep moats surrounding the bigger land animals that are concealed by vegetation. Another one is the glass enclosures that kept the expert climbers animals like the jaguars and the snakes. In this way of zoo keeping, visitors can freely observe their favorite animals or even take pictures on it without the distraction of the traditional cage bars.

Another one great thing that a visitor can do in Singapore Zoo is their freedom to participate in feeding some of the species inside the zoo that will surely create a wonderful experience to both the visitors and the animals alike. Another fun thing during feeding time is when the zookeeper make some show while feeding the animals.

Singapore Zoo Activities

Aside from watching the animals move and roam around their habitats, the Singapore Zoo also has some activities or shows that adds up the fun experience of the visitors.

Hamadryas Baboons Exhibit – with just a few Singaporean dollars, visitors can already have their cup of fresh fruit slices to throw at about eighty baboons that are surrounded by watery moat and glass walls, which they come face to face.

The Splash Amphitheatre – in this show, the pelican, Californian sea lions, jackass penguins, and Caribbean manatees performs for the enjoyment of the zoo goers.

The Elephants At Work And Play Show – in this show, the zookeepers at the Elephants of Asia shows how the Elephants are put to work at the logging camps in Southeast Asia.

The Zoo is open all year round at 8:30am to 6:00pm daily with the last submission at 5:30pm. Tickets are sold at S$18.00 at children ages 3 to 12 at S$9.00.

The zoo is located at 80 Mandai Lake Road, Singapore 729826. Getting is possible by driving your own car or by hailing a taxicab, or by taking a bus, by mass rapid transit, by bus hub service, by city tours, or by multimedia theme park express.

Singapore is one of the top destinations for holidaying for tourists from all over the world. They have great attractions and sumptuous local foods that every traveler loves. Known as the paradise for food lovers, Singapore has a lot to offer to its tourists when it comes to food. If you are planning to have a grandiose holiday vacation in Singapore but do not have the idea yet as to which place to go to indulge your cravings for Singapore’s local foods, the Hawker Center is the answer to your question. Here is where the delicacies from all places meet under one roof. When it comes to local foods of Singapore, listed below are some of the top places to go.

The Chinatown Complex Center – this is the favorite place to eat by the locals of Singapore. Located right at the heart of Chinatown, this place offer various local Singapore foods from Char Kway Teow, a local fried noodle to Ice Kachang, a renowned local ice dessert. Chinatown Complex Center can be crowded during lunchtime, but it is really worth the time and money to fill your hungry tummy here.

The Maxwell Food Center – located at Maxwell Road in Singapore, here is where most of the office going buddies of Singapore hangout for foods. The place is known for its best Hawker Food in Singapore especially their deliciously unique black-peppered Char Siew Rice, Hainese Chicken Rice, and their Tapioca Pastries.

The Zion River Side Food Center – a place where many of the expats lived nearby, the Zion Riverside Food Center is a great place to fill in your empty stomach. They served numerous foods from Indian Rojak, a spicy Indian dish of mixed vegetable and fruit salad, to fish and chips, to sweet Asian dessert, to a lushly smooth soy bean curd, to a serving of wok-seared char kway teow.

Te Lau Pa Sat Festival Market – catering mostly to the office crowd, the Te Lau Pa Sat Festival Market closed toe Boon Tat Road at dusk. This is to make way for the pushcarts hawking the tarik or the hand-pulled milk tea, barbecued meats, and seafood line the street and provide a fresco dining experience at its best to its local and foreign customers. Here is where you can have an indulgence of cheap and delicious local Singapore foods. Eating with your own manner is very welcome. Thus, dinners can eat with their hands and so on.

Newton Food Center – located along within the city’s vicinity, the Newton Food Center is the favorite place to dine by many of the expats, locals, and foreign travelers in Singapore. This food center serves a variety of Singaporean Cuisine and was promoted by the Singapore Tourism Board as a tourist attraction. Foods serve in this place varies from fishball noodles, popiah satay, and fried oyster omelets.

When holidaying in Singapore, travelers will never be hungry while roaming around the city’s known tourist attractions and destinations with the numerous food outlets around.

Cafes – eating places like this is now a growing favorite of many young working crowd of Singapore. You can see in Singapore numerous designer coffee places in Singapore including the Starbucks Coffee, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Coffee Club. These known designer coffee places have become the favorite place to hang out with friend by many of the locals and tourists alike in Singapore.

Coffee Shops – aside from the designer coffee places, Singapore also has many affordable coffee shops that can be found in many of the housing estates in the city and are normally located at the ground floor of an apartment. Till to date, many of the Singaporean gather together in coffee shops to have their thick, black local coffee that are served in a porcelain cup while reading their newspaper or chatting with friends or even playing their favorite game of checkers. These coffee shop are the perfect place to have a cheap dose of coffee.

Fast food – started to come in Singapore in the late 70s, fast food chains are now becoming a favorite place to dine for kids and teenagers.  When in Singapore and their local foods does not fits your taste buds, then these fast food chains like Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, MOS Burger and many more are the best places to be.

Hawker Center and Food Courts – hawker center and food courts are definitely the choice of many locals, expats, and tourists alike when it comes to dining in Singapore. One can easily find cheap yet delicious local Singapore food from these dining places. When you say food courts, these are located in air-conditioned malls and are a bit expensive. The choices though vary from Italian to Korean to Japanese to Greek cuisine, which is a perfect choice for those who love these cuisines. Listed below are some known hawkers that many of the locals, expat, and tourist of Singapore flock for dining.

• Adam Road Food Center in Junction of Dunearn Road and Adam Road
• Chomp Chomp Food Center in Serangoon Garden
• Lau Pa Sat Food Center in Boon Tat Street, Shenton Way, Robinson Road
• Newton Circus Food Center in Newton Circus, entrance at Cavenagh Road
• Zion road Riverview Food Center that is located in Zion Road that is directly opposite to the Great World City.

Restaurants – these places for dining ranges from the cheaper ones to the informal ones like the Spaggedies or La Smorfia for a delicious Italian foods and Ponderosa for sumptuous Western cuisines to the most expensive ones like The Pinnacle.

It is important to know that whatever your budget maybe or the kind of occasion you have, you will certainly find a place to dine in Singapore.

Chili Crab and Black Pepper Crab – Singapore’s unofficial national dish, the Chili Crab and Black Pepper Crab had its first version in the 1950s with the vendor named Madam Cher Yam Tian who has a hawker stall on the seashore that is now the East Coast Seafood Center where restaurants cook chili crab every night.

When you visit Singapore and wanted to have a good taste of their sumptuous Chili Crab and Black Pepper Crab, you can easily head on to these highly recommended stores.

Jumbo Seafood – located at Blk 1206 East Coast Parkway, this restaurant serves huge and juicy crabs that are topped with a deliciously made spicy sauce. With their delicious Chili Crab, the Jumbo Seafood gets easily crowded on weekends to the point that managers communicate via radio microphone.

Long Beach Seafood Restaurant – is another great restaurant in Singapore that serve a sumptuous Black Pepper Crab. They are using the Sri Lankan crabs that are super meaty served with their fragrant black pepper sauce and butter. The Long Beach Seafood Restaurant is located in 1018 East Parkway, which is just right next to Singapore Tennis Center. They also have a store in 01-04 East Coast Seafood Center, and 1202 East Coast Parkway.

No Sign Board Seafood – located in 414 Geylang Road, which is next to Lorong 24, this one of a kind seafood serves black or white pepper crabs as well as lovely oats prawns and plain steamed live prawns with garlic. You will see in this popular eatery bunch of large groups and family eating.

Palm Beach Seafood Restaurant – this another great restaurant of Singapore is located in 01-08 One Fullerton, 1 Fullerton Road and serves their patrons with a vast variety of crabs and fish preparations. You can choose to have your food cravings indulgence here whilst enjoying the scenic view while dining.

Aside from the Chili Crab and Black Pepper Crab that considered as Singapore’s unofficial national food, the country has also a lot of different delicious food to boast of like the Hainese Chicken Rice that is available in Boon Tonh Kee, Yet Con, and Long Kee Chicken Rice amongst other restaurants. Another top Singaporean cuisine is the Satay, which can be easily availed in some recommended restaurants like the Lau Pa Sat Satay stalls, Shi Xiang Sha Die, and Warong Sudi Mampir. Aside from the ones mentioned, there are still a lot that you can explore when in Singapore.

We all know that dumpling is one of the known dishes of our Chinese brothers and sisters and is now becoming one of the favorites anywhere in the world. If you want to see different variety of dumplings, then you must visit Singapore on June of each year to witness the largest and the longest Dumpling Fair ever.

The excitement of the Dumpling Festival does not end with the widest array of dumplings. Tourists can also proceed to the Singapore River to witness the powerful rowers rowing their dragon boats to the pounding beat of drums.

In addition, if you want to witness the highlight of the festival, then proceeding to the Albert Mall is advisable to witness the active teams of rollerblades wearing a dragon-like costume as they race down and clear numerous obstacles along the mall.

If you love dumplings but missed to visit Singapore during the festival, you need not to worry because dumplings in Singapore is available the whole year round.

The Deepavali or the Festival of Lights happens between the solar months of October and November. The festival celebration starts in as early as 2am while the fire walking starts at 4pm. The festival is celebrated fro five days.

On day one, the Dhan Teras is celebrated, while on the second day, the Naraka Teras is celebrated. On the third day of the celebration is when the Deepavali is celebrated, and on the fourth day, the Varsha Pratipada that signifies the beginning of the New Year is celebrated and finally the Bhayyaduj took place on the fifth day.

If you want to have a glance of the Indian Culture, then you must be visiting Little India in Singapore between the months of October to November to witness the Deepavali Festival. Aside from the street parade and the fireworks, the streets of Little India will also be filled with various goods from spices to Indian traditional costumes, wherein every tourist will be given the chance to buy.

Happening every January or February each year in Singapore’s Orchard Road, the Chingay Parade is full of colorful and enchanting performances from performers hat came from not only in Singapore but from all around the globe. Lately a greatest addition to the performances during the event is the eye-catching performances of the professional female rock band that brings a storm to the whole event.

Aside from the parade, the festive event continues in the evening with numerous variety shows, performances form local and foreign performers, parties, and more.

In the coming year, for the Chingay Parade 2010, tickets are already available for sale and the details are available on the events’ official website.

If you are planning to visit Singapore, January to February is the best time to visit the country because of the grandest celebration “The Chingai Parade” that they have. This colorful event will surely make your travel to Singapore a very memorable one. In addition, it will not only let you enjoy the event, it will eventually allow you to feel or educate you with the Chinese tradition and how do they celebrate the Chinese New Year.

The festival highlights the Mooncake Fair wherein stalls all throughout the streets of Chinatown offer variety of delicious mooncakes and other items like ornamental lanterns, fruits, pastries, and souvenirs, which is perfect for visitors and foreigners as their souvenir gifts items to their friends and family back home. What is nice about the mooncake fair is that, these delicious cakes are now available fro sale not only to Chinese and Singaporeans but also to other race as well because it is now a “halal” food.

Another great featured activity during the Lantern Festival is the eye catching Children’s Lantern Parade. The parade consists hundreds of children with their colorful Chinese lanterns parading down the streets of Chinatown.

If you have plans to visit and have your holiday vacation spent in Singapore, the months of September or October is a great time to visit the country for you to have the chance to witness their fun filled and colorful lantern festival.