Singapore
History Though much of the earliest history of singapore is lost, many chinese in the third century called it Pu-Lo-Chung or the Island at the End of the Peninsula but later to be known as Temasek or The Sea Town when the first of its settlements settled from 1298-1299 AD. During the 14th century, according to legend, the island got a new name, which was Singapura (The Lion City), derived from the sanskrit words Simha (Lion) and Pura (City) when a prince from Palemberg named Sang Nila Utama, came on a hunting trip and saw a lion for the first time. Later the city was ruled by five kings. The city was a natural meeting point for sea routes and flourished as a trading post for many vessels like Chinese junks, Arab dhows, Portuguese battleships, and Buginese Schooners
Map - Political
Map - Physical
Later during the 19th century is when modern Singapore came into fruition. At the time, the british were looking for a port in the region to base its merchant fleets and forestall any advance made by the Dutch and singapore seemed ideal. On January 29th, 1819 a man named Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles landed in Singapore. Raffles saw the potential the island had and negotiated a treaty with the island s leaders and established Singapore as a trading station. The island grew in popularity as a major trading hub, attracting many immigrants from china, India, and many other places. In 1882 Raffles implemented the Raffles town plan to address the growing issue of disorderliness. Singapore continued to develop as a trading hub, establishing several banks, commercial associations, and Chambers of Commerce and in 1924, a causeway opened linking the northern part of singapore and Johor Bahru.
Later, Singapore s prosperity ended when it was attacked by the japanese during WWll. The attackers confused the british commanders by attacking from the north as they expected an attack by sea from the south. The allied forces eventually surrendered to the Japanese. It was the largest surrender of british led forces in history. Later when the Japanese surrendered in 1945, the island was given to the british military administration which remained in power until the dissolution of the Straits Settlement comprising Penang, Melaka and Singapore. In April 1946, Singapore became a British Crown Colony.
In 1959, with the rise of nationalism, the country led itself to self government and the country s first general election. Lee Kuan Yew became the first prime minister of Singapore. Later in 1963 Malaysia was formed, comprising of the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo. The move was meant to foster closer ties, however, Singapore s merging proved unsuccessful, and less than two years later on 9 August 1965, it left Malaysia to become an independent and sovereign democratic nation. Now today, much of the nation s colonial and wartime is preserved through monuments, memorials, and museums.
Culture Due to the country s history as a trade hub, it has many diverse cultures that inhabit it including chinese, Malay, and much european, which also influence many aspects about the country s lifestyles like food, spoken languages, music, and practiced religions, with pieces of all these cultures combined to influence all of these cultural aspects in Singapore.
Major Attractions- Entertainment Universal Studios - One of its many locations set in Singapore. A movie themed amusement park with rides themed after many hit movies of different genres Chinatown - Built to commemorate the heavy influence of chinese culture on Singapore. Full of small shops, authentic food, and religious temples,singapore s Chinatown is as close to china you can get without going to china.
Major Attractions - Entertainment Singapore Zoo - Considered the world s best rainforest zoo. Is clean and good looking with well kept animals of all different kinds. Also allows breakfast with their famous orangutans. MegaZip Adventure - An amusement park full of fun obstacle courses, ziplines, climbing, trampolines, and para jumping
Major Attractions - Entertainment Orchard Road - A world-class city for designer shopping with 22 malls and 6 department stores, there are high-end stores every turn. There are also four movie theaters, including an IMAX, and a KTV karaoke. Clarke Quay - A busy hub with waterfront dining and entertainment. Also has river taxis and cruises
Major Attractions - Entertainment Marina Bay Sands - A resort with many things to do like see museums, parks, gardens, and many more Night Safari - A night to zoo with tram rides a walking trails through rainforests, full of elephants tigers, leopards, and more
Major Atrractions - Historical Raffles Hotel - One of the last grand 19th century hotels visited by literary luminaries such as Rudyard Kipling and Joseph Conrad, as well as movie star Charlie Chaplin. Has excellent food and service Buddah Tooth Relic Temple & Museum a chinese style temple built in china town. Shows culture and history of buddhists.
Major Attractions - Historical Changi Museum - An old prison used by the japanese during WWll converted to a museum for some of Singapore s wartime history Kranji War Memorial - a memorial dedicated to soldiers who died during WWl
Major Attractions - Historical Chijmes - An old chapel, used to be dedicated to the covenant of the holy infant Jesus Istana - An old government house, now the residence of the president of singapore and location of prime minister s office
Major Attractions - Historical St. Andrew s Cathedral - A old cathedral used as a hospital during Japanese occupation National Museum of Singapore - The oldest museum in singapore, holds much of the country s history.
Major Attractions - Natural Gardens by the Bay - A huge and beautiful garden with different sections each showing beautiful plant life National Orchid Garden - A garden good for experiencing singapore s natural side
Major Attractions - Natural Eco Garden - A garden used as a natural living laboratory Chinese Garden - A garden showcasing many different beautiful bonsai trees
Major Attractions - Natural Eco Lake - A gorgeous, natural lake. A good place to sit and enjoy nature Singapore Botanic Gardens - A huge garden with over 60,000 species of plants and animals and home to the world s first children s garden
Major Attractions - Natural Gustafson Porter - A leaf shaped garden, is tropical with water sports and cultural facilities Sungei Buloh - A wetlands reserve and nature park known for all the migrating birds
Major Attractions - Unique Urban Redevelopment Authority Office - Responsible for the country s physical development. The 1st floor is open to the public and shows miniature models of the city. Haw Par Villa - A park housing hundreds of statues and dioramas depicting chinese mythology
Major Attractions - Unique The Animal Resort - A zoo where visitors can freely play with and feed the animals. Tiger Beer Brewery - For $16 you can drink all the beer you can and get a tour of thr facility
Major Attractions - Unique Jurong East Sports Complex - A large pool complex with competitive swimming, lazy pools and water slides Albert St - A street filled vendors selling many different items, and surrounding buildings are malls for more places to shop at
Major Attractions - Unique Singapore Flyer - The tallest ferris wheel in the world, takes 30 minutes to finish one rotation. Merlion Statue - An iconic statue in singapore. Is 8.5m tall and shoos water from its mouth
Thematic Maps
Sources http://www.mapsofworld.com/singapore/culture.html http://www.yoursingapore.com/meet-know-singapore.html.html http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/singapore-sin.htm http://www.littledayout.com/listing/eco-lake-singapore-botanic-gardens4fe483c2c953e.html http://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-singapore/ http://hubpages.com/travel/singapore-unconventional-places