Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
Chinese New Year (Jan/Feb; two days) Chinese operas
and dragon dances in Chinatown.
Thaipusam (Jan/Feb) Watch Hindu devotees pierce their
own flesh with elaborate steel cages and walk from the Sri
Srinivasa Perumal Temple to the Chettiar Hindu Temple.
Singapore Food Festival (July) Singapore celebrates its
oldest pastime.
Festival of the Hungry Ghosts (July) Catch a free
performance of a Chinese opera, or wayang, in which
characters act out classic Chinese legends.
Moon Cake Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival (July-Aug).
Celebrate with children's lantern parades after dark in the
Chinese Gardens.
Birthday of the Monkey God (Sept) Similar to
Thaipusam but on a smaller scale. Best witnessed at the
Monkey God Temple on Seng Poh Rd.
Navarathiri (Oct) The Chettiar and Sri Mariamman Hindu
Temples stage classical dance and music.
Thimithi (Oct) Watch Hindu devotees running across a pit
of hot coals.
Deepavali/Diwali (Oct/Nov) The Hindu festival celebrat-
ing the victory of Light over Dark is marked by the lighting
of oil lamps outside homes.
SINGAPORE RIVER, ISLAND
AND HARBOUR CRUISES
Fleets of cruise boats ply Singapore's
southern waters every day and night. The
best of these, the Singapore River
Cruises ( T 6336 6111, W rivercruise.com
.sg), cast off from a number of jetties
around the city, including Clarke Quay,
Boat Quay, Esplanade and Merlion Park
(daily 9am-10pm; every 10min). Cruises
on a traditional bumboat (S$20 for 40min)
take you past the old godowns upriver
where traders once stored their
merchandise. A boat cruise by night is
particularly spectacular.
or the Arab Quarter , whose cluttered
shops sell fine cloths and perfumes.
The Colonial District
As the colony's trade grew, the Singapore
River became its main artery, clogged
with traditional cargo “bumboats”, which
ferried coffee, sugar and rice to the
godowns , or warehouses. A handful still
remain, offering trips downriver and
around Marina Bay (see box above). he
lower end of North Boat Quay is marked
with a statue of Stamford Ra es,
Singapore's founder. Singapore River
cruise boats depart from a tiny jetty a few
steps along from the statue. North of the
statue is the dignified white Victorian
building of the Old Parliament House,
formerly a private dwelling for a rich
merchant and now a centre for the arts,
he Arts House (see p.691).
Downtown
Singapore
Ever since Sir Stamford Ra es first
landed on its northern bank, in 1819,
the area around the Singapore River,
which strikes into the heart of the island
from the south coast, has formed the
hub of Singapore. All the city's central
districts lie within a 3km radius of the
mouth of the river - which makes
Downtown Singapore an extremely
convenient place to wander around.
Asian Civilisations Museum and
around
At the Asian Civilisations Museum
(daily10am-7pm, Sun until 9pm; S$8;
W acm.org.sg), housed in a robust
Neoclassical building, each of the ten
themed galleries is devoted to the art and
culture of a particular region of Asia,
including China and the Islamic World.
It's a fascinating introduction to the
region, from its prehistory to the advent
of its Islamic civilization and beyond,
with interactive exhibits and exquisite
items, such as a sensuously modelled hai
Walking Buddha, Islamic calligraphy,
WHAT TO SEE AND DO
he entire state is compact enough to be
explored exhaustively in just a few days.
Forming the core of downtown Singapore
is the Colonial District , around whose
public buildings and lofty cathedral
the island's British residents used to
promenade. Each surrounding enclave
has its own distinct flavour, from the
aromatic spice stores of Little India to
the tumbledown backstreets of
Chinatown , where it's still possible to
find calligraphers and fortune-tellers,
 
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