Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
146
Telok Blangah Hill; this is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore, offering great views
over the city. It's also a beautiful piece of design in its o wn right, weaving like a ribbon
over the treetops and featuring a cur ved wooden deck that rises in places to r esemble a
breaking wav e, cr eating shelter ed ar eas with seating. The H enderson Waves lead to a
forest walk with an elev ated pedestrian walkway and cy cling trails thr ough the Telok
Blangah Hill Park. You can take bus numbers 131, 145, 176, or 648 to Henderson Road
and walk up the hill, but it 's more fun to take the MR T to Harbourfront and then the
cable car to Mount Faber, and walk from there.
Mount Faber Park entrance is from Telok Blangah Rd. or Henderson Rd ., or via Harbour front MRT/cable
car.
&
800/471-7300.
www.nparks.gov.sg. Free admission. Daily 24 hr. Bus no. 131, 145, 176, or 648 t o
Henderson Rd., or MRT to Harbourfront and then cable car to Mount Faber.
CENTRAL & NORTHERN SINGAPORE ATTRACTIONS
The northern part of Singapore contains most of the island 's nature reserves and parks.
Here's where you'll find the Singapore Zoo, in addition to some sights with historical and
religious significance. D espite the pr esence of the
MRT
in the ar ea, ther e is not any
simple way to get from attraction to attraction with ease. Bus transfers to and from MRT
stops are the way to go—or y ou could stick to taxicabs.
Kong Meng S an Phor Kark S ee Temple
The largest r eligious complex on the
island, this place, called P hor Kark See for short, is comprised of pray er and meditation
halls, a hospice, gardens, and a vegetarian restaurant. The largest building is the Chinese-
style Hall of Great Compassion. There is also the octagonal H all of Great Virtue and a
towering pagoda. For S50¢ (US35¢/20p), you can buy flower petals to place in a dish at
the Buddha's feet. Compared to other temples on the island, Phor Kark See seems shiny,
having only been built in 1981. As a r esult, the r eligious images inside carr y a strange,
almost artificial, cartoonlike air about them.
88 Bright Hill Dr., located in the center of the island to the east of Bukit Panjang Nature Preserve (Bright
Hill Dr. is off Ang Mo Kio Ave.).
&
65/6453-4046.
Take MRT to Bishan, then take bus no. 410.
Kranji War Memorial
Kranji Cemetery commemorates the Allied men and women
who fought and died in World War II. Prisoners of war in a camp nearby began a burial
ground here, and after the war it was enlarged to provide space for all the casualties. The
Kranji War Cemetery is the site of 4,000 graves of servicemen, while the Singapore State
Cemetery memorializes the names of over 20,000 who died and hav e no known graves.
Stones are laid geometrically on a slope with a view of the Strait of Johor. The memorial
itself is designed to represent the three arms of the ser vices.
Woodlands Rd., located in the very northern part of the island. Daily 7am-6pm. Kranji MRT.
7
Lian Shan Shuang Lin Temple
This temple, in E nglish “the Twin Groves of the
Lotus Mountain Temple,” has a gr eat stor y behind its founding. O ne night in 1898,
Hokkien businessman Low Kim Pong and his son had the same dream²of a golden light
shining from the west. The following day, the two went to the western shore and waited
until, moments before sundown, a ship appeared carrying a group of Hokkien Buddhist
monks and nuns on their way to China after a pilgrimage to ndia. Low Kim Pong vowed
to build a monastery if they would stay in S ingapore. They did.
Laid out according to feng shui principles, the buildings include the D harma Hall, a
main prayer hall, and dr um and bell to wers. They are arranged in
cong lin
style, a rar e
type of monastery design with a universal layout so that no matter how vast the grounds
are, any monk can find his way around. The entrance hall has granite wall panels carved
