Lion | Hello from the Five Star Vagabond

Singapore Island Lion City

June 25, 2014 by David Herd

Singapore-Lion-city-Marine-bay-Sands-Resort-Fullarton

Singapore Island Lion City, the name Singapore is derived from the Malay word Singapura or (Sanskrit, literally Lion City), hence the customary reference to the nation as the Lion City.

Art Science Museum

Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the iconic lotus design features 10 ‘fingers’ or ‘petals’ each revealing different gallery spaces, with skylights illuminating the dramatically curved interior walls.

Marina Bay Sands Resort

Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. Developed by Las Vegas Sands, it is the world’s most expensive building, at US$ 5.7 billion, including the cost of the prime land.

View from the Ritz Carlton

Marina Bay Sands dominates much of the Singapore skyline, this view is from the front door of the Ritz Carlton.

Towards the end of construction

One of the world’s most amazing developments in Singapore Asia’s Lion City.

Singapore Island Lion City

My friend Hamish Elton took this from the 70th floor at Equinox restaurant in April 2016. Equinox is rated 48th out of 7,819 by TripAdvisor.

Spectacular at night

It’s difficult to decide what is more spectacular, night or day. The Equinox is on the 70th floor of the Swissotell The Stamford. Use this link to book a room and get a huge discount, you will probably pay around $215 usd.

Singapore Skyline

Very few cities in the world have as many modern skyscrapers as the Lion City, Singapore.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel

The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore is a stunning jewel-like addition to the dazzling Marina Bay waterfront. Alongside spectacular views of the bay and Singapore skyline, the Hotel provides legendary service and embodies contemporary luxury and refined elegance.

View from The Fullerton Bay pool

Here I am at the Fullerton Bay pool which has a stunning view of Marina Bay Sands Resort.

The Fullerton Bay Hotel

This is Lantern At One Fullerton at the Fullerton Bay, nice place to see the great view of Marina Bay Sands Resort, drinks are very expensive & the beers were not cold enough. $19 a beer & for a white wine, a 3 pm the price drops 20%.

My friends at the Fullerton Bay Hotel

Anne, Steven & Mary at the Fullerton Bay Hotel, very expensive drinks & warm beer.

Marina Bay map

Chinatown

The area between Pagoda Street and Smith Street has been tarted up considerably for tourists, but workaday Chinatown continues south and east, merging seamlessly into the Central Business District. Tanjong Pagar is the unofficial home of Singapore’s gay community, with many watering holes in restored shop-houses, while Club Street caters more to the expat and yuppie crowd with small, intimate eateries offering excellent (if pricey) Western fare.

Buddha Temple

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (BTRTM) is a religious and cultural institution in Singapore’s Chinatown. It houses a relic said to be a tooth from Buddha. The BTRTM is dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha and was built for the veneration of the relic, to promote Buddhist culture and education, and provide welfare services to the public.

Singapore condo

According Annual Report 2013, out of 3.818 million resident population (Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, as June 2012), 3.166 millions live in HDB apartments, this means 83% (non-residents are not allowed to own HDB apartments but they can live in apartments owned by a resident spouse, also they are allowed to own apartments in private condominiums taller than 6 storeys but not landed houses or apartments in low-rise condominiums). This means average family size of 3.42 residents per apartment and 27.4 sqm per person. For comparison, in 1968 were in average 6.2 people per apartment (average flat size I estimate around 40 sqm). Many HDB owners are renting rooms or entire flat to foreigners, there are NO official statistics about how many non-residents live in HDB apartments. According Yearbook of Statistics 2010, Singapore population including non-residents is 5076700 living in 1180500 dwelling units (HDBs, condos, private flats, landed houses, others), of which 76.3% are HDBs, this means a nationwide average of 4.30 people per dwelling unit, if the average would be same for HDB, it would mean 22 sqm per person.

Suburban Singapore

The view from Steve & Anne’s condo, the Regency Park, will give you an idea how the well off live in Singapore. Their luxury apartment is a large 4 bedroom 4 bathroom condo close to the city center, a mere $6000 per month.

The Nostalgia Hotel

If you would like a reasonable price hotel in the Lion City, around $120 in a central position near the markets check out the Nostalgia Hotel, for a very good rate go to my AGODA link.

POLICE CANTONMENT COMPLEX

Singapore Police Force.

Fullerton Hotel from Boat Quay

Boat Quay is a historical quay in Singapore which is situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River on its southern bank.

Victorian London Pub at Boat Quay

Even in Singapore’s volatile nightlife scene, few places change as quickly and frequently as those at Boat Quay. Now though, among the mainstays and the seafood restaurants, a new wave of bars has kicked off a golden age for the iconic belt of shop-houses.