LION CITY ROARS

From a movie theme park to a flashy road race, Singapore is enticing visitors with new attractions. Wang Ru explores the tourist route.

Before I went on my first tour to Singapore, my personal impression of the country was: small, clean and rich. Besides the city's iconic Merlion statue and the shopping boulevard along Orchard Road, I knew little about where to go in Singapore.

But as word spread about newly developed attractions such as the Universal Studios, a Formula 1 night race and the world's largest swimming pool 200 meters in the sky, I decided to explore the new attractions in Singapore.

Thanks to the visitors' website www.Yoursingapore.com, launched by Singapore Tourism Board this year, I booked and previewed all my activities in advance.

After a six-hour flight from Beijing, I checked into Fairmont Hotel (80 Bras Basah Road; 65-6339-7777), a luxurious hotel at the crossroads of the city center. Then it was time for a boat tour along the Singapore River.

The breezy cruise on the river offers a panoramic view of a changing Singapore. Over a century ago, the river was the lifeline of Singapore, where first immigrants eked out a poor living. Since then, Singapore has transformed from a little fishing village to a great seaport and a modern international city.

After passing the Fullerton Hotel (built in British colonial times) and the city's iconic Merlion Park, a magnificent building emerged before my eyes. It looked like a giant space ship parked on a launching platform on top of three giant towers. In fact, this is the newly opened luxury Marina Bay Sands Hotel (+65-6688-8888; marinabaysands.com).

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel with its three unique hotel towers is crowned by the magnificent Sands Sky Park. With over 2,500 rooms and suites, the largest luxury hotel in Singapore offers views of Marina Bay and the Singapore skyline.

The Sands Sky Park is a must-see for today's visitors to Singapore. It is an architectural masterpiece sitting on top of three towers. This 1.2-hectare tropical oasis is longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall and large enough to accommodate four-and-a-half A380 jumbo jets.

The hotel delivers the finest cuisine from top chefs from all over the world and non-stop entertainment include a big casino.

Hotel guests can take a dip in the Sky Park pool - an awesome chance to "swim in the sky".

Singapore also has Resort World Sentosa, situated on Sentosa Island, to entertain guests of all ages.

Three years in the making, the resort is a fantastic place offering various performances and gaming, shopping and dining, museums and aquariums.

But I recommend the Universal Studio at Sentosa, which brings together the best Universal Studio theme parks in USA and Osaka, Japan.

The theme park boasts a collection of many world firsts: the world's biggest single collection of DreamWorks Animation; the world's first Far Far Away Castle from the world of Shrek; the world's first Madagascar theme park ride; the world's first Sci-Fi zone and more.

At night, the nightlife by the riverside lights up the sky at Clarke Quay. After enjoying a big meal of delicious chilli crab at the famous Jumbo Seafood Restaurant (www.jumbo

seafood.com.sg), I walked alongside the riverbank to discover more about the city.

A delightful mix of modern bars and restaurants filled the streets alongside the river.

I finally stopped at a strange bar, when I was surprised by nurses instead of waitresses, wheelchairs instead of chairs and transfusion hoses instead of cocktail glasses.

The hospital-themed Clinic Bar at Clarke Quay will offer you a most unique drinking experience.

You can't drive after drinking, but the night Formula 1 Grand Prix in Singapore, which earned the title of "Pearl on the F1 crown", can offer you a unique experience watching the fastest race on the planet.

Besides the top of Marina Bay Sands, another way to take in a bird's-eye-view of Singapore is to ride on the Singapore Flyer, the newest icon circling 165 meters above the city.

The unique observation wheel offers full enjoyment of unobstructed views of dynamic Singapore from every direction.

For the romantic couples, you can even reserve a private capsule for a champagne dinner while being lifted sky high.

On my last night in Singapore, the Night Safari (80 Mandai Lake Road; +65-6269-3411) the world's first dedicated night zoo, left me with a memory to last a lifetime.

Imagine, under the moonlight, a 45-minute train ride through an open-air jungle, inhabited by 1,000 nocturnal animals including lions, wolves and tigers. Some animals like deer and tapirs wander freely about and the rest are separated by specially designed natural barriers, not cages, so you can still feel a sense of the wild.

(China Daily 10/31/2010 page16)