The symbol of Singapore – the Merlion
As Lewis the Lion explored the city state of Singapore, as his first Asian experience, he was overwhelmed by the sensation that this truly was a city where the West meets the East. It seemed to be a melting pot of many different cultures. This was particularly apparent in the fact that Singapore has four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil and Lewis the Lion saw signs in all four languages in many locations throughout the city.
Lewis the Lion is fascinated by all of the languages in Singapore
He also discovered that there’s a kind of English slang called ‘Singlish’ which he will write in a bit more detail in his Lewis Loves Languages section.
The East and West influences were represented in not only in its own unique cuisine which Lewis the Lion had tasted in the Hawker Centre (check out his last blog) but in the range of international foods available, such as this Japanese restaurant where Lewis the Lion ate on his first day there.
Lewis the Lion tries some Japanese food on his first day in Singapore
He also noticed that Singapore seemed to show great religious tolerance as all of the major faith groups appeared to be represented and celebrated across the city, as you can see in the following photos.
Islam
A mosque stands on the corner of the street
Buddhism
The entrance to a Buddhist temple
Lewis the Lion meets another lion outside the Buddhist Temple
Lewis the Lion at the Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya Temple in Singapore
Lewis the Lion sees the altar outside the Buddhist Temple
Christianity
St Andrew’s Cathedral, Singapore
Lewis the Lion learnt that as a result, Singapore had lots of public holidays during the year to celebrate the different religious holidays. When he arrived, he had only just missed the Hindu festival of Deepvali but there were still posters and decorations lining the streets as you can see in these photos:
Hinduism
Deepavali celebrations outside the Suntec City Mall
Deepavali celebrations have taken place near a Hindu temple
Happy Deepavali!
Regardless of religion, Lewis the Lion noticed that many positive values and messages were posted in public spaces across the city, e.g. he saw that there was a ‘Garden of Kindness’ and billboards promoting good will on the transport system as shown here:
Acts of kindness are encouraged in Singapore
Nonetheless, it felt very strange for Lewis the Lion to be in this hot and humid climate whilst knowing that the Christian season of Christmas was fast approaching as you can see in this poster and a Christmas tree which he saw in the City.
A tropical Christmas for Christians in Singapore
Lewis the Lion thinks it’s strange to celebrate Christmas when it’s so hot and humid!
Exploring the city was sticky work as Lewis really felt the oppressive heat out on the streets. However, luckily there were many enormous shopping centres every few metres which all had air conditioning. One of his friends joked on and called Singapore ‘The city of air-con.’ The coolness of shopping malls certainly felt like a welcomed reprise from the humidity outside. Lewis the Lion noticed that having air conditioning in buildings seemed to be a bit of a status symbol in Singapore. In fact as Lewis the Lion wandered around the city, one of the most striking features was that it seemed to be a very wealthy city, with its swanky buildings, skyscrapers and apartment blocks.
Singapore has many tall apartment blocks
This was no surprise really as Singapore is rated as being one of the richest countries in the world.
Lewis the Lion admires the architecture of Marina Bay, Singapore
Lewis the Lion looks back on the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay
He discovered that it is recognised as an international, economic hub. Many of the fancy buildings and skyscrapers housed some of the big, worldwide financial institutions and consequently, Singapore has a big ex-pat community with lots of international schools.
The backstreets of Singapore
However, apart from the obvious wealth of the rich and middle classes, he noticed that some of the working classes lived in some of the more rundown parts of the city. Even in one of the world’s wealthiest countries there seemed to be a divide between the rich and the poor.
Nonetheless, Lewis the Lion recognised that there were aspects of Singapore that many countries would be proud to claim as their own, such as their highly organised train lines and litter-free stations. (Chewing gum is banned in Singapore).
Singapore has a very efficient transport system
Lewis the Lion thought that the MRT metro system was one of the most efficient he had ever been on. There is an ingenious system whereby there are no dirty left-over ticket stubs anywhere to be seen. This is because for every ticket you purchase, you can claim a dollar back on it when you return it in the ticket machine in the station.
When waiting for the train to approach the platform, passengers are encouraged to wait behind the red lines so as to allow passengers off the train first before embarking.
Arrows on the ground tell you where to stand to let passengers off the trains
Stand behind the red lines to allow passengers off the trains
Once on the train compartment, apart from the announcements in English and Chinese, a map above the doors would light up to show you which station you had arrived at and on some of the trains, a light would indicate on which side of the train you should alight.
Maps on the MRTs flash to show you where you are
The MRT tells you which side to alight from
Like Lewis the Lion’s visit to London, Lewis discovered that Singapore had a strong lion presence and so he felt right at home there. That’s because the English word ‘Singapore’ derives from the Malay word ‘Singapura’ meaning ‘Lion City’. It was so named because its founder, Sang Nila Utama, thought that he’d seen a lion there (which was probably more likely to be a tiger!). It turned out that it’s famous symbol for the city is also a lion…well kind of! It’s called the Merlion and has a lion’s head but a merman’s tail.
Lewis the Lion watches over Merlion Park
Lewis the Lion meets his first Merlion!
Here Lewis the Lion takes a look at the Singapore harbour. The first clip focuses in on Lewis the Lion’s special statue the Merlion, whilst the second clip shows the rest of the view behind the harbour with all the skyscrapers.
Whilst at the harbour, Lewis the Lion thought he might like to take a ride in its famous Big Wheel, the Singapore Flyer.
Lewis the Lion looks up at the huge Singapore Flyer
However, when he and Helen found out how much it cost, the decided against it. It was rather expensive and besides, their local friend XY had told them that they could get similar, fabulous views of the City from up high in a nearby hotel for free!
Lewis the Lion investigates the prices for the Singapore Flyer
So, instead, the pair, along with XY headed to the Swissotel. After ascending seventy floors in the lift, here is the amazing view that Lewis the Lion had of Singapore from up high. Here is what he saw.
Ascending 70 floors for the best view of Singapore!
Lewis the Lion looks over the Singapore skyline
A city filled with skyscrapers, Singapore
On his way to this tall hotel with magnificent views of the city, Lewis passed by some rather interesting memorabilia. He discovered that Singapore was the first city in the world to host the first Youth Olympics. How exciting!
Lewis the Lion learns that Singapore hosted the 1st Youth Olympic Games
Lewis the Lion sees the Youth Olympic Games Torch
It seemed quite fitting that the Youth Olympic Games had taken place in such a culturally rich city: a city which seemed to embrace many cultures from around the world. As Lewis the Lion continued his sight-seeing of the City he noticed the British influence with some colonial style buildings
There are many colonial style buildings in Singapore too
and notably a famous hotel from Colonial times called Raffles.
Lewis the Lion at the famous Raffles Hotel
Here Helen was keen to visit their Long Bar and try one of their famous cherry-brandy cocktails which was invented there in the 1910s called a Singapore Sling. Even though it was expensive, she thoroughly enjoyed this fruity, refreshing surprise.
Lewis the Lion eats monkey nuts while Helen drinks a famous cocktail
Lewis the Lion had more fun watching the fans wafting rhythmically from the ceiling above and then cracking open some of the monkey nuts found in bowls on each table. Traditionally, patrons are meant to drop the monkey nut shells on the floor but Lewis the Lion just couldn’t bring himself to make a mess like that, only for someone else to clear up after him! However, it was still quite a fun part of the experience to crunch across them on their way out.
Last but not least, Lewis the Lion also enjoyed exploring other parts of the city which also had a heavy immigrant influence: Chinatown and Little India.
Singapore’s Chinatown
He realised that in these particular parts of the city, English is not the first language of choice so he was very grateful for the pictures to show what food was on the menu!
Lewis the Lion is happy that this restaurant also shows pictures!
One experience Lewis the Lion was very happy to partake in on his visit to Singapore was an American Thanksgiving Dinner.
Lewis the Lion enjoys a traditional American Thanksgiving Dinner in Singapore
Something he had not expected but something for which he was truly grateful for.
Lewis the Lion encounters an American turkey
He thanked his welcoming Singaporean friends in allowing him to experience their city in such a unique way.
Lewis and Helen are given a warm welcome by their Singaporean friends
XY was a great friend to Lewis the Lion on his visit to Singapore. She told him what he should and shouldn’t see and advised him on how he could save money whilst exploring the city.
If you had a visitor coming to see you in your city or town, what top tips would you give them for getting around and seeing the best of your hometown?
