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Finding a Home In Singapore
If you plan to rent or buy a property in Singapore, finding your property will be a major step in your relocation to Singapore. If you have not lived in Singapore, you should rent rather than buy your property in Singapore, at least for six months. If you would like to rent or buy a real-estate property in Singapore you may email us at webmaster@singapore-travel-guide.de with your real-estate questions.

It is the best way to know not only if Singapore is the place you want to live or retire for the next few years, but also if Singapore is suited for you.

Apartments & Houses in Singapore
If you are planning on living in Singapore, it is likely that you will be living in an apartment/condo versus a house.

Please make sure that modern equipments, such as electricity and water should function to the maximum. Please double-check and make sure electrical outlets are located in every room and functioning.

Make sure you turn on the water and make sure that hot and cold water is functioning and flush the toilet, turn on the shower. Dont count on real-estate agents in Singapore to point out the negatives of a place theyre trying to rent or sell you.


Singapore Agencies
Real-estate agencies in Singapore advertise in the local Straits Times, a government linked newspaper and as well on their office windows.

You should be able to notice a real estate agency in Singapore by the window full of ads for the different apartments or houses they have available for rent or sell in Singapore.

Before you begin working with an agency in Singapore, check that their fees are acceptable and that they are a member of the Singapore Real-estate Assocation. In most rental agreements in Singapore most agencies charge a months rent for a twelve-month rental agreement.

When selling a property in Singapore, real-estate agents in Singapore usually charge between 2.5% and 3% of the final sales price.

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Ang Mo Kio 宏茂桥 ஆங் மோ கியோ
Ang Mo Kio is a heartland new town located in north central Singapore. It has a town centre and six neighbourhoods. Although containing many of the common features of the island nation's neighbourhoods, e.g. hawkers' stalls, wet markets and housing blocks, residents see the town as retaining a distinctive identity. Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong is the Member of Parliament for this constituency.

Contents
1 Origin of the name
2 Culture and changes
3 Education
4 Ang Mo Kio New Town

Origin of the name
The locality's name is believed by some to derive from the Hokkien phrase Ang Mo Kio (红毛桥), meaning "Westerner Bridge". The term ang mo (literally "red hair") is a somewhat derogatory Singlish reference to the people with fair hair who settled from the West and, because such a name might be considered unflattering, it is now written as 宏茂桥 in Mandarin Chinese, which is pronounced in an almost identical way but means "Bridge of Expansiveness and Prosperity".

Some local people have incorrectly assumed that the new version of the name refers to the bridges at the seventh milestone of Thomson Road (found at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Thomson Road).

These two old bridges were known as Or-kio ("black bridges") in the local spoken dialects. Research suggests that neither of these bridges were officially named, but they spanned the canal and the old Kallang River, forming a link to the Pierce Reservoir.

The actual source of the name comes from the old survey maps which label the land as "Mukim of Ang Mo Kio" (Mukim meaning "area" or "district" in Malay). The word "Ang Mo" may in fact not refer to Westerners. Rather, it is derived from two separate combined phrases in Hokkien. Ang Mo Dan means "rambutan", a local fruit, red and covered in hair, found plentifully around the areas of old kampongs. Likely the second suffix "kio" ("bridge" or "bridges" in Hokkien) was added to the prefix "Ang Mo" as an additional description to indicate a more precise location that residents would recognize i.e.. There were many concrete bridges built by the old kampong dwellers. It first appears on the early maps drawn by surveyors who took those two phrases and combined them to form "Mukim of Ang Mo Kio" ("District of Ang Mo Kio"). The actual location of Ang Mo Kio New Town has been also known by the former name Kou-teu kio, Hokkien for "Ninth Bridge".

Culture and changes
In the new town, the old friendly kampong spirit of sharing and caring seems to survive as a strong cultural trait. The older generation of kampong people who were once fruit and vegetable growers, small-scale merchants and hard working laborers, have produced two generations of children. The majority continue to live with their children in the renewed environment — the family ties are strong with multi-generaltional units residing in three- to five-room HDB apartments. The lifestyle of the area has been transformed from the simple one of the kampong to urbanized, modernized, and somewhat Westernized living including the obvious modern amenities of piped running water, electricity, flush toilets, and daily garbage removal plus all the less obvious safeguards which were never possible in the era of the small village (e.g. water management systems to drain the monsoon rains into the reservoirs). Some old kampong folk consider one of the most significant changes of recent times to be that, "Even the postman can deliver his mail without problems!"

Many of the adult children have moved on to the new housing estates in Sengkang, Punggol, Woodland New Town and other parts of the Island but the kinship spirit is kept alive by constant return visits to their older forbears, especially during the weekends and public holidays (particularly at Chinese New Year when the Reunion Dinners are held).

Education
Ang Mo Kio also has quite a number of schools, primary, secondary, junior colleges and a polytechnic i.e. Mayflower Primary School, Ang Mo Kio Primary, Chong Boon Secondary, Deyi Secondary School, Anderson Junior College, and ITE College West.

Bedok
Bedok Town is a neighbourhood in the eastern part of Singapore. It is the fifth Housing Development Board (HDB) new town which commenced development since April 1973 and continued over some 15 years.

Origins of the name
The origins of this name has Malay roots and it dates back to about 400 years with reference to a river now known as Sungei Bedok.

Development & terrain
Bedok Town covers a land area close to 9.4 km² with some 42% occupied for residential use. It was formerly the site of a hilly region and hence the focal point of orientation of the town is the special landscaped parks and sports complex built on the higher grounds of the town. The residential blocks as well as the industrial area are planned based on the neighbourhood concept.

Residential development
There are some 58,000 units of flats (apartments) built by the HDB in Bedok Town. As one of the older towns, the majority of the flats are 3-room followed by 4-room. There are also some 2,700 and 583 units of executive and HUDC flats. It provides housing for some 200,000 residents.

Bishan 碧山
Bishan is a small neighbourhood of the city-state of Singapore situated in the Central-North, measuring approximately three by three kilometres. Primarily a housing estate, Bishan houses the upper-middle classes and flats there are relatively more expensive than in other estates due to its central location. The current (as of 2005) MPs for Bishan is Mr Wong Kan Seng and Mr Zainudin Bin Nordin.

Contents
1 Transportation
2 Education
3 Urban Legends

Transportation
Bishan is connected to the rest of Singapore via the Central Expressway. In addition, it has its own Mass Rapid Transit station, the Bishan MRT Station, on the North South MRT Line. It would serve as an Interchange Station for the Circle MRT Line when that is completed in 2008.

Education
As of 2005, in Bishan there are eight primary schools, seven secondary schools, and one junior college - Bishan Park Secondary School, Catholic High School, Guangyang Secondary School, Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School, Peirce Secondary School, Raffles Institution, Whitley Secondary School, and Raffles Junior College.

Urban Legends
Bishan has also quite a bunch of urban legends and ghost stories mainly because it used to be a large cemetery. Bishan MRT also has people reportedly seeing ghostly figures after the last train.

Bukit Batok 武吉巴督
Bukit Batok is a neighbourhood in the city-state of Singapore.

Bukit Batok is under the jurisdiction of Jurong Group Representative Committee (GRC).

Bukit means "hill" in the Malay language, thus the name of the town gives the impression of it being hilly. "Batok" means coughing, and is a reminder of the days when the area had a large quarry - coughing refers to the sounds of the explosives used.

Today, much of the land has been paved to built roads and flats to suit the needs of the population. The streets and roads are lined with trees just as other neighbourhoods, and this feature has enabled Singapore to be known as the "Garden City".

The Bukit Batok Central is where the shopping complex Westmall is located. The Bukit Batok Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train station is situated next to the complex.

The are several education institutions in the area, including Princess Elizabeth Primary School, Keming Primary School, Dazhong Primary School, Bukit Batok Secondary and Bukit Batok ITE. There is also a swimming complex located near the Bukit Batok MRT station.

Bukit Merah
Bukit Merah is a suburb of Singapore. Its name comes from a hill that was at the present site of Henderson housing estate (opposite Delta Sports Complex). Red clay was abundant in this area, thus the name 'Bukit Merah', which means 'Red Hill' in Malay. There was a Chinese cemetery on the reverse side of the hill. The present Henderson Secondary School is also located in this area. The hill was trimmed to it current state in 1973 with the surrounding kampong being demolished to make way to the current Redhill Close. The nearest MRT station is Redhill.

Delta Sports Complex is located here, a less than 5 minutes walk from Redhill MRT station. It consist of a swimming complex, a hockey Stadia, and a multipurpose court that can be used as a badminton court or a indoor basketball court.

Bukit Timah 武吉知马
Bukit Timah, also known as District 11, is one of the premium locations within the island city-state of Singapore. Bukit Timah is also an area that houses many expensive landed properties as well as high rise condominiums. Many expatriates (especially from the West) stays in this region. This region was later extended and Upper Bukit Timah (District 21) was formed. The Keretapi Tanah Melayu from Malaysia has a passing loop station here along its rail network from Johor Bahru to Tanjong Pagar.

Bukit Timah is also the name of a hill in Singapore. At 164 metres it is the highest point in Singapore.

Bukit Timah literally means "Tin Hill" in Malay.

Changi 樟宜
Changi is an area to the northeast of Singapore. It is now the site of a large international airport, and is also home the Changi Prison, site of the former Japanese Prisoner of War Camp during World War II that housed Allied prisoners captured in Singapore and Malaysia after Singapore's fall in February, 1942. Being in close proximity to the sea, Changi also has a ferry terminal, Changi Ferry Terminal.

Changi Prison
Changi Prison is a prison in the eastern part of Singapore. It was a prisoner of war camp used by Japan to hold Allied POWs during World War II. The Changi camp was situated in and around the former British Army barracks on the eastern peninsula of Singapore island. Despite its reputation, Changi was comparatively comfortable and of 87,000 POWs who passed through the camp, only 850 died. James Clavell is one of the most famous survivors. He wrote about his experiences in the book King Rat.

Currently, death row inmates are held there before they are executed by hanging every Friday morning.

Chinatown, Singapore 牛车水
Chinatown in Singapore used to be the Chinese part of town in colonial Singapore in the 19th century. Although the population of Singapore today is mostly Chinese, Chinatown still retains a lot of historical and cultural sigificance.

Choa Chu Kang 蔡厝港
Choa Chu Kang is a neighbourhood in northwestern Singapore. The sitting MP here is a member of the People's Action Party, the ruling party of Singapore. There is a sports complex, a shopping centre (Lot 1), the Choa Chu Kang MRT (subway) station and the LRT which runs through to Bukit Panjang.

Primary Schools
Choa Chu Kang P.S., South View P.S., Concord P.S. and Teck Whye P.S..

Secondary Schools
Bukit Panjang Government H.S., Choa Chu Kang S.S., Regent S.S., Teck Whye S.S. and West Spring S.S.

Clementi
Clementi is a neighbourhood of Singapore, located in the west between Jurong and Dover. It is served by the Clementi Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station, which is on the East-West MRT line.

Clementi contains a shopping area, gymnasium and a swimming pool. The Ayer Rajah council building is also based in Clementi. Unlike some areas of Singapore, Clementi does not have a shopping mall, however the area possesses an extensive array of shops and hawkerfood stalls. The current Member of Parliament (MP) for this constituency is Mr Arthur Fong. Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, and the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Institute of Management are some of the major education institutes within the vicinity of Clementi.

In April 2005, the HDB announced plans to build a 40 storey complex in Clementi central on the existing bus interchange site. The complex will comprise housing and commercial zones and a bus interchange. It will be ready in 2010.

Several schools in Singapore also use the name Clementi.

Geylang
Geylang is a neighbourhood of the city-state of Singapore east of its central business district area.

The neighbourhood has been the center of Singapore's Malay community since Malays and Orang Laut settled there after the British authorities dispersed their floating village at the mouth of the Singapore River in mid-19th century.

Partly untouched by urban projects and developments and so far spared by the gentrification process that has changed the face of Singapore since the 1970s, Geylang's combination of shophouse scenery and hectic day and night life (including a red-light district, foreign workers quarters and KTV lounges) provides an alternative view to the modern Singapore. Geylang is the only place in Singapore where there are licensed brothels.

Ghim Moh
Ghim Moh is a district in Singapore where the elitist educational institution Raffles Junior College(Now in Bishan) formerly resided. It is known nationwide for tasty morsels at its Food Centre. Particularly mouthwatering are its beef hor fun, char kway teow, chwee kueh, mee pok and jiu jiang shao la roasted meats and xiao wan mian.

Holland Village, Singapore
Holland Village is a small commercial enclave near the Buona Vista MRT Station within the Queenstown area in Singapore. A popular venue for younger Singaporeans and expatriates, it is dominated by eateries along with some specialist shops selling unusual wares. One of the six ACS, ACS (International) is located here at Jalan Hitam Manis. It will get its own MRT station in 2010. In its vicinity, there are HDB flats.

Food and Beverage
Many well known eateries in Singapore like Crystal Jade, BreadTalk, The Coffee Bean, Burger King, Subway, Indochine and Haagen Dazs, to name a few. A few coffee shops and a food court are present here.

Shops and Services
It has a great variety of shops ranging from a supermarket to antique shops. The Dairy Farm Group has a 24 hour Cold Storage supermarket, a Guardian pharmacy, a 7-Eleven and a photo processing shop called Photo Finish. There are two shopping centres in the neighbourhood. They are Holland Road Shopping Centre and Holland V Shopping Mall. In Holland Road Shopping Centre, there is a furniture shop. Also, a 24 hour Cold Storage supermarket, a Guardian pharmacy, a photo processing shop called Photo Finish run by Dairy Farm. There are lots of shops there too, tailors, gifts, optical shops, internet cafe, a United Overseas Bank branch, hardware shops and shops selling things that are not able to find in the city area. At the other mall, there is some clothes and acessories shops on the second floor and a food court and some food and beverage outlets. At the other end, there is a cosmetic store and mostly restaurants. There is a few art galleries across the road. After the Holland V Shopping Mall, is a few shops and eateries.

Jalan Besar 惹兰勿刹
Jalan Besar as a grouping is essentially an electoral constituency. It consists of several inner city suburbs surrounding the CBD of Singapore. These include several electic areas. For example, Little India, the colourful Desker Road, Kolam Ayer and Crawford, (which borders the Kallang River), Kreta Ayer and Kim Seng, (which are closer to the Singapore River and Chinatown) and Whampoa. These areas are relatively older compared to many of the newer suburbs of Singapore.

Jurong
Jurong is a constituency and town of Singapore, located at the Western part of the Singapore mainland.

History
In 1963, the then Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, made Jurong the initial constituency on his first visit to constituencies in the Republic. At the time, Jurong was without a citizen's consultative committee.

Jurong then was being developed into a industrial town, streching towards Tuas, a reclaimed land near to Jurong, its construction under the authority of the Jurong Town Corporation. It was chosen because it was relatively far from Singapore's Central Business District and residential areas. Today, Jurong is mainly an area for industry, especially high technology industry and some heavy industry, although much of the more polluting industry is situated at its counterpart, Jurong Island, even farther from the residential areas. This is also due to the fact that some parts of Jurong also has residential HDB estate on its eastern portion.

The Keretapi Tanah Melayu from Malaysia used to have a branch of tracks from Bukit Timah serving this industrial area. It was opened in 1965 amid much fanfare, but failed to generate satisfactory traffic. It was consequently closed in the early 1990s and by now some part of the tracks have been dismantled.

Well known amenities in Jurong
- City Harvest Church
- Nanyang Technological University
- Jurong Regional Library

Shopping Centres
- Jurong Point

Tourist Attraction
- Singapore Science Centre
- Singapore Discovery Centre
- Jurong Bird Park
- Jurong Garden

Kallang 加冷
Kallang is a neighbourhood located in the southeastern part of Singapore.

Contents
1 Geography
2 Jurisdiction
3 Transportation
3.1 Rail service

Geography
Kallang is home to many light industrial estates, such as pipe makers, garment factories, and is the office of choice for companies unwilling to pay for the high rent in the nearby Central Business District.

The housing estates inside Kallang are more than 20 years old, with some blocks now slated to be re-built under the En-Bloc redevelopment scheme to rejuvenate the area, which is dominated by the middle-aged section of society.

The National Stadium, Singapore is located at Kallang, venue of many sports events and the National Day Parade almost every year.

Jurisdiction
Kallang is under the Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency, which operates the local town council responsible for the general maintenance of the area.

Transportation
As it is in close proximity to the Central Business District, many transportation services pass through Kallang, and trunk bus services are abundant, reaching estates as far as Jurong and Pasir Ris.

Rail service
Connected to the East-West MRT line (The Mass Rapid Transit) at Kallang Station
Connected to the North-East MRT line at Boon Keng Station

Katong
Katong is a residential area in the east of Singapore. It is well known for its restaurants specialising in Peranakan (Straits Chinese) cuisine, particularly a spicy Malay noodle soup called laksa.

The area is traditionally associated with the Eurasian and Peranakan community. However, many high-rise apartment blocks now stand alongside the traditional shophouses and Peranakan terraced houses. In 1993, the Joo Chiat neighbourhood which comprises of the historical centre of Katong was designated a conservation area. Many of the traditional houses in the area have been renovated and converted into luxury homes for very well-off Singaporeans.

Parkway Parade is the largest shopping complex in the area.

Kampong Glam
Kampong Glam is an area of the city-state Singapore in Southeast Asia. In the early history of the city of Singapore, the area was designated for the Sultan of Singapore and the Malay community. The area still retains strong ties to the ethnic-Malay and Muslim community.

The name
In Malay, "Kampung" means "village" or "settlement" while "Glam" is the name of a variety of native tree which grew in the area.

Kranji
Kranji is an area in Singapore, located about 22 kilometers (15 miles) north of the city centre, which served as a military camp before the 1939 Japanese invasion, and now is the home of the Kranji War Cemetery and Kranji Memorial. There is also a reservoir in Kranji.

The Singapore Turf Club, the only horse-racing racecourse in Singapore, is located in Kranji, next to the Kranji MRT Station.

Lim Chu Kang
Lim Chu Kang is located in northwestern Singapore, at latitude 1.4367N, longitude 103.7094E.

It covers a major part of the northwestern part of Singapore. The area is largely rural and serves as a water catchment area with the four reservoirs of Sarimbun, Murai, Poyan and Tengah.

Lim Chu Kang is served by the main road Lim Chu Kang Road and a network of narrow lanes and tracks. The area is largely undeveloped, and is made up of agricultural farms and forests. Besides small-scale agriculture, the area is also used for military training.

The small public housing estate, the Lim Chu Kang Rural Centre, at Neo Tiew Road was vacated in 2002 for the Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS).

Little India, Singapore
Little India is an ethnic neighbourhood found in Singapore that has Indian cultural elements. Under the Raffles Plan of Singapore, it originally was a division of colonial Singapore under the Raffles Plan of Singapore where Indian immigants would reside under the British policy of ethnic segregation. Under the multiracial policies of the People's Action Party, the ruling government of Singapore since independence, this no longer became the case especially under the policies of the Housing and Development Board where races were encouraged to be evenly distributed.

However, under the policy of diversity, many of the ethnically Indian commercial or cottage industry usages are concentrated in Little India, although Indian commercial zones are also found in HDB estates. Hence this neighbourhood has the patronage of all races who wishes to eat or buy something specific to Indian culture, such as curry or Indian clothing.

One of the more prominent examples of cross-cultural patronage besides food is that many Chinese parents go to shops in Little India to grind rice to make congee for infants. In such cases, the shops have machinery primarily meant to grind spices into powder for use in Indian cuisine.

Pasir Panjang
Pasir Panjang is an area in southwest Singapore, characterised by the proximity of the port.

Marina Bay
Marina Bay is an area in the south of Singapore, on the east side of the mouth of the Singapore River, next to the artificial bay created by land reclamation. It now boasts a large conference center, several hotels and large retail and office areas.

Suntec City is a development in Marina Bay as the buildings are designed to appear as if they were a human hand with fingers and thumb pointing up out of the ground. It has four tall towers (the fingers) and one shorter one (the thumb) with a large roundabout and fountain in the center (the palm).

Marine Parade 马林百列
Marine Parade is a neighbourhood in Singapore to the east of the main city. The name commonly refers to the area encompassing the main public housing estate and several private residences, bounded by Marine Parade Road, East Coast Parkway, Amber Road and Bedok South Avenue 1. Marine Parade was built on reclaimed land completed in the mid-1970s.

Contents
1 Township
1.1 Marine Parade Housing Estate
1.2 Private Residences
1.3 Town Centre
1.4 East Coast Park
1.5 Marine Parade Community Building
1.6 Schools
2 Group Representation Constituency

Township Marine Parade Housing Estate
The main public housing estate, Marine Parade Housing Estate, comprises 58 blocks of flats. The public estate is bisected by the arterial Still Road South that provides access to the major highway, East Coast Parkway, leading to the city area and Changi Airport.

The main precincts of Marine Parade Housing Estate can be distinguished by the roads serving them:

* Marine Terrace
* Marine Crescent
* Marine Drive
* Marine Parade Central
* Private Residences
* The major private housing estates in Marine Parade include:

* Amberville
* Bayshore Park
* Coasta Del Sol
* Cote D'Azur (under construction)
* Neptune Court
* Mandarin Gardens
* Laguna Park
* Lagoon View
* Town Centre

Marine Parade is served by a town centre, Marine Parade Town Centre, which consists of several neighbourhood shops and a major commercial complex Parkway Parade that houses offices and a shopping centre.

East Coast Park
The town is also well-known to locals as it is adjacent to East Coast Park, a popular seaside weekend getaway for leisure and water sports.

Marine Parade Community Building
The Marine Parade Community Building was completed in 1999. It houses the Marine Parade Community Club and the Marine Parade Community Library. Other facilites within the three-storey complex include a 263-seater theatrette, a glass-walled gymnasium, a covered basketball court on the rooftop, an air-conditioned sports hall and a café.

Primary Schools
CHIJ (Katong) Primary 圣婴女校(加东) (lies on the fringe of the town)
Ngee Ann Primary School 义安小学
Tao Nan School 道南学校

Secondary Schools
CHIJ Katong Convent 加东修道院女校
St. Patrick's Secondary School 圣伯特理中学 (lies on the fringe of the town)
Victoria School 维多利亚学校Victoria School 维多利亚学校

Junior Colleges
Victoria Junior College 维多利亚初级学院

Group Representation Constituency
Marine Parade is also a component division in the much larger Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency, which elects 6 members to the Singapore Parliament. Goh Chok Tong, Senior Minister and former Prime Minister of Singapore, is a Member of Parliament for Marine Parade.

Orchard Road 乌节路
Orchard Road is the primary shopping street of Singapore. It is a one-way street going southeast, and starts just before its intersection with Scotts Road (the location of Orchard MRT Station), past Bideford Road, Somerset MRT Station, Central Expressway, Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, and ends at the intersection with Handy Road (just before Prinsep Road), where it becomes Bras Basah Road.

Orchard Road is flanked by a pedestrian mall, as well as several of the biggest shopping centres of Singapore, including (from west to east) The Forum Shopping Mall, Palais Renaissance, Wheelock Place, Shaw Centre, Wisma Atria, Ngee Ann City, The Paragon, Centrepoint Shopping Centre, and Plaza Singapura. Orchard Road also boasts numerous restaurants and cafes.

Pasir Ris
Pasir Ris is primarily a residential area in Singapore comprising many high rise residential dwelling blocks, mostly public housing built by the Housing and Development Board. It is located right next to the Eastern coast of Singapore. Like other new towns, public transport was factored into the development of Pasir Ris. Pasir Ris is easily accessible via bus and Mass Rapid Transit.

In close proximity to the sea, Pasir Ris has several recreation areas like NTUC Downtown East and Pasir Ris Park, which have facilities like chalets, theme parks, and a bowling alley.

Pasir Ris is also part of the Jurong Town Corporation's plan to develop wafer fabrication facilities in Singapore. The other two locations are Tampines and Woodlands. Presently, there are two major wafer fabrication parks in Pasir Ris. Companies situated there include United Microelectronics Corporation and Systems on Silicon Manufacturing.

Paya Lebar
Paya Lebar is an area in the central-eastern part of Singapore. It is served by Paya Lebar Station, on the East West Line of Singapore's MRT (subway) system.

Paya Lebar Airbase
Paya Lebar is the location of Paya Lebar Airbase, home to Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF)'s F-5 S/T as well as C-130 and KC-130B jets. Paya Lebar Airbase is the former international airport for Singapore, now used as an airbase for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF).

Paya Lebar is an area in the central-eastern part of Singapore. It is served by Paya Lebar Station, on the East West Line of Singapore's MRT (subway) system.

Potong Pasir 波东巴西
Potong Pasir is an area sandwiched between Toa Payoh and Senett Estate in the Central Region of Singapore. From 1910 to 1937, it was dominated by sand-quarries, hence giving it its present name, which means 'cut sand' in Malay. These mining activities created four ponds linked to the Kallang River, although they were reduced to two due to massive flooding in 1968. The ponds provided a good source of food for the local village folk, until pollution set in later.

Rapid change took place for the past five decades, with the building of a bridge across the ponds in the 1950s, a venue for education introduced in the form of a village community centre in 1952, piped water and electricity in the 1960s, and by the 1970s, most of the villagers have already started to move out as the land gets acquired by the government for massive redevelopment.

Hence, a public housing estate, Potong Pasir Estate, began to take shape in the 1980s, with construction commencing in 1982, and the first blocks completed two years later.

Mr Chiam See Tong is a Member of Parliament for Potong Pasir, representing the Singapore People's Party.

Punggol
Punggol is a neighborhood in northeastern Singapore. Presently, much of Punggol is unpopulated, although plans to turn the area into a residential new town under the "Punggol 21" initiative have begun to take place in the South-eastern parts of the area bordering neighbouring Sengkang. Because much of the area is undeveloped compared to other areas of Singapore, it is one of the focal points where the HDB would attempt to increase housing capacity. This would be pivotal given Singapore's lack of space.

Punggol is also spelt as "Ponggol", as evidenced in the existence of several road names carrying that name.

History
During the Second World War, about 400 Chinese civilians were massacred by the Japanese mlitary forces at Punggol Point, the northern tip of the area, in what was to be known as the Punggol Beach Massacre as part of the Sook Ching purge. Today, that location has been marked as a national heritage site.

In the 1970s to early 1990s, Punggol was used for agriculture and there were a number of pig farms located there.

Transportation
Urban development into the area has been accelerated with the introduction of better transportational options. The Tampines Expressway links up the area with the expressway network. In terms of public transport, the opening of the North-East Line, the Punggol LRT Line in January 2005, and a temporary bus interchange adjacent to the Punggol MRT Station was a great improvement over what was once a single bus route, SBS Transit's Service 82, to the area along Punggol Road.

Raffles Place 莱佛士坊
Raffles Place is the financial heart of Singapore and home to the some of the tallest buildings and landmarks in Singapore. Some of them are UOB Plaza, OUB Centre, Republic Plaza and OCBC Centre. The Fullerton Singapore, a hotel at the renovated old General Post Office building, and the famous Merlion are located nearby. The Singapore stock exchange is located nearby.

The underground Raffles Place MRT Station lies in the centre of Raffles Place.

Sembawang
Sembawang is a region in the northern-most part of Singapore. It is a largely residential area with military, industrial and recretational facilities at its margins. In colonial times, the area was home to a major British naval base, including dockyards, wharves and workshops, as well as supporting administrative, residential and commercial areas. Beyond the Naval Base area, there were also many small vegetable farms, plantations (mostly rubber) as well as Chinese graveyards. Since the 1960s, the Naval Base has been handed over to the Singapore government, which converted it into a commercial dockyard, which has gone on to become Sembawang Corporation, a major State-owned industrial conglomorate listed on Singapore stock exchange. The farms and graveyards have given way to modern housing, especially the development in the 1990s of a HDB public housing New Town. Today, Sembawang Town is a typical suburban public housing New Town in Singapore, with a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Station and a few shopping centres.

History
Prior to the 1990s Sembawang was an interesting small town. The town central was known locally as 13th Miles, and was divided by Sembawang Road in the middle, with Kindo Cinema on the east and Sultan Theatre (known as Chong Pang back then) on the west. There was a colorful wet market over at the Kindo Cinema side located on Sum Wah Chee Drive. There was also a Chinese temple which organised annual Hungry Ghost Festival celebrations with colourful street opera and Getais (open air concerts).

To the north, there was a roundabout that no longer exists, which branched into Canberra Road and Sembawang Road. Beside the roundabout was the Our Lady Star of the Sea Church. Further down Canberra Road, there were 2 primary schools (West Hill School and Canberra School) and 1 secondary school (Naval Base Secondary School). The Chong Pang Police Station was also there with a community centre and an out-patient polyclinic.

Chong Pang Road lead to the Sultan Theatre Roundabout, which was a special roundabout that housed some foodstalls (selling laksa noodles for 20 cents, and barbecued chicken wings at night), bookstores and some sundry shops. Weekly pasar malams (night markets) were held along Chong Pang Road, where many hawkers jockeyed for space. There was a fish ball noodle stall just directly outside the public toilet.

In the area near the Kindo Cinema, there was a Malay stall that sold delicious nasi lemak in the morning. The Cambridge Bookstore was also located there.

Further north of Sembawang Road and a mile away from Sembawang Town Centre, the area was known as 14th Miles. There were high rise residential blocks and an area known as The Strip, which housed several bars and nightclubs mostly catering for the ANZUS military and local young men.

At the end of Sembawang Road (also known as 15th Miles) was Sembawang Beach.

Serangoon
Serangoon is a New Town situated in the central parts of the city-state of Singapore. It is situated along the North-East Line of Singapore's subway station, the MRT. Serangoon is one of the smaller New Towns. The town centre is known as Serangoon Central, and is the target of much development in the years to come.

Tampines 淡滨尼
Tampines (or Tampines New Town) is the largest residential area of the city-state of Singapore and is located in the East of the main island. The town is so named because in the 1900s a large forest of Tampines trees were located at the present site.

The densely populated district is home to a rather diverse group of different races as it is a relatively new town, unlike Chinese-dominated Chinatown or Malay-dominated Kampong Glam.

The Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) of the United Nations awarded the World Habitat Award to Tampines, which was selected as a representative of Singapore's new towns, on 5 October 1992.

Tanjong Pagar
Tanjong Pagar is a township located within the Central Business District in Singapore. The town, which began as Singapore's first and largest public housing development, was named Tiong Bahru until 1991, when the name was changed to coincide with legislative redistricting. Many shops and facilities in the area still bear the original name.

The Malaysian railway company (Keretapi Tanah Melayu) has its terminal railway station in Singapore here. It runs two daily train services from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur to Singapore and several other train services from Singapore to other parts of Malaysia.

Telok Blangah
Telok Blangah is a district in Singapore immediately to the south-west of the Central Business District at the Southern End of the Island.

Thomson
Thomson is an relatively narrow area stretching from Novena in the Central Region of Singapore up north till Sembawang. The Thomson area is well known for its greenery and wayside trees lining the roads. The area is mainly located within the central catchment area where most of Singapore reservoirs are located.

The people who live within the Thomson area are also known as "Thomsoners", a variety of popular food establishments namely roti pratha are dotted along the main road which runs through the area. Due to the location as well as proximity and ease of traveling to the city ,popular schools, parks and other parts of Singapore; many condominiums have sprung up and property prices are generally good.

Mostly private property makes up the bulk of the housing in this area with a sprinkling of HDB flats and shophouses. Some major estates which is located off Thomson area includes Ang Mo Kio,Bishan,Seletar,Toa Payoh and Sembawang.

The area also is noted for its road which is one of the longest and also one of the oldest in singapore. The road is one of the most vital transport routes in the island, linking the northern part of Singapore to the city centre and the rest of the island. The road is split into three lengths, Thomson road, Old Thomson road and Upper Thomson road. The old Thomson road is the one of the oldest existing roads in Singapore and was designed to link the villages up north with the city centre. Since then the road has been used as a racing track before a new realigned road called Upper Thomson road replaced it.

The area is very quaint and has a unique history and culture similar to Holland Road.

Tiong Bahru Estate
Built in the 1930s, Tiong Bahru Estate is one of the oldest housing estates in Singapore. It was the first project undertaken by the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), a government body administered by the British colonial authority, to provide for mass public housing in Singapore. The estate consists of about 30 apartment blocks with a total of over 900 units. The apartment blocks are made up of two to five-storey flats and the units are assorted three to five-room apartments.

The construction style of the estate is a mix of art deco and local Straits settlement shop-house architecture. The flats feature rounded balconies, flat rooftops, spiral staircases, light wells and underground storage and shelters. One notable feature of Tiong Bahru estate is that all its streets are named after Chinese pioneers of the 19th and early 20th centuries (Lim Liak, Kim Pong, Guan Chuan, Chay Yan etc.).

It is apparent that a lot of effort was put into designing the estate with a series of flats that are visually aesthetic. Thus the flats in Tiong Bahru estate contrasted markedly with those of the much later post-war mass housing programs undertaken by SIT’s successor, the Housing and Development Board. In contrast with the aesthetic art deco theme of the Tiong Bahru flats, the flats built by the Housing Board in the 1950s and 1960s are starkly utilitarian in appearance and design; where flats are almost identical in their two-dimensional “matchbox” style.

Not many people can afford to live in Tiong Bahru Estate during the pre-World War 2 years. It was the choice place of living for the upper income class and also the place where the rich and powerful kept their mistresses. For this reason, the estate used to be known as “Mei Ren Wuo” (“den of beauties” in Chinese).

The population in Tiong Bahru estate tripled after the Second World War, and it gradually loses its exalted status as an exclusive upper class housing estate.

However, it retains its close-knit Kampung (small village in Malay) spirit and became a bustling and lively little town where everyone knows and looks out for each other.

Tiong Bahru is renowned for its bird-singing aviaries. Bird lovers gather with their songbirds every morning to catch up with fellow bird lovers over coffee and tea amid the crisp, melodious chirps of Prinias, Robins, and Shrikes. Tiong Bahru is also very famous for the quality and range of the local food fare.

In particular, Tiong Bahru market boasts some of the best hawker stalls in Singapore that tops the country’s eatery charts regularly. It is not uncommon for people living in other parts of Singapore to come all the way to Tiong Bahru to enjoy a simple meal of BBQ pork rice, stir-fried prawn noodles, and other local culinary delights. In a city-state abound with food courts, hawker centers and other eateries, this bears testament to the delectability and popularity of the food in Tiong Bahru.

In recent years, the population of Tiong Bahru estate has been in a steady decline. Following the economic boom of the 1970s and 1980s, the next generation of Singaporeans is becoming more affluent and sophisticated. They hold allure to the sleek and modern designs of new towns and private condominiums and began moving out of Tiong Bahru en-masse. Consequently, Tiong Bahru estate has become a de-facto estate for the elderly.

Toa Payoh
Toa Payoh New Town is one of the oldest township's in Singapore, but it has developed greatly since the early and mid-1960s. It is home to the HDB Hub and hosts the country's only air-conditioned bus interchange.

It boasts excellent sporting facilities, including a stadium, an indoor sports hall and the country's best swimming complex, where the SEA Games swimming competition is some times held. These are also the venues for several of the National Schools sports competitions. There is a plethora of shophouses in Toa Payoh Central that participate in the annual Great Singapore Sale.

One would recall that Toa payoh New Town actually started off as a self-contained town in 1964, where facilities such as shopping centres, schools, clinics, community centre and bus terminals were located. Moreover, industrial estates were located within the vicinity to provide jobs for the residents. It was built away from the bustling city areas to ease congestion in transport lines.

"Toa Payoh" means "Big Swamp" - as it was swampland before it was transformed into a housing estate.

Woodlands
Woodlands is a town northern of Singapore, comprising four distinctive housing estates; a constituency in the Sembawang GRC; part of the North West Community Development Council (CDC) district, at the northernmost point of Singapore.

Woodlands includes a vibrant mix of colours from many towers of Housing and Development Board apartments, one of the largest shopping malls in Singapore, the Causeway Point and the first school dedicated to nurturing the next generation of sporting talents, the Singapore Sport School. Above all, Woodlands is the gateway to Malaysia from Singapore.

Contents
1 Preamble
2 Estates
2.1 Woodlands
2.2 Marsiling
2.3 Woodgrove
2.4 Admiralty
2.5 Woodlands Town Garden

Preamble
A town in development, Woodlands is quite an ever-changing town, with its distinct style, apart from the hectic lifestyle familiar in downtown and older parts of Singapore. From the beginning of development during the 1970s to expand Marsiling, Woodlands have grown into a huge neighborhood, home to the many different people from all walks of life. Woodlands is strategically situated between Malaysia and the Singapore inland, connecting to the Malaysian city of Johor Bahru, via the Causeway. Woodlands is one the very essence of early development in Singapore, becoming today’s model for future transportation, entertainment, leisure and education development within an estate.

Woodlands is a town with different features. Developments were concentrated in the central, southern and eastern portion of the estate, leaving a countryside lifestyle of fresh air, serenity and, surrounded by trees in the northern portion.

Large open spaces, grasslands, parks, recreational facilities and communal gardens were found nearly everywhere in Woodlands. Most of the housing apartment blocks were interconnected, providing sheltered pavements throughout an entire division within an estate.

Nonetheless, several larger parks were packed within estates and were escapes to the urban lifestyle. Rich diversity of natural habitats and pleasant environment, these parks were often scenic, though man-made. Woodlands had preserved one that has serve for quite sometime, the Woodlands Town Garden.

Estates
There are four estates within Woodlands, consisting of the estate of Woodlands, Marsiling, Woodgrove and Admiralty, each with their own different traits.

Woodlands
Woodlands is the primary estate of the town, containing most of the commercial activities, such as Woodlands Square, the commercial hub of the town, consists of buildings and services of high standard. Built on a hill, Woodlands Square consists of a large hectare of grassland, houses the gala events or celebrations at different time of a year; a large mall, Causeway Point, overseeing the Woodlands MRT Station and the Woodlands Civic Centre.

There are a wide range of housing apartment blocks, some of the finest archtectures in town are found in this estate. Woodlands is highly accessible, compared to the other estates in the town. Feeder bus routes runs within the estate daily. Large avenues enable a fast flow of traffic. Woodlands is highly urbanised, however builidings were built a distance away from the roads. That is quite a distinctive style of post-independence Singapore. Buildings are phased closely together, developing in all available spaces.

Marsiling
Woodlands is increasingly an avenue for foreign Asians to the inner urban estates of Singapore. Marsiling presents the past day living patterns of Singapore; a quieter and much denser estate, often offer a rather reasonable and larger alternative to housing options, and house a large quantity of elder citizens and heavy-duty industries.

Marsiling is a large estate compared to Woodlands, which extended from north of Woodlands Square to the Woodlands Checkpoint, bordering Malaysia.

Renovated and upgraded.A redevelopment plan of upgrading existing housing apartment blocks were introduced in late 90s, and thereafter a surge in housing prices that come along with a refurbished elevator at all levels, larger apartments per household (a new room added at the rear of the flat) and of course, modernised to meet the standard of the local housing environment. Refer to Modernising Environment.

Marsiling is situated next to the industrial estate, Marsiling Industrial Estate, thus Marsiling became home to a large group of foreign expatriates.

Woodgrove
Woodgrove is the smallest estate in the town.

Towards the north-west-end of the estate; Woodgrove houses some of the private housing in Woodlands, consist of high-rise condominiums and landed properties.

Woodgrove lies in between the estates of Marsiling and Woodlands.

Admiralty
Admiralty kept abreast of contemporary housing in the town. Citizens enjoyed the convenience of a transit station, Admiralty MRT Station, similar to that of Woodlands MRT Station, built solely for the SMRT train fleets. Admiralty offers a rather reasonable quiet and organised housing, with well-designed apartments. Admiralty houses citizens who opt for government housing through the Housing Development Board's plans, instead of purchasing apartments via private agencies, which often costs more however require a shorter waiting time; opting for government housing often takes months to process and only for newly built housing flats.

Admiralty is connected to Sembawang and Yishun via Gambas Avenue; the Woodlands Industrial Park and Senoko Industrial Park via Woodlands Avenue 10; Woodlands Estate via Woodlands Avenue 7; Marsiling Estate via Woodlands Square and Woodlands Avenue 3; Expressway via Woodlands Avenue 12

Woodlands Town Garden
Woodlands Town Garden has a clear and simple agenda, to bring greenery in the right ambience with the mixture of the local ethnicity. The theme of park revolves around the Malay and Chinese culture, and winding through the park is Sungei Mandai Kecil, the river that extends into a lake within the park. Woodlands Town Garden is located near to the Woodlands Customs, in the Marsiling estate.

Tuas
Tuas is a largely industrial zone located in the west of Singapore. The Malaysia-Singapore Second Link that links Singapore and Malaysia is also located there.

It is largely reclaimed land, the purpose at the time for a site to build industry during the same time Jurong was being built up. It is also quite far away from residential area and especially far away from the main commerical district of Singapore.

This was the main reason it was chosen to site industry and therefore some semblance of heavy industry can be found in Tuas, although not as much as Jurong Island. For this reason of being far away from commerical and residential areas, two of Singapore's four incinerators are found in Tuas, namely Tuas Incinerator and Tuas South Incinerator.

Yishun
Yishun or Nee Soon, as it was originally named, is a neighbourhood in the northern part of the city-state of Singapore.

Secondary schools
Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School, Northbrooks Secondary School, Northland Secondary School, Sembawang Secondary School, Yishun Secondary School and Yishun Town Secondary School.

Library
The newly renovated one level Yishun Community Library is located at Yishun Street 22. It is the only library in the Yishun area. The library caters to the different needs of the Yishun population.

Jurong Island
Jurong Island is an island of Singapore off Jurong in the southwest of the Singapore mainland. It was formed from the merging of several offshore islands, namely Pulau Ayer Chawan, Pulau Ayer Merbau, Pulau Merlimau, Pulau Pesek, Pulau Pesek Kecil, Pulau Sakra and Pulau Seraya. This was done by land reclamation.

Kusu Island
Kusu Island is located to the south of the main island of Singapore, off the Straits of Singapore.

Kusu Island, which means "Tortoise Island" in Chinese, is also known as Peak Island or Pulau Tembakul in Malay. From 2 tiny outcrops on a reef, the island was enlarged and transformed into an island holiday resort of 85,000 square metres.

Legend has it that a magical tortoise turned itself into an island to save 2 shipwrecked sailors - a Malay and a Chinese. Each year during the ninth lunar month (which falls between Sep and Nov according to the Lunar Calendar), thousands of devotees flock to the island for their annual Kusu Pilgrimage to pay homage for good health, peace, happiness, good luck and prosperity.

Located on Kusu island is the popular Chinese temple - Da Bo Gong (The Merchant God or God of Prosperity). Built in 1923 by a wealthy businessman, the temple houses 2 main deities - the Da Bo Gong and Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy). The former is highly regarded as having the power to confer prosperity, cure diseases, calm the sea and avert danger, while Guan Yin is known as the 'giver of sons'.

At the top of the rugged hillock on Kusu Island stands three kramats (or holy shrines of Malay saints) to commemorate a pious man (Syed Abdul Rahman), his mother (Nenek Ghalib) and sister (Puteri Fatimah) who lived in the 19th century. Many devotees will climb the 152 steps leading to the kramats to pray for wealth, good marriage, good health and harmony. The shrines are also popular with childless couples who would pray for children.

Located just 5.6 km south of the main island of Singapore, Kusu Island is also well loved for its blue lagoons, pristine beaches and tranquil settings. Visitors can also pay a visit to the wishing well and Tortoise Sanctuary.

It is illegal to stay overnight on Kusu Island.

Pulau Brani
Pulau Brani is located off the southern coast of Singapore, near Keppel Harbour. The island is sandwiched between the main island of Singapore and the resort island Sentosa. The island is linked by road to the Singapore main island via a causeway, Brani Terminal Avenue, which concurrently provides access to Sentosa.

The area of Pulau Brani is 1.22 km².

The name "Pulau Brani" means "Island of the Brave" in Malay.

Pulau Brani was selected to house a new naval base in the early 1970s.

Pulau Hantu
Pulau Hantu is located to the south of the main island of Singapore, off the Straits of Singapore. Pulau Hantu is actually made up of two islets: Pulau Hantu Besar (Big Ghost Island) and Pulau Hantu Kechil (Little Ghost Island). At low tide, it is possible to wade across the shallow lagoon between the two islands, but not at high tide.

The Legend of Pulau Hantu
"Hantu" is the Malay word for ghost and Pulau Hantu is aptly named as "island of ghosts". It was here that ancient Malay warriors once dueled to the death and their ghosts are said to wander the isle.

There were once two great warriors locked in a fierce battle at sea. Many people died and the blue seas slowly became polluted with human blood, upsetting the Jinns at the bottom of the ocean. In anger, one powerful Jinn created a whirlpool and sucked the two warriors into the deep sea to drown them. Not deterred, they continued their battle. Suddenly, the Jinn sprayed water on one of them. The other warrior, seeing his opponent blinded, thrusted his sword into his abdomen. At the same time, the wounded warrior plunged his sword into the other man. Both collapsed and died.

The gods felt it was wrong for the sea spirits to interfere in human affairs. Thus, the Jinn transformed the two warriors into islets so that their spirits can continue to live on them. As one of the warriors was smaller than the other, his islet was known as Pulau Hantu Kechil while the bigger one was called Pulau Hantu Besar.

Pulau Hantu today
Despite its forbidding name, Pulau Hantu is a favourite haunt for fishing and snorkeling enthusiasts because of its sheltered beaches, swimming lagoons and inviting waters. The islands are also popular with campers and day-trippers who prefer a unique outdoor experience.

Pulau Hantu has rich reefs despite its close proximity to Pulau Bukom's refineries. A wide variety of corals can be found on Pulau Hantu, and mushroom corals are particularly abundant in the waters surrounding the islands. Common sea life that can also be found include the clown fish or anemonefish, the giant clam and the seahorse. There is a small patch of mangroves between Pulau Hantu Kecil and Pulau Hantu Besar, where native seashore plants also line their beaches.

Pulau Tekong 德光岛
Pulau Tekong is the largest of Singapore's outlying islands. It is found off Singapore's northeastern coast, but is actually nearer to Johor, Malaysia than the mainland itself. Land reclamation work is currently undergoing off the southern part of the island. Malaysia has referred the reclamation issue to International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on July 2003. Subsequently, the tribunal ordered a year-long joint study on the issue. The conflict was resolved on April 2005 following a signing of agreement between the 2 countries. The agreement include modifications of the island in area D. The signed agreement is sent to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for final judegement.

The island is used exclusively as a training base for various Singapore Army Units where Singaporean males conscripted into National Service and is home to the Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC), Infantry Headquarters and the School of Infantry Specialists (SISPEC), with some 5,000 men residing there at any one time for up to several months each.

The public are not permitted entry.

Pulau Ubin

Contents
1 History
2 Current Situation
3 Local Tourism

History
Pulau Ubin is a small island (10 km²) situated north east of Singapore, beside Pulau Tekong. The name literally means "Granite Island" in Malay, which explains the many abandoned granite quarries there. Granite mining supported a few thousand settlers in the 1960s, but only a hundred villagers live there today. It is also one of the very few off-shore islands in Singapore that is still inhabitated.

Current Situation
Pulau Ubin is one of the last areas of Singapore that has been preserved from urban development, concrete buildings, tarmac roads, etc.

Pulau Ubin's wooden house village and wooden jetty, relax inhabitants, rich and preserved wildlife, abandoned querries and plantations, and untouched nature in general make it the last witness of the old "kampong" Singapore that existed before modern industrial times and development plans.

Singapore government development projects on the island in the last few years has been controversial and debate has been able to find its way through government controlled medias.

Though recent government action has been limited to widening the paths for bicycles, building shelters for trekkers and so on for growing numbers of visitors, it is already discreetly changing the face and nature of Pulau Ubin from untouched to planned, and pathing the way to further developments.

The future of the island is in the hands of Singaporean, but its status of witness of a former way of life will most probably disappear with the last "kampung" generation.

Local Tourism
Though the island attracted attention for development and planning only in recent years, Singaporeans visitors have been coming to Pulau Ubin for summer camps and outdoor activities for many years.

With attention growing and interest in nature rising, new kinds of visitors are now increasing the flow of visits.

One of the current popular tourist attraction on the island is Tanjung Chek Jawa. Previously a coral reef 5000 years ago, it can be said to be virtually unspoilt, with a variety of marine wildlife comparable to other islands, such as sea hares, sea squirts, octopi, starfishes, sand dollars, fishes, sponges, cuttlefishes, nudibranches and more.

Visitors may travel to the island via a 10 min bumboat ride from the Changi Village jetty. Cost is 2 SDG per visitor.

Sentosa 圣淘沙
Sentosa, which means Tranquillity in Malay, is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some two million people a year. A major tourist attraction, it hosts a sheltered beach of more than two kilometres in length on its southern coast, a musical fountain replete with the latest in lighting display technologies, and historical fortifications in Fort Siloso, dating from World War II. There are also two golf courses and two 5-star hotels.

Contents
1 History
2 Geography

History
This island was once a fishing village known as Pulau Belakang Mati, which in Malay means the "Island Where Death Lurks From Behind". During the Second World War, it was a British military fortress. The British set up defending artillery guns in Fort Siloso then were pointed to the south, facing the sea in expectation of a seaward Japanese assault. However, the Japanese eventually invaded and captured Singapore from the north, after having done the same to Malaya (now known as West or Peninsular Malaysia).

In 1967, the island was handed back to the newly independent Singapore government. A year later, the government decided to develop the island into a holiday resort for local visitors and tourists. It was renamed “Sentosa”, which means Tranquillity in Malay, from a suggestion by the public.

Geography
The island has an area of 5 square kilometres. It lies just half a kilometre (a quarter of a mile) away from the southern coast of the main island of Singapore. It is Singapore’s fourth largest island (excluding the main island). 70 % of the island is covered by secondary rainforest, the habitat of monitor lizards, monkeys, peacocks, parrots as well as other native fauna and flora. The island also has 3.2 kilometre stretch of white sand beach.

Sentosa can be reached via a short causeway or cable car, which originates on Mount Faber and passes through HarbourFront en route. In the future, it will also be accessible by a SGD$140 million Sentosa Express between Sentosa and the main island's train system. When it becomes operational in 2006, visitors can easily transfer from the North-East MRT Line at HarbourFront Station onto the Sentosa Express.

Saint John's Island
Saint John's Island is located to the south of the main island of Singapore, off the Straits of Singapore. The island is situated approximately 6.5 km south of Singapore, and is previously known as Pulau Sakijang Bendera.

Saint John's Island formerly houses a quarantine station for leprosy cases detected among immigrants, a penal settlement and a drug rehabilitation centre. This 39-hectare hilly island has since been transformed into a tranquil getaway with swimming lagoons, beaches, picnic grounds, trekking routes and soccer fields. The island is also a haven for a host of flora and fauna, and is perfect for a weekend visit.

Holiday-makers yearning for an island stay on Saint John's Island can book the Holiday Bungalow, which can accommodate up to 10 persons and comes furnished with a kitchen. Organised groups can stay over in the dormitories at the Holiday Camps which can take up to 60 persons. The dormitories are equipped with basic cooking facilities.

Overnight stays are only allowed for occupants at the Holiday Bungalow and Holiday Camps.

Sisters' Islands
The Sisters' Islands are located to the south of the main island of Singapore, off the Straits of Singapore. Big Sister's Island, about 3.9 ha in area and also known as Pulau Subar Laut in Malay, faces the open sea, while Little Sister's Island, about 1.7 ha in area and also known as Pulau Subar Darat in Malay, faces the mainland. The two islands are separated by a narrow channel. Currents through this channel can be very dangerous to swimmers and divers.

The Legend of the Sisters' Islands
Legend tells of a poor widow who had two pretty daughters, Minah and Linah, who were very close to each other. After their mother died, the sisters left the village to live with a distant uncle.

One unfortunate day, Linah met a group of pirates while she was fetching water from a well near the sea. Frightened, she ran home while the pirate chief gave chase. At the uncle's home, the pirate brandished a dagger and made known his wish to marry Linah. That night, the two sisters wept bitterly in each other's arms. When dawn broke, the pirate chief and 16 of his men came to take Linah away. Clinging to each other, they were torn apart by the pirates and Linah was forced to leave with the pirates. Just then, the sky turned dark and a storm broke out. Desperate, Minah swam after the boat but drowned. On seeing this, Linah freed herself from her captors and jumped into the sea to join Minah.

The storm subsided but nowhere can the sisters be found. The next day, the villagers were shocked to see two islands at the spot where the two sisters had drowned.

The two tranquil islands, called Pulau Subar Laut and Pulau Subar Darat, was henceforth known as the Sisters' Islands. It was said that every year on that very day when the sisters turned into islands, there will always be storm and rain.

The Sisters' Islands today
The Sisters' Islands' beaches and warm blue waters make snorkeling a favourite activity at the islands. The islands are also popular with picnickers and campers.

The islands are home to some of Singapore's richest reefs. A wide variety of corals can be found in the waters surrounding the islands. Common sea life that can be found include the giant clam, the seahorse and the octopus.

Big Sister's Island is home to some long-tailed macaques.

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