Singapore’s Island Life

By Margaret Zellers

Singapore’s appeal is year-round, with a diverse culture that includes dozens of ethnic restaurants, excellent theater, interesting museums including the National Museum, with the history of Singapore, and Asian Civilization Museum, which opened in April ’97 in the tastefully restored Tao Nan school building.

The Smaller Islands
Although the main island is the best known and busiest part of the country, Singapore’s other islands offer a more natural style. More than 60 small islands are included in the country, with Sentosa, Kusu, and St. John’s served by regular ferry service, and some of the other islands reached by chartering a bumboat, the small boat-taxis that ply the waters of Singapore.

Sentosa 
Sentosa is much more than the "amusement park" it is sometimes touted to be. Easily reached by cablecar, ferry, or buses that travel well-marked routes passing most hotels, Sentosa is home to a walk-through butterfly and insect park, a tropical oceanarium, a water theme park, landscaped gardens, a Maritime Museum, a beach area, and a few hotels. 

The Beaufort is an elegant retreat sometimes used for executive seminars and always pleasant for lunch or dinner, even when visitors are staying in Singapore.

Pulau Hantu
Another of the smaller islands is Pulau Hantu. The island is noteworthy for snorkeling and fishing; bicycling and hiking can be enjoyed on Pulau Ubin, an island best known to the resident fisherfolk who maintain a lifestyle best known 30-or-more years ago; and Malays live in traditional stilt houses on Pulau Seking.

Each of the three islands are reached by boat, the first two from the Jardine Steps at the World Trade Center in Singapore; boats leave from Changi Point for Pulau Ubin.

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