Swingin' with a Singapore Sling

You MUST see the Singapore Zoo, both during the day and for the night safari. Sentosa Island is fun for the family, with rides and a resort atmosphere. Visit the various ethnic neighborhoods for good food, crafts, and gifts. Visit the Raffles Hotel and its famous Long Bar (around back) if you want to try a Singapore Sling (but only if you have a little spare cash, because they're pricey).

Quick Tips:

Bring water; it's hot year-round. See what events and specials are available on the Singapore Tourism Board website: http://www.stb.com.sg.

Best Way To Get Around:

With few exceptions, the subway/train system is the best way to get to most of the places you'll want to see. Get a one- or three-day pass, so you can hop on and off at will. For places not close to a subway stop (notably, the zoo), the bus will take you there, but be sure to ask someone at a major bus station or at the subway ticket office which bus to take.

Not exactly for the faint of heart or light of pocketbook, but definitely worth the price for the experience if you have an adventurous palate. This Chinese restaurant has two menus: one for the casual diner with standard Chinese fare, and one with suggestions for possible dishes with more unusual ingredients. The restaurant has its own apothecary and herbalist on-site who can recommend dishes to cure what ails you. We had crocodile soup, frogs' legs, eel sauteed with peppers, even fried scorpions on toast, along with more standard duck, shrimp, and vegetable dishes. Definitely a destination restaurant for those of you looking for something new to try.

I visited this iconic bar several times over the years; its central location near the major tourist area made it a convenient place to meet up for a drink or four before heading out to see more the city. Located within the sprawling Raffles Hotel, the bar is the place to go to enjoy a Singapore Sling in the establishment where it was invented in the early 1900s (or just about any other libation you can imagine). The atmosphere is distinctly casual, with bowls of peanuts on each table and an open invitation to throw the shells on the floor. The decor is distinctly British-inspired Southeast Asian Colony: dark woods, shiny brass, woven grass fan blades on the lazily rotating fans. Although the signature drink is distinctly pricey (about $11 last time I was there) and costs extra if you want to keep the souvenir glass, the rest of the drinks are reasonably priced, as are snacks (usually I was cheap enough to simply munch down a lot of peanuts for free, but my associates enjoyed several appetizers that were quite reasonable)

I have to admit that the Singapore Sling was pretty watered down, sort of like Jell-O without the pectin to thicken it. It was worth it once just to say I have tried one, the experience being priceless and all, but if you're on a budget, I'd buy one and share it with your six best friends so you can all say you tried it but are only out a buck or two.

In a word, WILD: The zoo is designed on an "open zoo" concept, with guests sharing the same space with many of the animals. Obviously, the more dangerous the animal is, the more safeguards are between you -- moats separate you from the Komodo Dragons, for instance, and the big predators are in enclosures with plexiglass windows. Still, it's a little disconcerting for U.S. visitors to see monkeys and lizards scampering across the pathway you're walking on, but once you get used to the idea, it's pretty exciting. A must-see, both in the day and at night!