Sightseeing in Singapore

Sentosa Island

Meaning Isle of Tranquility in Malay, Sentosa Island is Singapore’s answer to Disneyland. Take a cable car to heighten the journey to the island.  Attractions at Sentosa include the Insect Kingdom and Butterfly Park with over 1,500 species of butterflies and 3,000 species of assorted creepy crawlies, the Fountain Gardens, and the Dragon Trail Nature Walk with its dragon sculptures.  There are numerous restaurants, a resort for overnighters, and a choice of 3 beaches where you can rent paddle boats and banana boats.  A visit to Asia’s largest oceanarium should also be a part of every medical tourism itinerary.  The poignant Images of Singapore Museum at Sentosa does an excellent job of preserving the horrific memories of the Japanese occupation of Southeast Asia in graphic detail.  

Natural Parks and Gardens

Although the general impression that medical tourism visitors have of Singapore is that of an urban jungle, the country has beautiful expanses of gardens and green belts nestled between skyscrapers and stretching out into the suburbs.  The well maintained Botanic Garden has more than 3,000 species of plants and trees, totaling nearly half a million plants and includes a rose garden, spice gardens, and a banana plantation on its grounds.  About 7.5 miles outside the city is the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, one of the few attractions in Singapore that isn’t man-made.  There are more species of trees here than can be found on the entire North American continent, and although most of the animal species have long vanished, you can still catch a glimpse of the occasional stray, long-tailed macaque.  

Jurong Bird Park

With a collection of 8,000 tropical birds, many of which are on the endangered species list, this Park has a series of firsts to its name.  It’s the largest bird park in South East Asia and boasts of the world’s tallest walk-in aviary (the Waterfall Aviary which in turn houses the world’s largest man-made waterfall).  If all these weren’t enough reasons to visit, there’s the Penguin Parade and the variety of daily bird shows.  

Night Safari

Touted as the world’s first open air zoo for nocturnal animals, the Night Safari is located right next to the Singapore Zoological Gardens.  Special lighting has been made use of to create a moonlit effect, and medical tourism vacationers get a chance to watch the animals in habitats that been created to resemble their natural environs - the Burmese jungles, Himalayan foothills, African grasslands, and Southeast Asian tropical forests.

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