Singapore - by Daniel Robinson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

New from Bradt is Singapore, written by Daniel Robinson, a southeast Asia specialist and former Singapore resident who has written scores of travel guidebooks since 1988. Robinson shares his local expertise and insights to escort visitors, locals and expat residents off the beaten track and get the most out of this unique island-state. Smaller than New York city and teetering at the Malay Peninsula's southernmost tip, Singapore is the world's third most densely populated country, yet doesn't feel like that at all - partly thanks to spectacular parks and wild spaces. Singapore stands apart from many Asian capitals in being carefully planned, reassuringly safe, English-speaking, child-friendly, spotlessly clean and - thanks to this guidebook's detailed advice - remarkably easy to explore on public transport, rented bicycle or foot. It abounds in eye-catching architecture, including high-end hotels, yet also hosts rainforest reserves where monkeys can be seen from a canopy walkway. Travellers who treat Singapore merely as a brief layover en route to further-flung destinations are missing out. You can visit the world's largest orchid garden (with 60,000 flowering plants), the world's tallest indoor waterfall and the world's first nocturnal zoo. Gastronomes can experience both Michelin-starred restaurants and hawker centers selling scrumptious, inexpensive street food. The longer you stay, the richer experiences you can find. Applying a particular focus on family-friendly activities, Robinson reveals the best places to take a stroll, have a picnic and find engaging public art (including government-sponsored 'graffiti') - but also places that even Singaporeans seldom visit: hot springs, a ruined Japanese temple and hidden beaches on offshore islands. Moreover, Changi airport - voted the world's best an astonishing 12 times - is a destination in its own right, with residents flocking to its attractions and shops even if not flying anywhere. A truly global city for two centuries, and the Asia-Pacific HQ of 40% of Fortune 500 companies, Singapore offers an historic, cultural and culinary microcosm of south, southeast and east Asia, seasoned with a dynamic blend of trade, banking, innovation and cultural fusion. This is a city-state that rewards those who give it time - provided they have Bradt's Singapore guidebook in hand.

About the Author

Daniel Robinson has been writing about travel in southeast Asia for over three decades, including authoring and co-authoring scores of guidebooks. His award-winning, pioneering Lonely Planet guides to Vietnam and Cambodia helped introduce Indochina to tourists and backpackers in the early 1990s, and his travel writing has been translated into ten languages. Throughout his career, Daniel has used Singapore as his regional base, where his wife was a professor at the national university. This has given him a front-row seat as the island-state has risen from the smallest of the 'Asian tigers' to one of the world's most dynamic and successful economies - and, thanks to land reclamation, has grown from 680 km2 to 734 km2. Over the decades, across many dozens of visits, Daniel has explored Singapore's lesser-known sights - back alleys, rainforest trails, bike paths and possibly haunted ruins - with adventurous Singaporean friends. Singapore is Robinson's first Bradt guidebook.