Fascinating facts about Singapore

Naturalist Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of the British colony of Singapore in 1819, has the honour of having the largest flower in the world, the rafflesia arnoldi, named after him. It weighs a hefty seven kilograms (15 pounds) and is only found on Sumatra, Indonesia. And if you are wondering how big is big – the petals are a metre long and 2.5 centimetres thick. As a carnivore, it also possibly has the worst smell of any flower in the world.

Too busy for a zoo trip during the day? No problem, here you can take a Night Zoo Safari on a tiny train through the grounds of the Singapore Zoo and see how the animals pass the evening.

Did you know that Raffles built his Government House on the top of Fort Canning Park? There is also an underground link between Labrador Park to the island of Sentosa that was built during World War II, although a more modern way to reach this fun theme-park island is by cable car.

The largest closed-circuit TV (CCTV) system in the world is at Singapore Airport. Here 3,000 cameras keep an eye on all the visitors that pass through.

While you may think of Singapore as just one island, actually Singapore consists of low-lying Singapore Island and 58 smaller islands within its territorial waters.

Come to Singapore in September and you may get caught up in the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts. Locals believe that this is the time that the souls of the dead are released to join in with feasting and entertainment on earth. Chinese operas are performed for them and food is offered.

A more painful festival is the Hindu celebration of Thaipusam. This is body-piercing to the extreme. Devotees spike their bodies with long needles, and some carry objects on them as well, then march in procession along the city streets. The festival will be held in October for the next couple of years.

Comments

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