• During the 14th century, this small but strategically-placed island had earned a new name - "Singa Pura" ("Lion City"). According to legend, a visiting Sri Vijayan prince saw an animal he mistook for a lion and Singapore's modern day name was born.
  Singapore is made up of not just one island but a main island with 63 surrounding islets. The main island has a total land area of 682 square km. --- Source : Singapore Tourism Board

• The Merlion was first designed as an emblem for the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB) in 1964 - the lion head with a fish body resting on a crest of waves quickly became Singapore’s icon to the rest of the world.
  Designed by Mr Fraser Brunner, a member of the souvenir committee and a curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, the lion head represents the lion spotted by Prince Sang Nila Utama when he re-discovered Singapura in 11 AD, as recorded in the "Malay Annals". The fish tail of the Merlion symbolises the ancient city of Temasek (meaning “sea” in Javanese) by which Singapore was known before the Prince named it “Singapura” (meaning “lion” (singa) “city” (pura) in Sanskrit), and represents Singapore’s humble beginnings as a fishing village.
  Measuring 8.6 metres high and weighing 70 tonnes, the Merlion statue was built from cement fondue by the late Singapore craftsman, Mr Lim Nang Seng. A second and smaller Merlion statue, measuring two metres high and weighing three tones, was also built by Mr Lim. The body was made of cement fondue, the skin from porcelain plates and eyes from small red teacups.
  Its First Home : The Merlion and the Cub were originally located at the mouth of the Singapore River, across from the Elizabeth Walk, just 120 metres from their present location. Also called the Merlion Park, the area soon became a popular tourist attraction and took its place among the famous landmarks of great cities of the world. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the then Prime Minister of Singapore, officiated the installation ceremony of the Merlion on 15 September 1972. A bronze plaque commemorated the auspicious occasion with the inscription, "The Merlion has been erected as a symbol to welcome all visitors to Singapore".
  Today, the Merlion attracts more than one million visitors a year who make the trip to the Merlion Park to photograph this world famous icon at her new home, at the adjacent to One Fullerton. --- Source : Singapore Tourism Board

Merlion is 8.6m and 70-ton, born on September 15, 1972. Moved to the current place 30 years later.
Statute Merlion, 2m 3-ton	Mer (sea) + Singa (lion) became Merlion.
Merlion was moved to the current place on September 15, 2002 maybe because it was surrounded by the bridge.
Esplanade Theater on the bay is like durian	Backside is Raffles Tower	Sri Mariamman Temple is a Hindu temple built in 1827.
Singapore Botanic gardens have 32 ha and 3,000 kinds of tropical plants.		Umbrella tree like umbrella	Rubber tree
Orchid is the national flower of Singapore. There is Orchid garden inside.
Orchard Road Presbyterian Church		Stamford House	War Memorial Park
Beloved famous Raffles Hotel was opened in 1887, and welcomed celebrities, writers, and royalty.		Golden Crane is flying in the crane square of the sky rocketing Crane Building.
Sultan Mosque is biggest and oldest mosque in Singapore. It was constructed for the Sultan (King) in 1824 originally when he passed over the loadship. Current mosque was rebuilt in 1924.
Saint Andrew's Cathedral was started to construct in 1856. Central stained glass is dedicated to Sir Raffles in 1861.
Left dome is Supreme Court and right red ornament building is City Hall.
Supreme Court		Victoria Theater and Victoria Memorial Hall	Original Sir Stamford Raffles statue
"North Boat Quay" is the place where is thought to be the Sir Raffles' first step in Singapore. White statue is Sir Raffles. On the other side of the river, Boat Quay is with many restaurants.
Duplicated Sir Stamford Raffles statue	Boat Quay with restaurants on the other side of the river	Victoria Theater with 54m Memorial Tower	Capitol Theater is in the Capitol building.
Stamford Court is ?	The Old Parliament House is next to the current Parliament House.
Parliament House of Singapore		Central Fire Station, 1909	Orchard Road night scenery

2005/11/01