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A picture is worth a thousand words, and this short, compact book packs a lot of information. I love the format of this book. It really is an excellent way to convey this type of information.I will be making the trip to singapore later this year, and this book will be right there with me. Text is only used to explain concepts and history, while pictures are used to show places to visit, things to do, things to eat, with lines back to their source on an easy to read map. Lots of pictures and maps. Flipping through the book you see things that look beautiful, fun, exciting, interesting and tasty.
This particular guide was no exception.Well worth the money by adding immeasurably to the trip. In my opinion, the "Eyewitness Guides" are a must reading whenever my wife and I travel to a location we've never been before. In addition to the usual tourist information they present great background on the history and culture of the area.
The street-by-street pictorial maps are excellent, but not always true to detail. However, on the downside, I would have liked to see more budget options in the "where to stay"-chapter. If you ever go to Singapore, don't forget to bring this book. The general index (for looking up things) is very good. Nevertheless, probably the best guidebook to buy. Even if you have been there many times (I have), you will always find new and interesting sights to visit and new information you didn't know about. What I like most is the detailed map section that covers most of the central city, that is the part you would want to visit as a tourist anyway.
This book does just that. For the Singapore edition, the mapping, directions and information were particularly helpful and accurate. Singapore is not a large place but it has a mountain of things to do and see, so it is important to have an accurate guide that breaks things down into specific geographic sections as well as into subject matter. I needed a travel guide to help me with my first trip to Singapore. I highly recommend this guide to any traveller heading to Singapore. They contain a good mix of historical information and practical guidance, and the graphics are excellent (I keep my Eyewitness travel guides as souveniers so I can remember all the things I did on my trips and their pictures are usually better than mine). The Eyewitness guides have consistently been the best for me. The writing is interesting and informative - not too technical and not too "touristy".
The new Singapore book is no exception to these considerations, so much so, I wish I had it my disposal when I visited there last year, if only for the invaluable details it provides. The book contains a brief, but informative overview of the history and multi-cultural nature of this exciting island country.
If I have any criticisms of this, and indeed with many other Eyewitness Travel Guides, it is a shade small, with tiny text font, and it is a tad too short for my liking. As with other titles in the series, the guide enables the user-traveler to gain maximum benefit from his or her visit, by highlighting THE places to visit, and what to expect from these experiences.
Seduced as I am by the highly glossy, supremely compact and wonderfuly illustrated DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, I suppose I am somewhat biased as a reviewer. It has also made it quite clear, exactly how much I missed last time, particularly in terms of wildlife reserves, museums, and galleries.
But I guess they have to fit comfortably into your pocket, and, in any case, you cannot have too much of a good thing, otherwise you may just stay at home and gloat over the marvellous pictures. The combination of succinct text, numerous useful details, spectacular photographs, eyecatching 3-D graphical images, and user-friendly maps make the Eyewitness Travel Guides uniquely useful, distinctive and even collectable.
Now shortly before leaving for Singapore once again, I have recently acquired this book, and it has whetted my appetite, by reminding me of the places, the colors, the smells, the greenery, the heat, and the vibrancy I had already experienced.
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