Mandai is the name of an urban planning area

Urban planning areas in Singapore

Singapore is currently divided into 55 urban planning areas by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, organised into five regions. A Development Guide Plan is then drawn up for each planning area, providing for detailed planning guidelines for every individual plot of land throughout the country.The...

 located in the North Region

North Region, Singapore

The North Region of Singapore is one of the five regions in the city-state. Comprising 13,500 hectares of land area, it includes eight urban planning areas and has a population of at least 400,000...

 of Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. Mandai Road

Mandai Road

Mandai Road is a heritage road located in Mandai in the northern area of Singapore. The road starts from Woodlands Road and ends at Upper Thomson Road. The road was built in 1855 in a jungle and appeared in the Franklin & Jackson Plan of Singapore as a river known as R. Mandi...

 passes through the area, linking Woodlands Road to Upper Thomson Road.

The Singapore Zoo

Singapore Zoo

The Singapore Zoo , formerly known as the Singapore Zoological Gardens and commonly known locally as the Mandai Zoo, occupies 28 hectares of land on the margins of Upper Seletar Reservoir within Singapore's heavily forested central catchment area. The zoo was built at a cost of S$9m granted by...

 and Night Safari are located in the vicinity and are accessible via Mandai Road

Mandai Road

Mandai Road is a heritage road located in Mandai in the northern area of Singapore. The road starts from Woodlands Road and ends at Upper Thomson Road. The road was built in 1855 in a jungle and appeared in the Franklin & Jackson Plan of Singapore as a river known as R. Mandi...

, and hence the common reference to the parks as "Mandai Zoo". The name is also closely associated with the military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

 training grounds in the area, along with the Mandai Camp, Nee Soon Camp and the Sembawang Air Base that lie in close proximity either within or adjacent to Mandai Planning Area. Mandai Columbarium and Crematorium, the biggest crematorium and columbarium in Singapore, is also located in Mandai area.

In 2012, a new river-themed park, River Safari

River Safari

The River Safari is an upcoming river-themed zoo located in Singapore to be opened in 2012 with construction set to be completed in late 2011. The attraction built over 12 hectares of land, and will be nestled between its two counterparts the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari...

, will be situated beside the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari.

Etymology and history

Mandai Road

Mandai Road

Mandai Road is a heritage road located in Mandai in the northern area of Singapore. The road starts from Woodlands Road and ends at Upper Thomson Road. The road was built in 1855 in a jungle and appeared in the Franklin & Jackson Plan of Singapore as a river known as R. Mandi...

 was cut in 1855. The name Mandai appears in the Franklin and Jackson's Plan of Singapore

Jackson Plan

The Jackson Plan of 1822, also known as the "Plan of the Town of Singapore", was an urban plan for Singapore drawn up to maintain some order in the urban development of the fledgling but thriving colony founded just three years earlier...

 (1828) as a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 — "R. Mandi". The name is said to come from a tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

.

The Mandai tree is of the species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 unid.

Transportation

It is rumoured that this area will soon be served by the future Thomson MRT Line

Thomson MRT Line

The Thomson Line will be the sixth Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore and is currently under planning and evaluation. It will be a fully automatic and driverless system, similar to its three predecessors, and will be completely underground. Announcement of station locations is expected in...

, although no details has been released yet.

Bus services also ply along this road. The following bus services serve Mandai Road:

Service	Between	And	Notes
SBS Transit Trunk Services
138	Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange Ang Mo Kio Ave 8 Bus Interchange is located in Ang Mo Kio Town Centre, Singapore. The interchange is presently within AMK Hub, a newly-built shopping centre which is in turn linked to the Ang Mo Kio MRT Station via a pedestrian underpass below Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8.The interchange is the third to be...	Singapore Zoological Gardens (loop)
SMRT Buses Trunk Services
171	Yishun Bus Interchange Yishun Bus Interchange Yishun Bus Interchange is located in northern Singapore, across Yishun Avenue 2 from Yishun MRT Station and it is operated by SMRT Corporation. This existing bus interchange will be demolished to make way for a new airconditioned bus interchange that is integrated with a new shopping mall and...	Marina Centre Bus Terminal Marina Centre Bus Terminal Marina Centre Bus Terminal is a bus station located along Raffles Boulevard in Marina Centre, Singapore. It is very near to Promenade MRT Station. The bus terminal does not allow boarding or alighting, and passengers have to alight before the bus terminates at the terminal...
926	Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange was completed and opened along with the Woodlands extension of the North South MRT Line in 1996. It is the first underground bus interchange, and one of the biggest in Singapore...	Singapore Zoological Gardens (loop)
927	Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange The Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange is a local bus interchange which mainly serves the residential neighbourhood of Choa Chu Kang. Located at Choa Chu Kang Loop and connected to the Choa Chu Kang MRT/LRT Station and the Lot One Shoppers' Mall, the interchange is operated under SMRT...	Singapore Zoological Gardens (loop)