Singapore

When many people in the western world hear of Singapore, it’s often the Singapore Sling cocktail that comes in mind. For any trip to southeast Asia, especially on longer excursions to multiple countries, Singapore is worth a stop as it provides a nice change compared to the usual crowded, polluted and chaotic large cities of Hong Kong or Bangkok. Singapore is an island, country and city all rolled into one.

Compared to other destinations in southeast Asia, Singapore is ultra clean thanks to its somewhat restrictive government. Drug offences can result in death penalties so travelers definitely should not take the risk by bringing any illegal narcotics into Singapore. The city center itself is well designed with the Singapore river running through it. Because of the hot temperatures here since Singapore is pretty well on the equator line, the city can feel like a giant sauna. Singapore with its mixed population including Chinese (77%), Malay (14%) and Indian (7%) is a case study in multiculturalism. The country has four official languages being English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. For horticulture enthusiasts, Singapore is a gold mine where there are world class gardens including the Singapore Botanic Gardens as well as the Chinese and Japanese Gardens. For nature lovers, there are some interesting attractions including the Jurong Bird Park, Jurong Reptile Park, Singapore Crocidilarium, Singapore Zoological Gardens and the very unique Night Safari which is open only during evenings. Sentosa is a small resort island south of the city with a scenic cable car, an aquarium and some nice beaches.

In addition to the modern skyline and the contrasting ethnic temples, there is still some wonderful colonial architecture including the famous Raffles Hotel where the Singapore Sling was originally invented. Singapore has some Asian theme parks such as Tang Dynasty City which is a recreation of life during 7th century China and Haw ParVilla Tiger Balm Gardens which has colorful statues depicting Chinese mythology. High end boutique shopping for fashion and electronics will be concentrated on or near Orchard Street.

Then tourists can easily take advantage of the very efficient bus and subway system known as Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) to go pretty well anywhere on the island for selected sights of interest. Singapore would be the much needed change of pace within a longer hectic southeast Asian tour.