Singapore is a microcosm of Asia, populated by Malays, Chinese, Indians, and a large group of workers and expatriates from all across the world.
Singapore has a partly deserved reputation for sterile predictability that has earned it descriptions like William Gibson’s “Disneyland with the death penalty” or the “world’s only shopping mall with a seat in the United Nations”. Nevertheless, the Switzerland of Asia is for many a welcome respite from the poverty, dirt, and chaos of much of the Southeast Asian mainland, and if you scratch below the squeaky clean surface and get away from the tourist trail you’ll soon find more than meets the eye.
Singaporean food is legendary, with bustling hawker centres and 24-hour coffee shops offering cheap food from all parts of Asia, and shoppers can bust their baggage allowances in shopping centres like Orchard Road and Suntec City. In recent years some societal restrictions have also loosened up, and now you can bungee jump and dance on bar tops all night long, although alcohol is still very pricey and chewing gum can only be bought from a pharmacy for medical use
Singapore (Singapura, 新加坡, சிங்கப்பூர்) is a cosmopolitan city-state in Southeast Asia that became independent from the British in 1965 and is now one of the world’s leading economic centers in shipping and banking. Combining the skyscrapers and subways of a modern, affluent city with a medley of Chinese, Malay, Arab, and Indian influences alongside a tropical climate, tasty food from hawker centers, copious shopping malls, and vibrant night-life scene, this Garden City makes a great stopover or springboard into the region. Singapore is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world for a lot of reasons, one of which is the less stringent entry requirements.
