Visiting the City of the Lion
By FEANN TORR
 Going
to Singapore for the first time is an amazing experience.
You hear the stories about how people get sent to jail for
spitting and littering and how there is no crime. Some of
this is true and some is complete fiction, but one thing is
for sure, when traveling through Asia, Singapore is a must.
The small island is linked to Malaysia, and the rest of northern
Asia via a small road bridge. The country is located a few
degrees from the equator and, as such, is quite warm all year
round.
This is one of the biggest complaints from tourists returning
from the picturesque island, but the intense humidity and
constant heat, I believe, added to the charm of the place.
All hotels are equipped with air-conditioners too, so you
can, however, expect to sleep like a proverbial log. For more
information on hotels, click
here.
The island country is quite small (about 30 km across), by
that by no means reflects the quality of living for its inhabitants.
Most working class people live in flats and high-rise apartment
blocks.
Singapore, or the City of the Lion, is what many call the
technology capital of the world. Well, I guess if you discount
Silicon Valley in California, that is. For such a small country
the wealth involved is almost beyond belief.
It started out as a focal point for maritime trading. This
was because of its sheltered docks and strategic trading position.
It went from a small trading outpost to create immense wealth
as the region became more and more important with regards
to exports.
The country nowadays exports its own product, which consists
mainly of information technologies and electronics. Many of
the world's biggest IT companies are based there, complete
with huge factories and such. But enough with the history
lesson.
The culture of Singapore stems largely from the rest of Asia
but, adapting to the business ethos, the country's first language
is English, followed closely by Mandarin.
The food is typically hot and involves a lot of seafood.
One of the country's favourite dishes is the originally named
Chilli Crab. To be brutally frank, even when it's bad it's
good!
The general look of the island is very green. Though the
city is absolutely huge, containing some of the world's tallest
buildings, the low-lying rain-forest style flora really does
make ground level seem more like a tropical paradise as opposed
to an international technology epicentre. In addition, don't
forget to check out the amazing twilight zoo as it is a real
eye-opener.
There is plenty of shopping to do in Singapore and if you
like electronics I urge you to travel there. Camcorders, cameras,
MP3 players, Mini-disc players, portable DVD players, video
games and more are all for sale in malls completely dedicated
to electronics, which is almost unheard of in the Western
world.
Sim-Lim Square, Sun-Tec City and other huge malls are devoted
to bringing consumers the latest in electronic gadgetry interspersed
only by expensive coffee lounges, restaurants and the occasional
barber shop.
Singapore is a traveler's paradise. Its beauty and eloquence
will captivate holiday-goers and its technological advances
will have weatherworn backpackers in awe. Everything is clean
and the underground train system is lemon scented for aesthetic
pleasure.
Enjoy for it for its innocence or simply its splendidly modern
architecture, Singapore makes a wonderfully stimulating holiday
destination.
Accommodation
in Singapore
Singapore.com
Singapore
Tourism info
Singapore
Airlines
|
