SINGAPORE
About Singapore
Conveniently linked by a kilometre-long causeway to the southern
tip of Malaysia, the tiny city-state of Singapore (just 580 square
kilometres) makes a gentle gateway for many first-time travellers
to Asia, providing Western standards of comfort and hygiene alongside
traditional Chinese, Malay and Indian enclaves. Its downtown areas
are dense with towering skyscrapers and gleaming shopping malls,
yet the island retains an abundance of nature reserves and lush,
tropical greenery.
Singapore is a wealthy nation compared to the rest of Southeast
Asia, with an average per capita income of over US$15,000. At
the core of this success story is an unwritten bargain between
Singapore's paternalistic government and acquiescent population,
which stipulates the loss of a certain amount of personal freedom,
in return for levels of affluence and comfort that would have
seemed unimaginable thirty years ago. Outsiders often bridle at
this, and it's true that some of the regulations can seem extreme:
neglecting to flush a public toilet, jaywalking, chewing gum and
eating on the subway all carry sizeable fines. Yet the upshot
is that Singapore is a clean, safe place to visit, its amenities
are second to none and its public places are smoke-free and hygienic.
Of more relevance to the millions of visitors Singapore receives
each year is the fact that improvements in living conditions have
been shadowed by a steady loss of the state's heritage , as historic
buildings and streets are bulldozed to make way for shopping centres.
Singapore undoubtedly lacks the personality of some southeast
Asian cities, but its reputation for being sterile and sanitized
is unfair. Much of the country's fascination springs from its
multicultural population : of the 3.87 million inhabitants, 77
percent are Chinese (a figure reflected in the predominance of
Chinese shops, restaurants and temples across the island), 14
percent are Malay, and 7 percent are Indian, the remainder being
from other ethnic groups.
The entire state is compact enough to be explored exhaustively
in just a few days. Forming the core of downtown Singapore is
the Colonial District , around whose public buildings and lofty
cathedral the island's British residents used to promenade. Each
surrounding enclave has its own distinct flavour, from the aromatic
spice stores of Little India to the tumbledown backstreets of
Chinatown, where it's still possible to find calligraphers and
fortune tellers, or the Arab Quarter, whose cluttered stores sell
fine cloths and silks.
Beyond the city, you'll find Bukit Timah Nature Reserve , the
splendid Singapore Zoological Gardens , complete with night safari
tours, and the oriental Disneyworld attractions of Haw Par Villas
. Offshore, you'll find Sentosa , the island amusement arcade
which is linked to the south coast by a short causeway (and cable
car), and Pulau Ubin , off the east coast, where the inhabitants
continue to live a traditional kampung (village) life.
Singapore is just 136km north of the equator, which means that
you should be prepared for a hot and sticky time whenever you
go; temperatures hover around 30°C throughout the year. November,
December and January are usually the coolest and the wettest months,
but rain can fall all year round. July usually records the lowest
annual rainfall.
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