Singapore Holidays

Singapore, the diamond-shaped island off the southern tip of Malaysia, is an unlikely success story. Once a simple fishing village, it was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles, an official of the British East India Company, who decided it was the perfect location as a trading station. Since then it has become one of the worlds most prosperous cities, known as the Lion City.

Singapore City is by far the largest and most significant island alongside 63 others that make up Singapore state. Here, especially at the mouth of the Singapore River, Asian tradition meets modern technology gleaming skyscrapers tower over traditional architecture, while squat Chinese and Hindu temples stud the city. A curious blend of ancient and modern, the city is home to an ethnic mix of Chinese, Malaysians and Indians, as well as ex-pats from all over the world, in a predominantly English-speaking society. These different races live harmoniously thanks to religious tolerance, increased prosperity, stringent no-nonsense laws and a constant balmy equatorial heat.

Since the island became an independent Republic in 1965, it has enjoyed a vigorous and successful free trade policy, as introduced by its then Prime Minister (now Minister Mentor) Lee Kuan Yew. This has led to an unprecedented rise in the standard of living (most city dwellers own their own homes) and exponential economic growth, due mainly to the export industry. Its healthy economy was dented between 2001 and 2003 during the global recession and slump in the technology sector, and it suffered a heavy loss in tourist numbers after the terrorist attacks of September 11. There was a further drop in the number of visitors to the region during the SARS outbreak at the end of 2003. A subsequent recovery, however, has seen unemployment fall from 6% in 2002 to 3.4% in 2004.

Its world-beating Changi Airport represents Singapores impressive efficiency, cleanliness and technology at its best, although hiding behind that façade is the more sinister means of achieving these qualities. Such cleanliness and safety in the city has been achieved and maintained at the expense of personal freedom, with those breaking the law facing canings, corrective work orders and harsh financial penalties. There are infamous on-the-spot fines for jay-walking or dropping a cigarette, while more serious crimes, such as drug trafficking, are punished by the death penalty.

Yet the financial and business districts of are home to a steady stream of well-heeled ex-pats who enjoy a good quality of life. In Singapore, oiling the wheels of success and becoming the best (an economic miracle to show the rest of the world the way) seems paramount. It is frequently voted Asias top business destination, and is regarded as one of the finest venues for international conferences, conventions and exhibitions (the IMF World Bank Annual Meeting is due here in 2006), with a fast-growing market for incentive travel.

All of this business thrives amid a constant flow of festivals and events in the ethnic quarters of Chinatown, Little India and Geylang Serai, which mark the many religious and cultural occasions throughout the calendar. Singaporeans still rely on feng shui consultants, astrologers and fortune-tellers for advice when moving home, getting married or changing jobs.

The budding arts community provides a series of annual showcases, however these tend to be more like respectable creations of the Tourism Board than wild establishment-rocking events.

Although Raffles Hotel and a rank of good museums furnish insights into the past, modern consumer culture is the most prolific. The Great Singapore Sale dominates the early summer in the city centre, and most visitors to Singapore will indulge in its competitive prices and great selection, especially in electronics equipment. And everybody comes to eat, with food outlets at every step, from traditional hawker centres to modern food courts, Asian specialities to international haute cuisine reflecting the diversity of ethnic communities that Singapore has long been home to.