Singapore, an island city-state off southern Malaysia, is a global financial center with a tropical climate and multicultural population. Its colonial core centers on the Padang, a cricket field since the 1830s and now flanked by grand buildings such as City Hall, with its 18 Corinthian columns. In Singapore's circa-1820 Chinatown stands the red-and-gold Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, said to house one of Buddha's teeth.
Singapore is much more than the sum of its numerous attractions. It’s constantly evolving, reinventing, and reimagining itself, with people who are passionate about creating new possibilities.
It’s where foodies, explorers, collectors, action seekers, culture shapers, and socialisers meet?and new experiences are created every day.
Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons, uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall. Since this tropical rainforest climate is more subject to the Intertropical Convergence Zone than the trade winds and cyclones are very rare, it is equatorial. Temperatures usually range from 25 to 35 °C (77 to 95 °F). While temperature does not vary greatly throughout the year, there is a wetter monsoon season from November to January
Singapore is both a city and small island nation. We’re willing to bet this technological, modern city is unlike anywhere you’ve ever been.
Each neighborhood in Singapore is distinct. This city is a melting pot of Asian cultures, which can be experienced throughout different areas. Choosing where to stay in Singapore can be confusing, with so many options and diverse neighborhoods.
You should choose where you stay in Singapore based which attractions, landmarks, and types of food you want to base yourself around. Read on to find what’s the best area to stay in Singapore for you!
Tourism in Singapore is a major industry and contributor to the Singaporean economy, attracting 18.5 million international tourists in 2018, more than 3 times of Singapore's total population. It is also environmentally friendly, and maintains natural and heritage conservation programs. Along with this, it also has one of the world's lowest crime rates. Transport in Singapore exhaustively covers most, if not all public venues in Singapore, which increases convenience for tourists. This includes the well-known Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. Singapore is the 5th most visited city in the world, and 2nd in the Asia-Pacific.
Despite its small size, Singapore has a diversity of languages, religions, and cultures. Former Prime Ministers of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, have stated that Singapore does not fit the traditional description of a nation, calling it a society-in-transition, pointing out the fact that Singaporeans do not all speak the same language, share the same religion, or have the same customs.
From 1819, it served as a trading port for British ships on their way to India. Being a major trading hub and its close proximity to its neighbour Malaysia, Singapore was prone to many foreign influences, both from Britain and from other Asian countries. Chinese and Indian workers moved to Singapore to work at the harbour. The country remained a British colony until 1942.
When Singapore became independent from the United Kingdom in 1963, most Singaporean citizens were transient labourers, seeking to make some money in Singapore, with no intention of staying permanently. There was also a sizeable minority of middle-class, locally born people—known as Peranakans or Baba-Nyonya—descendants of 15th- and 16th-century Chinese immigrants. With the exception of the Peranakans who pledged their loyalties to Singapore, most of the labourers' loyalties lay with their respective homelands of Malaysia, China and India. After independence, the government began a deliberate process of crafting a Singaporean identity and culture.
Each Singaporean's behaviours and attitudes are influenced by, among other things, his or her home language and his religion. Singaporeans who speak English as their native language tend to lean toward Western culture, while those who speak Chinese as their native language tend to lean toward Chinese culture and Confucianism. Malay-speaking Singaporeans tend to lean toward Malay culture, which itself is closely linked to Islamic culture.
