'The Garden City' is a melting pot where the vibrant mix of language and traditions infuses everything about the city - its people, cuisine, civic pride, entertainment and architecture.

My Singapore

Welcome to New Asia - Singapore. Dreamt up by marketeers, never was an official marketing slogan quite so apt. Singapore amalgamates the best bits of Asia and packages it all up in a shiny, clean and ultra-modern bite-sized package. Singapore offers a flavour of Asia on a very conveniently sized plate. And yes, that includes the food, which is indisputably some of the best found anywhere in Asia. Singapore's popular hawker stalls are actually serving up a melting pot of culinary delights forged by Singapore's unique multi-cultural heritage.

In addition to its colourful colonial heritage, Singapore is home to co-existing Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures as reflected in its various enclaves, including Chinatown and Little India. Singapore is a city of intriguing contrasts - where else would you find an Indian temple smack in the middle of Chinatown, a state-of-the-art steel and glass financial hub standing cheek by jowl with the colonial splendour of the past, and streets called Pagoda and Mosque street? One minute you can be smelling the spicy aromas of Delhi or Bombay and eating all you want for under S$5, the next sipping Singapore Slings in the opulent Raffles Hotel.

For a tiny destination, Singapore packs a lot in. It has gardens, parks, nature reserves, islands with beaches, churches, Chinese and Indian temples, mosques, Asia's largest birdpark and even the world's first Night Zoo where you can stalk a black panther in the dark. Offering spectacular value for money, Singapore has luxurious hotels and spas to pamper yourself in, five-star restaurants to dine in, shops galore to flex your plastic in, and nightclubs where top DJs will entertain into the wee hours.

Often accused of being clinical, Singapore has gone to great lengths over the past few years to shake off its 'boring' tag. Those who haven't been for a while will find a re-generated Chinatown which has sprung into action behind the popular Boat Quay area, with traditional shuttered shophouses now housing lively bars and restaurants, plus a huge new theatre, arts and concert venue, called the Esplanade, on the waterfront. The city's super-efficient underground system can whisk you around all of this in air-conditioned comfort in a matter of minutes, and if you do want to brave the heat, you'll have no trouble navigating yourself through one of the cleanest and safest cities in the world. Shop, indulge, taste, smell, relax and pamper. Let Singapore do the rest.

by Gayle West, Marketing Manager