Tourism for Singapore has also proven to be of good economic benefit. Culture lovers thrive in this fusion of Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures - the main ethnic groups - with its assortment of mosques, temples and synagogues. Singapore presents a happy collision of opposites – grand and expensive at the famed Raffles Hotel, but low-key and cheap in the food markets of Bugis Junction and Clarke Quay.
But even in the low-key and cheap areas, Singapore remains an incredibly clean city where nothing is allowed to dull the shine – even down to the banning of chewing gum. In the last few years there has been some pressure to relax the numerous laws that have given Singapore a reputation as a prosperous but rather antiseptic and pettily repressive city-state. But Singapore City's exciting riverside parade of bars and restaurants reveals that Singaporeans actually do know how to have fun – and plenty of it.
The natural world is never far away in Singapore, either: Bukit Timah Nature Reserve has a significant area of primary rainforest within its boundaries, while, for the adventurous, Sungei Buluh Nature Park offers the chance for trekking. Check out Pulau Ubin’s mangrove forest, a bumboat’s ride from Changi jetty, or Kusu site of Taoists’ annual pilgrimage.
