Singapore is a small city-state with the area of 699 km2. Although it is one of the most densely-populated countries in the world, Singapore is famous for its clean and green environment. There are four official languages in Singapore: Singapore - Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and English. The population is made up by a mix of Chinese, Malays, Indians and a small proportion of other nationalities. In spite of its small area, Singapore is a new industrial country with one of the busiest ports of the world.

Singapore is an island country with 58 smaller islands around the main land. The most famous island of Singapore is Sentosa, the country's most visited attraction. This island is aimed mostly at tourism with many aquariums, museums, beaches, sports centres, camping sites and a lot of hostels and luxury hotels.

Located in the tropical area of the world, Singapore's climate is hot and humid all year round. The temperature during the day is up to 34oC and falls to about 22oC at night. Although it is said that the rainy season is from November to January, a small amount of rain can occur all around the year.

Besides many skyscrapers in the urban areas, which occupy more than 50% of the land, Singapore also has many parks, botanic gardens, zoos and waterfalls. Although most of them are artificial, even the sand for the beaches is imported, they are very lively and attract millions of tourists every year.

Singapore is also famous for its shopping centres. You can find almost everything there from clothes and electronic goods to herbal medicine. The most famous road for this activity is the Orchard. Orchard road is ideal for all shopping addicts. The newest and most fashionable shoes and clothes can be found in this area and you will wander there all day without any boredom. This area is also called the "dining centre" which has many big restaurants serving food from all over the world. Besides big and modern shopping centres, other destinations for shopping are Chinatown, Little India and the Arab street. There are many unique and inexpensive things here which you can buy as souvenirs and gifts for your friends and family members.

Other places you shouldn't miss when visiting Singapore are the Holland Village, Changi Village and the Jurong town. Jurong town is a big industrial centre of Singapore. The Jurong Park has the world's highest man-made waterfall, which stands at 30 meters.

Michael Russell
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