Just to let you know, Singapore is one of the world’s safest countries, having a crime so low that even other Asian countries with low crime rates envy it. Law and order is taken very seriously in this city-state of 4.8 million. But it’s a shame that, instead of praising it, the western media likes to make Singapore out to be a very strict society that doesn’t tolerate even a shred of disorderliness.

A visit here, however, and you’ll see that in many ways, being one of the world’s most ethnically-diverse countries, Singapore tolerates a lot more than most other countries. People from all over the world have made this tiny island republic home. There is something here for people of all nationalities and religions. Everyone lives here in absolute peace and harmony.

Although tiny with almost no natural resources, Singapore is an economic dynamo and its citizens enjoy one of highest standards of living. After Tokyo and Osaka, it is Asia’s most expensive city. It is the 5th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita.

Things haven’t been rosy for the country throughout its history, however. A British colony during much of its history, it was easily overran by Japanese forces during World War II and suffered harshly under Japanese rule. Gaining independence from the British in 1963, it joined the Malaysian federation soon after. It was a very rocky marriage and in 1965 it was expelled from Malaysia, independence literally forced upon it. (Its history museum shows footage of then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew tearfully addressing the people of Singapore of the news.)

Being a tiny country with no natural resources, many feared that the country would completely collapse. Prime Minister Yew had other plans, however, and the result is a country that now enjoys a much-envied standard of living.

The main island of Singapore covers only 228 square miles, roughly the size of Chicago’s city boundaries. It also administers about 30 other smaller near-by islands. Located less than 20 miles north of the Equator, Singapore enjoys year-round tropical weather with daytime temperatures averaging 85 degrees year-round.

There is something for everyone here. History buffs can visit Sentosa Island, which is connected to the main island by bridge. You can see the big guns that the British horribly mistakenly believed would protect the island from the Japanese. There is also a show with the island’s original natives. Sentosa is also Singapore’s only beach resort, with a nice, pristine beach that sits near the Shangri-La Resort.

Singapore is like one great big shopping mall. It is Asia’s best place to shop and most vendors bargain very happily with foreigners. It is very common to end up paying only 60 percent of what the price tag indicates. And the items are of surprisingly good quality. And with the country’s wide ethnic diversity, you can sometimes get the feeling of having shopped in over 100 hundred countries using just one shopping center.

The city-state is also an eater’s paradise, with a wide variety of ethnic cuisines dotting the city. Although most restaurants specialize in Asian cuisines one can easily find cuisines from other continents as well. And, yes, McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken are here, too!

Although one of the world’s most expensive cities, the average price for accommodation in Singapore is surprisingly fair, unlike in most other Asian financial giants like Tokyo and Shanghai. Most hotels are of very good quality, the staff is very friendly and burglaries in the hotels are almost unheard of so your values are quite safe.

Forget what you hear in the media and make Singapore your next foreign destination!

My sister, who is based in SG, gave my mother a travel gift to Singapore on the latter’s birthday. When my mother requested me to accompany her in this trip, I packed my things and flew to SG with her amidst the whirlwind of intertwining projects at work, to the rage to my boss.

Singapore has places that are NEVER-TO-MISS. Sentosa Island is a great place to go. You can go to Underwater Adventure, watch the Dolphin Show and have fun at the Luge. You can also drop by their zoo, or watch the safari animals at night or simply have a quiet time to the Botanical Garden. But, what I would like to present here are the mundane and the ordinary that adds flavor to the uniqueness only Singapore can spell out.

1. Murtabak

   This is an Indian food. It’s mainly fish, with many spices, wrapped in a roti prata (an Indian bread of some sort). It is superb as it is healthy. There is this small halal restaurant in Killiney Road, right behind SingTel which offers this. My sister brought us there on our very first breakfast in SG. We enjoyed the murtabak so much that the next day, mom and I went there again and ordered two servings. We forgot that a serve is good for 2 – 4 persons!

2. Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee

   If you are in noodles, then fried hokkien prawn mee is for you. It’s

   a mind-blowing piece of a noodle wonder! It’s hokkien noodle sautéed

   with prawn and bean sprout and stuff. We has prawn mee at The Food

   Republic at Vivo City.

3. Kaya Toast

   Kaya

   This is  made of coconut jam of some sort. You will really follow

   its aroma anywhere your nose spots this amazing jam. It’s usually spread

   on a toasted wheat bread with butter. I came from a country where

   coconuts grow everywhere but it was only in Singapore that I tasted kaya.

4. 3 for $10 Stores

   Singapore is not alien to Prada, Calvin Klein, Gucci and other big

   names in fashion and style. It has stores and malls that cater only to the richest in Asia and other foreign nationals. However, in its effort to serve the elite, it also serves the not-yet-so-rich and everyone in between. 3 for $10 store has an exciting collection of caboodles which you can get for every 10 dollars; from silver rings, shades, watches, hairpins, notebooks, t-shirts, wallets, earrings, picture frames, vases and everything else.

   Just perfect for anyone on a budget vacation.

5. Cold Storage

   I love this quaint and small store which offers just basically

   everything you need. They have friendly staff and the service they give is

   great. I was lost in somewhere in Kalang, when I went to see a friend who

   plays tennis at this gym of some sort there. I ended up buying goods from

   this store and the staff were nice enough to show me the back my hotel. Since then, whenever I need stuff for my kitchen, I only go to Cold Storage.

6. Fruits

   I am sure that Singapore doesn’t have the luxury of land enough to supply the country’s demand for fresh fruits. I don’t know how they manage it but they have a wide variety of fruits sold at a very lovely price. Grapes, bananas, apples, peaches, kiwis, pears, ect…mom and I got them fresh. EVERYDAY!

7. Tissue here, tissue there, tissue everywhere

   Whether you are in Suntec City or in the public toilets in SG, a

   big fat roll of tissue paper awaits you in each cubicle. I happen to have this really bad experience of trying to relieve myself and walked into a toilet with no tissue paper. It was disaster! But in SG, even if you go to the ugliest building in the block in a very, very immediate time, CHILL! There is a roll of tissue paper. PROMISE.

8. Buses and Taxis

   Singapore has a very comprehensive transportation system. Each

   bus stop has a directory of buses with their routes, numbers, and time of arrival. They have electronic collection system that gives you the convenience of using top-up cards, saves you the time scavenging for coins after each time you get on and move down from the bus.

   Taxis are another story.

   Their cabs are equipped with GPS for easier address location, credit-swipe-card just in case you run out of cash and you opt to use your credit card, telephone and a service payment receipt.

   Drivers are very polite and very courteous. They are very neat in their crisp white long sleeves and their neckties. 10 points for them drivers!

9. Cleanliness

   First I would not believe it. Singapore is the cleanest country in

   Asia. So what?! There’s got to be some place there which is not clean. Well, there is. BINGO! Little India, it’s not very clean for sure. There are actually cigarette butts everywhere. But, who am I not to be forgiving when anywhere else in the city is SPOTLESS? I really made an effort to actually stretch my neck to see garbage. Well, what did I see instead? THE CLEANEST COUNTRY IN ASIA, if not in the WORLD!

10. People

    This country is a melting pot of Chinese, Malay, and Indian races working together in a very healthy manner such that a country’s success like that of Singapore has been achieved. There are also quiet a good number of Americans, Europeans and Australian based there, representing their respective companies back home. Some, opted to spend retirement years in SG. Filipinos, Indonesians and people from mainland China choose to work there.

    Their co-existence is remarkable. If the world would treat and respect each other like these Singaporeans, then, world peace would not be so difficult to reach