"Singapore" a Singapore Travel Page by phil_uk_net

Singapore is certainly an intriguing place. To me, Singapore appears to have a split personality. A lot of visitors will arrive at Changi airport, probably the best airport in the world, then take the ultra-modern, efficient MRT system to the very westernised Orchard Road area.
This view of Singapore is perhaps the only one they will get; that of a spotlessly clean, efficient, regulated, modern city.
This is what some parts of Singapore have been transformed into in the last 30 years but there are other aspects of the city too.
There are some fascinating ethnic areas still such as Little India, Arab Street, Chinatown and Geylang where little has changed. These areas are definitely worth seeking out if you want to experience some real Singaporean culture.

Many people just stop over in Singapore for a few days while travelling between Europe and Australia. If this is the case then it may be worth talking to your airline or travel agent about special stop over deals that can be very reasonable if booked in conjuntion with a flight.

If you are travelling independently and need to find your own accommodation it can be broken down into 3 categories. Around Orchard Road there are lots of fairly expensive hotels. There is also some budget accommodation in the city, not too much (perhaps around Bencoolen), but I don't have any details.

In-between, there are a number of mid-range hotels which are the places I would typically stay at. I have concentrated on these in my accommodation section. I have not stayed in all of them but did the research for friends of mine that were coming to Singapore while I was there. For the moment, I am one of those annoyingly smug people on VT that have somewhere to stay when I go to Singapore, courtesy of an obliging brother!

Singapore, like many western countries, has been feeling the effects of competition from emerging economies such as India and China in recent years. The small island has a high cost of living, especially for this region of Asia, and high wages mean Singapore is at a competitive disadvantage with countries that pay workers a lot less. The government has warned of possible wage reforms to counter this. The SARs epidemic hit Singapore hard with Singapore Airlines reporting its first ever operating loss earlier this year. Unemployment figures have already started to rise. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming years.
BBC report