"You Are Always Welcome To SINGAPORE!" Singapore by Krystynn

Welcome to SINGAPORE - My Homeland, My Country... and a place you'd definitely not want to miss visiting!

BRIEF HISTORY: From A Sleepy Fishing Village To ASIA's #1 Economic Powerhouse

1400s - Singapore referred to commonly as Singapura (Sanskrit for Lion City).
1819 - Singapore founded by Sir Stamford Raffles.
15th Feb. 1942 - Singapore fell to the Japanese and was renamed Syonan-To (Light of the South Island)
1st April 1946 - Singapore became a crown colony.
3rd June 1959 - End of colonial rule.
9th August 1965 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SINGAPORE! Her Independence Day and hence, the entire nation celebrated it as our National Day.

For a more detailed account, do visit this cool website Singapore History

View of S'pore as seen from my office window! ;-D

LOCATION: Southeast Asia, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula (er... although I'm not all that well-informed, I do pay attention in class :Þ). Oh yeah... Singapore is also an island... and we have no capital... She's just plain - Singapore. :-)

CLIMATE: Since we are located ALMOST near the Equator, the weather's generally HOT (ouch!) throughout the year... No snow for us. (Sob! Sob!). So much for global warming....

LANGUAGES: English, Chinese (Mandarin & other Chinese dialects), Malay, Indian (Tamil, Hindi, Urdu) etc. Singlish is also widely spoken amongst the locals here... Even the expats living here are beginning to pick up our lingo! Go figure. But what they don't realize is that people do speak it consciously and it's just ANOTHER form of English rather than a mutated one. Duh.

RELIGIONS: Plenty to choose from. Take your pick... Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Taoism, Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism and...and... Shall we create another New Age religion? Relax Pastor, I'm ONLY kidding!

POPULATION COMPOSITION: We are a VERY multi-racial society with Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian (lucky them of mixed heritage i.e. Asian/ Europeans) etc. This is the CMIO model our Singapore Government uses. Hm!

OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM: Majullah Singapura sung in Malay (horror of horrors! I DON'T even understand what I'm singing at times... since my Malay sucks!). These days, most people refer to our National Anthem as "Mari Kita" instead... because that's how it starts.... "Mari kita raya..." and I don't know the rest of the words... Don't shoot me, dear Singapore Prime Minister. ;-((

CURRENT PRESIDENT: S. R. Nathan

NATIONAL DAY: 9th Aug. 1965

Photo shown: The beautiful view of Singapore as seen from my office window! :-D In the photo, you can see the "Padang" (the green field), Raffles City (left) and Suntec City (right).

These 2 monuments are still standing tall today in what is known as 'The Financial District' area (for the Raffles statue) and 'Raffles City' area (for the Cathedral). Incidentally, this old postcard is worth approx. US$40 today. :-))

Old shophouses along Tanjong Pagar Road. Quaint!

THE SINGAPORE FACTFILE:

Capital: Singapore ;-)
Area: 646 sq km
Population: 3.1 million
Currency: Singapore dollar (@5 September 2002, US$1 = S$1.74).
Time: GMT +8 hours
Telephone codes: +65
Electricity: 220-240V, 50 Hz

Major Public Holidays: New Year’s Day; Hari Raja Puasa (to celebrate the end of the Ramadan - the Muslim month-long fasting period); Chinese New Year (Jan/Feb); Hari Raja Haji (Muslim festival); Good Friday; Labor Day; Vesak Day (Buddhist religious holiday); National Day (9 Aug); Deepavali (Indian New Year); Christmas Day.

Good Buys: There are plenty of bargains to be had in Singapore from indian sari material (you've gotta buy one for yourself. It's the current fashion rage sweeping the world...) to oriental rugs, luggage, electrical goods and CDs (and VCDs/ DVDs)... as well as an abundance of Oriental art and antiques.

Funny fact: In Singapore, it is illegal to eat chewing gum. :-( It is also illegal to take the durian fruit into Singapore’s pristine subway or overhead train system. Anyway, I doubt you'd do anything of the sort. :-) Oh, and look out for the ‘NO DURIAN’ signs (represented by a knobbly fruit in a red circle with a line through it) everywhere. Haha... Do I look like I'm pulling your leg?

• Pros:The city is sooo clean... you wouldn't believe it!
• Cons:Strict anti-Litter/ Anti-Drug laws keep the city clean & safe. Ozzy Osbourne will never feel comfortable livin' here! :-)
• In a nutshell:An ultra-spotlessly clean and safe city with a low-crime rate!