The
Republic of Singapore is an island nation of Southeast Asia, and lies just
off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It consists of a diamond-shaped
main island and almost 60 small islets. The main island, which is connected
by a causeway to Malaysia, measures about 42 kilometres (26 miles) from
east to west and about 23 kilometres (14 miles) from north to south: 618
square kilometres (239 square miles). (Or, about the size of Metro Toronto.)
Singapore is an
urban, modern metropolis, which enjoys the second highest standard of living
in Asia, behind only Japan. Unemployment and crime rates are low,
and the city lacks the slums, child workers and bribery many expect in
Southeast Asia. Singapore is clean and green, and deserves its self-proclaimed
title of "Garden City of Asia".
For more on Singapore, we suggest you may wish to visit some of the
information sites such as http://www.sg/ or
http://www.newasia-singapore.com/.
(Map adapted from New Asia tourism site, commentary adapted from Singapore Handbook by Carl Parkes published by Moon Travel Handbooks.)