Located at the natural confluence of important sea trading routes at the tip of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore can be described as an intricate cultural basket woven with the thick coarse fibers of traditional Chinese, Hindu and Malay societies that collected themselves on this tiny island. This colorful melange of cultures is relatively new in comparison to the ancient peoples who established roots in the rest of Southeast Asia.

The island was once populated with tigers and covered in dense tropical rainforest. During the 14th century, this small but strategically placed island had earned a new name "Singa Pura" or Lion City. According to legend, a visiting Hindu prince saw an animal he mistook for a lion and Singapore's modern day name was born. It was not until the 1800's when the forests were cut down, the hills leveled and swamps filled in that Singapore emerged as a major commercial center of east-west trade. Early in the 19th century, Sir Stamford Raffles, a British pioneer, was instrumental in creating a foundation and vision from which Singapore could grow. A natural harbor and ideal location between the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea, Singapore flourished into a booming seaport, attracting and assimilating the influences of the European and Asian merchants and migrants who came to make their fortune. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the coming of the steamship further increased Singapore's importance as one of the world's major commercial ports.

Since her independence in 1965, Singapore has relentlessly pursued a policy of modernization and urban planning which today boasts a thriving metropolis of busy streets and towering skyscrapers intermingled with spacious parks and well-manicured gardens. With over 50 surrounding islands, Singapore is the busiest port in the world, a leading financial center and major supplier of electronic components. A short causeway links it to Malaysia and the islands of the Riau Archipelago are a short ferry ride away. Singapore, with daily flight to most destinations, is also the gateway to the spectacular Maldives, a string of romantic coral islands that lie in the middle of the Indian Ocean.