Singapore

Trying to remember the highlights of the past year, the names of places, people whom I’d met, and everything is already starting to get mixed up. Just like a dream; they are also becoming a distant memory by then. But feelings of happiness and satisfaction remain always present.

I had interesting encounters along with experiencing the humid heat that reminded me of the Middle East.

The year changed simultaneously with the colors of the earth; the blue of the Pacific to the red of Southeast Asia.

A new quest has begun.

A brief interruption

December 2012

Summer 2013

- You can find the national anthem in microtext on the back of the $1000 note.

- Singapore is one of three surviving city-states in the world

- There's a 'Hug Me' Coca-Cola machine in Singapore

- Singapore has changed timezone 6 times since 1905

- In 1826, when Sir Raffles Stamford arrived at the banks of the Singapore River, the island had a population of 1,000 Malays and only 20-30 Chinese. Now, the island counts about six million people with a majority of 74.2% being of Chinese origin.

- Singapore is the second densest sovereign state in the world, after Monaco. It is also the sixth wealthiest and the 20th smallest country in the world.

- Singapore’s land size was 581,5 km in the 1960’s and has since grown to an impressive 710km. That’s an increase of 22%. Through land filling, the city-state has plans to grow by another 100 km until 2030, nearly doubling the former size of the island.

- Singapore has 4 official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil and a rich history and culture that comes with the many different ethnicities living here.

Asia