Lion City

As we have arrived in Singapore and are learning about this unique city, I thought I'd give a little history as I've learned it. In the 14th century a visitor claimed he saw a lion, which was more likely to be a tiger, and named the island Singa Pura, or Lion City. The British arrived and established it as a sea merchant trading station during the 18th century and by 1825 the population had increased almost one hundred fold. During World War II the Japanese overran the island. The sixty or more islands of Singapore were part of Malaysia for a short time before becoming an independent republic in 1965.
Basically, all of the population resides on the main island of Singapore. English is the official language, although everything is posted in four languages: English, Chinese, Malay, and Hindi. There is great diversity in culture and religion. Tourism is the main industry here, so we have received great customer service. There are more shopping centers and restaurants here than you can shake a stick at. There are a lot of fun tourist attractions that we are looking forward to discovering this week.
Miscreant behavior is not tolerated in Singapore. There are no firearms (or even parts of guns), no graffiti, drugs, smoking in public buildings, littering, spitting, failing to flush a public toilet, urinating in a lift (elevator) or selling chewing gum. The penalties for the above range from $500 fine up to death or deportation. All of these rules make Singapore a clean, safe, and beautiful place, as far as cities go.