Indonesia

As both Rotary and Lions clubs travel to Asia for both of their 2012 International Conventions, another country keeps coming up as a logical and affordable side trip…namely Singapore. Frankly, it is one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever been in, and is such a model for the future economic growth in SE Asia, that it is a most interesting and worthwhile area to visit. But, many folks in the US know very little about this dramatic world center…so here is some basic information.

Singapore is a small country on a small island, but with just over five million people it is a fairly crowded city and in fact second only to Monaco as the world’s most densely populated country. However, unlike many other densely populated countries, Singapore has over 50% of its area covered by greenery and with over 50 major parks and 4 nature reserves, it is an enchanting garden city. Large self-contained residential towns mushroomed all over the island, around the clean and modern city center. The center of the city located in the south — consisting roughly of the Orchard road shopping area, the Riverside, the new downtown Marina Bay area and also the skyscrapers-filled Shenton way financial district known in acronym-loving Singapore as the CBD (Central Business District).

The Districts are, in a sense, a small city…within a City. All in all, the tropical beauty alongside one of the largest ports in the World makes Singapore an ideal vacation destination, if only for a few days. You will never forget Singapore once you travel there.

The History of Bali covers a period from the Paleolithic to the present, and is characterized by migrations of people and cultures from other parts of Asia. In the 16th century, the history of Bali started to be marked by Western influence with the arrival of Europeans, to become, after a long and difficult colonial period under the Dutch, an example of the preservation of traditional cultures and a key touristic destination.