Singapore lights up for its tropical Christmas.Credit: Peter Litras
Christmas in Singapore's famed shopping strips is no relaxed affair, writes Peter Litras.
You'd be hard-pressed to see evidence of a slowdown in Singapore.
The island is just 700-odd square kilometres and a lot of city has been packed into not much space.
Where there is space, construction on a shopping centre or other mega structure is likely to have started - or been earmarked.
Beyond the city and CBD though, the concrete makes way for vast areas of manicured parks, flourishing in Singapore's year-round tropical climate.
It's the climate - and the mass of shoppers - that hits you when you first step onto Orchard Road, the strip famous for its wall-to-wall shopping centres and malls.
It's hot and steamy if you've come from southern Australia, but you soon get acclimatised and do what the locals do - eat, drink and shop.
The road is a popular base for tourists on a Singapore stopover - and it's the spot to take in Christmas, Singapore style.
The city's `Christmas in the Tropics' festivities are in their 25th year and the period from mid-November to early December is Singapore's peak tourist season.
Singapore's tourism board says about 5 million people visited the Orchard Road area for the festivities last year and visitors to Singapore in November and December 2007 totalled 1.8 million.
"Even though the global economy is going through some uncertain times now, we hope that the events and promotions will not only heighten the buzz of the year-end festivities by making Singapore a more attractive holiday destination, but also help to round off the year on a sweet note for our visitors," said Geraldine Yeo, Singapore Tourism Board's director of leisure marketing and events management.
Festivities include the Christmas Light-up where Orchard Road lights up with the theme `a sweet Christmas in Singapore'.
Against the backdrop of the shopping centres - and the masses of people who trundle up and back Orchard Road - the decorations lighten up an already bright city and gives residents, as one local said, "the excuse for another party."
An open-top double-decker bus is the best way to take in the lights and to momentarily take a breather from the heat down on the ground.
The bus weaves around the city giving a clearer view of the lights and a chance for short-stay visitors to get another perspective of Singapore.
If, like many tourists, you've only got a few days in Singapore, you'll quickly discover that it's clean, safe and dead easy to get around.
Peter Litras travelled to Singapore as a guest of the Singapore Tour-ism Board.
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