Singapore delights and surprises visitors to its shores. Their motto "onward Singapore" can be seen manifested everywhere one looks. The cleanliness usually makes the first impact on the visitor, followed by the efficiency of the transport system and the astounding shopping malls.

There is an additional bonus for English speakers - the delight in knowing there isn't a language barrier in daily life and conducting business.

The soft, gracious Asian culture will take the more 'aggressive' westerner by surprise. As the "hello, what can I do for you" attitude is replaced with a more genteel approach of respect and formality. Most of the communication is non-verbal; therefore there is a need to watch for facial expressions at all times.

As the Singaporean community comprises Ethnic Chinese (74%), Indians (14%), Malays (8%) and other (1%) there are a number of cultural nuances that need to be taken into account. To digress for a minute this multi cultural blend of people also influences the abundant array of delicious food that is available everywhere.

In Singapore (as in the rest of Asia) it is important to build relationships based on respect. As the society is egalitarian, the relationships are hierarchical (respecting elders, teachers and employers). They deem being late rude and not taking time over the swapping of business cards also impolite.

Singapore is a multi-religious country. According to Statistics Singapore, around 51% of resident Singaporeans (excluding significant numbers of visitors and migrant workers) practice Buddhism and Taoism. About 15%, mostly Chinese, Eurasians, and Indians, practice Christianity - a broad classification including Catholicism, Protestantism and other denominations. Muslims constitute 14%, of whom Malays account for the majority with a substantial number of Indian Muslims. Smaller minorities practice Sikhism, Hinduism, the Baha'i faith and others, whilst there are those who declared no religious affiliation.