Singapore

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign city-state and island country in Southeast Asia. It lies off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and is 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator. The country's territory consists of the diamond-shaped main island, commonly referred to as Singapore Island in English and Pulau Ujong in Malay, and more than 60 significantly smaller islets. Singapore is separated from Peninsular Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to the north, and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to the south. The country is highly urbanised, and little of the original vegetation remains. The country's territory has consistently expanded through land reclamation.

The English name of Singapore is derived from the Malay word Singapura (Sanskrit: literally Lion City), hence the customary reference to the nation as the Lion City. However, it is most likely that lions never lived on the island, and the animal seen by Sang Nila Utama, who founded and named Singapore, was a tiger.

The Merlion is a traditional creature in western heraldry that depicts a creature with a lion head and a body of a fish. In Singapore, it has become a marketing icon used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore. Merlions do not feature in any local folklore or myths of Singapore, and was only used in Singapore initially as the logo for the tourism board. Its name combines "mer" meaning the sea and "lion". The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name—Singapura—meaning "lion city" or "kota singa".

Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. Developed by Las Vegas Sands (LVS), it is the world's second most expensive building, at US$ 5.5 billion, including the cost of the prime land. The Marina Bay Sands hotel has three 55-story towers with 2,561 luxury rooms and suites, and is capped by the Sands SkyPark, which offers 360-degree views of Singapore's skyline. The SkyPark is home to restaurants, gardens, a 150-metre vanishing edge pool, manufactured by Natare Corporation in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the world's largest public cantilever housing an observation deck. The building stands at a height of 200 metres and boasts 12,400 square metres. Dining options at the Skypark include restaurant Sky on 57 (by local celebrity chef Justin Quek), restaurant and nightclub KU DE TA, and executive club lounge The Club at Marina Bay Sands.