As colourful but less hectic are the few days around 10 September at the end of the Festival of Hungry

As colourful but less hectic are the few days around 10 September, at the end of the Festival of Hungry Ghosts (a kind of month-long Halloween during which dead ancestors are said to walk the streets and must be appeased with burnt offerings) and the start of the mid-autumn Lantern Festival, when the city is decked out in vast, intricate lanterns. Singapore's beautiful temples are open all year. Superior double rooms from S$120. If money is no object, it's got to be the world-famous Raffles Hotel, 1 Beach Road (tel: 0065 337 1886; website: asia-online /raffles/) where double rooms start at S$550. What to see and do It pays to time your visit. Double rooms are from S$145. For those on a tight schedule, a quiet room at the Transit Hotel (tel: 00 65 542 8122, website: www.airporthotel .sg) at Terminal 2 of the award-winning Changi Airport is a good idea. For colonial splendour try the Regalis Court Hotel, 64 Lloyd Road (tel: 0065 734 7117; website: www.liangcourt .sg/regalisin.htm). For great value try the Damenlou Hotel, 12 Ann Siang Road (tel: 0065 221 1900) Double room from S$100-S$150. For Singapore Airlines ticket-holders, a free Singapore Tour can be booked from the airport information counters. Taxis are reasonable, with a standard fare across town ranging from S$10-S$17 .The airport run is more like S$25-S$30. Where to stay The Grand Plaza Parkroyal, 10 Coleman Street (tel: 0065 336 3456; UK: 0345 581666; website: www.parkroyal .au) is in an excellent downtown position with great views and a spa complex for soothing jet-lag Double room from S$300.

Part of the MRT light-rail system is operational but most of it will not be finished until 2001 when it will offer a fast link from the airport. Travelbag (tel: 0171-287 5558) offers direct flights with BA for around £600, and with Qantas from £650-£700 before New Year. Travel agents specialising in Europe-Australia deals offer fares that include a few days stopover with hotel, airport transfers and sometimes a city tour. Getting around From the airport, a seven-seater shuttle bus is S$7 (£2.50) and drops off at most major hotels The public bus costs S$1.50 and is also air-conditioned. Trailfinders (tel: 0171-938 3366) currently offers return flights, valid until 9 December, of £541 (including taxes but not transfers), and from January-June of £549.

All other European and South-east Asian airlines fly there too. Travel before New Year will prove difficult because of millennium-seekers trekking east. Getting there Singapore Airlines (tel: 0181-747 0007; websites: www.singaporeair .uk, and www.singaporeair .sg) flies direct from London and is a popular choice since introducing complimentary champagne in economy class. There is more rain from November to January, with July being the driest month. To catch colourful parades and traditional Chinese extravaganzas, visit during the Chinese New Year (16-18 February) or at the beginning of September for the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts and the Lantern Festival. With its massive shopping potential ­ from the gleaming department stores of Orchard Road to the spice stalls and carpet shops of little India and the Muslim quarter ­ it is also a perfect stopover destination between Europe and Australia. When to go Singapore is almost on the Equator, which means it is hot and humid all year. Merchants from around the world have been docking at the harbour jetties of Singapore for centuries. The city today may be clean and modern but it is at the same time one of the most exotic, aromatic and fascinating of places.

Merchants from around the world have been docking at the harbour jetties of Singapore for centuries. The city today may be clean and modern but it is at the same time one of the most exotic, aromatic and fascinating of places. With its massive shopping potential ­ from the gleaming department stores of Orchard Road to the spice stalls and carpet shops of little India and the Muslim quarter ­ it is also a perfect stopover destination between Europe and Australia Boring? Antiseptic? Don't listen to the clichés. In Spain it goes to keeping golf courses green. The only simple way to ensure that your tourist dollars do enter the local economy is to spend your money at locally owned and managed concerns. And if you are still worried, the answer is probably not to go away at all. For your aeroplane will almost certainly cause more pollution than anything else you do during your holiday.. Boring? Antiseptic? Don't listen to the clichés.

In places such as Goa, tourism stands accused of using all the clean water for the needs of luxury hotels. Are they paid fairly? Do they have tolerable working conditions? Or are they treated as something close to slave labour? There's also money. Is the cash you spend going into the pockets of local people, or the pockets of tour operators back home? And are there opportunities for locals and tourists to relate to each other on any remotely equal basis? Then you need to think about the consequences of tourism for the environment. "Libya is no different to Bali or China ­ you have to make a considered decision about an environment that is perhaps not as trouble-free as you'd like to believe." Dilemmas of the Moral Traveller ETHICAL considerations may never play a serious role in your choice of holiday destination, but even if they do, it is not easy to judge what makes a destination "safe", writes Jeremy Atiyah, Travel Editor. A major difficulty, for example, is the issue of how well the employees in the local tourist industry are being treated.