Been There – Singapore

Starbucks continues expanding the new collection of mugs in Asia. Been There – Singapore has just hit the stores in this island city-state from Southeast Asia. Modern Singapore was founded in 1819 as a trading port of the British Empire. It remained under British control till 1959 when it gained self-governance (there was a short period of Japan occupation though). It became part of the new federation of Malaysia in 1963 but due to numerous differences, it was expelled from the federation two years later, hence becoming an independent country. It grew into a highly developed country with the seventh-highest GDP per capita in the world, since then. It is a major financial and shipping hub and one of the most expensive cities to live in the world.
One of the nicknames of Singapore is the Lion City, even though the presence of lions on this tropical island has never been proven. On a similar note, the national symbol of the country is the Merlion which is a mythical creature with a lion’s head and the body of a fish. You can see the Merlion statue on the front of the mug. I believe it is the original statue from Merlion Park (there are five more in different parts of the city).