Singapore
Singapore is sanitary foreignness, if you can have such a word.  It's sooooo clean and air-conditioned and English speaking.  We try not to be travel snobs so therefore won't discount Singapore as not adventurous enough.  On the contrary, we would recommend it to anyone as a good "first visit to Asia" place.

Everything you need is there.  A meltingpot of Asian and European cultures, anything you'd ever want to try to eat and no malaria tablets needed!  Plus everyone speaks English.  Easy peesy!

Unfortunately the big drawback is the fact that Singapore is just not as cheap as many other Asian destinations. Accommodation is similar to Oz/ NZ, but still a bargain if you're coming from The UK, the US or Europe. 
Food on the other hand, although not as cheap as say Thailand, is still a pretty good bargain. 
Please also be warned that this place is
extremely hot.  We're talking "India" hot.  But every building has air-con so you can easily duck in to one on your walkabout if you need cooling down.

We know what you fellow backpackers are thinking..." It's just another bloody city.". Well, we thought that too and therefore didn't bother visiting the first time we were 'in the area'.  Plus we thought it would suck up too much money. While the latter might be true, sometimes it's nice to visit a place that is a no brainer to get around when you need to make some phone calls and arrange airline/ train/ bus journeys.  Other than that, yes of course you can see alot of this stuff in other places around Asia.  But as mentioned earlier, Singapore could be a good introduction to Asia especially for someone who does not have a large amount of time to spend.

And don't forget the obligatory Singapore Sling in Raffles!
The Merlion complete with cheesy red lightbulb eyes
One of those cool "old and new" shots taken by Phil
Mosque under refurbishment
(how many times will I get to use this word in my life)
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