What is tourism? Tourism is the active use of doors of discovery to expand one's engagement with the world. Tourism is about the experience of space and place. What then are space and place? Space is simply a physical and geographical place. The space is inauthentic and generic while the place is not. The place is an emotionally and personally significant place. To put them in the context of tourism, space is the place where the destination is located, and place is the tourists' personal experience and interpretation of the destination. Living in a small town in Canada with little population and little contact with the outside world for 19 years, it's always a dream to go somewhere that is very different from where I currently live. So, when choosing the best tourist destination, exposure to a large population and the chance to experience cultural diversity are my number one priority. For me, the place must have a rich history and distinctive culture because having these criteria could provide me with a different perspective of seeing the world. Furthermore, I appreciate a place with great food, unfamiliar language, shopping opportunities and welcoming local people, given a limited budget constraint. In short, I want to be somewhere that feels alive. There are many definitions of tourism and they can be interpreted in different ways by each individual. Travel is a state of mind. Travel is an act of escape, which people consciously experience with space and time. The destination is just an excuse to undertake the journey. It has nothing to do with distance or exoticism. It's about how we travel, with whom, why, and what we learn along the way. It is almost entirely an internal experience. The main purpose of the journey is discovery. Every trip is unique... middle of paper... in different countries. The shared British history has left an interesting architectural legacy in both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. On the other hand, because Singapore shares some of Malaysia's past, Kuala Lumpur holds more history and richer culture than Singapore. Being a devotee of rich history, Kuala Lumpur fulfills my desires and is most favored. Cultural Diversity Diversity emerges from within, but, if we define diversity as the discernible differences between people and things, Singapore is less diverse than Malaysia. It's the little things that make the difference. Malaysia is made up of 50.4% Malays, 23.7% Chinese, 11% indigenous people, 7.1% Indians and 7.8% others. In Singapore, however, 76.8% of the population is Chinese and 13.9% Malaysian. Evidently, Malaysia has a more diverse culture and that is exactly what I try to look for when choosing the best “place” to go.