Singapore

The difference between Jakarta and Singapore is the difference between darkest night and brightest day. Where Jakarta is covered with grime,Singapore is super clean and landscaped with a large variety of trees.Tourism abounds and downtown is filled with ethnic shopping centers, such as Chinatown and Little India, filled with every manner of South East Asian shopper. Retail categories are clustered together. Sim Lim Square and the immediate neighborhood, for example, are dedicated to electronics. Arab Street is famous for fabrics. Find one restaurant and, bingo, you have a whole row of restaurants. This is capitalism at its best in spite of the fact that Singapore is a very socialist city state. Everything is negotiable and, for the person willing to take the time, an absolute best price is available.
The metro rail system is automated from the dispensing of tickets to the driverless trains. The ticket is a plastic card, carries a $1 deposit, an dis scanned without insertion when entering and exiting the system. It can be recharged and reissued. When I finally was finished with my ticket a machine took it and returned my dollar deposit. The trains are similar to Newark airport, a two door system. One is on the platform and one is on the train. There were lines on the platform suggesting where I should stand while waiting to enter the train, and lines on the platform to direct me when I exited the train. I felt as if I was in a futuristic city.
Singapore might be described as a paradise except that Paradise would be filled with lots of happy bubbly people. Singaporeans are a somber lot.This collective lack of energy could be cultural or related to the climate.Sitting just north of the equator there are no seasons and the temperature ranges from 72* F to 93* F with high humidity. Or the ennui could be due to politics.
Technically the form of government is described as a procedural democracy,but the ruling party is the People's Action Party who has ruled the city-state since 1959. There have been three Prime Ministers: Lee Kuan Yew1959-1990, Goh Chok Tong 1990-2004, and Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Kuan's eldest son, 2004 to the present. My impression is that the country has been run like a huge, very successful corporation. Every detail of the city has been carefully thought out, including how Singaporeans should lead their everyday lives. There are fines, usually $750.00, for public nuisance disobediences. These include spitting, putting out a cigarette on thesidewalk, taking food or beverages on the train or bus, jay walking or riding bicycles in pedestrian underpasses to name a few. This is a successful benign dictatorship where emphasis is put on the collective good and there appears to be little room for individualism. The government owns the media and it is illegal to own a satellite dish. Crime doesn't pay.There are no jury trials and Amnesty International has accused Singapore of having the highest execution rate per capita in the world. Besides jail,fines and execution there is also the cane!
This morning we took on some extra cargo, so Mal and I found ourselves with some free time. We decided to go to a local metro stop and soak up the local ambience. Imagine our surprise when we found a typical indoor shopping mall. If, in my imagination, I removed the faces, clothing and local signage I could have been in any American mall, food court and supermarket included. Of course it was Singapore and the faces were Chinese, Indian and Indonesian and the clothing ranged from burkas to short sand tee shirts. The food court had strictly South East Asian food..No pizza here!
In spite of the feeling that "big brother" was watching me, I had a great time. This is definitely a city that should be on everybody's "must visit list."