Singapore. A Fine City

Dangling from the bottom of Malaysia is Singapore, I am staying in the heart of Chinatown at ‘Pillows and Toast’ it's got great breakfast toast and very comfy pillows. This is also the first city on my adventure that I can actually drink from the taps, you don’t know how nice this is. If Malaysia was the stepping stone back to the western world, Singapore makes you feel truly grounded back in it, (albeit for a few cultural differences). Walking around the marina and the clusters of glassy skyscrapers that make up the business district you see everyone rushing around in pressed smart suits, there seems to be a lot of westerners working here too. Andy and I failed to blend in with our 2 day old wrinkled t-shirts, flipflops, worn out shorts, facial hair and untamed manes. The malls are epic in size and are the home of celebrity chief restaurants and unpronounceable shop names that sound too expensive to bother stepping into.

The underground (MRT) and buses run with scary efficiency and I have never been in a city so clean, too clean, sterile in fact. This brings me to the insanity of the on the spot fines dished out thoughout the city; Litter in a public place, eat or possess chewing gum, jaywalk, dance in public, picking flowers, unnatural sex acts, spitting, wasting water, consuming food or liquid on public transport, feeding pigeons. All of these offences will have you forking out between S$1,000 to S$10,000. On the more serious side being caught with even a small quantity of drugs or a weapon will automatically send you to death row. To me some of the fines are so alien they are laughable, I mean, dancing in public.. Really! but coming from such a liberal society you have to be constantly aware of what you are doing. I can appreciate that Singapore is a very clean and safe city but I don’t think I would ever be able to live with the deterrents. I wonder what it is like to be born into a country that demands such obedience. I think people here trust their governments far more than we do and  they have a more collectivist attitude towards society, seeing the draconian rules and fines as a necessity for the greater good. We in England think more for the individual and our personal freedoms, therefore the introduction of this level of discipline would always fail back home.

So resisting the urge do the moonwalk we climbed to the top of the skypark, It’s a boat like deck with infinity pool that straddles three skyscraper making up the hotel. The views from here are stunning. We sunk money into the world’s most expensive casino (all casinos are expensive, but this one cost the most to build) this is also my new favorite place to people watch, you see the gamblers in their silk shirts with the long lapels, cigarette hanging from the side of their mouth. Each turn they go about their OCD like rituals such as vigorously rubbing their legs, shouting, tapping their fingers on the table in some meaningful order or slicking back their hair with the palm of their left hand. It is a bit scary when you think about how addictive it all becomes, especially when you consider each Singaporean must pay S$200 just to get in (for westerners it is free). Other days we went to a artificial beach and 'little inda' to check out the mass food halls and spent a whole day sorting out new flights to Australia, we accidently missed the first ones.. 

When compared to London, Singapore is still a fledgling city and as such it’s layout is modern, well thought out and easy to navigate, it’s transport systems are smooth and comfortable, the city just works. At night the young skyscrapers ooze a futurist neon glow but as you stroll through the streets its clear the city is held back by the shackles of discipline, there are no drunken revelers, no buskers in the underground. After dark the city's pulse seems to flatline. But don't get me wrong Singapore is still a really cool city, the locals are some of the most kind and helpful I have met and the architecture has to be seen, It is just the culture that takes a bit of getting used to. So even if you ever end up with a transfer flight here defiantly free up a few days to explore a fine city.