Singapore is a unique success story. In less than 50 years the country went from a third world country to a very modern global metropolis with some of the highest per capita income in Asia. I see Singapore as the Switzerland of Asia, it is small, efficient, a huge financial center, well ordered and clean. The temperature however is very unlike Switzerland and is almost constantly above 30 Celsius with high humidity. The Equator is only a degree or so south of Singapore. Interesting things I noticed about Singapore:
- Everybody speaks English in Singapore which is taught as the primary language in schools. Mandarin Chinese and the local Malay-like language are also spoken extensively.
- People are very well off. The median income is one of the highest of Asia and there is a sense of purpose everywhere
- People seemed to take a lot of care of themselves, overall they seemed fit and healthy.
- Singapore is a very small state that lies on an island. It used to be part of Malaysia in the past and is dependent on Malaysia for food and water imports.
Selected Photos
This is a photo of the financial area of Singapore. Thoroughly modern and yet aesthetically pleasing.
Fook On Co !!! what a neat name...
One of my favorite statues ever !!! A mech bird !!!
Singapore is an important port city. It's location was a big help in fueling the economic boom here.
Although you might not see it clearly there are at least 20 huge container ships being loaded / unloaded in this section of Port.
The symbol of Singapore is an animal half fish half lion. There are several large statues throughout Singapore, the one shown here is one of the larger ones and a tourist attraction.
There is an insect museum with some very large scorpions to see. These guys were the size of my hand.
Lose that fat campaign. They made a fat girl dance with two lean ones, promoting
exercise and trying to get people to sign up to some fitness studio. If I understood
it correctly you sign up for the program and get money back or freebies if you loose weight.
This is the public subway in Singapore. Compare that to the New York clutter clutter subway.
You can get any kind of food here in Singapore, however fresh fish is the best. This is a sample of poor man's food from a local stand. It was about a dollar.