| Daniel Lee |
Feb 16th, 1999 11:08 AM |
Here are my impressions of Singapore: <BR> <BR>Singapore is a multi-faceted beast. One face is commercialism, and in Singapore it runs rampant, with the tourism and technical industry. The word sterile comes to mind. It is joked that women in Singapore won't date men unless they have the 5 C's (cash, credit card, condo, cell phone, and car)...and judging by the social scene in Singapore (which was one of the worst I've ever seen), it may as well be true (although I won't believe stereotypes). <BR> <BR>Another face is the ethnic makeup of Singapore, and I thoroughly enjoyed the many different tastes of the Chinese, Indian, and Malay cultures. It seemed silly having a Chinatown in Singapore, seeing as how it is 76% Chinese anyway. That's like having a Little Italy in Rome. But I enjoyed all of the temples, mosques, shops, and retsaurants there. the hawkers' stalls were great and I loved to eat good food for really cheap. <BR> <BR>The one thing that I pondered over a lot was Singapore's cleanliness and reputation for being safe. Before we arrived there, I was even scared that I would be arrested for any minor detail (chewing gum, after all, is banned in thsi country). However, after being there for a while, I noticed many of Singapore's rules and cleanliness were on the surface. For example, in a bathroom in one of the shoppng malls, I almost vomited from the disgusting smell emanating from the room. The entire room (walls, stalls, toilets, floor) had been washed with a hose, forming a cesspool of filth on the floor at my feet. Then a man walked into the stall next to me and started vomiting, making me even more nauseated. Then a beggar sitting at the door demanded some money on the way out. <BR>I noticed men spitting on the street constantly, even though I saw that you could get fined for it. <BR>Pickpockets were at the Singapore Zoo. <BR>I saw drug-users at a certain hostel by Orchard street. <BR>I saw Chinese making fun of some Indian people, treating them like dirt. <BR>Basically, I wondered if the way that Singapore was cleaned up was through a "Sweep under the carpet" method. I also couldn't get around the fact of how sterile the social scene was. Bars in the Clarke and Boat Quay were almost deserted on a Saturday night and all people did were eat. Friendliness was only found in the airport. Good service was especially nonexistant. EVERY body out there had a cellular phone, and I've never seen so many BMWs in my life. People seemed to be more concerned with talking on the cell phone rather than to the people with whom they were dining. <BR>The macaques in Bukit Timah were spoiled by people feeding them food, killing their natural "wildness". They would come fearlessly up to people. <BR>Although I must praise Singapore for their public transportation system. I would never buy a car if I lived in Singapore. I loved being able to get around to anywhere! <BR> <BR>Daniel Lee
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