Impressive. Inspiring. Those are the words that describe this city state. For those who have never been to Singapore, we always hear about the things Singaporeans can't do. Like import gum. What is not widely known, is how Lee Kwan Yue, a young Chinese man, educated at Oxford, in the U.K. had a vision for his country that is truly a modern miracle and could be used as a model for the world. This quite literally is, to our minds, a successful experiment in social engineering. Have they given up some things? Yes. But, it seems worth it. This is what we learned.
When Raffles stuck down the British flag in the 1800's it was a swamp in the jungle, with a view to the ocean. Singapore and its people suffered horribly during the Japanese occupation of World War II. It was later part of the merger that established Malaysia. When they acquired independence it was socio-politically volatile and economically undeveloped and largely illiterate, with no natural resources. The following major ethnicities live here: Chinese, Malay, Indian, Arab. It only occupies 238 square kilometers. Today Singapore is known to have the highest standard of living in Asia. Measured by GDP per capita, it is the 22nd wealthiest country with a foreign reserve of US$119 billion. There are no slums - 80% of the people live in government built apartments that they buy. There is no crime - drug dealers face the mandatory death penalty. There is 2.2% unemployment. The society is tolerant, and integrated. The city is unbelievably clean. Motorized traffic is controlled and only 3% can own cars and one must pay about $75,000 Singapore dollars for a 10 year license then the cost of a new car on top of that ($40-$60,000). Traffic is monitored and controlled. The MRT (mass rapid transit), which is modern and clean, is used by nearly half of the population daily. As a result of efforts to control motorized traffic, the maintenance of natural greenery, strict regulations on industrial locations and emissions, and other pro-environmental initiatives by the government and the private sector, Singapore has been able to control its pollution levels to well within World Health Organization standards.
Education is compulsory. There is 99% literacy, and 1/3 of a monthly tax goes to education, 1/3 to medical, and 1/3 towards pensions. When one retires you move to a seniors area which is cheaper if you live in government housing, preferably close to your family.
We took the Singapore Highlights Tour and this 5 hour tour was excellent.
Singapore literally is the gateway to Asia. We were docked for the first part of Day 1 in the container port, and our ship had to be moved to the Passenger Terminal by 6 pm. Driving through this container area, our jaws were literally wide open. It is the 3rd largest container port in the world, moving 28 million containers annually (Shanghai is 1st, and Hong Kong 2nd, but Singapore is truly international). You cannot imagine the size and scale of this operation. One ship every THREE MINUTES enters this harbour. Here our some facts from Jane's tour guide! She and her husband paid $400,000 for their apartment 12 years ago. The average wage is $4000/month. If you make more than $100,000 annually, you do not qualify for the government housing. The Merlion - the National symbol!
The world's richest man lives here and the most expensive home is worth $63 Million. There are many underground storage reservoirs for water. At one time the government had a program to protect and conserve water - now there are luxury condo's built on the waterfront and there is a program to encourage the people to appreciate the water. People doing Tai Chi!
The architecture of this city state is awesome. I found myself swinging my head and our camera from window to window trying to capture each unique and spectacular building. Again, like Hong Kong the density of building is tremendous, with the difference that there are landscaped horticultural parks and gardens everywhere. Even when they do construction, there are potted trees to beautify the worksite.
Our first stop was the Orchid Garden, a national park which was glorious. Singapore is very hot and very humid! We were perspiring by 9:30 just walking in this manicured jungle environment. In the VIP section are orchids named for International VIPs who visit to promote peace and understanding. There was a Mist House housing orchids from the cooler mountainous regions of South America. This was an especially wonderful introduction to Singapore.
Then it was off through the city, to Raffles Hotel, famous for its Long Bar. This beautiful white colonial building still has a British style doorman standing duty. We saw a bride and groom on the second floor of the hotel, and we explored quickly the red tiled courtyards of the Hotel which takes up a city block. We knew we would be back tomorrow to visit the bar and have a Singapore Sling.
We passed some very colorful doors and windows!
Singapore has preserved its ethic areas and taken its hawkers off the streets and licensed them into permanent stalls. There are Arab, Indian and China towns. We stopped at Arab Street and visited the Sultan Mosque. We took off our shoes and looked inside the lovely blue mosque. A digital sign reads out the 5 daily prayer times. In each of these ethnic areas we visited, not only are the historic buildings preserved, but they are all painted in a multitude of colors.
Then we went to Chinatown. A large Buddhist temple, more recently built (Buddhism is the primary religion), sat next to the stalls, and this was a also an area where seniors lived, as we saw many sitting on the sides of the temple.
A quick walk down the street and we were at a the over 100 year old Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple. This flamboyantly graced, temple was covered in multi-colored gods and goddesses.
Then we whizzed through the financial district to the impressive Waterfront Park and alighted to walk the esplanade to see the Singapore Merlion, the famous Casino which is comprised of 3 buildings connected with a building resembling a ship on top (it costs $20 to go to the top, and costs $4000/night to stay here and has an infinity pool on the top too), the giant ferris wheel, and the Science Building shaped like a lotus flower. River boats plied the waters ferrying people under the bridges.
Finally we went to the top of an area near Mount Faber to where the cable cars go over to Sentosa, the huge "Disney World like" amusement park, where we plan to go tomorrow.
It was 2 pm. and we reboarded the Amsterdam and headed up to the Lido to get a quick lunch before marching out for the rest of the day and evening. We were very sad that Gary and Linda were getting off the ship today to go home, and we saw them for what we thought was a last good bye.
Then Barry, Jane, my Mom and I took the MRT to Orchard Park to meet my friend Jess Geppert! How cool is that? I can't believe I am in Singapore, let alone with Jess who lives one street over from me at home! She is living here with Matt and her son, in a luxury condo with the owners, (an attorney and a law professor) till August while her husband is going to school for ministry. I am so glad I have Jess as a tour guide!
We were blown away with the subway which was the most beautiful one I had ever seen. You can virtually go anywhere on this system which uses smart cards for payment. We came up into the luxury shopping area of Singapore where once again we were surrounded by all the luxury brand stores we had seen in Hong Kong. The difference here is that the buildings are spectacular. The Takashimaya department store is a massive dark red marble structure. It started to light rain so we popped in there and were met by a man handing out plastic bags for your umbrellas.
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We then went to a mall that was very downscale, but after a brief scan we abandoned it! Our evening plans were to take the MRT to Clarke Quay which is built along the river and has many restaurants out under the stars. It reminded me a bit of Downtown Disney - and because the weather is so beautiful most areas like this have very high glass covers over the public walkways so that you can get the light, be out doors, but be out of the frequent tropical rains. We found a place under cover, with red lanterns providing the atmosphere and had a great meal and a relaxing visit with Jess. We noted there were no bugs, but Jess told us they fog the city a lot, so we were not sure how much chemical there was in this pristine environment.
We MRT'd our way to the new, central docking place, walked miles through the terminal and came upon Jonathan and Karen out for a night stroll, tnen Gary and Linda right behind as they disembarked. Hugs all around and we went to bed as we wanted to have an early start.
We thought Sydney and Hong Kong were great - but this city, which is also a young person's city, is vying for top spot.
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