Pit stop Singapore – booming development, vibrant events and brimming with confidence (pt.1 of 5)

What follows here is a serious attempt to depict the city-state of Singapore, and be a guide to this city-state with global ambitions – based on visits during 2007-2008. So, let ProfessorThailand.com be your Concierge to Singapore, in the perspective of being an expatriate visitor from Thailand. O.K, here starts the journey…

 

The writer of this review returns to Singapore for the fist time in 17 years, obviously then with wide open eyes and curiosity about Southeast-Asia’s most vibrant island state. And as it happens, it coincidentally turns out as an auspicious moment not only for a guest on a sort of homecoming (to a metropolitan I feel I will appreciate and make my favourite Southeast Asian city destination), but also for the city and country itself. During my stay, Singapore gets approval from the organiser of Formula 1 about the world’s first ever Grand Prix night race to be held there in September 2008. 

 

This inaugural Formula 1 means Singapore will get a new kind of unprecedented exposure on millions of TV sets in 200 countries around the world; better PR for a country with global ambitions could hardly be thought of, given also how suitable this city-state is for such a race!

 

That decision – a significant boost for this nation state – seems to have been the timely because since then all sectors seem to be brimming with confidence. It is also the case that Singapore is in a phase of strong, but wisely controlled, expansion mode that includes: an ongoing property boom seeing an influx of international investors pumping money into the high-end housing; the construction of an integrated casino complex (Marina Bay Sands Resort & Casino); a new harbour for cruise ships; a lifestyle marina complex; a new six star international hotel brand launched  (to be followed by others); the new Singapore Ferris wheel attraction as well as the launch of exceptional new lifestyle venues and shopping outlets. It is also decided that Singapore is going to be the host of the first Youth Olympics in 2010 (requiring new facilities and infrastructure development). So, Singapore is the future!

 

From what I remember from my first visit regarding its tidiness and strict laws, and by researching, Singapore has apparently become less strict during recent years and its culture is getting more hedonistic! Yes, you read it; hedonistic. And perhaps we should add holistic; given all its spas and resorts/wellness venues and abundance of traditional Chinese medicine?

 

But how does one compare Singapore 1990 with 2008? To be a witness of how Singapore specifically has changed over nearly two decades is not easy – because the whole world has changed a lot!

 

Back then, coming as a backpacker at young age, the Southeast-Asian metropolis was a welcome stopover, after hardships and several days and nights spent on a train ride from Bangkok. Train, including the Orient Express, is still an option from Bangkok to Singapore, while a number of low-coast airlines offer a faster mode of transportation.

 

The exotic city was poignant with its skyscraper business district surpassing most cities in Europe, the vibrant harbour with hundreds of cargo ships mixed with the exotic, its Chinatown and the traditional parts of the city.

 

It is of course still a centre for trade, and even more so a hub today for various new alternatives to the traditional shipping/cargo industry. And still the old collides with modernity in the form of Chinatown with its mainly long-slung shop houses and temples in the shadow of the skyscrapers. The city has its historical layers though some old buildings are being spruced up and converted into trendy hangouts.

 

Then there were of course Orchard road and the bargains on electronic gadgets, not to mention the new subway with granite stone walls and floors. And of course the strict laws and streets devoid of street litter as a result of the strict laws with high fines.

 

The perception outsiders have, and the way the nation state is often described, is of being a nanny state. And to some extent it is. You certainly get a feeling Big Brother is watching over you. Citizens and visitors using the subway are for example constantly reminded to stay on alert for any “suspicious persons and activities”. There are also lots of public information campaigns such as warnings about the risks of Dengue fever.

 

Fear is to some extent being used to warn people of dangers - in a place that actually seems very safe. No risk here of being disturbed by hooligans and the like.

 

In the subway we are warned about the threat of terrorism – in fact a move is repeatedly being played about how a young bloke blows up a train, and then cut over to the bombings of trains that took place in Madrid and other terrorist acts.

 

Littering and chewing gums are strictly prohibited (laws in Singapore are generally strict with harsh punishments such as caning and execution and a stringent censorship of the media, I learn).
 

But in 2007 I especially notice, admittedly to my surprise, people sitting on the stairs eating food right outside the entrance to the subway station Orchard Road.

 

Coinciding with a follow-up visit in August 2008, a news story in the media talks about how Singaporeans have been urged to improve their social graces as the country prepares to host the Youth Olympic Games in 2010.

 

This for instance concerns how customers visiting food courts walk away after eating, leaving their food trays behind; which they shouldn’t apparently.

 

A spokesperson for an organisation called the Singapore Kindness Movement says that it will take many years still – several generations at least – to achieve such a “sea-change” (!) in attitudes and social habits.

 

With the perspective of having Thailand to compare with, this certainly leads to reflections and comparisons with how things are in the metropolitan Bangkok.

 

Read the rest of this destination review:

Part II: Pit stop Singapore: numerous vibrant events and festivals, cultural influx, global aspirations

Part III: Pit stop Singapore - nighlife, Naumi hotel, Peranakan at InterContinental

Part IV: Pit stop Singapore - M Hotel, VivoCity, Keppel Island, Sentosa island

Part V: Pit stop Singapore - Amara Sanctuary Sentosa, National Musem, Tanglin Village, Clarke Quay, Equinox: New Asia Bar

 

See also Image gallery Singapore

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