Singapore is a Fine City

As in, there is a fine for everything.  Ha!  I can't claim credit for that; I saw it on a t-shirt.

When they say no jaywalking, they really mean it.

Automatic death penalty for dealing or smuggling drugs.

This one really put a cramp in my style.

Before going to Singapore, I had heard two main things about it, (1) it's clean, and (2) it's strict.  Both are very true, but oddly enough you never see anyone cleaning anything and you never see any police.  So it must be magic or something.  When you're walking around, you don't feel like you're going to be caned around the next corner or anything.  Maybe that's because we're such good rule followers already?  :)  They're not joking about the cleanliness, though.  Not a scrap of litter to be found.  Not a weird smell or homeless person or hint of graffiti or stray pigeon anywhere. 

It was slightly cooler than Hong Kong (Thank you LORD every bit helps) and although it is much smaller and also has space issues, it is definitely not as cramped.  Here, the buildings are much shorter and more spread out.  People are not on top of each other; there is room to breathe.  The feel of the place, to us, was like a richer and more international O'ahu.

Singapore was originally a British colony and became part of Malay (later known as Malaysia) from 1963 to 1965.  I'm still fuzzy on whether Singapore seceded from Malaysia or was given up by Malaysia (I heard both versions of the story while there), but one way or another it is very much its own entity now.  The island is a city-state and is wholly self-governing.  It is also one of the world's powerful cities: a financial center and major port in Asia, just like Hong Kong.

It is easy to get caught up in Singapore's rules and regulations, but I've got to hand it to them.  They have an incredibly diverse population (lots of religions and ethnicities) with no terrorist incidents or public uprisings.  The city is about 70% Chinese, but also has significant populations of: Arabs, Jews, Indonesians, Christians, Malaysians, and Indians.  We passed a Chinese temple next to a Hindu Temple next to a Muslim Mosque, all within about a block of each other.  Our guide said there are no issues, no problems.  The citizens respect each other and live in peace.  It was a really neat thing to see - that much diversity all on top of each other.

A typical line at Starbucks.

Walking through the Arab quarter.

Our tour guide, Ignatius, was really cool.

The tourist highlight of Singapore is the Marina Bay area, where you can see the Merlion and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  Not too shabby, I guess.

More to come, including a trip to the botanical gardens (special orchid display = eye candy), food food food, more about religion, and oh - the money!  To be that rich for a day...