The interactive museum guide began by telling us that Singapore was a land of stories... his father was Indian and his mother was European and this mix of migrant heritage is typical of Singaporeans. This could be seen from wandering through the streets, and seeing the distinct personalities of China Town and Little India and the array of religious buildings scattered throughout the city.
The original language is Malay, but the education, government and street sign language is English and legal notifications must be published in the Indian, Chinese, Malay and English newspapers. This apparent celebration of diversity is also a recognition of Singapore as a land of opportunity - where GDP is higher than New Zealand, the port is the second largest in the world (only recently eclipsed by Shanghai), it is a favoured country for international arbitration and it is common for people to retire at 50.
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The government has labelled Singapore the 'garden city'. And indeed, every spare strip along highways, between buildings and even in and on buildings is covered in greenery. But then again, without this deliberate planting, Singapore would be a concrete jungle of roads, sky rises and shopping malls. The shopping malls in some places act as footpaths and one cannot cross a road without using a skybridge connecting one to another - we found ourselves going in circles just to find the right place to cross the road! Back to back shopping malls link one block to the next over kilometres. Little India has a mall - Mustafa - open 24 hours, stocking everything imaginable in bulk warehouse prices, including a floor of sparkling gold jewelery to cater specifically to the Indian shoppers.
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On the waterfront are huge skyscraping towers upon which a giant glass container ship is placed with a viewing platform - the skypark. From there almost the entire of Singapore, Indonesian islands and the beginning of Malaysia can be seen. The clay soil from huge waterfront developments underway can be seen, along with the newer Dubai like skyscrapers, mixing with the older and then further out of the CBD and shopping areas, densely packed 2 story buildings. It's quite spectacular, and the 57 floors require equalising on the rise and fall of the lift.
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The national elections are in two months, but we haven't seen any campaigning. Most Singaporeans don't vote, because there often isn't any opposition. While the strong leadership style seems strange to our western experience of politics, the locals seem to hold the leadership in reverence, and its not surprising given Singapore's history - colonisation through the East India Company, led by Mr Raffels (and you will see the name Raffles everywhere - on streets, malls, and of course, the Raffels Hotel, where we bought a Singapore Sling - SD$29!!! needless to say we only bought one) brought trade and prosperity (although also big divisions in wealth) - from what we have gathered, there is no resentment against colonisation... then WWII and occupation by Japan, during which time the country became very poor and had food shortages. After the war Singapore was returned to the British, but the local government no longer wanted British rule and when it achieved independence - first with Malaysia in 1959, and then when that broke down, as its own state in 1962, it had nothing, and no natural resources from which to build. It was on the strength of a non corrupt PM and his government that built Singapore to be what it is. And with this wealth, not only has commerce thrived, but also consumption, hence the boulevards of malls.
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But with this wealth, has also come hoards of foreign workers - from India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malaysia... There is no minimum wage here, but while there is evidence of the poor, there is no evidence of the destitute. Most Singaporean households will have at least one maid, who typically leave their families to earn money to pay for their children's education.
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Perhaps because of that the food can be so cheap - SD$3-4 for Chicken and noodles or dumplings - Yum. One of our hosts remarked that Singaporeans have two main hobbies - shopping and eating. And from what we've seen, e's definately right!
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