Pleasantville
Singapore is Nutrasweet. Singapore is Disney. Singapore is the world’s biggest shopping mall. The beach sand is imported, the resorts are contrived, and the whole place is completely hygienic. There is no traffic, the streets are litter free, and everything is orderly and clean. This is Asia?
Singapore is famous for its rules. Littering will cost you $1,000; chewing gum a mere $500. Jaywalking and smoking are illegal, and if you want to own a car, you have to pay the government $25,000 for a ten-year ownership permit. This draconian system has produced one of the cleanest, most sterile cities in the world.
Everywhere you go, you find yourself in a climate-controlled shopping mall. Train stations, museums, office buildings, hotels, and the performing arts complex are all attached to malls. You can’t open a door, ride the subway, or go to the airport without seeing The Body Shop, Starbucks, or The Gap.
Yet, the city has life. There is a vibrant and beautiful Chinatown, and a thriving Little India. There is a flourishing arts community, including an amazing array of public sculpture, and perhaps the most spectacular performing arts complex on the globe. The public park system is second to none, and the botanical gardens, museum system, and aquarium are unbelievably good. Colonial architecture blends seamlessly with stunning modern buildings, and the whole city is linked by the best public transportation system we have ever seen.
Singapore is remarkable in every way -- its international economic success, its vast array of infrastructure, and its overwhelming artificiality. It is interesting, puzzling, entertaining, and educational. It is Pleasantville.
Enjoy the Singapore Photo Gallery.
Enjoy the Singapore Botanical Gardens Photo Gallery.
Enjoy the Singapore movies:
Singapore Aquarium.
Feeding Time.
Cruising Shark.
Jellyfish.
Singapore is famous for its rules. Littering will cost you $1,000; chewing gum a mere $500. Jaywalking and smoking are illegal, and if you want to own a car, you have to pay the government $25,000 for a ten-year ownership permit. This draconian system has produced one of the cleanest, most sterile cities in the world.
Everywhere you go, you find yourself in a climate-controlled shopping mall. Train stations, museums, office buildings, hotels, and the performing arts complex are all attached to malls. You can’t open a door, ride the subway, or go to the airport without seeing The Body Shop, Starbucks, or The Gap.
Yet, the city has life. There is a vibrant and beautiful Chinatown, and a thriving Little India. There is a flourishing arts community, including an amazing array of public sculpture, and perhaps the most spectacular performing arts complex on the globe. The public park system is second to none, and the botanical gardens, museum system, and aquarium are unbelievably good. Colonial architecture blends seamlessly with stunning modern buildings, and the whole city is linked by the best public transportation system we have ever seen.
Singapore is remarkable in every way -- its international economic success, its vast array of infrastructure, and its overwhelming artificiality. It is interesting, puzzling, entertaining, and educational. It is Pleasantville.
Enjoy the Singapore Photo Gallery.
Enjoy the Singapore Botanical Gardens Photo Gallery.
Enjoy the Singapore movies:
Singapore Aquarium.
Feeding Time.
Cruising Shark.
Jellyfish.
posted by Scott and Lynn at 6:14 PM
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