Singapore

The evening of the hike up Mt. Batur, we flew to Singapore.  Singapore could hardly be more different than Bali.

We departed from the shabby, dingy airport in Bali and arrived in the gleaming, world-famous, uber-modern airport in Singapore. 

We walked right through what we assumed would be a daunting Customs examination without them showing the slightest interest in us, and straight to a waiting cab.  The cab was driven by a hilarious ethnic Chinese guy who spent the cab ride complaining about his recent family vacation to Bali.  They didn't like the food, and the beaches weren't nice.  The only fun thing they did was take a rafting trip, but the hike down the ravine to the river and then back up again afterwards so strained his leg muscles that he could barely walk for two days.  He hadn't left the tourist traps near the airport in Bali to explore any of the sights in Bali.  He had no interest in going back.

We sped on a super-highway through nearly deserted streets and soon reached our hotel.  Our heads hit the pillow at 2 am.

Our first morning began with Charlotte's favorite aspect of travel:  an expansive breakfast buffet.  We then set out to explore the Little India neighborhood.  Alexa enjoyed trying on "Punjabi suits" in one of the shops, and Lynn bought one of the outfits for Alexa and an armful of blue bangles for Charlotte.  We rode their in the clean and efficient subway.  The signs in the subway were in four languages -- Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil -- evidence of its multi-ethnic, merchant culture.

Historic Merchant house in Little India

The girls were fascinated by the gold shop in Little India

That afternoon we visited an expat British family we had been introduced to through a mutual friend.  They had two kids roughly the same ages as Alexa and Charlotte.  The kids all had a blast playing in their pool while Lynn and I chatted with the parents.  The dad was in love with Singapore.  He was friendly but quite opinionated.  He couldn't understand why we would choose to live in "backwards Bali" when Singapore was so much better.

He discussed at length all the sensible things that the Singapore government did, and how the government was so much better run than the U.S. or the U.K.  I had never given Singapore much thought, even though I visited briefly as part of a work trip for the Department of Commerce nearly 20 years ago.  So what he had to say was eye-opening for us.

In spite of being a small island of five-million people with few natural resources (even requiring the import of its water supply), Singapore ran a budget surplus.  Instead of saddling every citizen with a share of a huge national debt, as in the U.S. and the U.K., Singapore has one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds.  Singapore has almost no unemployment.  It has almost no homelessness, as the government builds affordable housing on a mass scale and provides it to lower income earners at cost, including long-term loans at the government's cost of borrowing, so that workers could become home owners by paying only $30 or so per month.

Because of its draconian drug laws, it has almost no drug problem.  In part because it doesn't have the crime spawned by drug dealers and drug addicts, it has very little crime.  Since it has little crime, it needs only a small police force and few jails.

Singapore has low income taxes of around 10%.  It has no capital gains tax.  It manages a budget surplus in part because it heavily taxes certain forms of consumption.  To control traffic congestion, cars cost two or three times what they cost elsewhere.  A car can only be purchased and driven in Singapore with a separate license to drive that particular car.  The licenses to drive the cars are auctioned off to the highest bidder and can run $75k for a 10-year right to drive the car.  All cars come equipped with a version of an EZpass.  Highways are "smart priced", so if you want to drive into the business district during rush hour, you will pay a higher price than if you travel during off- hours.  (The government also built a 16 km tunnel under the heart of Singapore city to ease congestion -- and managed to build it in three years' time.)  The consequence is that even though it is a small, densely populated island, the roads are not clogged with cars and you can quickly get where you need to go.  For those who can't afford a car, the government licenses over 30,000 taxi cabs that charge quite modest rates, and has an extensive public transportation system, including the underground metro (MRT) that runs throughout the island.

Singapore appeals to the global rich, whom the government actively woos.  Singapore has the highest rate of millionaires in the world, at over 15% of the population.  The fact that home prices are so expensive that even a modest row-house will run over a million dollars, means that anyone who had owned their own home free and clear is now a millionaire.

Singapore has set its sights on becoming the vacation destination for China and South-East Asia.  It is packed with theme parks and zoos.  It has also become a gambling destination.  In 2010 it licensed two resort casinos.  (Singaporeans are charged a high entry fee to the casinos, to discourage gambling by the locals.)  Due to the high rollers it attracts, and despite having only two casinos, Singapore has quickly surpassed Las Vegas as the number two gambling market in the world, after Macau.

After we receiving this extensive tutorial on the glories of Singapore, we set off for the Night Safari.  The kids were photographed with a large, yellow-eyed owl upon arrival.  The restaurant on site had a wide selection of pan-Asian offerings, and after a large Chinese tour group departed, we enjoyed a meal there.  The girls set their sights on the Ben & Jerry's shop for after the safari.  The father of the family hosting us is 6'10" so we had to wait for a tram where he could sit comfortably in the seats.  (He informed us he is literally the tallest person in Singapore.)

The park is designed so the animals are only about 20-40 feet away from you as you sit in the tram.  They are on the other side of a deep chasm, but it the chasm is cleverly disguised by grass to give the appearance that there is only open field between you and the lions, tigers, and hippos happily eating their meals just a few feet away.   The effect is unnerving as it seems that with one pounce a tiger could land inside the tram.

Mid-way through the ride -- right when you start feeling antsy -- you exit the tram for a walking tour where you share a large enclosed space with large fruit bats, flying squirrels, and later have an up-close view of leopards behind a glass partition.  The Night Safari excursion made for a late night with the kids, but we all found it pretty impressive.

The next day I took the girls to the Singapore Science Centre while Lynn did some shopping. Later we took a boat tour along the Singapore river.  There is a building boom going on, much of it on reclaimed land near the harbor.  The most impressive are the Singapore Flyer, the world's largest Ferris wheel,  and the Marina Bay Sands, the world's most expensive casino, at $5.6 billion, built to look like a cruise ship resting on top of three skyscrapers.

Alexa lost her head at the Science Center

A popular sculpture along the river bank

the symbol of Singapore

the new concert hall

the Singapore Flyer

the Marina Bay Sands from a distance

In the afternoon we went up to the Skypark at the Marina Bay Sands, located at the prow of the "cruise ship".  The prow juts 200 feet into thin air beyond the supporting structure, 56 stories up.  We could also admire the nearly 500 long infinity pool at the center of the "ship".

not a good picture, but you can still make out the large infinity pool suspended in space

Alexa at Skypark

No city is complete without a floating soccer field

the Singapore skyline seen from Skypark

After dinner at a Korean chain hamburger joint - quite good - we watched the Wonder Full laser show projected on a curtain of water formed by fountains in the harbor.

the curtain of spray from the fountains

amazing images from projecting lasers onto water droplets

lasers shot out from the Marina Bay Sands, and it too was lit up with lasers

On the cab ride to the airport for our flight back we passed a couple mile stretch of potted plants in the median, instead of the usual procession of trees.  Our cab driver quizzed us as to why, but we couldn't guess.  He said the answer was an open secret, that in case the airport was attacked the potted plants could be quickly removed to create an alternate landing strip.

Our experience of Singapore was somewhat surreal.  So many things were over the top, from the government that micromanages every detail and plans 50 years into the future, to the buildings unlike any elsewhere in the world.

Bali certainly doesn't measure up to Singapore in so many ways.  But we were still glad to come back to its dilapidated airport, to the lush landscapes, the colorful chaos, the ceremonies and the spirits, and best of all, Gran and Papa Joe, who had planned their trip back to the States so that we would overlap at the airport for a last visit and some ice cream.

arriving and departing

Posted by Nat and Lynn