Singapore

Singapore was a great stop on my 3rd world country tour of Southern Asia, as it is developed as any city in the US or Europe and boasts wonderful hotels, cuisine, nightlife, etc.  I was able to recouperate here for a few days and hang out with an old roommate from Los Angeles before heading back out to the developing world of Asia. I ended up getting sick this week, possibly from eating too many dumplings and noodle bowls from 'hawker' carts around the city...but it was definitely worth it

Singapore is an island microstate, located on the tip of Malaysia, in southern Asia.  What was originally a tiny fishing village has now expanded into one of the top economic and business hubs in the world.  Singapore boasts a population of almost 5 million people, with a very diverse mix of people.  Chinese Malay is the most common, with Indian, Japanese, American , British and many other cultures making up the rest of the state.  

Clark Quay and Merlion

Singapore is an extremely powerful economic hub, and the world's 4th largest foreign exchange trading centre behind New York, Tokyo and London.  There are thousands of expatriates working in hundreds of multinational corporations, making it an extremely business-friendly economy.  Singapore is very much tied into the American markets, more so than the nearby Hong Kong, which has caused for it to weaken in the past year, similarly with our domestic US market.  Less companies are moving and expanding, and this shows in the global recession and especially Singapore.

Singapore is well known for its criminal law, which is of the strictest in the world.  Singapore still retains corporal (caning) and capital (hanging) punishment.  Many things which would seem normal in our culture (such as chewing gum on the bus or smoking in public) are major offences in Singapore and can be punishable to fines of thousands of dollars.  Drugs are also highly illegal in Singapore; possession of a small amount of marijuana will be punishable by death.  Due to all this, it is one of the safest cities in the world with an extremely low crime rate.  However, one way that Singapore law differs in the opposite way, is it's legalization of prositution.  Licensed brothels exist in designated areas where health checks are mandated, much like Amsterdam.  Street prostitution is not legal, but it is rampant all over the city and in bars.  Orchard Towers is a famous "shopping mall" of sex worker bars and massage parlours that exist with an extreme in-your-face sex market.  Being a tall, white man in Singapore is quite an invitation to get chased down the street in this city, but it is a rather interesting experience.

MRT sign