A little town called....

My next stop was Singapore. I've been trying to think of something interesting to say about it, but really, I've got nothing. I had, not surprisingly, certain expectations of what it would be like. Seems I'm a little quick to jump to conclusions.

Singapore is, in part, famous for being a 'nanny state'. Gum chewing is a big no-no. Jaywalking and littering can incur some serious, serious fines. There is no smoking in public places and, of course, everything I read about it made sure to point out that drugs are met with the death penalty, which is regularly carried out. In retrospect, I think I expected a country of Stepford people.

There were a few indications that this is the case. Absolutely everything is neat and tidy. Unlike anywhere else I've been to lately, every single building had been painted within the decade. Traffic runs in an orderly fashion; not once did I see a cab drive onto the sidewalk. The lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers...all are immaculately manicured. Perhaps most Stepford of all, though, is the fact that there's very little else to do except shop. I'm willing to give them the benifit of the doubt on this, however. Quite honestly, more so than the strong colonial presence, shoopping may be due to the fact that Singapore is one degree off of the equator and if you're not inside and near an air conditioner by noon, you're either local or crazy.

Aside from that, there was quite a bit of litter on the streets. I was a few tourists chewing gum, and there was quite a lot of outdoor social gathering going on in Little India on Sunday night; another big no. I myself also jaywalked once; albeit at midnight on an empty street. I am Canadian after all. I can break the law, but only the small ones when they aren't really meaningful anyway. And I didn't take so much as an aspirin with me, so I can't speak to the drug laws.

Mostly, I would say that Singapore defied any expectations I had simply because of it's blandness. Or, maybe it's the 'if it's Sunday, it must be Singapore' syndrome setting in. I'm off to Phuket, Thailand today and I've never heard of anything but absolute raves so, if there's a litmus test for jaded traveler, I'm guessing that this is it.