Exploring Singapore

So much of what we have seen in Singapore is sterile, organized and controlled.  Though there are ethnic neighborhoods that have a bit of a more organic feeling to them.  Today we walked through China Town, Little India and Arab Street.  

It's funny that in a city/country that is so regulated by law, we have not seen any police yet. Though we have noticed a great many video cameras mounted high at intersections and on buildings.

We found this sign outside a mosque.

The population here, we have heard is 72% Chinese, 18% Malay Indian and 10% other - which includes a large population of Indians who come predominantly on work permits.  Their is a tolerance and broad acceptance of people of all cultures and religions, as long as they honor and obey Singaporean law and customs.

There is some interesting architecture.

But only a few small streets and back alleys that actually have texture and an organic feeling to them.  For the most part, the city feels planned.

There seems to be thousands of construction cranes at work, building the city in a constant hum.

Though I imagine it is slow going.  I don't know if it's the heat, or the humidity or some other cultural phenomenon, but everything moves slowly here.  It takes much longer than it should to order a meal, or to be served, to wait in line for a cashier, or to receive an order from Starbucks. Everyone and everything moves at a different pace and rhythm than they do at home, or in Egypt, or in Istanbul.  In general we found most service in Sweden to be slow too - it lacked any urgency, but to my memory, it was faster and with more purpose than in Singapore.

As we look around at the buildings, most are new, and many are quite interesting.  

There seems to be a vital night life, consisting mostly of restaurants and clubs and shopping. There are many malls, and several open air markets.  But none of it seems terribly exciting. None of it strikes any of us as unique.  It seems that Singapore is mostly a business center and a port, that receives goods from around the world, but does not make any exports.  There are beaches and sights to see on this small island city state - but it feels very sterile.

Most everyone here speaks English, which makes life easier for us, but also makes it a bit less interesting.  The prices here seem reasonable, but not spectacularly low.  From what we have heard, it is a very safe country in which to live and work, but at the same time is much more expensive than it's northern neighbor, Malaysia.