Ten things I like about Singapore
by prudence on 22-Apr-2010
Am I alone in HATING glib dismissals of whole COUNTRIES?
Maybe I just need to get out more, but I can't help feeling my hackles rise when people who've never lived there sum up the Isle of Man as "quaint", or New Zealand as "quiet", or "provincial" (or, my ultimate shudder-producer, "like England in the 1950s"), or think that they've got Australia sussed because they've watched Crocodile Dundee and Muriel's Wedding. Truly, I've had enough conversations along these lines, with otherwise intelligent people, to convince me I've not just happened upon a few isolated cases.
Closely associated with the glib dismissal is the obsession with the negative. I remember having a chat with an expat on a street in Abidjan in 1998. There was a riot of flowers everywhere. Birds were singing. Butterflies were fluttering. Chickens were parading. Gaudy lizards were doing press-ups. Fabulously dressed people were gracefully going about their business. The scene could have been a movie set. And the only thing the person wanted to dwell on was the heap of rubbish on the street. Why focus only on the one negative thing? Yes, rubbish on the street is unhygienic. Yes, it would be better if it wasn't there. But it took up a disproportionately large share of our conversation. (There have, of course, been far worse things than rubbish to worry about in Ivory Coast since then.)
Singapore suffers, it seems to me, from both phenomena -- the glib dismissal, and the obsession with the negative. When people knew I was coming to live here, I was frequently told that it was "strange" or "boring", even "frightening". And it has famously experienced more than its fair share of condescending and well-publicized put-downs. People who don't know the place seem to have some very odd ideas about it. (See, for example, this post, this post, and a rejoinder.) But when you live here, it feels like any other place, except it functions better than most.
Now, lest I be accused of naivete, let me hasten to add that I have read a lot about the history and politics of Singapore. I'm not starry-eyed about it. But I've lived in seven countries, and they all have stuff wrong with them. In fact, they all face serious, endemic challenges of some sort. Singapore is no exception. There are things that are not perfect. There are things that I would wish were different (not that what I want has any relevance at all -- it's what Singaporeans want that matters). So what follows is no paean to paradise -- it's just an attempt to counteract the twin phenomena of the glib dismissal and the reluctance to acknowledge the positive. It's an attempt to restore a bit of balance.
So here, after this long and rambly introduction, are 10 things I like about Singapore.
1. It is absolutely not boring. I just don't get that. Whether it's culture, nature, history, sport, or gastronomy, there's a vast offering, much of it eminently affordable even for a postgrad student.
2. I like the people. They have this reputation for being "kiasu" (afraid to lose out, and therefore unwilling to share, or insensitive), but I've not really experienced this. True, they're very focused when they're heading onto the MRT in the rush hour. But hey, boarding a tram in Melbourne at the equivalent time is hardly sweetness and light either. With very few exceptions (usually those driving cars), I've found Singaporeans helpful and friendly. Given that most lead extremely busy lives, and work long hours, that's not to be taken for granted.
3. I like the deliberate attempt to safeguard green spaces. I've posted on this before, but the longer I'm here, the more I appreciate it.
4. I feel I'm in the middle of things. This is not unique to Singapore's situation -- many other pulsing Asian cities offer the same experience -- but Singapore consciously projects that image, and it's invigorating.
5. It's amazingly innovative. What they've done with the Marina barrage, for example, is extraordinary. (See our pics here.)
6. Singapore's is the best public transport system I have experienced. Yes, it's crowded at peak times, but they're investing in it heavily, with plans to double the rail network by 2020. It's already a very extensive system, and it's rare that you can't get where you want to get. And -- imagine this -- if a bus driver sees you running to catch the bus, he/she will stop and wait for you. I know -- it's incredible.
7. Singapore has beaten corruption (third best on the Corruption Perceptions Index of 2009). The elimination of this fund-siphoning, energy-sapping, demoralizing scourge of humanity is an enormous service rendered to citizens.
8. OK, starting to border on the controversial here, but I really enjoy the fact that it's safe and pleasant to walk around the city centre in the late evening. I can say this about nowhere else I've lived... No other polity has similarly upheld my right, as a woman, to walk around safely on my own at 11 o'clock at night.
9. Again, this is controversial, but what has been done here is miraculous. With the historical, geopolitical, and economic odds stacked against it, the whole enterprise could so easily have turned into a massive disaster, a catastrophically "failed state" (in the current rather contentious terminology). Instead, it's now a "first world" polity (to use another dodgy term). Hot topics here at the moment are immigration, house prices, rising inequality, and falling birth rates. These are topics familiar to many "first world" countries, and Singapore will struggle, like everyone else, to find the right answers. But presumably most of its population would prefer to be wrestling with this set of problems than with many other scenarios that once were wholly conceivable but have been avoided.
10. Totally uncontroversially, the food is fantastic. I've left this till last, because even Singapore's most rabid critics usually grant it this point. But whether you're looking at affordability, variety, quality, or availability, the food is just amazing. Amazing...
Maybe I just need to get out more, but I can't help feeling my hackles rise when people who've never lived there sum up the Isle of Man as "quaint", or New Zealand as "quiet", or "provincial" (or, my ultimate shudder-producer, "like England in the 1950s"), or think that they've got Australia sussed because they've watched Crocodile Dundee and Muriel's Wedding. Truly, I've had enough conversations along these lines, with otherwise intelligent people, to convince me I've not just happened upon a few isolated cases.
Closely associated with the glib dismissal is the obsession with the negative. I remember having a chat with an expat on a street in Abidjan in 1998. There was a riot of flowers everywhere. Birds were singing. Butterflies were fluttering. Chickens were parading. Gaudy lizards were doing press-ups. Fabulously dressed people were gracefully going about their business. The scene could have been a movie set. And the only thing the person wanted to dwell on was the heap of rubbish on the street. Why focus only on the one negative thing? Yes, rubbish on the street is unhygienic. Yes, it would be better if it wasn't there. But it took up a disproportionately large share of our conversation. (There have, of course, been far worse things than rubbish to worry about in Ivory Coast since then.)
Singapore suffers, it seems to me, from both phenomena -- the glib dismissal, and the obsession with the negative. When people knew I was coming to live here, I was frequently told that it was "strange" or "boring", even "frightening". And it has famously experienced more than its fair share of condescending and well-publicized put-downs. People who don't know the place seem to have some very odd ideas about it. (See, for example, this post, this post, and a rejoinder.) But when you live here, it feels like any other place, except it functions better than most.
Now, lest I be accused of naivete, let me hasten to add that I have read a lot about the history and politics of Singapore. I'm not starry-eyed about it. But I've lived in seven countries, and they all have stuff wrong with them. In fact, they all face serious, endemic challenges of some sort. Singapore is no exception. There are things that are not perfect. There are things that I would wish were different (not that what I want has any relevance at all -- it's what Singaporeans want that matters). So what follows is no paean to paradise -- it's just an attempt to counteract the twin phenomena of the glib dismissal and the reluctance to acknowledge the positive. It's an attempt to restore a bit of balance.
So here, after this long and rambly introduction, are 10 things I like about Singapore.
1. It is absolutely not boring. I just don't get that. Whether it's culture, nature, history, sport, or gastronomy, there's a vast offering, much of it eminently affordable even for a postgrad student.
2. I like the people. They have this reputation for being "kiasu" (afraid to lose out, and therefore unwilling to share, or insensitive), but I've not really experienced this. True, they're very focused when they're heading onto the MRT in the rush hour. But hey, boarding a tram in Melbourne at the equivalent time is hardly sweetness and light either. With very few exceptions (usually those driving cars), I've found Singaporeans helpful and friendly. Given that most lead extremely busy lives, and work long hours, that's not to be taken for granted.
3. I like the deliberate attempt to safeguard green spaces. I've posted on this before, but the longer I'm here, the more I appreciate it.
4. I feel I'm in the middle of things. This is not unique to Singapore's situation -- many other pulsing Asian cities offer the same experience -- but Singapore consciously projects that image, and it's invigorating.
5. It's amazingly innovative. What they've done with the Marina barrage, for example, is extraordinary. (See our pics here.)
6. Singapore's is the best public transport system I have experienced. Yes, it's crowded at peak times, but they're investing in it heavily, with plans to double the rail network by 2020. It's already a very extensive system, and it's rare that you can't get where you want to get. And -- imagine this -- if a bus driver sees you running to catch the bus, he/she will stop and wait for you. I know -- it's incredible.
7. Singapore has beaten corruption (third best on the Corruption Perceptions Index of 2009). The elimination of this fund-siphoning, energy-sapping, demoralizing scourge of humanity is an enormous service rendered to citizens.
8. OK, starting to border on the controversial here, but I really enjoy the fact that it's safe and pleasant to walk around the city centre in the late evening. I can say this about nowhere else I've lived... No other polity has similarly upheld my right, as a woman, to walk around safely on my own at 11 o'clock at night.
9. Again, this is controversial, but what has been done here is miraculous. With the historical, geopolitical, and economic odds stacked against it, the whole enterprise could so easily have turned into a massive disaster, a catastrophically "failed state" (in the current rather contentious terminology). Instead, it's now a "first world" polity (to use another dodgy term). Hot topics here at the moment are immigration, house prices, rising inequality, and falling birth rates. These are topics familiar to many "first world" countries, and Singapore will struggle, like everyone else, to find the right answers. But presumably most of its population would prefer to be wrestling with this set of problems than with many other scenarios that once were wholly conceivable but have been avoided.
10. Totally uncontroversially, the food is fantastic. I've left this till last, because even Singapore's most rabid critics usually grant it this point. But whether you're looking at affordability, variety, quality, or availability, the food is just amazing. Amazing...