Lion City

Right, so Singapore is impressive. Darn impressive.

I’ve been on the small island nation of 4.6 million people for around a week. I don’t have any great pictures to share. It’s like the city is one big polished super mall. Really sleek, shiny, always something to grab your attention but nothing that really stands out because everything stands out.

Crime is low, but as propaganda posters explain, that doesn’t mean there isn’t crime so watch out and report any suspicious individuals.

Tax rates are high. But you actually see what the money is spent on and what benefits it gives society. It’s accounted for and well spent. It’s visualized everywhere.

Military service? Compulsory. Drugs dealing? It’s a bullet in the head.

Public transportation is one of the most flawless systems I’ve ever had the pleasure of nitpicking. Even basic buses have accurate ETAs updated in real-time.

Everything is run in this city like a well time clock powered by a fusion reactor for no apparent reason.

It’s just beautiful.

It’s authoritarian, maybe a little autocratic, but the vision of this place, the scope is completely unrivaled except when you comprehend that the people behind this place have actually already accomplished what you think it’s going for.

Oh. So. Cohesive.

Singapore is the ultimate city-state that exists on the face of this planet.

Moreover, the amount of ethnic groups that co-exist peacefully is inspiring. They may not interact that much and there’s little to no talking on buses and trains, but that’s human nature.

Humans find their own kind and build communities around one another. Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Taoist, Indian, White, Chinese, Maly, whatever.

That doesn’t mean we have to be mean to one another and crap the place up.

Singapore doesn’t just work, it’s deadly efficient. Think of it as lethality in a bottle labeled “KICK ASS” with hand grooves on the side so you don’t accidentally drop it in case you’re hands are coated with oil for no apparent reason. And these bottles are sold by the millions thanks to supremely clean (bordering on sterile), stylistic marketing techniques.

No, that shouldn’t make any sense, but now, now you should be able to grasp the concept I’m alluding to.

For all of its splendor, though, Singapore is far from being intuitive. It’s structure is put together logically and concisely, but it’s missing that magic that lets you know what to expect one street up or how to develop a feel for navigation.

To give you an example, when you’re looking for the MRT (Singapore’s subway/train system) you know how to go about finding it. And when you turn that corner and get to the entrance you stop and go “Huh, I guess it makes sense.” And it does, but it doesn’t entirely click either; like it’s missing some unknown tangible.

That’s because Singapore is a really elaborate puzzle that’s painstakingly put together — except all the pieces are square with identical connectors and receivers. Yet the pieces are somehow placed at random intervals that has no specific ordering to which receiver goes where, you just have to remember it as you go.

Those picky observations aside, the bottom line is that you must applaud this society for what they’ve built and the manner in which they continue to thrive.

Vision realized — and yet it causes me pause to contemplate how long has it’s been since my people found one and made it happen.

August 24th, 2008 in Travel |