Singapore~ Day Two

 March 1

"Whoever tries to imagine perfection simply reveals his own emptiness." ~ George Orwell

Another day in a city planned to be extraordinary! Our guide was Eunice today. (She said we'd never be able to pronounce her Chinese name.) And our first stop was the URA Centre, the museum that details Singapore's history and planning. 

It always surprises me to discover that the countries we visit, which I expect to be quite old, much older than the USA's 250 years, are in fact very young in terms of their political organization. The culture here may stretch back for millenia, but Singapore only became an independent state in 1965 when they separated from Malaysia. The government has been around for a minute historically speaking, but they've made incredible gains in a relatively short time.

Lee Kwan Yew, their first prime minister, made some radical changes immediately. The first was to make English their national language. All the schools are taught in English, though Chinese, Tamil and Malay are often spoken at home. Business is conducted in English. There is no designated state religion.

The second change was to make the city as green and as modern as possible. That meant massive planning and changes to how the city was to grow. Since their land was limited, the only way was up! 

The old Chinese shop houses and the clogged port on the Singapore River. Yew preserved the historic houses, but built a modern port using reclaimed land facing out on the Strait of Malacca. 

The third change was to make some laws regarding ethical behavior and Yew made sure the laws have teeth. I'll talk more about that later.

Our next stop was supposed to be a "shopping opportunity" but our bus let us out in front of a Buddhist Temple that boasted a Buddha tooth relic. (Like pieces of the True Cross, there are apparently a whole mouthful of Buddha teeth scattered through the world where they are venerated in many temples.) Still, I'd rather explore a temple than shop any day.

A worship service seemed to be in progress, complete with a sanctuary filled with monks and other adherents all chanting in unison. Amazingly enough, we were allowed to walk softly around the outside edges of the room and photograph any of the myriad Buddha statues (we're talking hundreds if not thousands) that ringed the space in niches stretching to the ceiling. 

Our next stop was a fine Chinese restaurant for an 8 course lunch, served family style. The highlight of the meal was chili crab, which lived up to its name in hotness! 

From there, we visited Little India where Eunice expressed her frustration with the custom that forbids women from weaving the marigold garlands used in their worship. Then we strolled Arab street for a photo op of the mosque. This was the first time our guide urged caution about our belongings. Apparently, there have been some pickpocketing of tourists, which surprised me because Singapore's laws and punishments are so severe compared to other countries, I'm surprised anyone would risk it.

Singapore is arguably the cleanest city on the planet. There’s no graffiti marring public buildings. Crime is very rare. No one cuts in line. People treat others with kindness, especially the elderly. We are likely to be referred to as “auntie” and “uncle” by locals. Other than the fact it proves they think we're old, I take it as a term of endearment and respect. There's no crazy traffic. No one would think of jaywalking or ignoring a crosswalk sign. There’s not so much as gum wrapper on the sidewalk. 

Perhaps that’s because it’s illegal to chew gum in Singapore.

Now we come back to the topic of the laws and punishments in this city/country. Things we would consider impolite (littering, smoking in public in other than a designated smoking area, etc.) are crimes punishable by hefty fines. Serious crimes, such as rape are punished with caning (a severe beating of between 3 and 24 strokes with a rattan cane) followed by prison time.

Murder is not the only crime punishable by a long drop hanging. Singapore has zero tolerance for drug trafficing. Anyone bringing in drugs, including marijuana, in quantities that indicate intent to traffic can be sentenced to death. In fact, our guide told us an Australian was hanged a few weeks ago, despite vigorous protests from the Aussie government, for marijuana possession. Even a random check at the airport (the Beagle patrol is in full force!) that reveals a few gummies or CBD oil can put you at risk for hefty fines and detention.

So just don't do it. Please, if you ever visit Singapore, don't test them in this. I didn't even carry an aspirin off the ship with us to avoid any possible misunderstandings. 

Singapore is based on one man's dream--Mr. Yew. He had ideas of creating a utopian society, a "City in a Garden, filled with happy, law-abiding, productive citizens. 

Unfortunately, people are not perfect. Utopia can only exist if we are not in it.

But it's fun to visit this close approximation to it.