After I finished my article about Iceland, I began to give some thought to other places in the world that I would enjoy writing about, and that you might enjoy reading about. The first one that popped into my head was another island state, Singapore.
Given that Singapore is on the other side of the planet, about as far away from Canada as you can get, it is probably a place that you have never given the remotest thought about visiting. And, I understand there is a very good chance that you will never make it there. But I would like you to know that if you are ever in the neighbourhood, you really should include it on your list of places to visit.
Our first trip to Singapore was almost by accident. We were in the midst of a four-month around the world trip. The Love-goddess was on sabbatical and I was doing a teacher-funded leave. This provided us with an opportunity to travel long and far. When one of her former PhD students invited her to travel to Hong Kong to do some workshops at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, we leapt at the opportunity. This led us to purchase around-the-world airline tickets and provided the inspiration to keep on moving westward after we had finished up in Hong Kong and to see as much of the world as we could.
After we left Hong Kong we travelled to Thailand and then to the west coast of Australia. We were planning to travel to Mumbai in India and then onwards to Cape Town, South Africa after that. This necessitated routing through Singapore, so we decided we would hang out there for a few days before heading on.
We eventually changed our plans and went to Beijing instead of Mumbai, but we followed through on our plans to visit Singapore. And we were glad that we did. It is an amazing city on a myriad of different levels.
When we arrived in Asia in 2002, we discovered a couple of local websites that provided listings for hotel accommodations all consolidated into one place. Yes, we all use these sites in 2020 to book hotels, but in 2002 it was extremely novel. Useful, but novel. I successfully used them to book hotels in downtown Hong Kong when we wanted a getaway from where we were staying out in Kowloon, and in Phuket and Bangkok in Thailand, and in Freemantle, Australia.
However, when I attempted to book a hotel in Singapore things got a little dicey. Back in 2002 you could not instantaneously reserve a room on these hotel-booking websites. What you had to do was send a communication through the site directly to the hotel and wait for confirmation. We were within 45 minutes of having to leave the hotel in Perth and go to the airport when I finally received a reservation confirmation at the Hotel Phoenix in Singapore. Whew! It is never a good idea to show up in any country and have to say “not a clue” when they ask you where you will be staying.
I am looking forward to explaining to you why I think you should consider going, but first, some important background information about this amazing city.
General Information
Much of the general information, and most quotes in this article, are from that omnipotent source of all knowledge 🙂 … Wikipedia. Unless otherwise specified of course …
Singapore was established in 1818 by Sir Stamford Raffles “as a trading post of the British Empire”. Geographically, it lies “about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator.” What this means in practical terms is that there is an equal number of hours (12) of daylight and darkness every day of the year, and temperatures are pretty consistent throughout the year as well.
Singapore has risen to become one of the most significant shipping and financial centres in the world. It is considered to be a tax haven, which probably explains why it has consistently been ranked as “the most expensive city to live in since 2013”. One of the many things I admire about this city-state is that it “is placed highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety and housing.”
The local government is “widely regarded to have an incorrupt and meritocratic government, with a fair judiciary and strong rule of law.” Most frequently you will hear it being referred to as a benevolent dictatorship.
The governing body may be perceived as being a tad rigid, but it works very hard at ensuring “that there is modern, safe housing available for individuals to purchase at a reasonable cost.” According to the Reasons to be Cheerful website “Singapore is often mentioned as a place that has “solved” the affordable housing problem that plagues many cities around the world. 80 [sic] percent of Singaporeans live as owner-occupiers in housing built by the government … and 90 percent of Singaporeans own their own homes.”
The citizens of Singapore are well taken care of in many ways, not just in the provision of housing. “The government provides numerous assistance programmes to the homeless and needy through the Ministry of Social and Family Development, so acute poverty is rare. Some of the programmes include providing between S$400 and S$1000 of financial assistance per month to needy households, providing free medical care at government hospitals, and paying for children’s tuition.”
Other benefits they receive “include compensation for gym fees to encourage citizens to exercise, up to S$166,000 as a baby bonus for each citizen, heavily subsidised healthcare, financial aid for the disabled, the provision of reduced-cost laptops for poor students, rebates for costs such as public transport and utility bills, and more.” Additionally, “Singaporeans enjoy one of the world’s longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds and one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world.”
Why Go
Sounds like a pretty civilized place to live doesn’t it? BUT why should YOU go there?
Food – First up, you should go simply for the food. It has one of the most amazing food scenes of any city that I have ever been to. Hawker centres, like Lau Po Sat, in the financial district, are found in no other city in the world. Individual Hawker stands sell tasty, inexpensive, and safe street food. Each specialises in one or more dishes.
There are over 100 Hawker centres in the city. Their dishes usually reflect the diverse cultural make-up of the community. Two stalls in the city were the first in the world to be awarded Michelin stars, The dish called “Roti Prata with cheese”, is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever eaten.
And of course, being an extremely affluent city, there are an amazing number of restaurant choices with a full range of culinary offerings and prices. Love seafood? Go to the East Coast Seafood Centre. Look out across the Singapore Strait as you’re enjoying Red Chili Crab and Razor Clams. Love food from non-western cultures? Then just go to one of the many cultural business centres the city has to offer. More on that later.
Architecture – The other thing that makes a visit to Singapore worthwhile is the amazing architecture. From the modern Marine Bay Sands Hotel and Art Science Museum, and the Gardens by the Bay, to the traditional Shophouses and Buddist and Hindu temples, to the stately Raffles and Fullerton Hotels, to the interesting public housing blocks/estates, you can spend several days just wandering around checking out these beautiful edifices.
Multiculturalism – Singapore is wonderfully multicultural. It is a version of multiculturalism that is encouraged, to the point of being regulated, and it works. The various Malay districts, Little India, Chinatown and other cultural areas make for interesting touring, especially when you can visit most of them in a single day. These various cultural enclaves are now primarily “business hubs for their respective ethnic groups and preserved for historic and cultural reasons.” That means lots of great restaurants and interesting shops.
Singapore is so committed to racial integration that The Housing Development Board “enforces the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) to ‘preserve Singapore’s multi-cultural identity and promote racial integration and harmony’ and sets proportions for each ethnic group in each housing estate.”
The net result is that Singapore is a wonderful mélange of interesting cultural tastes, sounds and sights. You should not be disappointed.
Visit Other Destinations – The other great thing about Singapore is its central location in Southeast Asia. Not only is it a trade and finance hub it is also a transportation hub. The incredible new Changi Airport is a tourist destination in its own right. More importantly, it provides easy connections to several other great places to visit in the region: Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Bali, etc.
No, you’re probably not going to go to Singapore, just to go to Singapore. You will need to fill in your itinerary, but, not to worry, there are all kinds of other amazing places within easy reach. From the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, to cruising the Mekong River in Vietnam, to eating on the beach in Phuket, Thailand, to chil-laxing in Bali, there is much to see and do.
Language Issues – Singapore has four official languages: “English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil, with English being the lingua franca.” English is all you need.
Unique Experiences – There are lots of interesting things to do in Singapore other than those I have already spoken about. If you are into nature and hiking, you can hike through the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve one of Singapore’s richest and most diverse tropical ecological systems, or take the short ferry over to Pulau Ubin Island and go for a bike ride. Hop on a boat cruise out to Kusu Island and the other Southern Islands, or take one along the inner-city river. And, you cannot go to Singapore without making a pit-stop at the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel… and, you should probably have a Singapore Sling. 🙂
Shopping – Shopping doesn’t do a whole lot for me, but I do know that others enjoy window shopping at the very least, or actual shopping in profusion. If you are into it, especially higher-end shopping, Singapore is the place for you. Orchard Road and Marina Bay are the places to head to.
It’s Safe – This may not be a game changer for you, but you can walk around the city at any time of day or night and feel secure. This city-state is really not one in which you want to be committing crimes.
The Good to Knows (i.e. Drawbacks)
Technically, I’m not sure that there are any real drawbacks to going to Singapore. Well, other than the most obvious one of course… distance.
Distance – For those of us who live in North America, Singapore is really, really, really far away. But retirement is all about getting out there and doing things that you wouldn’t have had the time for, or possibly even the inclination to do, when you were working. At the risk of repeating myself, a trip to any of the many interesting destinations in southeast Asia, Singapore included, would be a very good thing to plan for once we have moved on from the pandemic.
Expensive – To once again quote Wikipedia, “In 2016, Singapore was rated the world’s most expensive city for the third consecutive year by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and this remained true in 2018. Singapore has the world’s highest percentage of millionaires, with one out of every six households having at least one million US dollars in disposable wealth.”
This does not mean that you can’t do Singapore on the cheap. There are all kinds of totally free, entertaining experiences to be had, and if you can book a hotel at a reasonable rate, and do most of your eating at Hawker centres, you can have a fairly inexpensive stay.
Weather – I didn’t know whether to itemize weather under a reason to go there, or as a reason not to go there. 🙂 Because it is so close to the equator the weather is Tropical and incredibly consistent. My friends who live there always say, “oh the weather, today, just like yesterday; it will be around 80° and there will be rain in the afternoon.” Having been there a couple times I can confirm that is pretty much the case. They do have a couple of monsoon seasons (the Northeast Monsoon from December to early March, and the Southwest Monsoon from June to September) where you do get increased rainfall, but most commonly, the weather is the same in January as it is in July.
Chewing Gum – If you are a fanatical chewer of gum you probably don’t want to go to Singapore. I don’t think there’s a single person in the world who hasn’t heard about Singapore’s chewing gum ban. Technically, the ban is on the importing and the selling of gum. Apparently at one point it was a serious problem where people were disposing of their gum everywhere and anywhere. Hence the ban. You can bring it into the country, and you can chew it. Just don’t get caught spitting it out somewhere. You will probably be punished if caught.
Caning – Speaking of punishment. Singapore is one of the few remaining places in the world where they actually still use Caning as a form of corporal punishment. I’m not sure exactly what sorts of crimes they use it for, but it is just generally a good idea to avoid getting yourself into trouble while there. 🙂 OK, I do know a bit about it. Generally, it is only used on convicts and members of the military. A mild form is also used on boys in local schools … girls don’t get caned. If you are interested in reading more about it check out this Wikipedia entry.
It’s Heavily Regulated – As you may have concluded, the peoples and visitors to Singapore are highly regulated by the government. This may or may not be of concern to you. If you are the type of person who doesn’t like to be told where to smoke or not to smoke, Singapore is not the place for you. If you don’t feel that you should be prohibited from eating on public transit, Singapore is not the place for you. If you love to vandalize, Singapore is not the place for you… in 2005, two German tourists were caned for spray painting in a public train. If you are someone who loves to litter, then Singapore is not the place for you.
If you think the behaviours I just listed here are inappropriate and unacceptable like I do, then Singapore is definitely the place for you. 🙂
Current Basic Costs in 2020
Just like my refrain about Iceland … let’s say a vaccine protecting us all from the coronavirus yah-da, yah-da, yah-da. This MIGHT mean you can wander off anywhere you want in September. As with Iceland, I did a little research into how much it would cost to get to Singapore and spend a few days for the first week in September. I assumed you would want to spend longer in the general vicinity, so the return flight is three weeks after you get there. But for comparison’s sake, I priced out just a five-night stay in Singapore like I did for Reykjavík. Here are the results.
Singapore Air Airfare – $800.21US ($1055.00 CAD) pp leaving Los Angeles on Wednesday, September 2 @ 00:05 arriving at @ 08:15 on Thursday September 3– 17hrs 10mins; returning to Los Angeles on Wednesday, September 23 @ 17:00 – 15hrs 55mins
Air Canada to Los Angeles – leaving Toronto on September 1, returning on September 24 $285.53 pp.
Hotel (on “accor.com “) – $764.58 + $135.33 taxes and charges = $899.91 for 2 people for 5 nights ($152.92 per night) at the Mercure Singapore Bugis (with free cancellation)
Airport Taxi (1 way) – From the Changi Airport website – “A ride to the city takes about 30 minutes and costs between $20 and $40.” This would be in in Singapore dollars – currency very similar to Canadian dollars, so about the same.
For two people the basic cost to get there and back and stay there or five nights is approximately $3660.97. With some other days to fill in, of course. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if that is good value or just way too expensive.
Check Out A Movie Preview
Want to catch a bit of the sights and sounds of Singapore? Then check out the movie “Crazy Rich Asians”. Far from the best acting I have ever witnessed, but you do get to see plenty of Singapore.
Let’s wrap this all up with a bunch of photos from the two times we have been in Singapore. Enjoy!
