During my few hours here in this place, I was without provocation told that Visitors have to be considerate of the Singaporeans! This to me shows their emotional immaturity and lack of self confidence. to begin with, I cannot understand from a Traveler's point of view of trying to promote this as a welcoming Tourist destination,especially its neighbours are notoriously friendly and welcoming. In the travel forums I participate it, It is obvious that this place is best used as a transit to other countries and tourist destinations. To me Singapour is an Airport with a very good International Airline. That is the only redeeming fact of this overcrowded baracoon.
So it is a good Airport to transit in to lesser far more charming destinations in Asia. While I enjoy my journey, normally long from my usual places of residence in Europe or USA, the minute I go out of the airport, I am longing to return to it, to leave this "country". I grind my teeth at the thought of spending a few hours here, to be exposed to the banality of immaturity of thought at all levels. All these would be forgivable if the people were friendly. They are mororse, arrogant and slightly friendlier than North Koreans and without doubt one of the least friendly people in all of Asia, if not the least.
Current debate on TV and newspaper is about "democracy", an idea an average person is ignorant about. The elections for decades are "rigged", not in the sense of elections in Zimbabwe but in a legal fashion that has the same party in power for decades over a naive and imbecilic audience, no wonder MM Lee was able to control the robots since 1955.
Impressions: Looking at the hundreds of Metro passengers, what strikes me is that no one in the metro was reading, no one had a book or newspaper in hand (compare this to India where even the beggars read newspapers), I was able to spot two people with commercial paperbacks and there were two students studying for examinations. It is a correct indicator of the national level of Culture which copies western culture "buyers" such as Dubai. Singapore certainly is not an intellectual or cultural destination. Can you name just one local prominent in the International Literary scene? Apart from MM Lee how many locals have achieved international recognition in Sciences or Arts?
I was happy to bid adieu to Singapore, using the Airpot one last time, the item of news was the ire of locals (chinese and indian immigrants to this island in the past decades who now proclaim themselves to be owners of this Malay island, Temasek) over the recent influx of people from the very same countries they came from, but in larger number and slightly more educated than their ancestors who left China or India. The ire is that with 1.3 million recent foreigners in a population of 5.1 old foreigners, the competition is higher for jobs since fully 40 per cent of the new jobs are taken by the New Foreigners, soon they too would be complaining about the other arrivals! The jobs which are being produced do not need the middle class bourgeoisie shop keeping mentality but requires sharp thinking are going to foreigners well educated for the global market,where are the locals are destined for selling electronic goods and making rotis.
As the populations of Arab countries are discovering, the enemy is not outside, the enemy of the people of singapore are not foreign visitors not "considerate" to the locals but it is themselves and it would be good for them to do some introspection.
Like WC Fields famously quoted: First prize is One day Holiday in Singapour and the second Prize is One week holiday in Singapour.
KO Maung Maung and I have been friends ever since that distant day when Siem Reap did not have so many hotels and I wandered into his model hostelry in Sivatha Road. Since then I have enjoyed the hospitality of this very successful Burmese Hotelier. On my arrival after a very long trip, mainly to spend a couple of days with him, we went looking for dinner and he decided that the welcome dinner would be at :Thai Thai Restaurant.
