SINGAPORE
Little island, big player
No question, Singapore is intriguing. It may be genuinely unique – the only one of its kind in the world. But as well as being a fascinating study in geography and history – is it a good place to go for a holiday?
The well-located city-state, with a population larger than New Zealand’s, was the focus of world attention in June as United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jongun chose it as the location for the first summit between the leaders of the two countries.
It was at a hotel on the Singapore resort island of Sentosa, that the odd couple met to do whatever it is leaders do when they’re haggling over the future of the world. Who knew Singapore had a resort island? Well obviously lots of people, but it was news to me.
Learning a little about Singapore’s history helps put in context the remarkable achievements of the country’s leaders in building an economy that now has among the highest GDPs per capita in the world.
There’s often a sense of unease when commentators acknowledge the success of Singapore. Its leadership gets described with phrases such as ‘‘benevolent dictatorship’’, ‘‘authoritarian pragmatism’’, and ‘‘incorruptible strongman’’.
But whatever the qualms, it’s hard to argue that a lot has been done, right. As far as many urbanists are concerned, it’s their kind of city.
Harvard urban economist Edward Glaeser has said Singapore was close to being an ideal model of what good land-use planning looks like in the 21st century ‘‘It is filled with high-density dwellings, both in the inner-city and in more suburban areas, where high-rise public housing is the model of choice,’’ he said.
Yet it is little more than 50 years since the fledgling nation was left with an uncertain future after parting ways with the Malaysian federation.
Colonial Singapore had been founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 as a trading post of the British East India Company, although the island was part of trading networks at least as far back as the 14th century.
After the trauma and destruction of World War
2, when Britain’s inability to defend the island destroyed British credibility, there was a rise in anti-colonial sentiment.
The island was granted full internal selfgovernment in 1959. Colonial rule ended in 1963 when Singapore became an autonomous state within the Malaysian federation. It gained full independence in 1965 – when it was expelled from Malaysia.
Lee Kuan Yew become the first prime minister of Singapore in 1959, keeping the position until
1990. He died in 2015. Along with strong support for economic growth, and given the background of deadly racial strife on the island, Lee and his government stressed the importance of religious tolerance and racial harmony.
Given its small size and lack of resources, there were initially major doubts Singapore could survive, but the economy grew rapidly after independence.
Nowadays it is a leading foreign exchange and financial centre, and a major centre for casinos, and for oil refining and trading, and a major logistics hub. Of course, there’s always something to work on. In Singapore’s case those include concerns about inequality and a low fertility rate that has dropped below 1.2 children per woman.
Flying into Singapore at night, the sea below is dense with the lights of ships waiting to get into one of the world’s busiest ports.
You arrive at Changi Airport, which is among the busiest in the world and could be viewed as one of the attractions of a visit to Singapore. It has four terminals and, according to its website, more than
350 stores – some with luxury items – but there are also convenience stores. There are plenty of places to eat, gardens, art works, health clinics, a movie theatre, prayer rooms, showers, and a gym. And early work is under way for a ‘‘mega’’ fifth terminal, although it’s not expected to open until
2030.
My experience of the terminal was remarkably hassle-free and efficient, although getting from one part of a terminal to another can take time – so don’t leave it until the last minute.
The crowded sea outside the port, and the vast extent and unabashed commercialism of the airport, are an early introduction to the way Singapore has combined its strategic location with an openness to development to build its economy.
Early impressions: Singapore is clean, it’s well run, much of it is modern amid the lush rainforest green, and many of the buildings seem to have been designed with the aim of grabbing attention.
The roads are wide and busy but I never saw any congestion – maybe because they’re also tolled.
The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train system, much of it underground, is a great way to get around. It’s cheap, services seem to run every few minutes, and although it is often busy I never saw it uncomfortably overcrowded.
I assume this is one of the things planners love about Singapore, an extensive train system that gets many people to many different places. But it’s been achieved with a high population density.
According to official figures, about 5.6 million people – nearly 4m of them classed as residents and the rest non-residents – live on an island of 721.5sq km – 140sq km larger than it was in 1960, thanks to land reclamation. Demographia estimates the population density of Singapore’s urban area at
11,400 people per sq km, compared to 5600 for London, 2800 for Auckland, 2300 for Wellington and
1900 for Christchurch.
It’s also warm and humid. No surprises there, given Singapore is less than 150km north of the equator. The first day I was there – in late July – it drizzled a bit but that was actually quite pleasant. The next three days were largely sunny but the heat was tolerable and there was even a bit of a breeze at times.
There’s plentiful rain year round, but more of it in November and December – and to a lesser extent January – while February tends to be a bit drier than other months.
Singapore is promoted as a ‘‘City in a Garden’’, and the extent of urban greenery is immediately obvious, and extremely manicured. The number of gardeners at work every day suggests it’s quite a
job keeping everything in order in such a warm, wet climate.
There are a whole host of things to do in Singapore, and thanks to the MRT they’re easy and cheap to get to. The buses also seem to work well, although I only caught one during my visit.
When I arrive in a new place, I like to spend plenty of time early on just walking, trying to get a feel for the streets, working out what goes where, building a mental picture of the key landmarks and how they connect to each other.
So I did spend some time that could have been spent at some of the attractions, just strolling around. On an island near the equator, that’s obviously hot work, and for someone with fair skin it also requires a lot of defence against the bright Sun.
It wasn’t aimless wandering. During my travels I visited Little India, Chinatown, and wandered along both sides of the Singapore River. Being on a small island it’s not much of a river. But as with many cities, Singapore has turned its river banks into places to wander through happily, and to eat and drink.
As with Little India and Chinatown, the riverbank has retained some older two and threestorey buildings, providing some visual relief from the slim, gleaming skyscrapers that dominate much of the landscape.
Singapore is also full of the kind of restaurants and food outlets that you find in any large Western city. It’s not far between Starbucks.
Being on my own, I didn’t feel inclined to spend long eating in any one place. That could explain why I never got to try what is apparently one of the city’s best known dishes – black pepper crab. Alas.
For breakfast, people pile into places serving kaya toast. That really is toast – with coconut jam. When I bought it, it was served with de-shelled soft-boiled eggs, and a cup of coffee with a punch. Could have done with more of that coffee but the place was small and filling up fast, and I got the feeling my table was wanted.
One thing I didn’t get to do was have a Singapore Sling in the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel. The hotel is closed for restoration, and although there’s a pop-up Long Bar nearby it just didn’t seem the same. Something for next time.