Anyone Ever Been To Singapore?

[editor]

Has anyone here ever been to Singapore?

From what I'm reading, it sound very Republican:

Perfectly clean.

Very orderly.

Immigration discouraged.

The death penalty for drug posession.

Sounds like a fun place. But I wanted to get some other opinions before I book tickets.

[midtown 4.2]

Don't forget:

Hateful

Kills and torture non-whites

Starve school children . . . AND force senior citizens to eat dog food

Prefers polluted water and air

money grubbing bastards that will do anything for a buck

biggoted

racist

sexist

did I leave anything out?

Other than that, I'd say by all means, visit Singapore . . . it's a "fine" city. < - - - inside joke

[hydepark]

Don't forget:

Hateful

Kills and torture non-whites

Starve school children . . . AND force senior citizens to eat dog food

Prefers polluted water and air

money grubbing bastards that will do anything for a buck

biggoted

racist

sexist

did I leave anything out?

Other than that, I'd say by all means, visit Singapore . . . it's a "fine" city. < - - - inside joke

I just got back from Singapore, there Orchard Dr. is just like Rodeo Dr. in California or a trip to the Galleria, VERY expensive and crowed. If you want to go somewhere and have plenty of money this might be ok... but why take a long horrible flight to shop. It is very humid, worse than here, my jewelry was stolen out of a 4 star hotel, I would never want to return. Flowers are pretty, that was about it. Dubai in the UAE is gorgous, water is pale green and the culture fasinating. Hope this helps.

[editor]

Don't forget:

Hateful

Kills and torture non-whites

Starve school children . . . AND force senior citizens to eat dog food

Prefers polluted water and air

money grubbing bastards that will do anything for a buck

biggoted

racist

sexist

did I leave anything out?

Other than that, I'd say by all means, visit Singapore . . . it's a "fine" city. < - - - inside joke

They hate non-whites? They ARE non-whites.

Racism is not uncommon in Asian countries. They see it as preserving distinct cultures. What we call "celebrating diversity."

As for the rest of your comment, it might be helpful if you provided some references before I'm going to just believe what you write.

I've heard that "fine" city joke before. I've also heard it's true.

From what I've been able to tell, Singapore is a lot cheaper than places like London and Tokyo, the last two places I visited. I'm OK with the heat and humidity. It's on the equator, and I plan to go in the winter so it will be a nice change from the Windy City.

[Montrose1100]

Singapore is beautiful. Its a great blend of alot of different Asian nations. Infact (fun fact about Montrose1100 for today) I was almost born in Singapore. But, about a week before I was born, my mom went to Aberdeen.

Singapore is lovely, and a sea of High-rises. I believe it has the 3rd # of High-rises after HK and NY. Great, clean city.

Edited November 12, 2005 by Montrose1100

[editor]

Interesting, considering the fact that Singapore doesn't allow foreign women more than six months pregnant into the country, a notion some feel the U.S. should adopt.

[westguy]

It's clean and low-in-crime, but it sounds like they sucked the life and freedom out of the place.We don't need a totalitarian state in the US.

[Montrose1100]

Interesting, considering the fact that Singapore doesn't allow foreign women more than six months pregnant into the country, a notion some feel the U.S. should adopt.

weird...

Maybe my mother lied to me about that too, among other things?

Man I must seem like a compulsive liar... Maybe she was so fat, they didn't notice? I wouldn't notice if she was giving birth to a rhino...

hahahaha, I love you so much editor.

I think she said Singapore... Hmm... Maybe Bangkok? I don't know. God rest her soul. All I know is I'm an "Oil Baby."

Edited November 12, 2005 by Montrose1100

[editor]

I was looking at a possible side trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia so I could see the Petronas Towers, but I'm having a hard time finding transport information. The Malay Railway web site is only half functional, and I hear the train's scheduled six-hour journey is actually more like eight hours. Strangely, I've also heard that it's much faster by bus, so that might be an option. Or maybe I'll just hire a car and driver to make it simple.

[Jeebus]

It's clean and low-in-crime, but it sounds like they sucked the life and freedom out of the place.We don't need a totalitarian state in the US.

It would be nice to have the option though. Perhaps one or two cities?

[editor]

It would be nice to have the option though. Perhaps one or two cities?

Agreed. At one time my wife and I were trying to pick another country to live in. We weighed all the factors and ended up picking countries with far more rules, regulations, and stricter law enforcement than the United States.

I don't mind people getting public flogging for littering if the streets are clean. I don't mind people getting the death penalty for drug posession if it keeps the overall crime rate down.

The problem is enforcement. We have a crapload of laws in this country, but so many of the "quality of life" laws aren't enforced, leading to a reduction in the quality of life for everyone.

I can do without some yahoo's notion that he has the "right" to drive drunk and plow into a crosswalk full of schoolchildren.

[midtown 4.2]

Has anyone here ever been to Singapore?

From what I'm reading, it sound very Republican:

Perfectly clean.

Very orderly.

Immigration discouraged.

The death penalty for drug posession.

Sounds like a fun place. But I wanted to get some other opinions before I book tickets.

Sorry Ed, I mis-read the tone of your initial post. It sounded like you were reluctant to go to Singapore because it had Republican underpinings. I then proceed to throw in a pile of mis-conceptions that many liberals have for conservatives.

By all means, I'd advise anyone to visit Singapore . . . don't forget to stop by the Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling. . . . oh, and also make sure to sample some of that wonderous fruit called Durian.

ha! ha!

[uncertaintraveler]

Singapore is lovely. I've been there twice and I'd go back there in a second if I could. I don't know where some people get their information, but Singapore isn't dirty, polluted, hateful, or crime-infested. Its by far the cleanest city in Asia, its got an incredibly efficient transport system, it can be quite cheap, and has amazing food. Its well worth a trip...

As far as Kuala Lumpur (KL), buses are best, either through Melaka or straight on to KL. I think it is a 6 to 7 hour bus ride to KL. The bus station in KL though is, at best, wildly chaotic, and at worst, a complete nightmare. Still, KL is worth a visit, but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit there again. If you go, be sure to visit the main railroad station (its an amazing work) and the islamic arts museum---beautifully designed and a great introduction to islamic arts, architecture, and history. You can easily spend half a day there.

The petronas towers are fine, but nothing special. You can only go up to the skybridge level, and only for a 15 minute time period (get a free ticket in the basement, which gets you an entry time). They are better seen from KL tower, which, because of the hills, makes you feel like you are looking down on the towers.

If you are set on taking a train to KL, consider looking at the man in seat 61 website--I think it is seat61.com, but I could be wrong. Anyway, the guy is a train fanatic and has very complete information on train schedules for rail networks around the world.

Oh...and skip the raffles hotel's singapore sling. Its awfully pricey, and you can get other ones (that are much cheaper and much better) elsewhere in the city. Of course, the Raffles is where it was invented, but I don't go to San Francisco to buy Levis...

[Jeebus]

Agreed. At one time my wife and I were trying to pick another country to live in. We weighed all the factors and ended up picking countries with far more rules, regulations, and stricter law enforcement than the United States.

I don't mind people getting public flogging for littering if the streets are clean. I don't mind people getting the death penalty for drug posession if it keeps the overall crime rate down.

The problem is enforcement. We have a crapload of laws in this country, but so many of the "quality of life" laws aren't enforced, leading to a reduction in the quality of life for everyone.

I can do without some yahoo's notion that he has the "right" to drive drunk and plow into a crosswalk full of schoolchildren.

This may be the beer talking - but I totally agree. I could probably never make it in such a place, but I'd still give kudos to those who would try.

[RedScare]

--

Edited November 13, 2005 by RedScare

[editor]

By all means, I'd advise anyone to visit Singapore . . . don't forget to stop by the Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling. . . . oh, and also make sure to sample some of that wonderous fruit called Durian.

ha! ha!

Ah, yes, the durian. I saw a photo in a guidebook showing a big sign on the subway saying they are prohibited. I probably will try one anyway. I looked it up, and if you can get past the smell, they're supposed to taste like a combination of banana and vanilla.

I eat Cincinnati chilli, so I don't think food smells bother me.

Singapore is lovely. I've been there twice and I'd go back there in a second if I could. I don't know where some people get their information, but Singapore isn't dirty, polluted, hateful, or crime-infested. Its by far the cleanest city in Asia, its got an incredibly efficient transport system, it can be quite cheap, and has amazing food. Its well worth a trip...

As far as Kuala Lumpur (KL), buses are best, either through Melaka or straight on to KL. I think it is a 6 to 7 hour bus ride to KL. The bus station in KL though is, at best, wildly chaotic, and at worst, a complete nightmare. Still, KL is worth a visit, but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit there again. If you go, be sure to visit the main railroad station (its an amazing work) and the islamic arts museum---beautifully designed and a great introduction to islamic arts, architecture, and history. You can easily spend half a day there.

The petronas towers are fine, but nothing special. You can only go up to the skybridge level, and only for a 15 minute time period (get a free ticket in the basement, which gets you an entry time). They are better seen from KL tower, which, because of the hills, makes you feel like you are looking down on the towers.

If you are set on taking a train to KL, consider looking at the man in seat 61 website--I think it is seat61.com, but I could be wrong. Anyway, the guy is a train fanatic and has very complete information on train schedules for rail networks around the world.

Oh...and skip the raffles hotel's singapore sling. Its awfully pricey, and you can get other ones (that are much cheaper and much better) elsewhere in the city. Of course, the Raffles is where it was invented, but I don't go to San Francisco to buy Levis...

Thanks for the advice. I mostly wanted to go to KL to take pictures of the Petronas Towers for my other web site. But if it takes that long to get there, I may just forget it. I looked into flights, and they seem pretty expensive for what should essentially be a puddle-jumper run. Also, I've heard that the KL airport is waaaaay out of town, and it takes two hours to get from the airport to downtown.

Perhaps if I visit Thailand in the future that might be a better opportunity to hit KL.