Singapore, ho!
Yesterday I flew from Japan to Singapore, the farthest south on the Earth that I have ever been. Singapore sits basically on the equator, smack in the middle of the tropics. It is about 6.5 hours south of Japan—quite a significant flight.
Sure enough, when I arrived it was raining and about 82 degrees F. Nice and damp. My hotel sent a guy to pick me up, so I was greeted by a sign with my name on it (those always feel strange to me). I changed some money, and got to see the new plastic $2 bills. They drive on the left in Singapore, a legacy of being a British colony.
My hotel is on Orchard Road, the primary fancy shopping street (think 5th Avenue or something equivalent). Although I was tired when I arrived, I ventured out on a walk just to see the neighborhood. It is endless shopping and restaurants in this neighborhood. The most interesting thing was the street vendors. I picked up some fresh blueberry juice from a small stand, although I was a bit tempted to try to the water chestnut juice, or something called “soursop.” Maybe another day.
Then I collapsed in bed. I woke up later than I expected (6:30 am), and then realized why. It is still pitch black at 6:30 in Singapore, and the sun sets earlier here also than it does in California right now. It’s on the equator—you just don’t get the long days during spring/summer (and the short days during fall/winter) like you do in the northern or southern hemispheres. It’s not such a huge difference right now because we just passed the vernal equinox, but I bet it’s quite noticeable around the solstices.
The other thing about the equator is that the sun passes directly overheard, rather than to the south like it does in the northern hemisphere. I was expecting this to be a noticeable effect because I know people who have been to Australia and say it is disconcerting to have the sun pass to the north. But in fact, it is often cloudy here in Singapore, so the location of the sun isn’t actually all that evident.
Anyway, as noted in an earlier post on Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore is basically a benign dictatorship. There are lots of rules that are apparently well-enforced, but if people obey, they are quite free. I would say that in the course of normal life (eating, being a tourist, shopping, traveling), Singapore is indistinguishable from the US, Western Europe, Japan, or even Korea or Taiwan. In fact, it is far neater and cleaner than the US. And it is more ethnically diverse than anywhere I have been, including Hong Kong, New York City, and San Francisco. The thought crossed my mind that with the (large) exception of a dearth of Latin Americans, and also not too many Africans, Singapore might represent a reasonably proportional mix of the world’s people: Lots of Chinese and Indians, a fair number of other Asians and Arabs, and a smattering of Caucasians.
I’ll be here for a week, mostly doing business, but also exploring. Sounds like fun!
Sure enough, when I arrived it was raining and about 82 degrees F. Nice and damp. My hotel sent a guy to pick me up, so I was greeted by a sign with my name on it (those always feel strange to me). I changed some money, and got to see the new plastic $2 bills. They drive on the left in Singapore, a legacy of being a British colony.
My hotel is on Orchard Road, the primary fancy shopping street (think 5th Avenue or something equivalent). Although I was tired when I arrived, I ventured out on a walk just to see the neighborhood. It is endless shopping and restaurants in this neighborhood. The most interesting thing was the street vendors. I picked up some fresh blueberry juice from a small stand, although I was a bit tempted to try to the water chestnut juice, or something called “soursop.” Maybe another day.
Then I collapsed in bed. I woke up later than I expected (6:30 am), and then realized why. It is still pitch black at 6:30 in Singapore, and the sun sets earlier here also than it does in California right now. It’s on the equator—you just don’t get the long days during spring/summer (and the short days during fall/winter) like you do in the northern or southern hemispheres. It’s not such a huge difference right now because we just passed the vernal equinox, but I bet it’s quite noticeable around the solstices.
The other thing about the equator is that the sun passes directly overheard, rather than to the south like it does in the northern hemisphere. I was expecting this to be a noticeable effect because I know people who have been to Australia and say it is disconcerting to have the sun pass to the north. But in fact, it is often cloudy here in Singapore, so the location of the sun isn’t actually all that evident.
Anyway, as noted in an earlier post on Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore is basically a benign dictatorship. There are lots of rules that are apparently well-enforced, but if people obey, they are quite free. I would say that in the course of normal life (eating, being a tourist, shopping, traveling), Singapore is indistinguishable from the US, Western Europe, Japan, or even Korea or Taiwan. In fact, it is far neater and cleaner than the US. And it is more ethnically diverse than anywhere I have been, including Hong Kong, New York City, and San Francisco. The thought crossed my mind that with the (large) exception of a dearth of Latin Americans, and also not too many Africans, Singapore might represent a reasonably proportional mix of the world’s people: Lots of Chinese and Indians, a fair number of other Asians and Arabs, and a smattering of Caucasians.
I’ll be here for a week, mostly doing business, but also exploring. Sounds like fun!
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