After having left port nearly a week ago, I’ve finally decided to stop putting off this article. I’ve been promising it for some time now and I figured if I didn’t complete it soon, it would never happen. So here is my report on my most recent trip through the country of Singapore.
Internet Availability. Supposedly, the entire country is wireless, or will soon be. Recently, prior to our port visit I read an article about a young man who was jailed and caned for stealing someone’s wireless access. As one walks the streets in Singapore, you’ll notice laptops and other Wi-Fi enabled devices being used at fast food joints and cafés. But when you try to ask someone if there is an internet café or wireless access point around, they look at you like you’re asking them for drugs. When and if you locate a place to log on, the speed will be negligible. Of the one joint I found with free access, Brewerks, a trendy microbrewery in the Clark Quay area, the access was nominal at best. I bought a few albums from the iTunes store and it took about 20-30 minutes for each album to download completely. Then again it was free. Last but not least, depending on your perversion, some websites are flat out blocked from access. Now this may be from the bar’s discretion to avoid legal issues, but I’m sure Singapore doesn’t have high opinions for adult content material. (I gather that from it’s restriction on pornography materials such as magazines, you’ll get jailed and caned for possession.)
Alcohol Consumption. Ahh, every sailor’s favored pastime. I mean, what else are people who have been out to sea for extended periods of time want to do more than to locate the closest watering hole and get trashed with your buddies. Now this may be age speaking, but drinking during this recent trip to Singapore wasn’t as memorable as the other times I had been there. I think the largest reason for that is the cost. Most of the locations for night life that I experienced this last trip had costs for a single drink in the $15+ range. Now that $15 is in Singapore currency, which is roughly $10 in US Dollars. Perhaps I’m too used to my favorite watering holes in the US, where drinks are $3-4 a piece, but drinking is costly in Singapore. Unfortunately, I did not get to experience any of the club scene, mostly due to the fact that my traveling companions were not dressed appropriately (i.e. shorts). But using logic, the prices were probably even higher than the bars.
Language Barriers. What is a trip to a foreign country without knowledge of the local language? There’s probably nothing more stereotypical than the American sailor released on liberty, roaming the streets, lost, drunk and incomprehensible to the locals. Now I’m not a cultural nazi, I don’t demand that everyone in the world speak English. But at the same time, since Singapore is a big tourism draw with upper class shopping and electronics, you might think the city would be a little more inviting to the non-local. But hey that’s just me. The biggest problem with the language barrier is in trying to get directions to anyplace. We were on a recent jaunt through the city to locate a specific store. Nearly everyone we asked had no idea the store existed or where it even might be. They immediately referred us to a similar store. In any case, it was 3 hours before we finally located the 1 of 3 stores carrying the same title. Slightly frustrating.
Transportation. A key to tourism is having an efficient mode of transportation for the customers in mind. In Singapore, like any modern industrial city, taxis, buses and even a light rail is available throughout the city. During the last trip, I exclusively utilized the local taxi system. The most important thing to remember in Singapore is when getting into a cab, make sure that the cab has a meter and that they use it for the trip. The difference between using the meter in a cab and riding in a cab without a meter is about 400% in fare difference. That was an expensive lesson for some co-workers of mine. And as I would suppose in any case, you have a 50-50 chance of getting a driver that will go faster than he should and get you through traffic slightly more efficient than the normal cab driver. Of course, in one case, we had a cab driver inquire as to our interest for some prostitution. I got a laugh out of that one, a cab driver/ pimp.
In summary, Singapore is generally a beautiful city, very green and tropical. The shopping is on spot if you are looking for the upper crust of style and fashion. The dining experience can be great if you know where to look and don’t settle for fast food. As with any city, foreign or domestic, there are dangers. Singapore boasts that it is clean and safe, but be sure that you don’t cross any laws that might have you jailed and beaten with a cane. This country has a strict sense of justice.
