When Disneyland meets urban development

I stopped in Singapore for a few days because some good friends were living there as ex-pats. I had already been to Singapore once before (visiting other friends who were living there as ex-pats), so seeing 'the sights' (such as they are) was not a big priority for me.

I had vague recollections of Singapore being a hub of good shopping, very clean, but still a bit foreign - I remember going through the stalls in Chinatown and checking out the Asian-themed goods for sale ('Authentic stamps! Your name in Chinese!'). It seemed Asian to me at the time.

Now that I know better, I can confidently say that Singapore is not Asia...Singapore is what would happen if the Disney corporation got into town planning. The magic plastic card that allows you to pay for everything from milk to car parking, streets lined with bougainvillea, high rise expat living with tennis courts and swimming pools, lifestyle centres of shopping and recreation next to said high rises, and ethnic centres of Little India and Chinatown that more closely resemble Epcot World than India or China.

Though one bit did make me smile, as I perused the pristine Chinatown market stalls - it was a veritable montage of my last 8 months, from Tibetan jewelry, Indian saris, Nepali 'Om mani padme hum' coming from the speakers, an ad for a cosplay themed Japanese restaurant, Vietnamese lacquer for sale, and Thai-style elephant print handbags.

And I can see how, as an expat, it would be an easy place to live...the things that make (real) Asia an exciting and interesting place to visit would make it a tedious and challenging place to live - the dirt, chaos, haggling, lack of queuing, traffic preventing the freedom to drive anywhere, unfamiliar foods, population density, stray dogs...

But as a tourist destination? Unless your favourite hobby is duty-free shopping (and it's not mine) I cannot imagine a more dull place to spend precious vacation time.

I had a nice time there, purely because I had friends to visit and had a great time seeing them. But walking down the street into Chinatown...with footpaths clear of debris for sale, no motorcycles nearly running you over, and fixed price (and overpriced!) generic 'Asian' goods for sale...I knew for sure that I left Asia when I boarded the flight from Bangkok - which made be very sad!