My Uncle Michael in Las Vegas has a friend that lives in Singapore, Ron Phipps. He owns Phipps' Plaza! haha just kidding, he's in real estate, which is really neat, especially in Singapore where the land is very precious. I've been in contact with Ron while I've been in Singapore, and tonight he, his wife Jenny, and her sister Aline took me out to dinner at Newton Circus. I had such an awesome time meeting them and learning so much about Singapore! Jenny is the Director of Sales and Marketing with In2Design (www.in2design.biz). Her company designs exhibition sites, and recently they designed a brand new venue to host the Singapore Air Show! Jenny was wearing a new watch she had just received from her company, and she gave it to me as a gift! I am so touched, the watch is absolutely beautiful! Aline works at an awesome hair salon (she told me that it costs $40,000 a month to rent out the space!), and she is also a tour guide for Singapore. Ron, Jenny, and Aline were all very knowledgeable about Singapore's history, and I enjoyed learning how the country became so efficient and one of the top ten leading nations in the world.
The following is what I've learned tonight from my hosts:
Newton Circus is a Hawker Center. Back in the day, hawkers used to sell their food from carts that they would push around the street. There were so many hawkers in this one area that the government decided something needed to be done. Thus, they set up this Hawker Center where hawkers can rent out a food stall (for $5000 a month) and sell their food from there. There were 83 stalls at Newton Circus, and 40 of them sold sea food alone! It is no surprise that these hawkers are extremely competitive and just fighting for business. Jenny told me that there is a fine for hawkers if they hassle customers too much. This statement led me to a question I have been considering for a long time- there are so many rules in Singapore (no chewing gum, no littering, no drinking and eating on the buses or trains), but I never see any police around, so how are the laws enforced? Jenny and Aline explained that Singaporeans are very law abiding citizens by culture. They are proud of their country and it's beauty, and they know that the consequences for their actions are severe.
They told me the story about Michael Fay, the 19-year-old son of an American diplomat living in Singapore. Michael Fay was caught vandalizing cars in Singapore, and the Singapore government ordered him to be caned by law. Caning is like being beaten by a stick, but it leaves terrible scars as a permanent reminder to the offender for his or her actions. Aline says after three strikes, you're pretty much dead. Six strikes were ordered for Fay. The US was outraged, calling this sort of punishment barbaric and ordered Singapore not to punish the boy. What the US failed to realize is that Fay had done millions of dollars worth of damage. Cars are extremely expensive in Singapore. A Toyota Corolla costs $50,000 in Singapore and costs $12,000 in the US. Fay had vandalized Mercedes and BMW's! In the end, the Prime Minister of Singapore refused to yield to the United States. Singapore had gained their independence from Malaysia only 30 years earlier, and they were in the process of establishing themselves as an important nation in today's world. The Prime Minister did not want to let the "Mighty America" walk all over them just because they were a small and new nation. Fay was subject to Singapore's laws, and ended up receiving four strikes with the cane.
There is also an interesting story behind the reason that gum is not sold in Singapore and why large quantities of gum are not allowed to be brought into the country. Singapore's public transportation system is very precise and very efficient. Trains and buses arrive and leave on schedule, and the entire system is controlled by computers. During the peak hours of the morning, someone was chewing gum and stuck it between the doors to the train. The gum caused the doors not to close, and this caused the entire system to completely stop! The trains were frozen for three hours while authorities tried to find the gum to clear the jam. This three hour back up costed the government millions of dollars! As a result, the government said, no more gum. This law also helps keep the roads and sidewalks clean and saves the government millions of dollars every year because they do not need to clean the gum off the streets.
Ah so at Newton Circus, Jenny ordered lots of different Singapore dishes for all of us to share. They explained that this is the way to eat in Singapore, and they hoped that I had a good appetite! I did not let them down. We had Laska (noodles in red curry, so delicious), some flat noodles with shrimp called Hor Fun, shell fish called Gong Gong, BBQ chicken with chili sauce, satay chicken with peanut sauce, carrot cake (which is actually fried egg and shrimp and scallops, one of my favorites of the night!), and Singapore's famous chicken rice. Ron explained that the chicken is made by boiling it and then putting it in ice water, and then boiling it again and putting it in ice water. This technique helps make the meat smooth and tender and separates the skin and the fat from the meat. The rice is cooked in the chicken broth! YUM!
After dinner, Ron, Jenny, and Aline took me to Raffle's Hotel, one of Singapore's oldest hotels. It was absolutely gorgeous! The lobby alone was so grandiose, with white marble floors, carpeted staircases, and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Aline explained that you can have tea at the hotel for $50, and also that Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor have stayed at the hotel! We went to the Long Bar, and they treated me to a Singapore Sling- a unique drink invented at Singapore's very own Raffle's Hotel. The ingredients? Gin, Heering Cherry Liqueur, Pineapple Juice, Lime Juice, Cointreau, Dom Benedictine, and Grenadine. It was delicious!
I also learned that Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew is a very intelligent man. When Singapore split from Malaysia, they were a brand new country that had nothing, no resources, no military... nothing. It would be like Hawaii splitting from the United States. Lee Kuan Yew looked to outside nations, and adopted some of their systems for Singapore. Lee believed that Singapore was like Israel, a country in the middle of a lot of Muslim countries. Thus, Lee mandated three years of compulsory military service for all boys 18 years of age, which is the same system Israel uses, except that Israel also requires their women to serve in the military. For sacrificing three years of their lives to the military, the men in Singapore are awarded higher salaries than the women. Also, Singapore did not have an airlines, so Lee fostered his own Singapore Airlines, which is his pride and joy. Singapore Airlines may be expensive, but they boast the best in-flight service (food, drinks, and movies all the time, even in coach), and all of their airplanes are less than five-years-old. As soon as the airplanes pass five years, they are sold to other airlines. In fact, airlines bring their airplanes to Singapore to get them serviced!
Also, Singapore provides citizens of many things to help keep poverty levels low. There is free health care for all citizens, and the government also sells government housing in high rise apartments called HDB Flats. HDB stands for Housing Development Board. These HDB's are very affordable and of good quality. The government sells these flats instead of renting them out so that the citizens feel a sense of ownership, and consequently, they take better care of their flats. I think this is very intelligent. The government has also put into place measures to keep people from buying cars. They have an efficient and inexpensive public transportation system that reaches all parts of the island quickly. Cars are extremely expensive to buy, and you are only allowed to keep your car for 10 years. All car owners are required to buy little digital boxes that are placed on the dash of the car. You slip a cash card into the box, and whenever you go through a toll, money is taken out of your cash card. The fine is astronomical if you fail to have enough money on your cash card. Even parking lots have digital payment systems. You drive up to the gate to the lot, your little box beeps, and the arm opens. When you leave the lot, payment is digitally drawn from your cash card. Now you don't have to worry about losing your parking ticket or forgetting to pay it at the kiosks! Also, Singapore is building their first casino, and the locals have to pay $100 dollars to enter. I thought this completely outrageous and irrational, and then Ron explained that it will keep the locals from wasting their money. Smart.
I am so sad that I'm leaving Singapore in a few days. I had the most wonderful time tonight with Ron, Jenny, and Aline. I'm sure I will remember more of what I learned and will keep adding to this entry. I feel like I've only just scratched the surface of all that Singapore has to offer and to teach me, and now I have to leave. I've been convinced to return to Singapore and work for a year or two. Ron, Jenny, and Aline say that the experiences I would have by working abroad will be invaluable when I go back to work in the States.
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