abode acrobat . net

Leaving Bangkok with a hangover for the sixth time (indeed, for the sixth time in any medical state), I was quietly excited about arriving in a new city, Singapore. As a holiday-maker in Thailand, it is all too easy to become perpetually incapacitied through drink, and consumed by other high jinks, so I was looking forward to opening a brand new guidebook and having a proper look around…

The Singapore I could see was impressive - a bit like Canary Wharf but done well. With no natural resources, and not so long ago being just another smelly Asian city, Singapore demonstrates what can be achieved through good governance alone. Next time a third world country begs you for money, just tell them to pull their socks up.

The cleanliness and order maintained in most of the city is a result of strict law enforcement, often imposing heavy fines on anyone breaking ’school rule’ level regulations. One companion thought a £500 fine for cycling through a pedestrian underpass was a bit steep. A keen disciplinarian, I see it as a £0 fine provided you simply don’t cycle dangerously. Still, with some arbitrary laws it would be a bit of a minefield. If it was illegal here to be called Dan, say, I’d have been caught red-handed.

I’m going to Hong Kong next where my solution will be to refuse to pass customs until they’ve let me study the local equivalent of Hansard.