Singapore: Looking Ahead

Buddha contemplating the Port of Singapore

So we're in Singapore, which seems in many ways to be exactly what people say it is - wealthy, expensive, sparkling clean, frighteningly orderly, and very well policed. The definitive Singaporean social contract is supposedly that its people have traded a certain number of civil liberties for law and order and the highest material standard of living in Southeast Asia, and one can certainly see that contract in effect. Still, it's a friendly enough place, and surprisingly green, particularly outside its surprisingly small city center; moreover, I have to admit it's a real pleasure to be in a place where everything works, and where one can stroll around enjoying a vibrant outdoor nightlife without the slightest worry about crime. Also, the Singapore Zoo's Night Safari is freaking awesome.

Singapore's founder and towering political figure Lee Kuan Yew (now the country's "Minister Mentor") apparently gave a talk just yesterday, outlining his take on the city-state's overall strategic, economic, and social situation. He stressed the benefits to Singapore of its multi-racial identity and its nimble diplomacy, both of which have helped it secure its position in the world. Notably, he repeatedly emphasized Singapore's "meritocracy" in places where American politicians would talk about their country's "democracy." I don't pretend to know anything really about Singapore, but I thought it was interesting.

So, having stayed in Singapore just long enough to reinforce some stereotypes - for better or for worse - we're flying off to Hong Kong tomorrow (April 11), then crossing into mainland China via Guangzhou on April 14.

I'm not entirely sure about the internet situation in China - as is well known, the Chinese government censors many websites (I've read that about 10% of all websites are unavailable in China). Evidently, Blogspot is periodically one of those, but I'm not sure if that's currently the case, and of course it's impossible to predict what might happen. Moreover, even finding internet cafes may be difficult in places where the government has cracked down.

Nonetheless, we'll try as much as we can to keep posting updates, and to maintain our Flickr page, which will include a new section for highlights of the China trip, as well as individual sets for the various destinations. If we can't use Blogger, we'll try to post updates via Flickr and/or Facebook.

At any rate, we're incredibly excited about the coming leg of the journey, and cramming to learn some essential Mandarin before we go (sounding entirely ridiculous as we try to guess how the language's tones are supposed to work). Will post more as soon as possible.