I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks with work in Singapore doing a bunch of interviews and presentations on AI/compute. These are my non-work reflections on an incredibly unique place. Please note these are very much my views, not my employer!
The first thing you notice about the place, as you fly in, is the sheer density. The skyline, a tableau of skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, each meticulously crafted like a complex Lego set, is immediately striking.
Upon closer inspection, these architectural giants reveal a veneer of perfectly manicured greenery, a testament to the city's obsession with order.
During my flight, I was reading 'Singapore Disrupted,' a series of op-eds by Mui Hoong Chua from the Straits Times. A 2017 article caught my attention, arguing that Singapore's reluctance to embrace digital innovations such as e-payments might signal its decline. Now, this piece feels like a relic from a bygone era.
The airport was a microcosm of this tech-forward ethos, with ads for digital banking and fintech events everywhere. The only time I needed cash was at a traditional Hawker Center, famous for its hour long queue for Fried Kway Teow.
Concerns about the rainy season affecting my plans as a business tourist were unfounded, thanks to the city’s thoughtful urban design. Sheltered walkways across the central areas kept the rains at bay.
So much about the country was practical yet aesthetically pleasing. Buildings boast sky-high gardens, and the airport's decentralised security checks exemplify efficiency.
Beyond practicality, it didn’t take long to appreciate the country’s reputation for safety. It took five days before I heard a police siren, even in central areas. I saw in some ways a high trust society and in other ways a low trust one. I saw one Singaporean use a mobile phone to reserve her seat in a Hawker Center while she went to get her lunch.
But some buildings garnered a more cynical view. The stringent security in residential buildings, requiring a keycard for elevator access, reveals a side of Singapore that’s both highly efficient and somewhat insular. This was highlighted when a resident at my friend’s condo insisted on my friend escorting me to the elevator. This, coupled with comments from a taxi driver and bartender about the diminishing 'Kampong Spirit,' or community spirit, painted a picture of a society in subtle flux.
Night walks in Singapore reminded me of the quiet of lockdown evenings. The absence of nightlife is partly due to the steep prices of alcohol.
However, Singapore's ordered efficiency comes with a cultural trade-off. Singapore, for all its pristine gardens and impeccable cleanliness, seems to have sacrificed the chaotic nursery where counterculture and radicalism might flourish. My accidental foray into a derelict mall, meant I stumbled upon a haven for second-hand shops and educational stalls. I had come looking for highly rated Hainanese Chicken Rice and came out being quizzed on European communist efforts.
Part of this hegemonic prism was also reflected through their national exhibitions. The National Museum of Singapore was a must-do experience, making me come out with what seemed a clear understanding of the nation’s modern history. Listening to Lee Kuan Yew speak for the first time was like discovering a new colour. What was intriguing though was the way that British colonialist, Sir Stamford Raffles, was lauded as the hero proto-statesman that laid the foundations for what Singapore eventually became.
My initial prior was that empire would have been more stridently criticised through institutions like the Museum, but the artefacts displayed a fondnesss, rather than a dislike. Speaking to locals you get a more nuanced view of things, but there is no way that something like this could fly in the UK if they decided to do a pop-up exhibition in London.
One thing, however, that was certainly better about Singaporean art was the clarity of writing that accompanied the exhibits. Prose was simple, easy to understand. It wasn’t overly-intellectualised, or drenched in post-modern language that is part of the furniture of the Western artistic lexicon. I came out of each building actually understanding things - more of this in the UK please.
I was incredibly fortunate to be joined by my girlfriend in my final few days. We hopped from Hawker Center to Hawker Center, beautiful garden to beautiful garden. Singapore held slow romanticism and high energy buzz in equal measure. It was very easy to see why many young professionals flock here in their 20s and 30s, and thats even before you get to the 20% tax rate.
I came home from Singapore both angry and inspired. Angry, like many Brits that are travelling abroad to functional cities in recent years, that their home isn’t like this. But I was also inspired, because many of the answers to our stagnation and inequality can be found in the Garden City. As one taxi driver put it to us on our way back to the airport “We took the ideas from the Brits, and put our own spin on them”. It is time for us to do the same.
Food/drink recommendations
Sungei Road Laksa
Lau Pa Sat Hawker (especially the Bah Khu Teh)
Maxwell Hawker
Komala Vilas (South Indian Dosai)
Banana Leaf Apolo (amazing fish head curry)
Tiong Bahru Market (best chicken rice that I had out there, and also just a very cool area - if the Barbican was in Singapore, but better)
Junior the Pocket Bar (gorgeous speakeasy bar with great staff)
Other recommendations
Various temples in China Town, especially the Buddha Tooth relic
Gardens by the Bay, especially at night where the lights are unreal
Singapore Botanic Gardens is massive and you could spend hours there
National art gallery and national museum of Singapore
Of the Week - My Favourites
Podcast: Political Thinking with Nick Robinson - The Blair and Hague One
Bit of selfless-pride here. Quite cool when work that you actually did (the latest TBI biotech paper) is discussed on a podcast that your mum actually listens to.
YouTube Video: Wendall - Brits abroad in Benidorm: the truth
Wendall does some great videos exploring declining towns across the UK which in themselves are incredibly informative bits of work. This one that covered both the boozey and non-boozey side of Brits that have taken to Benidorm is equally interesting. You can’t help but see the irony in some of these expats ‘coming over there’, but still.
Song: Into You - Kalia, Conrad Subs, Nikki
Great atmospheric jungle.
It is no secret that Britain’s second cities are behind their European counterparts. This brilliant piece details how many cities, including Birmingham, have been plagued by poor transport links, unempowered local government, and a lack of capacity to build at speed.