How High?

Hong Kong is crowded, messy and exciting. Singapore, on the other hand, is clean, new and shiny. Hong Kong is polluted. Singapore, except when they burn the fields in Indonesia, is clear and healthy. (It’s a rule: they have a lot of rules in Singapore.)

There are also differences between the USA and Singapore:

“How much do they pay your President, Dan?” David asked.

“I think it’s $400,000 a year.”

“We pay our leader s$2,000,000. And Singapore is just an island.”

“Our President also gets a house and a very big airplane.”

“You can’t get the best people if you don’t pay them well.”

“Are you sure, David? After all, HP has me.”

“The American approach means that your senators and congressman either need to be independently wealthy, or subservient to lobbyists.”

“Well – they could be simply civic-minded.”

Singapore, like Hong Kong, features a plethora of interconnected shopping malls. Because the malls feature the standard western brands, I simply wasn’t impressed. I checked the guidebook in the hotel for other local adventures. I decided to forgo the night safari in the 40 hectare nature reserve and the shopping tour of the major malls.

I went to the Singapore Flyer – the world’s largest Ferris Wheel. It’s 165 meters in diameter. The photo above clearly demonstrates the height: you can see the curvature of the Earth. (Or, it could be the curvature of the capsule glass that creates the illusion.)