Earlier quoted context omitted.
Singapore is in the northern hemisphere. It's north(west) of Pontianak which is on the equator.
We have 2 seasons. Inside and Outside
More accurately, it's raining or not raining.
The underground world of Singapore
61–70 of 78 posts
Re: The underground world of Singapore
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
Uhh, Singapore is very far from homogeneous. There are Chinese, Malays, Indians, Eurasians, over a million expats from all countries and in all social classes and four official languages to cater to them all.
Haha this reminds me of when I lived and worked in Singapore and an Andersen consultant flew in from Kansas to "help us out". His first complaint was that there was nowhere to eat! That was so stupid I couldn't respond, since there is more culinary variety in Singapore than anywhere else I've ever been, but eventually I figured out that he wasn't able to eat anywhere besides a steakhouse, which establishments are com…
> His first complaint was that there was nowhere to eat
Ha, that's funny. I was in Singapore for 3 months for an internship, and decided to start eating meat to maximize enjoyment at the awesome food courts in Singapore.
Re: The underground world of Singapore
#63While interesting, this lacked the hookers and blow I was looking forward to from the headline.
Re: The underground world of Singapore
#64While interesting, this lacked the hookers and blow I was looking forward to from the headline.
sounds like Singapore then
Re: The underground world of Singapore
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Only for visitors. You get to used to the climate pretty quickly if you live there. Many of my neighbors there wouldn't even bother with AC.
Still took me 2+ years to acclimatise properly. Now I'm uncomfortable in temperatures lower than 28C (84F)
Yeah -- I'm pretty used to it now. Spending a week in now SF I'm freezing here (~20°C)
Re: The underground world of Singapore
#66While interesting, this lacked the hookers and blow I was looking forward to from the headline.
sounds like Singapore then
And yet there are also places where Singaporean spotlessness
gives way to dirt. Places like Geylang, a red light district
well off the tourist map, and Orchard Towers, with its
so-called "four floors of whores".
Actually, Geylang is hardly off the tourist map. It's quickly becoming more like the French Quarter in New Orleans--a rapidly gentrifying night spot with enough of the historical seedy element (in this case, many of the famous brothels with the hanging red lanterns that only a few years ago were far more numerous) to keep things authentic. Also a relatively affordable and increasingly popular place to live that's close to downtown.
FWIW, I know this because with all the new development it's a popular area for Airbnb rentals. Given it's reputation, I did some research as well as inquire with local family-in-law. As an outsider a very familiar picture emerges of a changing historic neighborhood. But opinions from Singaporeans might be far more mixed.
Re: The underground world of Singapore
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's funny: over in the comments about a healthcare article they say that Singapore has it easier because it's smaller. And here we admire them for pulling things off despite being small.
I didnt read those comments, but large capital projects one would think is harder, since they collect less overall revenue. For example its hard to imagine singapore sending a person to mars, over say China or US other things, especially people related, are much easier. its very close together, very homogeneous, etc.
Being small definitely has its pros and cons, but consider that Singapore is a City-State in the same size class as Chicago (by Area, and actually a bit bigger) and the same population class as say Colorado or Norway (5 millionish give or take) and only one tier of government, the National tier.
They definitely lack natural resources and their tax base is that of a small country, but they don't have the usual 2-3 tiers of administrative overhead, the government is closer to the authoritarian end and any large capital projects they do undertake are largely going to benefit everyone to some degree simply because of how tight the nation is. Also being a nation that is one city does wonders for focusing on the habitability of that one city, and there's no other cities to compete for tax dollars there.
Re: The underground world of Singapore
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Uhh, Singapore is very far from homogeneous. There are Chinese, Malays, Indians, Eurasians, over a million expats from all countries and in all social classes and four official languages to cater to them all.
Haha this reminds me of when I lived and worked in Singapore and an Andersen consultant flew in from Kansas to "help us out". His first complaint was that there was nowhere to eat! That was so stupid I couldn't respond, since there is more culinary variety in Singapore than anywhere else I've ever been, but eventually I figured out that he wasn't able to eat anywhere besides a steakhouse, which establishments are com…
Eh? Australian beef is decent to excellent from my experiences there. Norwegian beef, on the other hand, tends to range from garbage to edible, unless you want to pay >$30 for enough meat for one person to cook at home. And that's if you're lucky and they have anything that has been properly aged.
Re: The underground world of Singapore
#69I could see Singapore building an air conditioned dome over the whole city. Besides the nonfree press, etc, the relentless heat and humidity is the biggest negative of the city.
Lee Kuan Yew, founder of modern Singapore: "Air conditioning was a most important invention for us, perhaps one of the signal inventions of history. It changed the nature of civilization by making development possible in the tropics. Without air conditioning you can work only in the cool early-morning hours or at dusk. The first thing I did upon becoming prime minister was to install air conditioners in buildings where the civil service worked. This was key to public efficiency."
Re: The underground world of Singapore
#70I could see Singapore building an air conditioned dome over the whole city. Besides the nonfree press, etc, the relentless heat and humidity is the biggest negative of the city.
Only for visitors. You get to used to the climate pretty quickly if you live there. Many of my neighbors there wouldn't even bother with AC.
> You get to used to the climate pretty quickly if you live there. Many of my neighbors there wouldn't even bother with AC.
I've lived in Singapore (almost) all my life, and the average temperature/humidity feels a lot higher as compared to when I was younger.
It's not easy to survive without AC, and most middle-class households here will consider it a necessity.