Singapore- A City of Contrasts

Singapore is a city of contrasts. It is as modern and cosmopolitan as cities such as NYC or LA. High-rises create a beautiful skyline. Technology is everywhere. In the downtown area traffic is constant, loud, and very efficient. People are everywhere and dressed fashionably. High-end hotels drip with elegance. Cost of a meal is outrageous!

Then there is the real world. The working folks. There is no unemployment in Singapore. The government subsidizes much of the housing. Everyone works or they don't eat.  There is some sort of job for everyone. There is no welfare of any kind nor any shelters for homeless. There are drug rehab centers, but it isn't a big problem.

There are many of these outside eateries and shopping marts, each crammed with tourists looking for deals. Not many deals are found in Singapore, however. It is very expensive here. You can see the typical Asian style architecture in the foreground and in the back you can see a high-rise. This is still in a fairly well-to-do area just outside of the downtown area.

Farther away from the city, you see the poorer side of Singapore and yet, everyone is working, doing something. This is a typical street market - we saw no evidence of what we would call a supermarket. Everyone is by fresh fruits or vegetables or perhaps dried fish.

Check out the electrical wiring! Wires strung everywhere. It looked so unsafe and seemed to have no rhyme or reason.

The pictures were taken from a bus as we rode a Hop-on Hop-off bus one morning to get our bearings as we toured the city for 3 days before the cruise started. We used one of these busses in Bergan, Norway and Bath, England two years ago and they are the way to go if you want to get familiar with an area and then go back to see specific things. It is like $17 for 24 hours and for us we got two days out it since we started late the first morning.