Singapore - the cleanest place on Earth

Squeaky clean, busy streets

Arrived in Singapore, possibly the cleanest, most organised and efficient place in the universe. It's so clean one would happily eat off the floor in the underground stations. The famous country wide chewing gum ban (it's listed under banned substances, before drugs, at the airport, although that may have been alphabetical...) produces impeccably clean streets. In fact, the most atrocious public display of disorder and destruction we've seen was a partly broken pavement slab in a backstreet in Chinatown.


Yes'aaai; a shout out to our West Side homies

More importantly than cleanliness, everything works. The underground is well organised, runs on time and uses an obvious $1 incentive for returning your old tickets. Crosswalks have large countdowns of green man seconds left, currency notes are plasticoated, so one can forget them in the wash, and there are public escalators everywhere, even if only to save a few steps. All in all, to free spirited liberals like ourselves, Singapore could be a convincing argument for the virtues of a strict police state. Then again, the clinical air of this place does lack some of that real human grittiness.


Mostly vertical

Being a tinsy winsy teeny weeny country, everything is built up. Literally. Our budget hostel is situated in the penthouse on the 25th floor of a skyscraper. The view is so great it almost makes up for the terrible breakfast.


Post boxes, like bins, are painted by different artists

This afternoon we're taking the train North, into Malaysia. Yey, can't wait...