President of Singapore
Posted on February 02, 2005 in pilgrim-singapore.
On a morning walk today, we chatted with the President of Singapore about CharityFocus, the India trip and of course, Singapore. :) It turns out that he goes on this walk on the beach, with just one unarmed bodygaurd and is super friendly!
Singapore is an interesting country:
- Cars are 3x the US price, with all the duty. And every ten years, the government forces you to junk your car. So Singapore streets look really rich!
- Audio CD's are sold for $2 on the streets. Probably pirated copies. :)
- For about $500/month, you can have a live-in, 24x7 maid in the house from anywhere in the world.
- Speaking of 24x7, there's a 5 story, 3 block Indian mall that's open 24 hours a day. Just in case you want to buy jewelry at 3AM. :)
- It's true. Forget chewing gum, many streets impose $500 fine if you bring food and drinks!
- Public transportation is totally awesome. Simple, clear UI that San Francisco should take serious lessons from.
- Thai coconuts. I wasn't impressed. :)
- 8% of Singaporeans are Indian, largely South Indian. And Tamil is one of the four national languages!
- Weather is humid, muggy and nothing to get jealous of.
Oh, and if you've arrived into town via Singapore Airlines, you're already in a good mood -- 60 on-demand movies, 216 full audio albums, lots of leg room, great food and awesome service. Now, if they only had Internet access. :)
