'disneyland with the death penalty'

Singapore is one of the most successful and prosperous countries in world. According to the quality-of-life index assembled by the Economic Intelligence Unit, it has the highest standard of living in Asia, and is ranked eleventh in the World. It's well ordered, rationally laid out, impeccably maintained, stylish, modern, and very clean. Look up at the sky line and you see futuristic skyscrapers where big business is done. Look down at ground level and you see well preserved colonial era buildings where small business is thriving. Big or small, everywhere there is business.

The Singapore community is a successful gell of four communities: Malays, Chinese, Indians, and Westerners. All four are well represented but it is the Chinese who dominate, accounting for almost seventy seven percent of the population. The Chinese in particular flocked to Singapore in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to escape turmoil and poverty in China, and in hope of a better life.

In some places they speak Chinese, in some Tamil, and others Malay, but everywhere English is common and understood. Many speak what has become known as 'Singlish' which consists of pidgin English, adding in Hokkien, Cantonese and Malay words, and with a grammar and ordering of words which is slightly altered from standard English. So people say things like, 'can speak English good lah?' or, 'dis country weather very hot, one,' or even, 'he play soccer very good also one leh,' to take but three examples. Singlish is discouraged by the government and there are even signs requesting that citizens speak good English, and a Speak Good English Movement.

From what I've learnt over the past few days, Singapore is the product of two strong-willed and pioneering men: Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, and Lee Kwan Yew. Raffles arrived in 1819, and established a South East Asian trading hub for the British Empire. In doing so he put Singapore on the world stage and gave it a world business name. Cambridge educated Lee Kwan Yew* became Prime Minister of Singapore in 1959. At that time it was reliant on other nations, had unemployment problems, and no natural resources or land. During his premiership (lasting thirty one years) a massive industrialisation programme was pushed through, unemployment disappeared, and an ambitious housing/urban regeneration programme led to the world's highest rate of homeownership (not to mention excellent housing). Under Lee Kwan Yew, Singapore went from Third World to First in just over a quarter of a century.

However, all this progress has come at a cost, and that cost has been freedom of speech and freedom of choice for the average Singaporean. I met an old man on a park bench and he told me, rather bitterly, that in Singapore you 'can make money but can no open your mouth.' Singapore is a place where public demonstrations and dissent from the government are difficult, sometimes impossible. People here aren't presented with choices regarding how their society is developed, they're told how it's going to be. Lucky for them the government has, until now, done an amazing job.

I've spent two days in Singapore. I've found it fascinating. I entered by coach, crossing the bridge which connects Malaysia and Singapore, and which leads into the Woodlands Immigration Terminal. Woodlands looks like a futuristic space ship which has come to rest on the edge of the island. Instead of containing space aliens it is full of efficient and courteous immigration officers ready to stamp your passport and wish you well on your holiday. It took me about a minute and a half to pass through and be complimented - that's the way to do it.

My first day was taken up looking around the old colonial district, which was built in Raffles day. I went and saw the Raffles Hotel, St Andrew's Cathedral, City Hall, the Supreme Court, the Singapore Cricket Club, the Victoria Concert Theatre, and the spot on the harbour where Raffles first landed. I thought of television antiques dealer David Dickinson as I stood outside the Raffles Hotel. I believe it was to Raffles he went last year to recuperate after his stint on 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.' In the afternoon I went to Orchard Road, the shopping mecca, and wandered in and out of some of the many shopping malls and stores. I think every shop on earth must be on the street. I didn't buy anything, just had a good wander round looking at things I don't need.

On my second day I went to the Central Business District and stood at the feet of giants. The skyscapers were magnificent, although there's not much to do other than stand next to them and feel small. I also went down to the quays and saw the gentrified restaurants and bars, reminding me of the re-developed dock areas in London. In the afternoon I went to China Town. Whilst in the area I went to the Thian Hock Keng Temple (Hokkien), the Sri Mariammaan Temple (the oldest Hindu Temple in Singapore), and the Chinese Heritage Centre which I found very interesting. They've got some great displays, and it's quite an honest telling of the Chinese story on the island.

I stayed over in Little India for three nights. Not at a hotel this time, but at a homestay called Ali's Nest. Ali is a delightful Singaporean who rents out a couple of rooms in his family home to passing backpackers. He's an absolute mine of information, and provides you with a free breakfast and chat each morning. It was brilliant staying with him and his family and I suggest to anyone else venturing to Singapore to do the same.

Singapore is undoubtedly much more expensive than the other countries I've visited, but it is possible to visit on a budget if you stay and eat at the right places. Staying with Ali was a fraction of the cost of the Singapore hotels and he was able to recommend a glut of local restaurants which served very good food, and which were only marginally more expensive than those in neighbouring Malaysia (I'd particularly recommend the A:1 Restaurant on Birch Road where I had arguably the best curry of my life and the best service). If you want to spend money here you will have no problems emptying your pockets, but if you want to be more careful it's also quite possible.

The weather hasn't been so good over the last few days. It rained particularly hard on Monday afternoon: there was a spectular thunder storm; I noticed standing under cover that some of the sky-scrapers actually start to steam in the rain! Hopefully it will ease off a bit now I'm a bit further north, so enough moaning.

Here's the statistical lowdown on Singapore:

Full name: Republic of Singapore
Population: 4.4 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Singapore
Area: 660 sq km (255 sq miles)
Major languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil
Major religions: Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity
Life expectancy: 77 years (men), 80 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Singapore dollar = 100 cents
Main exports: Computer equipment, machinery, rubber products, petroleum products
GNI per capita: US $27,490 (World Bank, 2006)
Internet domain: .sg
International dialling code: +65

* What does Lee Kwan Yew have in common with James Bond? They both have double firsts from Cambridge University.