Or are we just a copy of other cities?

hmmm..maybe Geneva? Manhattan?

my old man use to be a merchant marine/seaman and he remembers getting cited for spitting so i guess singapore to him is like berlin during nazi rule. jk. but he like it otherwise, he said the ladies were 'real nice.'

Yeah Hong Kong

Singapore is not unique then...

I thought Singapore can also be found in some parts of America where the malls are so similar in style and design they are like spitting images of one another.

I think Sngapore in the old days when flip's dad was a sailor there might have been unique then. But nowadays, it's just like any other modern city!!! It has a little bit of every modern city.

The only place i thought that is unique are the Housing Estates though... I don't know if they echo the ones in Hongkong or elsewhere, but I have not seen Housing projects like the skyscraper homes in Singapore...

Here's a photo walk of a housing estate in Lavender to Bugis area in Singapore... the author is a very influential writer in Singapore... and I think he kinda captures the atmosphere in the Housing estate pretty well!

http://www.yawningbread.org/
click on Lavender to Bugis thread!

Btw, Flip, if yr dad used to be a sailor in Singapore, he must have been to Bugis Street, where the "really nice ladies" jump on the roof of the public toilets to dance and show their flesh!! The sailors and expats use to throng that street in search of sex, drugs and rock n roll... Now, Bugis is no longer a sleazy street but a kinda flea market selling all sorts of knick knack souvenirs for the boring visitors.

failed to say it was my gramps, he probably frequented singapore a lot in 60's because of his job on their way across the indian ocean and the east coast of afrique.

Good photo essay by Au Waipang.
Perhaps Singapore is unique for cramming so many cultures into such a small area.
Churches next to Mosques next to Buddhist temples next to Hindu..... and invariably next to shopping malls.
In my Australian experience, everything DownUnder is spread out and far apart.
In Singapore every diverse facet is jammed together, which to an outsider at least, creates a "theme park" atmosphere.

Perhaps you will know where this is ? I can't remember the name of the place, but it was like like "Little India" next to "China Town".

Singapore is very British IMO.

Your Chinese pidgin English is unique.

hey ralfie, i think those pics were taken in Chinatown..! But that area has changed quite a bit... your pics look really old! were u in Singapore before??

ok flip, the pics below are for yr gramps! this is what Bugis Street looked like decades ago... my dad said it was the swingiest place in whole of Asia.. unfortunately, our government erased all traces of the sex and squalor in Bugis Street to turn into an antiseptic tourist trap... all vestiges of the sordid and yet sexy history of Bugis Street have been erased. i have met quite a number of old English marines while i was studying in England who tell me about their "fond memories" of Bugis Street... me, i have no idea what it was like but these pictures will give u an idea...




When transvestites began to rendezvous in the area in the 1950s, they attracted increasing numbers of Western tourists who came for the booze, the food, the pasar malam shopping and the "girls". Business boomed and Bugis Street became an extremely lively and bustling area, forming the heart of Xiao Po. It was one of Singapore's most famous tourist meccas from the 1950s to the 1980s, renowned internationally for its nightly parade of flamboyantly-dressed transwomen and attracted hordes of Caucasian gawkers who had never before witnessed Asian queens in full regalia.


There was an adage amongst Westerners that one could easily tell who was a real female and who was not - the transvestites were drop-dead gorgeous, while the rest were real women. The amount of revenue that the transwomen of Bugis Street raked in was considerable, providing a booster shot in the arm for the tourism industry. Some Americans referred to it as "Boogie Street" in the wake of the 1970s disco craze.


Veterans recall that the notorious drinking section began from Victoria Street west to Queen Street. Halfway between Victoria and Queen Streets, there was an intersecting lane parallel to the main roads, also lined with al fresco bars. There was a well-patronised public toilet with a flat roof of which there are archival photos, complete with jubilant rooftop transwomen.



One of the "hallowed traditions" bestowed upon the area by sojourning sailors, eg. from Australia, was the ritualistic "Dance Of The Flamers" or "Dance Of The Flaming Arseholes" on top of the infamous toilet's roof. Compatriots on the ground would chant the signature "Haul 'em down you Zulu Warrior" song whilst the matelots performed their act.



Maybe Flip, your gramps was one of the Flamers????

I think only Phuket or Bangkok still have scenes like these where trannies/ladyboys rule the streets! Not too sure abt Cambodia or Vietnam... ?

Here's a YouTube video clip on the History of Bugis Street where Singapore's cross-dressing and transgender communities used to congregate, making it one of the island's top tourist destinations prior to the mid-1980s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUrkPDhsqAY

Yeah my pix are 15 years old.... I was in Singapore with my mum in 1994, and after visiting relatives in Germany and touring France, it was great to be in a land where I could easily find rice to eat.
I love rice, but Western Europe rarely had it on the menu back in those days.
I guess the streets of Singapore have changed a bit since I was there.

Tangawizi the images you posted of Singapore's wild'n'wooly heyday are fabulous.
The girls (and guys) in their groovy dresses remind me of garage band, Lulu's Marble.

My gramps said he kept a lot of girlfriends around the world back in the day even in East Africa. I'm sure he's hooked up with bunch of Chinese chics in Singapore...by the looks of it, who can blame 'ey? Now it's my turn. LOL.

@ ralf, i guess singapore had its sordid past.. and this look kinda groovy these days!

@ flip, so do u look quarter-Singaporean or half-east african???

^I look pretty much like the dashing brown sexy West Pacific Asian Filipino man with a dash of Azorean Portuguese (the grandfather was half). LOL. Jk. My family use to make fun that we're part African because Azores had a few families with black blood in them. esp. my family like many Portuguese have curly hair.

huh? Azorean?? i can't quite figure that one out... post the pic and let's see?!!!

its amazing how crazy people are these days when it comes to buying a house. Even the 7month hungry ghost dont deter buyers....people just so kiasi that they wont get the best house though they know pretty well that HDB house is govt control. Govt not intervening to the rise of COV (cash over valuation) to instill a feel good factor to the economy

English here is unique :P i love Singapore for everything.

Singapore is definitely unique in its own way. Unique in its food, people and culture. Most important of all, the only country in the world to host F1 night race!!!

meh.... u must work for the Tourism Board or somefink!

singapore originated not unique

but it is the place where many uniques can find their place to fit ...

Singlish is definitely unique.....

Singapore is indeed unique....we pay and pay and never stop paying for everything

i barely notice theres a Singapore Chat

Singapore is very unique indeed

that's cuz the SG chat is a chill-out groovy lounge while the Pinoy chat is like a karaoke bar with all u crooners mud slinging away abt race, identity and self-esteem issues!!

welcome

fivefingers, list a few and we can discuss it.

I respect Singapore's politcal system, it's a good example that China should emulate.

manders, sometimes I believe that we have to take into consideration the scale of the issue.Perspective!
Singapore's population is....................4,500,000
China's population is....................1,500,000,000
America's population is...................300,000,000

It makes a lot of difference in how the law is handled under such circumstances.

Thailand too

tangawizi Mimi ninapenda nchi ya Singapore na ninaheshimu serikali, tamanduni zake pia. Ningependa sana kutembelea hii nchi kwa sababu watu wake wanaheshimu kila mtu na haswa Waafrika. Wewe tangawizi unaishi Singapore?

"The limits of my language means the limits of my world." --Ludwig Wittgenstein


what is to be "UNIQUE"? Is it to be good? pretty? from outside? from inside? rich? joyfull?

does not being "unique" makes me a bad thing/person?


cheers

Singapore and Hong Kong are both very unique in that they are entrepots with a long and storied histories as centres of free trade.

Singapore is unique

Thanks for the old pics showing 'wild Singapore.' That looks fun.

I find the garden city too much like pages from a glossy magazine except for the noise level. There were times when I longed for the silence in the countryside.

It's a great place to live in - fantastic food everywhere, and great shopping. Changi Airport is where I imagine myself landing if I'd just come from space.

But there's something missing to complete the perfection.

Singapore and Hong Kong are unique.

They basically operate as places with good rule of law and intellectual property protection, safe and efficienct world class infrastructure, and low tax rates in an area that is unstable at times.

Singapore and HK are great tading ports of the East.

Which country in this world is not unique in their own way?

What makes you think this country is the only one that stand out? Because that old man have been saying we are unique all along?

Sounds like we can thank the Brits for most of that.

Btw, are English people treated specially in HK or Sing anymore? When I was there, there didn't seem to much leftover from colonial times, i.e. like a british government official or something.

that's correct!

To some extent, but compare Britain to Singapore today. Can one say, Britain's a much kinder place with a greater tolerance for differences and an indomitable 'gung ho' empire spirit without the wish to control? Days ago, Gordon Brown called an old Labour supporter who complained about too many " immigrants... like the Eastern Europeans..." ( she was afraid to include Blacks and Asians in case she's called a racist lol) a "bigot." lol. Obviously, the British press lost their hearts and their brains. They lapped up on nationalism, immigrant weariysm, loyalty etc. and use them as a Conservative launch pad. I was going to vote Liberal - most of us were sick of the lack of plans and rescue effort for the plunging pound. I was looking for a brilliant mind , still am, to get Britian back up. But, Gordon's global appeal won my vote instead! I , too, who was worried about the debt, the numbers of legal or illegal immigrants etc made a decisive turnaround. At the last minute. Is this because Britain is truly embracing globalism without any cowardice or self-interest? Is Britain leading the world in this truly human effort? The press did 'pressed' the Prime Minister to kowtow to public pressure ( or rather one woman's reaction ) and make him apologise. But that's not the point. The PM was described " a left wing Liberal." How many left wing liberals are there in the wolrd today? None. So, yes, let's appoint a great deal more decolonialised left wing Liberals .

Today, Singapore's surging ahead - brilliant team, solid wisdom, soaring dollars and an expanding expat community. Britain's rather gone to the dogs, ( not completely like Greece ) lacks intellectual brilliance and is battling with debt, problems with massive immigration and "a broken society." The Brits are leaving their motherland for HK and Singapore, at least on PR terms.

Yet, we muddle on. But the the media is free ( and not all that bright as they think they are, also subtly controlled, but free - er than most ), there's the NHS still, social welfare, life goes on pretty much the same though we hear about corruption, expenditure cuts, rising unemployment, youth crimes and the streets are full of foreign tongues in London. Is this the heart of a dysfunctional empire or the heart of the greatest human civilisation?

There's nothing special about it at all.

Manhattan? Nah.
Geneva? No way.
Singapore is thoroughly Asian culture-wise.
So, even though its urban architecture and infrastructure are inevitably western, Singapore feels starkly Asian.
In this regard, it resembles Tokyo because it is much better-run than Manhattan.

Is Singapore unique? Definitely.
Its governmental set-up is unlike any other.

But we aren't unique... at least... even if we feel Starkly asian as u put it, an outside observer would never be able to tell from the way we carry ourselves. We are everything from Japanophiles to wannabe-anything, except for our parents, but even so they are beginning to become so globalised in their way they act, dress, think, eat like..... they are culture-less.

If we look at Japan, there their native culture is so apparent from their festivals, etiquettes and food choice.

It depends on where you go in Singapore, tangy.
In Chinatown, Singapore has the feel of Hong Kong.
In some of the HDB housing estates, it could even feel like Malacca or Penang.
Up in the air on an SIA flight out to London, you are spot on with regard to your getting pissed off by Singaporeans.
When in Singapore, I usually hang out in the financial district which is my kind of Singapore: sharp and on the ball.
But not as sharp as Wall Street even though you guys love the green stuff as much as the devil.

Small island, walking from coast-to-coast, nice people.

Why won't I say unique

Coast to coast? Are you a backpacker?

what is so unique about asians generally? nothing, what we do is only copying shte and become delusional about our own identity..

What delusions do you have about your own identity?

lol, i dont emulate the typical perception within the general views..

at one point being different is unique and similar can be really boring and weird

That's the delusions you suffers? and you are from Israel?

lol no, actually in malaysia and im being sarcastic about where i live so that i could mock people and called them anti semitic.