Singapore vs. Bangkok: Talk about contrasts!

by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

Singapore was our second stop after Bangkok on our Southeast Asia cruise, and the differences between Singapore and Bangkok are enough to overwhelm you — especially when one city directly follows the other.  Neither place, I suppose, offers the visitor a completely fair and balanced look at what comprises a Southeast Asian city, and yet, here they stand in very sharp contrast to each other.
    
Singapore is located at the tip of the Malayan peninsula, just one degree north of the equator.  It is almost directly southeast from Laem Chabang, the main port for Bangkok, and there is one full sea day of cruising between the ports.  
    
It is Singapore’s free trade policy that attracted merchants and migrants from Malaya, Indonesia, China, India, the Middle East, and Europe.  After Japanese occupation, British possession, two years in the Federation of Malaysia (including Malaya, Sabah, and Sarawak), it has been an independent republic since 1965, after being asked to leave the Federation.
    
With its diverse history, it is no wonder there is such diversity in Singapore.  For example, it has five official languages: Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, Chinese, and English.  The latter is most widely used, and English is the language used in the public schools and on all road signs.  The population is composed of 4.99 million people, but it represents Chinese (77%), Malays (14%), Indians (8%), and others (1%).  Even the various local religions support diversity with mosques, temples, and churches existing within a climate of complete freedom of worship.
    
“Singapore,” according to a website on the Internet, “is a parliamentary republic, and the Constitution of Singapore establishes representative democracy as the nation’s political system.  The People’s Action Party (PAP) dominates the political process and has won control of parliament in every election since self-government in 1959.”
    
I had a vague idea of what to expect in Singapore when I investigated it on the Internet before our trip.  The main/primary tourist attractions for travelers include: 1) a butterfly park, 2) a bird park, 3) a zoo, 4) and an “Underwater World.”  If you have been as many places as we have, seen and experienced as much, and taken advantage of as many diverse excursions on previous journeys, you wouldn’t be surprised to know that these “tourist attractions” offer no interest whatsoever.  They are not “natural wonders” but manmade tourist attractions.
    
The second aspect of my Internet search prior to taking this cruise that fueled my “vague idea of what to expect,” was the emphasis discovered on shopping: “Before going to other major Singapore tourist attractions,” one Internet site exclaimed, “one should start with the shopping opportunities.”  There was an emphasis on Orchard Road: “The area is packed with some of the most vibrating shops and shopping malls.”
    
Even the bus driver of the shuttle from the port into the city (where we were deposited at a large shopping mall anchored by a Hilton Hotel), let all bus passengers (about 35 of us) know the city was happy to have us there and wanted us to spend our money.
    
While Bangkok had its Grand Palace, numerous Buddhist temples, China Town, the Old City, and trade centers for gems and silks, Singapore had its towering, gleaming skyscrapers and immaculate, gorgeous shopping malls.  Singapore, too, has its Little India where two Hindu temples are located, but we did not have the time to go there.
    
We arrived in Singapore at the farthest possible end of its huge container port with containers all neatly stacked and organized, wide concrete avenues all controlled by stop lights and nearly barren intersections, and many high-container lifts designed to move containers on and off ships quickly and efficiently.  The place was spotless with not a single speck of litter or debris of any kind.
    
It took our free shuttle from the ship just 10 minutes to move us from our dock (there is no passenger terminal of any kind as you find in many Caribbean ports), to the gates of the port and onto the freeways and avenues that connect the port to the city — about 30-40 minutes away.  The trip is smooth; traffic is light; the roads are clear of any litter or debris; buses and autos move freely.  We spotted no rickshaws, bicycles, motor scooters, motorcycles, or, of course, tuk-tuks.
    
When in Bangkok, you get the impression it is a very “lived in” city.  There is litter.  The various modes of transportation (especially the motorcycles and tuk-tuks), make negotiating traffic far more of a challenge than in Singapore.  Everywhere, it seemed, there was congestion (and sometimes chaos).  Bangkok is truly a fun, exciting, challenging city full of vibrancy and contrasts — that clash of old and new or traditional versus modern.
    
Now, I must admit something here that makes the contrasts between Bangkok and Singapore more pronounced and severe than they may be.  We spent 2 ½ days in Bangkok and traveled around much of the city (some of it in a tuk-tuk — a motorized, covered rickshaw).  In Singapore, we were deposited at a large downtown shopping mall, and we spent about 2 ½ hours (not days — hours) in the city.  And, too, we were not in just any part of the city but in the most elite, sophisticated, modern, and expensive part of the city.  (Of course there would be a contrast!)
    
In Singapore we walked from the Hilton Hotel on Scott’s Avenue, abut 1 ½ blocks to Orchard Road.  Just for fun, we looked for litter along the way and found none.
    
In Bangkok you could go almost nowhere without encountering both litter and sidewalk vendors.  Many of the local people eat their lunches from sidewalk vendors who deep fry chicken or fish at their carts, cook chicken kabobs over their small grills, or sell fresh fruit and vegetables all cut and trimmed to promote an easy sale.
    
There are numerous other contrasts such as the existence of sidewalk vendors in Bangkok and none in Singapore, the “smart casual” dress of the people we observed in Singapore and the dress of those in Bangkok which far better represented a cross-section of the whole Thai population, and even the language — those in Singapore spoke fluent English and those in Bangkok spoke little (some very broken) English.  There were even great differences in modes of transportation as noted previously.
    
Just from these examples alone, you can see that the differences between Singapore and Bangkok are enough to overwhelm you.  Remember, however, that our two experiences were different in the amount of time we spent in both places and with that, our limited ability to make a thorough investigation.  Just the same, it was an enjoyable and thoroughly interesting juxtaposition.
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At “Stickman’s Guide to Bangkok: Readers’ Submissions — Singapore vs. Thailand” by Amazing P, there is a delightful essay that compares Singapore and Thailand — much as I do in my essay.  Amazing P, however, offers many additional contrasts (some things I observed, too, but did not have the experience or background to write about).  The essay is quite thorough and — beware — goes into some areas (such as prostitution) that gives you a contrast that is, well, let’s say, quite suggestive and a bit “over the top.”  Despite this (this discussion comes at the end of the essay), it is an enjoyable and interesting set of contrasts and certainly underscores and supports (with greater detail) much of what I’ve written above.

The essay is called “‘Asian Values’ and Democracy in Asia” and although the essay is fascinating and extremely enlightening, it is also highly academic.  The first sentence of this essay by Takashi Inoguchi and Edward Newman gives you an idea of the sophistication of this essay: “Cultural determinism argues that cultural values condition modes of social and economic organization, including patterns of political relationships, political participation, citizenship and government.”
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Copyright March, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.