Low crime....

does not mean no crime. However Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world (will keep a discussion about crime&punishment for another post) and compared to Paris I am becoming very lazy about paying attention to my belongings.... An accident waiting to happen when I visit back home.

Advice from Big Brother

One of the biggest shocks of moving to Singapore (after the weather, the food, the people.....) is the pain the Singapore government takes to advise their citizens how to act and what to do (and I come from France). Government concerns range from preventing Dengue fever (useful) to how to us public toilets properly (really?) and the importance of being courteous.

This generally translates into a variety of signboards around town (a few examples here) all sponsored by a government agency or another or full blown campaigns such as the Singapore Kindness Movement and its mascot "Singa the Kindness Lion" or the current campaign in the MRT (subway) to allow alighting passengers to get off the train (a problem in most urban environments). Currently due to concerns about swine flue (don't forget they had bird flue here a few years ago) a lot of emphasis is being placed on hygiene, as you can see a hand can be full of germs depicted like furry scary monsters.

I haven't yet figured out if people actually pay attention to these campaigns or if they are even needed. Sounds a bit to me like a nagging parent (sit up straight!, don't scratch your nose!). In the meantime I have decided to be amused and collect this advice for the benefit of this blog.

The Great Singapore Sale is on!

June is a pretty important month in Singapore. It is the summer holidays for schoolchildren, it is the hottest month of the year and it's the month of the Great Singapore Sale. I assume it was originally set up to attract even more tourists to Singapore, so they would actually come into town when on their way to Bali, Thailand etc. The first weekend of the sale is pretty hectic with coupons and fliers for deals being handed out at virtually all street corners.

I didn't really take advantage of it this year, and it's a shame as I'm pretty sure discounts were particularly radical due to the recession etc.

Anyway, this poster is not actually about the Singapore sale, but for a search engine promoted by Singtel, the local incumbent telephone company. I still felt it illustrated well some aspects of the sale.

A few views of Singapore (Chinatown)