Singapore - the manufactured city
I spent two weeks in Singapore at the end of February with a friend who was having radio therapy. Enjoyed it, inspite of myself. But there are somethings that are very disturbing. For instance, everything in Singapore is manufactured, to near perfection maybe, but manufactured and unspontaneous nevertheless. Take the Night Safari, the Jurong Bird Park , both leisure centres, manufactured for the recreational needs of Singaporeans. Why travel to the Mara or to Serengeti or to Kruger when its been brought right into your neighbourhood? Take the trees, many of them rootballed from the Malaysian forests I am told, planted always in a row, with branches growing like the arms of dancers in a synchronised ballet. Take the most frightening manufacture - Singapore Firepower, proudly "better, smarter and more lethal" (My paper, Thursday, February 21) Showcased at the Singapore Airshow during the time of my visit. First of its kind, the Redback Weapon System - a lightweight multibarrel ...