Because of multiyear teamwork between David and a Julius Baer Asian team the possibility of visiting Singapore on a business trip presented itself. David finally managed to travel to Singapore in April 2023. Main summary: tropically hot (between 28 and 34°C all the time, also at night) and sticky (98-99% humidity all the time)! It is no wonder that Singaporeans spend most of their time in air conditioned, cooled malls and offices.
Singapore is in many ways a fascinating city state. There is the lingering resonance of the British empire connection, the fact that the main official language is (British) English. Then there is the clear fusion of Chinese and Malaysian ethnic groups, with a large contingent of Indian guest workers and a substantial number of ex-pat British and Australians. The short occupation by Japan also left its mark. Not much remains of the old Singapore, except some representative buildings and gardens left behind by the British, along with many names reminiscent of the period of British rule. There is a large Chinatown area with temples and a Little India district. Most of the city is high-rise blocks with wide thoroughfares and a lot of greenery. As a pedestrian it is pleasant to walk around, with plants separating the pavement from the cars and sunshades to take away the unbearably strong direct sun in the middle of the day. Also, most buildings have a public lobby at street level, making the city feel accessible. The public transport is efficient and everything is very clean.
Some of the architecture is magnificent, with considerable levels of greening and parks. The Marina Bay area with its iconic “boat” building on three legs surrounded by parks with enormous artificial trees that are lit at night, and at least two malls with large artificial waterfalls, one real (in “Jewel” at the airport) and one out of LEDs (in the Convention Centre by Marina Bay). Julius Baer’s main representative office is also down by the waterfront in Marina One on the 28th floor, with commanding views. The office I worked in was around 30 minutes away by bus and/or metro.
To escape the buildings and motorways is hard. It took over an hour of metro and bus, and a “bumboat” to get away from the blocks and across to the island of Pulau Ubin, which is a National Park and mostly jungle, mangroves and wetlands. Despite the tropical, sweaty weather conditions, a very interesting experience. Rounding that day off was a visit to the beautiful Botanic Gardens.
One is nevertheless left with the feeling that the whole thing is artificial and not really sustainable. Considerable energy is needed to power all that cooling. Singapore is dependent for its energy and fresh water on Malaysia. There are still many cars (however, the total number is limited) and the buses are almost exclusively petrol or diesel driven. Food and goods are entirely imported. Everything seems to be wrapped in single-use plastic. There is pretty well no local food production. And, with climate warming increasing the temperatures, it will soon become unbearable (or even lethal!) to remain outside at all.
