Singapore — the land of prohibitions
Pablo//2 min
If there's one thing that stands out in Singapore even more than the skyscrapers, it's the order that pervades this small country of fewer than five million people. Wherever we looked, there was a sign prohibiting something — often accompanied by a hefty fine for non-compliance.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the metro stations, which are plastered with rules. Eating or drinking inside the station or on the trains will cost you $500 Singapore dollars.
In one station we watched a public employee supervising passengers to make sure everyone stood in the correct positions — and was evenly distributed (roughly the same number of people per door) — before the train arrived and they could board.
Instructions for supermarket trolley grip
And it doesn't stop there — even in supermarkets we found signs explaining how to hold the shopping trolley correctly.
The police are not ones to look the other way either. Break a rule and you can pray to whatever god you like, because the fine is coming regardless — at least that's what we were told, as we were fortunately spared that particular experience.
And for anyone thinking they might slip through unnoticed: the city is blanketed in CCTV cameras. Some are as obvious as the ones in the photo below; others are so discreet that you'd only know they were there if someone pointed them out.
Cameras everywhere
Overall, Singapore left us with an uneasy feeling. The level of government control over its citizens is excessive and borders on the authoritarian. After all, under Singapore's supposedly democratic system — in place since independence — the country has been run by a single dominant party, with just three prime ministers in its history, the first and the last being father and son. The blurry line between democracy and dictatorship is genuinely hard to locate when you look at Singapore.
In our memories, Singapore lives on as the land of prohibitions. Here's a small selection:
