Posted on Monday, 23 March 2015

With the death of Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, at the age of 91, the eyes of the world will be on the South East Asian island state over the coming days and weeks.

When you arrive in Singapore you understand you're somewhere quite different. And that difference is largely down to Lee Kuan Kew's 31 years in power – during which Singapore was transformed from a poverty and crime-ridden port city into one of the richest nations, per capita, on Earth.

Lee Kuan Yew had his detractors of course; those who criticised his draconian economic policies, his zero tolerance on dissent. During his tenure long-haired male tourists who arrived at the land border or airport would be given a short back-and-sides before they were permitted entry. Those caught with chewing gum still risk a caning – a form of corporal punishment that is also reputed to motivate many lacklustre Singaporean students.

From a UK viewpoint, some of these practices might seem unacceptable. But whatever dark side there is to Singapore, it's difficult not to be impressed by the nation's economic success – a city where the gleaming skyscrapers rise over a population of 5.5 million compacted onto an island little bigger than the Isle of Man.

But Singapore isn't only banking tower blocks, shopping malls and restaurants – as is so often claimed. This quintessential South East Asian metropolis has a great deal to offer the tourist, and any visit to the region without a stop-off in the Lion City is a wasted opportunity.

The Merlion Fountain, Singapore (zhudifeng/Bigstock.com)

The Job

I recall my last visit to Singapore. Jim, an old friend, had relocated from Britain to head a marketing team in a new Singaporean insurance firm.

My smartly dressed friend met me at a sophisticated riverside area called Clarke Quay. He took in my attire with a smile: t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. Around us were be-suited bankers, insurers, hedge fund managers, venture capitalists – all striding purposefully between trendy salad bars and glass towers, gourmet coffee shops and takeover meetings. It was an odd environment for me after several months on the backpacking circuit.

I stuck out like a sore thumb.

Later, as we lounged in his pool and compared his old life in the UK to his new one in Singapore, Jim offered me a job in his marketing team. It was a big surprise. He said it wouldn't be a certainty, but that his word carried a lot of weight with his boss.

For many people, being offered a job in Singapore is a serious opportunity to boost one's career. And yet I was somehow unmoved.

It was the weekend, so Jim – with his wife and son in tow – went about persuading me what a great city Singapore was.

Botanic Gardens

First up was an early morning visit to the city-state's verdant Botanic Gardens. Ideal before the sun really gets burning, at 7am the Gardens are filled with joggers and Tai Chi aficionados, dog walkers and those gearing up for another day in the steel-and-glass powerhouse lurking outside. Amazingly for such a populated island, this park actually features patches of virgin rainforest. It also hosts an amazing collection of more than 1000 orchid species.

Singapore Botanical Gardens (XtianFer/Bigstock.com)

Ritz-Carlton

There aren't many five-star hotels in the world that will let you in to see its contemporary art collection for free – but the Ritz-Carlton is one of them. While his wife and son enjoyed a spot of shopping, Jim and I perused the stunning collection of Hockneys and Warhols, along with a superb Frank Stella installation. All the while Jim was giving me the soft-sell about the job.

Chinatown Heritage Centre

Jim's gentle entreaties to the join the team came with promises of a great salary and the excitement of life in one of the world's great metropolises. Our visit to the Chinatown Heritage centre was in strange opposition to this potential new life: recreations of street scenes, bedrooms and kitchens from the 19th and early 20th centuries contrasted with the shiny skyscrapers a few blocks away.

Chinatown, Singapore (TK Kurikawa/Bigstock.com)

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

It was in the tranquillity of the Tang-styled Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum in Chinatown that I decided to give it a shot: I agreed to meet Jim's boss.

Meeting Time

In the space of about two hours I was transformed. Jim's wife helped me sourced a new shirt, trousers and shoes. I had a haircut and a shave. The backpacker was replaced by the ex-pat office worker.

I was nervous. Buttoned-up, bare-chinned and freshly shorn, I took the MRT to the insurance firm's HQ. I met Jim before meeting his boss; he didn't recognise me.

The meeting itself was a nerve-wracking event; I had not been in a corporate environment for some time. But the director was warm and friendly and spoke with passion about the possibilities of his new enterprise, as well as how I might fit in with it.

After the informal interview and a few more days in Singapore a decision came back.

The job was a no-go, said Jim. There was friction in the board regarding what the marketing budget should be spent on – and the ‘what' wasn't me.

I can't say I felt too much disappointment as I floated in Jim's pool once again that evening. Maybe I was even relieved. Singapore was a great city – one that could offer me a great lifestyle – but it didn't seem right at that moment.

And so I spent a wonderful few days exploring Singapore as a tourist, donning my old shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops. But now I also sported a rather corporate haircut – one that Lee Kuan Yew himself would have approved of.

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