It’s a brave new world and well, it’s also a bland one.

Singapore proved less impressive than my original impression predicted (I guess I am a sucker for a cool bar?). In the end I found it sorely lacking the cultural richness and individual character that would bring me home raving about it.

This is of course partially because of the British and immigrant history – there is little that is distinctly Singaporean because it is by definition an amalgam of cultures with a heavy Western influence. But the government has contributed greatly into turning Singapore into an indistinct destination since it’s independence in the 1960s.

Because of the strong role of government in shaping the island’s development, nothing sprouts up organically, it’s all planned. You don’t get the neighborhoods with distinct feelings and histories, you get more of the same, every where you turn.

Nowhere is this more glaringly obvious than at the Housing Development Bureau (HDB) hub, which we visited after lunch. HDB is responsible for mapping out and constructing the ubiquitous large skyward reaching clusters of housing that house 80% of Singaporeans. Each one looks more or less like the next, and they cover the island. That’s right, everyone pretty much lives in a space that looks exactly the same – you have a choice of locations, 4 or 5 rooms, and standard or premium. One can’t help but think of Aldous Huxley while touring the mockups at the headquarters. Worse, at the epicenter of these clusters is always a mall. Walk in and you may as well be in Nebraska. McDonalds, Starbucks, Levi’s… hardly anything worth traveling around the world for.

The chili crab though, now that alone merits a visit.