It is early in the morning and i am in the lounge at Changi Airport, ready to embark on an 18hr trip across the Pacific Ocean. After a stopover in Seoul, Korea, i will arrive in San Francisco Thursday around noon.
Singapore has been a very good experience. It is well worth the trip. The progress accomplished since my last visit in 1985 highlight the shift of dynamics from the west back to the east.
Although Singapore is an authoritarian regime, ruled by the son of Lee Kwan Yew, there is a parliament and the multiethnic , multicultural society lives in peace and prosperity. Chinese, Malays and Indians coexist well together. The place is very clean, caning is the common punishment for offenses, and there is no religious strife.
Lee Kwan Yew is the "Mentor Minister", at 83 he is watching his son rule.
Everybody has to pay 20% of his income to the Common Provident Fund. Employers also pay 20% of their profit in that fund. Anybody can use the fund for education, health or housing purposes.
Tomorrow, the much cooler climate of Northern California awaits me.
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