Few signs of recession in Singapore

Singapore  in 1982 was an eye opener for me on my first overseas trip.

My brother was based here with the New Zealand army and showed me not just the tourist attractions but some of the local sights too.

In those days New Zealand was highly regulated with lots of tariffs and import controls so the tour also included some retail therapy.

Nearly 30 years later, shopping isn’t such an attraction, but there were a lot of sales, the only sign we noticed that the recession has hit this country. 

Apart from that, the thing which struck us was how clean the streets are. High fines, imprisonment and even the lash are very steep punishments for minor crimes but the streets not only looked pristine, they felt very safe.