I've only visited for a weekend and was utterly prepared to hate the crap out of Singapore. We're not up to a good start when your landing card spells out in bold and red DEATH TO DRUG TRAFFICKERS (a bit more eloquent, but that's the gist of it).

Reality, however, is not quite as black and white and - although I would never want to live there for an extended period - I left the country with rather mixed feelings.

Let me pull out one example that really, really impressed me.

Near the Marina Sands (the $5B casino complex, which actually cost S$8B according to Wikipedia) they built the Gardens by the Bay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardens_by_the_Bay) for something above S$ 1B.

Those gardens, which are beautiful and very impressive; an oasis of calm and serenity in a bustling metropolis are built on reclaimed land. In essence: some of the most expensive ground anywhere in the world.

Just imagine the mega mall, the super hotel, or another office complex that could have been built on that land. And they "waste" it for a damn garden.

I thought that they did that despite the intense commercial pressure is immensely cool and is a really nice example for what are some great aspects about this city.