Water means money,
and the water is right here, the river is right here,
and it flows that way,
meaning, it's attracting you money.
And if you're on this side, you're losing money.
Who wants that?
[music]
Hello again from Singapore.
Today, I'm going to show you more about this city-state in Southeast Asia
that is one of the coolest places I've ever been.
Obviously not in terms of weather
What's amazing about Singapore is that it's a country
that had everything to go wrong,
but it succeeded in an unimaginable way.
So, to give you an idea, they only got independent in 1965,
that was basically because they were kicked out of Malaysia.
This is an island with very little natural resources,
not even enough water.
No one believed they could survive on their own.
Well, look at it now.
This is the Central Business District
and it is very close to the Singapore River
which is where the city's economy basically started
exactly 200 years ago.
Their main goal is to become the financial center for Asia
and they are achieving that by being a very tax-friendly country
and also investing on financial services and education.
This is also one of the cleanest countries in the world.
Some of the fines for littering may reach S$20,000
depending on what you do.
Also, you could be fined for crossing the road
when and where you shouldn't.
And even for chewing gums.
Here whenever they say what's not allowed, they also indicate the fine.
Here, for example, "No parking! Fine S$300."
For foreigners, it may seem too much,
but the Singaporeans I met actually approve these rules,
as they make society more organized.
If you're from Singapore, let me know what you think.
From the Central Business District, you just keep walking
just a few minutes, and you're here at the Marina.
Really nice view.
This is the ArtScience Museum.
Actually, the first in the world.
It looks like a lotus flower.
The flower is very significant in several religions.
The gardens I featured in the previous video
are just across the bay behind that hotel.
Right here, several symbols of Singapore, you can view from one place.
[music]
This is the famous Merlion,
the body of a fish and head of a lion,
symbol of Singapore.
Singaporean: Mer represent for the fishes
because Singapore used to be a fishing town.
Renata: Oh, okay. Singaporean: And the lion is actually a lion.
Renata: The lion. Man: The half body is a fish body.
Half is a lion body.
Renata: Right, yeah. Singaporean: That is Merlion.
Oh, another rule here.
"No fishing. Fine up to S$3,000."
Remember, I mentioned in the other video
that the edge of the city was the Fullerton hotel?
So, this is the hotel right here.
It was a fort, right? To protect the city...
So, all that over there is new,
built on reclaimed land.
Here is that thing, "If you don't have, build it."
Foundation stone of the monument of the early founders of Singapore.
[music]
Oh, wow.
It's full of artwork here around the river
and they all represent life near the river.
That one is so fun.
Singapore's history officially started when the British first got here in 1819.
Before that, there was obviously a history, too,
but nothing was documented, nothing was in writing.
Life here consisted a commercial tradings in this area next to the river
and this is what these statues represent.
There are statues like this all over along the river.
[music]
Here you can see that they value a lot,
just being out, you know, lots of open-air cafés
and restaurants everywhere.
All this here, riverfront... cafés and restaurants.
So amazing.
By crossing the bridge here, we left the Central Business District,
which is over there,
and here we're now in the Civic District.
There's a main difference between these two districts historically.
All the businesses established themselves over there.
And there's a reason, it's because they believe in Feng Shui
Water means money and the water is right here,
the river is right here and it flows that way,
meaning, it's attracting you money.
If you're over there, it means you're getting a lot of money,
a lot of prosperity for your business.
And if you're on this side, you're losing money.
Who wants that?
With the British colonization came lots of similarities with the UK.
For example, cars drive on the left.
For the plugs, they use those three big pins.
But most importantly, they speak English.
English is one of the official languages here.
The others are Malay, Tamil, and Mandarin.
We're doing a free walking tour here today
to learn more about the history of Singapore.
Our guide is already all the way over there.
Let me try to catch up.
[music]
Here in Singapore, they also have a Formula One circuit
that happens on the streets just like in Monaco.
And I think it goes through here. Do you see the curbs?
Guide: The first city to run the entire race at night,
and this place is lighted up even at midnight.
And this is where the Ferraris, the Mercedes,
the Red Bulls will be racing down
on a third weekend of September every single year.
We're now in the National Gallery.
It's a beautiful building that contains the world's largest public collection
of Singaporean and Southeast Asian art.
What's interesting about this building here is that it joins two national monuments:
former Supreme Court over there
and the City Hall right here.
Holy... It's scary.
Oh, look at all these books here.
This is all illusion. Wow!
I survived.
-You're not going? -No, it's alright.
-Why not? -Because I film you.
-You're afraid. No, you're afraid. -I film you. I film you.
All this that I showed was just in the public area,
we didn't even go inside the gallery.
Our guide brought us here actually to show....
Ta-nan-ta-nan.
This. Look at this view.
[music]
So amazing, and totally free to come here.
Here there's even a rooftop bar right here.
It's closed right now, it'll open later,
and it might be a great place to come here
and experience the light show.
[music]
So, I'll take the chance.
I'm in this beautiful place to talk a little bit more about Singapore.
The currency here is the Singaporean dollar.
Every time I say dollar that's what I mean, okay?
The Singaporean dollar is worth about .70, .75 cents of the US dollar.
Things here are not as cheap as compared to the rest of Southeast Asia
and depending on where you're going
it can be pretty expensive.
There are some good options as well if you're on a budget.
Singapore is multicultural by nature.
There are lots of ethnicities here and everybody living in peace.
It's really beautiful.
And this is what I will show in the next few videos.
Now, our guide just told us that there's a major festival
going on today in Little India.
It's the Thaipusam.
So, we're going over there to check it out,
but we'll save that for the next video.
But first, don't go just yet,
we had to cross to the other side of the river
and enjoy this area here with all of these restaurants.
We're gonna get something to eat.
-Is there still time for the set lunch? -2:30 p.m.
Waiter: Yeah, it's open Renata: Oh, it's 2:20 something.
Almost there.
Can we still get the set lunch?
Waiter: Yes, of course. Renata: Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
Which one of these three is not spicy?
-This one. -So, that's my choice.
Thank you very much.
-What is yours again? -Gordon: The tikka masala
Naan... good.
Rice and chicken.
Indian food, just to get in the mood.
Mine is very good. What about yours?
-Uh-hmm. -Yeah.
Seasoning is great, you know?
Now, let's go.
Vending machines have more than pop and water here.
They even have coffee.
And also juices, green tea.
Really cool.
Lots of similarities with the UK.
For example, cars drive in the left,
here.... [honking]
Ooh...
Oh.
[honking continues]
Oh, my God.
[music]