One positive thing (not to say that there aren’t lots of other characteristics I like about this place, such as cheap delicious food and really friendly people) I’ve noticed about Singapore: The buildings look nice, even decades-old government-built housing. I’ve been told that the government requires and/or subsidizes regular repainting of buildings to maintain the city’s clean, modern aura. And it works.
Walking up St. Martin’s Drive toward the Myanmar (aka Burma) Embassy in Singapore, I noted that the buildings here looked particularly sharp.  Based on its proximity to the flashy Orchard Road shopping area, this neighborhood must be expensive even by Singaporean standards. Below are a couple of St. Martin’s residential buildings.
…and then, next door to the red brick building, is this POS:
…a little taste of Myanmar, 300 meters from Orchard Road! I guess the Singaporean government can’t force the embassy to look nice since it is officially Myanmar territory. Here’s a look into the courtyard:
Nice BMW. I assume it belongs to the Ambassador. The inside of the building is no better. No A/C; cheap, broken plastic chairs (the kind that look like they’re from the Jetsons except forced into rows by ugly metal stands); paint peeling from the walls.
Do I sound bitter? Let’s just say I haven’t had a great experience with the visa application process. The first time, I arrived at 12:15, 15 minutes before office hours ended. There were perhaps 10 people in front of me. I thought that they might close the doors at 12:30 and process the ones who were already in line, but the doors remained open. Processing continued until 12:50 or so, when the visa guy suddenly told the lady at the window, who was 2 people in front of me, that she would have to come back. Sheesh. Completely wasted trip.
The second time, I got there at 11:00 and waited in line for over an hour.  Visa guy didn’t like one of the supporting documents I provided. Let’s just say there’s a good chance that I won’t be visiting Myanmar on this trip after all. A shame, it looks FREAKING AMAZING.
Here’s an article with some background about the country, the (un)democratic elections last fall, and China’s support of the military junta.
April 9, 2011 at 03:11
Beautiful! I love pretty apartment buildings.
April 9, 2011 at 10:37
Wow, so far, there’s a unanimous desire for more Singaporean buildings. I live to give. Will take more building photos these last couple days here.
April 8, 2011 at 19:40
Hey, brother, don’t give up hope on Myanmar! Another long-ish wait will be worth it…bring a book. Also: more pictures of buildings in Singapore, please.
April 9, 2011 at 10:35
Oh man, the Myanmar dream may need to wait till later. The authorities aren’t cooperating.