Singapore is the most boring, sterile place I've ever been. I'd take Tokyo, Taipei, or Hong Kong over it in a heartbeat. The entire country reminds me of a mall. William Gibson's 1993 Wired article "Disneyland with the Death Penalty" (https://www.wired.com/1993/04/gibson-2/) is still as relevant as ever.

I saw a fascinating talk that convincingly argued that the Chinese Communist Party has taken its game plan over the last 30 years from Singapore, a de facto one party state led by the People's Action Party. It's interesting to note that this party was founded on socialist principles but is now firmly capitalist.