All of this is to show why Singapore can be a much more surprising and interesting place than many people imagine. Singapore sometimes feels like a very comfortable, well-run society with a blanket over it. Rather, I think that a country has greater need of discipline than democracy. One of the more frequent reasons given for visiting Singapore is the shopping. Travellers interested in the richness of the world's multifarious societies are immediately deterred by a society that puts shops at the top of its boast list.
Undeterred shoppers can consider visiting Changi airport rather than Singapore itself.
Fly Sydney to Changi and back, without leaving Changi. The airport has more than 100 shops and two hotels which offer free tours of Singapore proper, for those who feel they must. Singapore attracts more than 7 million tourists a year, more than double its population, and there are good reasons, other than the shopping, for visiting. First, one can see and taste a good deal of the place in three or four days, before moving on to another Asian country requiring more time. Tourist authorities push Singapore, with good reason, as the travel hub of Asia.