Singapore, Barcelona and wallets in the front pocket

It was good to be back to Singapore . I lived there from 1992 to 1995. I love the city. I love the people. I love the food.
I did not see much of the city this time. I was in meetings from early in the morning to late in the evening, but at least, I was able to go to Newton Circus on Sunday night to eat one of my favorite dishes, sting ray with lots and lots of chili and one big Tiger beer (actually, two). On Friday night my Singaporean friends brought me to a new place, Fullerton One, to a seafood restaurant next to the relocated Merlion. We had delicious food, pepper crab, steamed fish, drunken prawns, baby kailan and a yam based dessert.
I really like Singapore as long as I do not read The Strait Times or watch the local TV news. I am sure that you can learn much more about Singapore from Orange Raindrops. By the way, I was told that now you can finally buy chewing gum in Singapore with a doctor's prescription (!?).

One of the characteristics of Singapore is how safe it is. You can walk around almost everywhere in the island without fear of being robbed or assaulted. I wish Barcelona were the same thing, but it is not. I still remember when I moved to USA in 1999 and called the VISA hotline. I noticed a familiar accent in the service staff that answered my call. He was Chinese and we switched the conversation to Mandarin. He asked me where I was from and I told him from Barcelona (I would never say from Spain). He was shocked. He said, "I am sorry for you". I argued, "why sorry, it's a great city!". "No", he said, "many of the calls I receive every day to report stolen Visa cards come from Barcelona. So many people get robbed there, it must be a terrible place".
It is obvious that it is more difficult to prevent crime in Barcelona than in a tightly controlled island as Singapore, but I am convinced that much more can be done by city officials and the Catalan government to dramatically reduce crime levels. If pickpockets are released, while victims are still filing the police report, we will not go anywhere. The Catalan government needs to address two of the main sources of crime, uncontrolled immigration and drug addiction and at the same time, provide the tools to police and judges to address the unacceptable level of crime on the streets of Barcelona. We get about ten million visitors every year. We want to make sure that they have an enjoyable experience, that they have fun, learn a bit about our culture, dine and party, participate in our traditions, shop and spend money. I feel bad when I realize that some of them just remember the four hours they spent at the police station trying to file a report and the 2 hours on the phone, canceling their credit cards.
However, before the Catalan government finally steps in, I still encourage you to visit our wonderful city, just make sure that you have the wallet in the front pocket and your camera always under control.