Singapore is the best testament to my theory that dictatorship (ideally of the benevolent kind) can often be the most effective form of government. Thirty years ago, this little dot of a country was nothing but a breakaway part of Malaysia, an ex-colony living on its fast receding former colonial glory and with no natural resources to speak of. Today, it's recognized by the OECD as a "developed" country, only one of two countries in all of Asia on which that title has been bestowed (the other being Japan). Ironically, in 1996 Singapore itself asked the OECD to reconsider its decision and eventually settled for the weighty and wieldy mouthful of being a "developing country relatively developed."

Metropolitan Singapore is a model city. I mean that quite literally – the place is SimCity come alive. Wandering around the place, it always strikes me as if the city fathers designed and developed their city using an early version of the program. It's almost too precise to have been built up by the irrationality of human beings, seemingly far more driven by the inexorably punctilious logic of bits and bytes embodied in software. It's an immaculate metropolis – a phrase which would have been an oxymoron anywhere else but Singapore. Tall skyscraper residence dwellings are neatly interspaced with gardens that have just the right number of trees; roads are uniformly wide and well maintained; the subway system is appropriately state-of-the-art and uniquely graffiti-free (Singapore is quite possibly the only place in the world where I haven't seen graffiti); and most famously, people walk when the walk sign is green, do not chew gum and never, ever litter.

For while SingCity may very well be SimCity, it is most definitely not SinCity. It is quite easily one of the safest big cities in the world. That may of course have something to do with the excessive legislation prevalent in the country, and definitely has something to do with the excessive punishment meted out in the event you are stupid enough to get caught doing something illegal. The following is the list of things that will get you put into jail, caned or severely fined in Singapore:
• Importing, manufacturing, or selling gum (chewing gum is legal, but spitting it out again is most definitely not)
• Oral sex
• Jaywalking
• Speaking out against the government

Also illegal is the bringing of durians onto subway trains. For those who don't know what they are, durians are vile, stinky fruit that are inexplicably beloved of Singaporeans. And the fact that they are illegal is most definitely a good thing.

Given all this, you would think this would be a lousy place to live. And yet, surprisingly, it's not – at least not compared to France. The people are extremely friendly, the food has flavor, the nightlife is surprisingly fun, and the weather is wonderfully warm. OK, so I'm being unfairly critical of French food, but the rest are definitely true.

But why am I talking so much about Singapore? For those who didn't know, the reality is that INSEAD is not one school, but two: the mother-school in Fontainebleau, and her prodigal offspring in Singapore. And for those privileged few who get to attend INSEAD, you can jet-set between the two over the course of the year, once again lending full weight to INSEAD's reputation as a truly global school. Two for the price of one – who said that business school isn't a good deal?

But first, let me address the questions that most people seem to want to know about. The Singapore campus, although newer and a little smaller, is very much blossoming and coming into its own. There is a proper campus with facilities that are more modern and better developed than those in Fonty (the amphitheatres are a little strangely shaped, but local telephone calls are free, which compensates I think). The professors are of the same caliber, if not actually the same (a fair number of professors actually switch campuses just like the students). If you have a partner (at INSEAD, wives/husbands/significant others are euphemistically referred to as partners), it's definitely the better place to go to for the simple reason that it's a city and hence your partner will have things to do whilst you strive to ensure that your 60,000 euro investment pays off. On the other hand (as a partner), being in a Forest with absolutely nothing to do can get very, very boring.

Due to the smaller class size (although this might change in the next few years) the atmosphere on the campus is more intimate and much more relaxed. The administration in Singapore is top-notch and that percolates down to the staff as well. A case in point: within two weeks of arriving there, the entire dining staff knew the names of all the newly arrived students; in Fontainebleau I'm still waiting to be served a decent sandwich. Maybe it's a cultural thing.

Almost all the students live in two huge apartment complexes that are a mere 10-minute walk from INSEAD. This being Singapore, these apartment complexes look better than most five-star hotels I have seen, with each one boasting its own swimming pool, gym, and all sorts of other amenities. BBQs by the poolside and Sunday swims are almost a ritual all year round.

But best of all, it's in Singapore. Which means that you have a vibrant city in your backyard and all of Southeast Asia as your playground. Whilst I was far too conscientious to indulge in such frivolities, one can take full advantage of the easy accessibility and the forgiving class schedules (it all depends on what elective courses one takes) to travel almost every weekend. And even if you're in town, there's everything and anything to do: from clubbing at Lola's or Velvet to watching a movie on Orchard Road to hanging out in the bars on Muhammad Sultan Road or CHIJMES. And without giving too much away, it's a welcome relief to be living in an environment in which the demand/supply discrepancies between males and females at INSEAD are compensated for by an external market (I hate making cheesy MBA jokes but I really couldn't resist that one).

To sum up: the people are friendly, living is cheap, as is traveling around, although drinking is not. For an out-and-out city kid, Singapore was a warm (and I stress the warm) and welcome change from Fontainebleau. For those who are looking to come to INSEAD in the future, I would highly recommend switching campuses during your stay here. The logistics of moving halfway around the world can be a pain, but the experience of studying in two very different locales, in two very different cultures, as part of one global school simply can't be beat.

Another reason why my experience was so overwhelmingly positive was because it was P3, which means that elective season had started and we were able to choose our classes. The contrast between being able to choose what you want to study, and being able to exercise that choice versus having that cursed Core being force-fed down your throat like so much bad (and in some instances deplorably useless) medicine cannot be overemphasized.

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