Singapore vs. Chennai

Singapore:

• Small island at the tip of the Malaysian peninsula
• Busiest port on Earth.
• Second biggest oil refiner.
• Financial hub for southeast Asia.
• Chinese, Malay, and Indian populations---3.3 million residents.
• 263 square miles---1/2 of which is marsh or forest preserve
• A wholly created place---was largely abandoned island before the Brit Raffles established a trading post in the 1800's.
• Independent since 1959.
• More plant species on the island than North America.
• Modern.
• Clean.
• Orderly.
• Green.
  

Chennai:

• Sprawling city on the east coast of India.
• Over 7 million residents.
• India is a huge oil consumer.
• Chennai is rapidly becoming one of India's booming tech hubs.
• Sits on the site of two villages that have been around for centuries.
• Madras (as it was known by the Brits) was an administrative center for the colonizers.
• Independent in the 1950's.
• Sprawling.
• Dirty.
• Congested.
• Disorderly.
• No traffic signals.
• Some parks, but largely devoid of trees...

Hmmm... That said, there's a vibrance to Chennai (once you get past the dirt and din) that is strangely missing from charming Singapore... I'll have to go back to both at some point.

Guess which city the photo above was taken in... Here's a hint---note the blood on the windshield below the miror...