Singapore

Date: 30/4/10 - 4/5/10

A lot of people have told me that Singapore is a boring place to stay. How boring, I ask? It's a small country, they told me. There's not much to see and do.

A senior enjoying a game of croquet in a park.

They're probably right, if we're talking about living there for a long period of time. But then again, Singapore is a hub of excitement, with many concerts by international artistes and various world-class exhibitions held throughout the year. If I were living there, I would have my schedule fully-packed month after month.

Singapore is not boring. You just have to know the right places to be.

As a matter of fact, the last time I've visited the country was years ago, when I was still in primary school, if I am not mistaken. The only things I can remember from that trip was sitting on a tram, peering my eyes into darkness in Night Safari Park; visiting Sentosa Island; and having pigeon soup. I was young, I had no idea what the country was like. It was only after more than ten years that I visited the country once more, to fully comprehend the conflicting enigma that is Singapore.

Singapore. The country that is so small, you can't even see it on a world map, lies beyond a small river from us. Oh right, it's technically a strait. But the size would have fooled me. Travelling from the Malaysian Customs, across a short bridge, and reaching the Singapore customs was faster than I anticipated, and we (I was travelling with a friend of mine) were lucky we missed the peak period, which is essentially when people travel between both countries after work (mostly Malaysian returning from Singapore). I hear the jam could take hours.

Travelling by Aeroline. Ticket price may varied. Ours was RM 150 for a round trip.

I think I'll start off with Singapore food, because that was what greeted us first after we reached the country. Fellow Malaysians have also told me, Singapore food tastes far inferior to Malaysian food. I think they're being a bit judgmental, because to me, the tastiness of the food is proportional to the price. I've had hawker fare, ranging from $ 2.50 to $ 5.50, which truly tastes terrible if compared to our food here; I've also had middle-range food, which is food from franchised- or chained-stores, which definitely tastes better than the food served from the restaurants with the same name here; and I've had food from high-end restaurants, which tastes absolutely delicious. From what I've discovered, the ingredients are fresher, especially seafood. However, I still don't understand why hawker food tastes that boring. You'd think they would taste better since they're using better ingredients. My only guess is that they make dull sauces.

Singapore definitely has a well-thought out transport route. I love how the whole city is connected whether by MRT or bus, and every attraction is easily accessible. The fare is paid via an EZY-link card, which is basically like our Touch-n-go card or Hong Kong's Octopus Card. A new system is set to fully run by July, where the fare is determined by the distance travelled. We thought it was a wonderful system, until a Singaporean lady happened to rant about the ways the company had cheated them by overcharging each trip without people's notice.

The same can't be said about Singapore drivers. Sure, they don't have to deal with traffic jams like we do here, but the high price of buying and maintaining a car, and a general lack of parking space is the main reason why people who drive a car in Singapore is most likely rich people, as is the same with Hongkies.

People drive nice cars here. Oh look, lots of greenery.

Urban development in Singapore, on the other hand, is wonderful. The government has allocated adequate land for community buildings and parks, and while the country is small, there are still a lot of green parts around. I like to tell people that every picture I take of the country, there would be at least a tree in it. I'm guessing Singapore is a wonderful place to be for architects, with all the weird and wonderful-looking buildings sprouting up especially in the city centre. I was fortunate enough to have a friend that is like a little brother to me leading me around parts of the city, while explaining the history and stories of the buildings. He led me through Clarke Quay, which was a historic site and now a famous tourist spot, and right through the CBD of Singapore, with its modern skyscrapers dotting the skyline, and then to Bugis Street, which is like Malaysia's Petaling Street, selling cheap, imitative bags and other clothing articles. Thanks Ke Yang!

The weird and wonderful Helix Bridge of Marina Bay.

The CBD of Singapore.

The Esplanade Theatres.

Clarke Quay.

The weird and wonderful statues along Clarke Quay.

The Gateway by world-renowned architect I.M.Pei.

It's actually an optical illusion.

An apartment with rooftop garden.

What I find interesting about Singapore is that they tend to install air-conditioning in almost every building. To think, Petaling Street is literally a street, with people breathing in poisonous fumes from cars that zoom past by mere centimetres. It was not until recently that our government thought to install rooftops and reroute the traffic in the area for the convenience of tourists. Bugis Street, however, is more like a huge building, with air-conditioning blasting off on full-power, and the only traffic is made up of people. To me, it felt more like a low-range shopping complex.

I must mention their hawker food centre. It's nothing like what we have here, namely shops with stalls. It's more like a food court, with air-conditioning. And with bland food. But if your wallet feels light, it's an option. At least they serve clean food.

Talking about urban development, I find Orchard Road an interesting concept. It's basically a long stretch of road with more than ten (and the number is still growing) shopping complexes on both sides. I may be missing something here, but I found myself thinking, what is the fricking reason to have a dozen identical shopping malls placed next to each other? Orchard Road is the place to shop for high-range merchandises, but I cannot fathom the reason for having several Louis Vuitton (or any other brand-name) stores separated with only a few hundred metres apart. Anyone?

Underpasses can be found almost anywhere.

I'm neither rich nor a shopaholic, so the walk along the road was a bit boring. Granted, there were a few stores that piqued my interest very much, and I wish they would consider opening a store here in Malaysia soon. When can we see a Muji store here soon, pretty please?

I also visited the National Library of Singapore. My architect-to-be friend mentioned that the trend now is towards green buildings, and the library building is one such fascinating example. It has automated blinds, greenery outside of the building, and a few other energy-saving features, and which is why it was conferred the platinum Green Mark Award in 2005. The building itself is impressive, with many floors of books available for reading. The lower ground floor alone would have taken me years to finish reading all the magazines, newspapers and comic books (this is the part where I squeal with delight). I find myself ranting to my friend, this is how a national library should be! Easily accessible, with more books than you could ever wish for in a lifetime that you can borrow and read. The National Library of Malaysia is located in an obscure part of KL, where some folks don't even know the exact location. It's actually situated right beside the National Art Gallery and Istana Budaya, the national theatre. But then again, if the urban development ministry folks arranged for them to be located outside of bus routes, I can't imagine how that would promote healthy reading habits and love of culture for our citizens.


Let me digress for a while. Let's say the average worker's salary is $ 2000 a month. The average food costs $ 10. The average clothing is priced at $ 20. Children's book sells for $ 30. For a Malaysian, the average salary is RM 2000 a month. The average food costs RM 20. The average clothing is priced at RM 40. Children's book sells for RM 60. And my favorite comparison would be a MacBook Pro. A Singaporean need only a month and a half's pay to get one, whereas a Malaysian needs to earn three months's worth of pay to buy the same laptop. It's crazy how Malaysians have to pay a higher cost of living.

But then again, a lady we met during our bus ride home was pretty disgruntled by her government. Singaporeans are required to pay a very high income tax rate, and the lady also complaint about high school fees, $300-$400 a month (not sure what kind of school she was referring to though). She also said something about children not safe at night and needs to be home by 9pm, which me and my friend couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as the general safety of Malaysia is so much worse. We couldn't even feel safe during the day, in our house.

People will never be contend. We would always want to have better things.

Let's talk about lighter things. I had a lot of fun in Singapore Zoo. It's so nice that the zoo is almost covered in greenery. Not only is it a great shade from the sun, it helped too during our visit because it rained. The leaves created a canopy so we didn't need to hold our umbrella the whole time. My friend commented that the animals are bigger in Perth Zoo, but for me it was a terrific zoo, mostly because of the abundant of greenery and that they kept the animals in an open area as opposed to a cage. Of course, a moat is a moat and an island is an island, but it's far better than being cooped up in metal bars.


What's not to love about Singapore? It's vibrant, it's modern, and it's exciting. People who have lived there for years may disagree with me, but I wouldn't mind visiting it again soon.