Just returned from Singapore and a well chosen destination for my very first trip outside India and I am still to get over the feeling of sheer awe at what a small group of focused people achieve in just about half a century. There are so many things that will hit you, hard on the face, when you land in Singapore and I am no exception. I actually look forward to going back and enjoying some of the things that I miss here at home. Just to capture my feeling of awe, I am listing down some of the things that left me thinking if not spell bound.
The MRT
The MRT or the Mass Rapid Transport system or in other words, the subway system for intra-city travel of Singapore is awesome. It's mechanical and I am sure I would get bored of it soon, but the five days I spent there, it was like a joy ride. You can reach anywhere in less than half the time you would have ever imagined possible, all in the comfort of air conditioned cars that are as clean as your living room, among patient, calm and well behaved (albeit shy) set of co-travelers. The instructions on how to go around the MRT is everywhere and I never had the necessity to ask for directions even once. There were only two times I had to ask for help. The first time I ran out of small change and the ticket dispenser didn't accept large notes and the second time when the MRT station was closing at 11:45 PM when no more trains were available and I was quite a distance from my hotel (though we managed with a cab just as well, at that time we were pretty scared like lost kittens in the woods).
Roads and Traffic
What can I say. This is the first thing that you will note when you get there. The city is clean starting from the roads. Not spick and span as a glass floor in a 7-star hotel or anything (and that's way too much to expect), but clean enough to make you feel good. There are dried leaves and cigarette butts around, but no mud and minimal dust. Loads of greenery and enough shaded footpath to halt anytime and imbibe the view. Our guide told us that the Singaporean government spends almost 3 million Singaporean dollars to water these plants and trees and grass across the city. The traffic is very ordered too. You can step onto the road anytime and rest assured that the traffic will stop to accommodate you sudden behavior. I am aware that this is not quite due to the nature of the people but more so because of the heavy penalty associated with hitting a pedestrian. But it slows the city down to a manageable and comfortable speed. You will hear the rare honk somewhere in the distance and thats all the noise that you would feel disturbing after a few days.
Paucity of land
Yes, Singapore is a small country and they have limited land. They recycle the buildings and reuse the land for a variety of purposes as time progresses. For example, there are some pretty short buildings (about 6 to 7 floors) that were built in the 70's and then some of them (and eventually all of them) have been recycled and now taller (upto 20 floors and beyond) buildings stand at the same place. And the best part is, despite having to do all this juggelery, they have managed to space space for environmental places like a zoo, a night safari, a bird park (with the tallest man-made waterfall and the largest walk in aviary in the world)
The community
78% Chinese, 14% Malay, 7% Indians and 1% rest of the world make this city very multi-colored and multi-cultural. Lots of tolerance as far as I could see. The government has also enforced that each housing complex should contain a fair mix of the community. By the way, private housing in Singapore is very sparse and very expensive. Only 15% of the houses in Singapore are private, the rest 85% are provided by the government. I am sure the people don't quite approve of this, but who knows, maybe they like it this way too. I am sure this reduces a lot of headache associated with life.
Rest later... With snaps... Cheers...
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