My friend dj while chatting with me questioned me 'Whats the best part about Singapore' and I was 'Well, hmm its very disciplined'. His pat reply was 'Dont be boring, think what else is did you like?'
And so this blog has emerged, its the small things that make life convenient in Singapore, well here it goes:
1. Well...discipline, the people are, the traffic is-it makes life a lot simpler. You wont really see fights (no I dont enjoy watching them), no rowdy behaviour, no one dares to comment at a woman.
2. MRT: Thats their trains, its clean, efficient, fast.I dont have to jump on, push anyone to get in, and while alighting the passengers wait by the side so that one can get off comfortably.
For those who know Singapore there are 3 main lines or routes, but one has to keep switching lines to reach certain destinations-the government realised this and have started making a 4th line called 'Circle line' which connects all the unconnected places. I like the fact that the government sees a certain problem and works towards solving it and making the citizens lives genuinely easier.
3. Clarke Quay! Its where I stayed in Singapore during the latter half of my stay, its an inland water body surrounded by restaurants and pubs. My favorite being 'Crazy Elephant'-a place where they have a live rock/blues band, and keeps airing hilarious jokes on their screens like "Viagra is coming up with a tablet for females-Whats it called? :: Niagara." Well the blue seas, blues (the music) and beer-its quite a charming place.
4. 7-11: Its the 24 hour convenient store, which keeps everything and a few basic medicines. I dont know why its called 7-11 though, cause its opened 24 hrs-365 days? Theres one at every corner, makes life much easier-wish they would spring up a few in Bbay as well.
5. Plastic bags : As it rains nearly every second day in Singapore, most of the malls and the business centres-keep a stack of water proof plastic bags (its free), so one can dump their purses, bags, files, laptops etc. It serves a dual purpose-those that wish to get out into the rain can do so, and it also prevents the floors from getting dirty by dripping water from bags, files etc.
6. The Rubbish Chute : I know this may sound odd, but every house has a rubbish chute where one throws their garbage, the garbage vans simply put a tube into the main outlet and suck all the garbage into an enclosed van. This ensures that the garbage is never out in the open keeping germs, bacteria and insects at bay.
7. Ministry of Sound: When I visited Sentosa Island, an entertainment park kinds I saw the musical fountains, which was largely a cartoon and light effects projected on a water screen. I found the cartoon too kiddish (i know it wasnt meant for me in the first place) but one of my first thoughts were I wish a disc would have lights on a water projection-the effect would be mindblowing. When I entered Ministry of Sound, the largest room had exactly that. It wasnt half as appealing as I had imagined, but still barring the execution-the idea is brilliant. Trance and psychedelic lights dancing all around you in the water.
And so this blog has emerged, its the small things that make life convenient in Singapore, well here it goes:
1. Well...discipline, the people are, the traffic is-it makes life a lot simpler. You wont really see fights (no I dont enjoy watching them), no rowdy behaviour, no one dares to comment at a woman.
2. MRT: Thats their trains, its clean, efficient, fast.I dont have to jump on, push anyone to get in, and while alighting the passengers wait by the side so that one can get off comfortably.
For those who know Singapore there are 3 main lines or routes, but one has to keep switching lines to reach certain destinations-the government realised this and have started making a 4th line called 'Circle line' which connects all the unconnected places. I like the fact that the government sees a certain problem and works towards solving it and making the citizens lives genuinely easier.
3. Clarke Quay! Its where I stayed in Singapore during the latter half of my stay, its an inland water body surrounded by restaurants and pubs. My favorite being 'Crazy Elephant'-a place where they have a live rock/blues band, and keeps airing hilarious jokes on their screens like "Viagra is coming up with a tablet for females-Whats it called? :: Niagara." Well the blue seas, blues (the music) and beer-its quite a charming place.
4. 7-11: Its the 24 hour convenient store, which keeps everything and a few basic medicines. I dont know why its called 7-11 though, cause its opened 24 hrs-365 days? Theres one at every corner, makes life much easier-wish they would spring up a few in Bbay as well.
5. Plastic bags : As it rains nearly every second day in Singapore, most of the malls and the business centres-keep a stack of water proof plastic bags (its free), so one can dump their purses, bags, files, laptops etc. It serves a dual purpose-those that wish to get out into the rain can do so, and it also prevents the floors from getting dirty by dripping water from bags, files etc.
6. The Rubbish Chute : I know this may sound odd, but every house has a rubbish chute where one throws their garbage, the garbage vans simply put a tube into the main outlet and suck all the garbage into an enclosed van. This ensures that the garbage is never out in the open keeping germs, bacteria and insects at bay.
7. Ministry of Sound: When I visited Sentosa Island, an entertainment park kinds I saw the musical fountains, which was largely a cartoon and light effects projected on a water screen. I found the cartoon too kiddish (i know it wasnt meant for me in the first place) but one of my first thoughts were I wish a disc would have lights on a water projection-the effect would be mindblowing. When I entered Ministry of Sound, the largest room had exactly that. It wasnt half as appealing as I had imagined, but still barring the execution-the idea is brilliant. Trance and psychedelic lights dancing all around you in the water.
8. The interesting people, from different cultures you get to meet (I especially interacted with many Germans) but this is esp to people I went out with, had converstaions with: Andy-Bloomberg journalist, Hans-my german bus partner who turrned out to be VP of Allianz, Petra-my german-chinese colleague who made work a nicer place.
9. Millenia towers: Thats my office-she looks real majestic in the morning-standing tall against the sky and all the clouds-under her wing, under her command.
Millenia, May I never see you again
----------------------------
Notes:
Homeward Bound is a movie about a dog who is lost and how he finally manages to find his way home-with a lot of lessons down the un-travelled path. Well I feel a lot like Sassy
And yet, I am now humming the tune of Country Roads-by Denver:
All my memories gathered round her, Miners lady, stranger to blue water
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine
Teardrops in my eye
I hear her voice
In the mornin hour she calls me
The radio reminds me of my home far away
And drivin down the road I get a feelin
That I should have been home yesterday
Country Roads, Take me home,
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads.
5 comments:
So finally we get to hear a lot of good things about singapore...!!
and ya a lot of it were things that u hadnt mentioned to me beofre.. :)
Yayyyy!!! Looks like there is no place like India anywhere in the world. Welcome back!!
i sure got goose pimples as i silently hummed 'Country Roads' in my mind :-)
Actually havent heard it for a long time
Ciao n God Blesss
Well written Purnima....
And I thought Dubai's waste management was efficient... Now I know why is S'pore considered so much ahead of Dubai.... :-)
Looking forward to future reads...
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