What Makes Singapore

A straight, good-looking male friend of mine (who came to Singapore as a student exchange) said today 'The only reason I go to a gay bar is because everyone here is so cold and robotic that a gay bar is the only place I could find a little bit of warmth, passion and emotion.'

Man, to know that one had to go to the extent of going to a gay bar just to get a squeeze of emotion from this cold heartless country. Makes me think did all those bitches in Singapore made the male population in Singapore gay? And how do we retort to that. 'We have been conditioned to be like that by our dear Mr Lee.'

It is undeniable that Singapore is a country that has people without a lot of heart and emotion. Every nuggets of emotion has been replaced with practicality to make a living, esp when the people here stress on having a good life. I find females here tougher than males, even stronger and more outspoken, competitive and independent. The reason being they came out of university much earlier than the male and thus started working and earning a lot more moeny before the male who just got out of National Service 2 years later could catch up. Some of the males even lost their concentration to study and end up not continuing their degree and just started working or bumming around right after their national duty. By not having a degree, I feel that males will lose out a lot more as no career nowadays accept anyone without a degree. Of course they can start their own business but with success rates of 1 out of 10 businesses, they either make it really big or not at all. I am not suprised why marriages between 2 Singaporeans usually end up in divorce, sorry to say that.

When I chat with my Singapore girlfriend, I could actually tell her everything but there are no emotions involved, lack of compassion, almost factual. I like it that way cos I am like that too. Tell your problems, get it out of the way and move on with your life! Don't let these emotional bullshit block you from what is more important and productive. work needs to be done, the clock ticks and bread still needs to be on the table. Maybe that is why I feel I fit into Singapore. But when you do get to know a good Singaporean friend, they will be really thoughtful and nice, meaning they know how to be a good person and friend which is what I can't find in a Malaysian sometimes. Malaysians tend to have a lot of heart but unable to do the right thing sometimes.

So, what exactly is Singapore? A country with its own drink called the Singapore Sling (btw, Singapoore even introduced their own shawl called the Singapore Shawl which to me looks like batik), a country that has a myriad of people from all over the world congregating in one small island creating a multicultural kids of sorts and a country that you can find people queuing for food even though it takes more than 20 minutes to get your food during the rush hour. I love Singapore for its variety of food which some are pretty tasty. But what a lot of people agree makes Singapore unique is how the city and nature co-exist so closely together. Due to its lack of space, city planning is extremely careful to include greenery in every urban development creating a modern city co-existing with nature. It is not suprising to find parks and trees in between marble floors and cement bridges in between forest and jungles. Going into Singapore from the Changi airport is indeed beautiful due to the pine trees lining both side of the streets when one travels along the road out of the airport. It just welcomes everyone into the country and sets the ambience of the country. If you have watched 'The Leap Years', you should agree that the director did a good job highlighting the most amazing and scenic parts of Singapore seen from places you don't think of going. I loved the scene where the 2 forlorn lovebirds sat on the rooftop watching the stars with the backdrop of OCBC Bank and the lights at Boat Quay. Also beautiful is how the bride ran across the bridge with the Esplanade in the background in the middle of pouring rain. I really think that movie personified Singapore at its best.

This is what Singapore is about to me. Not the coldness, not the drinks or food, not the people but the great planning of the place to make it safe and comfortable for everyone to live in. Most important of all, how beautiful such a small island can be with such scarce land.

A Day in A Chemical Ship

Being in a country that is covered by water, it is inevitable that I would be surrounded with things that float on water. I progressed from just looking at yatchs and ships with its beautiful interiors and equipments to sitting on one to head to an island in the vicinity of Singapore called Sarringit island and now I have gotten the opportunity to climb onto a cargo/chemical ship in the docks of Tuas and even chat with the captain of the ship. Feeling like an ant going into the city with tall skyscrapers, I was enthralled by the monstrosity of it all.

In order to get into the ship, I has to climb what felt like 5 flights of stairs up and another 5 down as there was no direct staircase up to the ship. What happened was I had to go underground through the platforms that connects land to the ship thus why the stairs go up and down. I felt like I was a character in movies like Alien in which Sigourney Weaver runs through dark alleys up and down fleet of stairs in a very undrrground tormented place. There are no signboards telling me where to go and it is illogical to use logical thinking to navigate myself through the never ending staircases. Sights of sunlight peeking through the holes after climbing so many stairs (see picture!) gave me a sense of relief knowing that I am finally near the entrance of the ship. entering the ship was a pleasnt experience as it felt like familiar grounds with bedrooms, a dining room and offices in the captain's cabin. I was also brought to the top of the ship where I get to see the navigational compass, periscopes, GPS equipments, mapping devices and satellite communications tools. It was amazing to see how the devices caught a distress signal from something nearby giving the coordinates (latitudes and longitudes) where the signal came from.

Chatting with the people on the ship gave me a sense of their livelihood, how they had to wor continuously on a ship for 4 months and get back on land to rest for another 4 months. For those who think that wow! That is a long time to take leave, just think u could not see your family or lead a normal life for 4 whole mths, thus making the time of 4 mthsof being normal actually pretty short. Some choose to work longer than the 4 mths on ship resulting in them turning slightly crazy for not being able to be 'normal'.

I got down the ship as the sun bid farewell to the world, illuminating a silhoutte of pink lights onto the ships. The night skyline looked amazing from the top of the ships as now the views of the lights from the ship against the dark navy blue skies is far closer than ever before. I was breathless so much so I wanted to take more photos but it is not allowed on the ship.

Nevertheless, I was glad I got down and dirty going into the ship. If there is a life I can swap for a week, whose life would it be? Now I have the answer. Maybe next, I would swap a weekend with an astronaut or oil digger. ;)