The Bicycle

The other day I was coming home from school and saw a guy put his bike against the wall and go into a store. As I continued to walk home I was processing what I just saw and I knew something was not quite right but could not put my finger on it. By the time I got upstairs I had it. He did not lock his bike!

Daniel asked me how Singapore was different or what is Singapore, can’t quite remember how he worded the question. He said he could not quite get a handle on it. As we went out every night to the downtown core ( Orchard Street) to the river, Clark Quay and Boat Quay, as well as the Esplanade and Little India we kept talking about this question..When I think about it, the bicycle incident is Singapore. Whenever I ask Singaporeans and visitors how they can put up with the right wing approach to life, i.e. the lack of freedoms, one newspaper with no dissident view tolerated, citizens waiting for the light to change for fear of getting a ticket, they say they willing give up certain freedoms in return for safety. No matter where you

go, they constantly tell me, you can walk in the middle of the night alone without fear of attack and everything seems to work from the traffic lights, to the roadways to the water taps. Singapore is also a very materialistic city, like Hong Kong, where the size of your handbag or the cut of your suit is valued above all, it seems.

In thinking about Daniel’s question some more though, I am not sure it is a fair question. What is Toronto? Is it Yonge Street

and Yorkville or the various multicultural areas such as Greektown or Little Italy or is it the composite of all things Toronto. You are essentially left with a “feeling” of Toronto which

I am sure would encompass multiculturalism and diversity above all, I would think.

Maybe it is the bicycle incident that says all there is to say about Singapore in a nutshell. As usual, even though I have been here I guess two months now, Daniel showed me around. All of the subways seem to end up in malls which I find impossible to navigate. Miraculously Daniel knew exactly where and when to turn, as well as find the stores he was looking for and the exits! Luckily, some things never change.

The Differences between Singapore and Thailand

I am presently sitting in the airport with a bunch of Singaporeans waiting to leave Thailand after their Bangkok sojourn. Listening to them talk makes my teeth grate. I hate the way they sound. They absolutely butcher English. For example, every night the janitor that cleans my office asks me if I want him to “off” the lights. “Isn’t it,” when said by a teacher at the end of a sentence,means do you understand no matter what tense the teacher happens to be talking? The Thais butcher English but at least they do not purport to speak English, whereas the Singaporeans pride themselves on their ability to speak English. Yuk!

Other than their terrible grammar, actually some of the words they use are quite interesting. For example, they use the word spectacles instead of glasses. I presume it is because they were a British colony and although the British have left many years ago, they are still using what used to be British English, like some Italians in Toronto speaking a dialect thatwas used in the 1950’s in Italy that is not used anywhere else in the world today.

How could a comparison be made about Singapore and Bangkok without mentioning food? In Singapore, I suppose, there are loads of fantastic expensive restaurants as well as what they call hawker stands where you can buy cheap food. Having said that, there is absolutely no comparison between street food in Bangkok and street food in Singapore. I forgot how delicious Bangkok food is. I love the” Som Tum” which you can get anywhere and is made for you as the woman grounds the papaya and adds the peanuts, chilies and sauce. I also love the fruit you can buy at any street corner or the guy who comes around on his bicycle with his cooking equipment and makes you a fantast banana pancake or mango and sticky rice. The food in Singapore pales in comparison. When I got back to Canada after living in Thailand for two years I know my good cholesterol was up and my bad cholesterol was down and I was generally in good shape. This is, I am sure, because of the food. I don’t think I will be so lucky when I get checked out in Toronto this su

As I watch passengers walk down the steps to the waiting area there is no doubt who is who. The Singaporeans are the drab ones. The Thais take so much care in how they dress and present themselves. It is hard not to stare. Taking the subway in Bangkok is like attending a fashion show in some upscale dress store on fifth avenue in New York. Getting on the subway or bus in Thailand is like attending a fashion show.

Needless to say, I am sure I will notice more differences when I get back to Singapore. I will have no fear of breaking my ankle in some hole in the sidewalk or in fact falling off the sidewalk as I did in Pattaya today because the pavement is so uneven. Thank God I do not drink! Thailand cities also have dirty garbage bags everywhere, rats running around the street, water run-off everywhere, which is a polite way of saying human waste and traffic that you could not believe unless you experienced it.

Singapore on the other hand will be perfect. I will be out of the airport in literally five minutes as I will just scan my finger print and walk through. I will wait in a polite line for a cab in designated spots, will not haveto negotiate with the driver who will put on his meter immediately and drive me where I want to go. There is a one pricing policy and I will pay the same as the Singaporean taking the next cab. I will be

whisked home on a virtually empty highway, the cost will be about $25 and there will be nothing but politeness. In Bangkok, the same distance would cost be $5, I would have to try to speak a little Thai with the driver to get him to leave me alone and give me the right price and then we would have a great conversation about Thaskin, the Reds versus the yellows and so on. They will apologize for trying to rip me off and there will be a lot of smiling after that.

Bangkok is filthy, the infrastructure is almost unworkable, the traffic is in constant snarl mode and it is difficult to breath. Singapore is clean ( immaculate actually), everything works and traffic flows. Ask me where I would rather be?

I know my good friend Michael used to read these blog entries religiously every Sunday night and have a comment in my inbox Monday morning. He may have been my only reader and I will certainly miss him. If there is anyone else reading this, drop me a line sometime and say hello.

Domestics in Singapore

I am doing more and more thinking about this. I went to the night safari last night ( Saturday) and the Botanic Gardens today ( Sunday) and you cannot help but notice the number of domestics who are living and working in Singapore. I am not exactly sure I would call it living though. Let me give you the scenario that I got from various domestics when they shared their picnics with me ( a little too spicy, but good nevertheless). They typically work 15 days in a row, can never go out after work because there is no "after" work and they get about two days off a month. On these days they rush to the Lucky Plaza or Botanic Gardens if they are Indonesian or Filipinos and Golden Mile Plaza if they are Thai. Here they have their picnics, right on the road or in the Botanic Gardens, talk, play cards, interact with their friends and then hurry back to their houses for 7 or 8 pm..their curfew.

They earn $350 dollars a month plus room and board and certain benefits but generally they pay their agency for the privilege of the agency finding them a job. Of the $350 they generally send most of it to their parents, children and so on. They are making such tremendous sacrifices that I find it almost difficult to believe. Like Jamaican domestic workers in Canada, they left their families behind and do what they have to do to make a living.

When they try to get a job or two on Sunday cleaning houses,if they get caught they get fined by the government or even thrown out of the country. Their most cherished possession is the type of pass they can get from the government to get to stay in this paradise.

Another thing that continues to baffle me is the difference between Malaysia, 45 minutes to the north or Indonesia 45 minutes to the east that are literally in poverty. You can see Singapore from their shores but although moments away they are literally light years from the wealth you find here, in terms of government practices, infrastructure and educational benefits. What is the key to Singapore's success? Strong leadership, good education, immigrant workers small geographic area...who knows, it is a tough one. One that I am going to do a lot of thinking about over the course of this year. Of course, if you speak to a Singaporean, they will tell you it is because of their own hard work, but surely it is not that easy. I am quite confident they work just as hard in the neighbouring countries.

By the way, I went to the Night Safari on Saturday and because they are celebrating Halloween all month, it was a disaster for me. Ghouls and Goblins jumping out of trees to scare you but I did not have to spend $40 for that. Daniel, if you are here on a week-end we will give this a pass.

The Botanic Gardens were more my style where I could leisurely speak with people, take time to smell the flowers and walk in peace without fearing someone jumping out at me in some crazy costume.

By the way, when I left the subway I went left instead of right and discovered a great swimming pool. It will cost me 60 cents a time but I cannot wait to go. Instead of taking about 10 strokes to reach the end of my pool in the condo, I can actually swim in an Olympic size pool..hurray!

Singapore from the River

After finally learning the MRT and buses I decided to try to take a river cruise on the Singapore River to see another view of the "same old, same old" and I am glad I did.Now I have an idea of what Singapore looks like from the "other side". Singapore Inc. is certainly alive and well as you can see in the pictures of the business district which rivals any city I would think. Actually, it reminds me a lot of Toronto. Where it is different is some of the spectacular buildings like the Esplanade and the Marina Sands hotel which I keep showing you in pictures which is quite distinct really ( especially the casino with it's $25 minimum!)

I guess what is really distinct about Singapore is the melange of people. One thing I found quite interesting today was an Indian shopkeeper in Chinatown of all places. I can't remember whether I told you before, but in the public housing, there is a quota on every floor of Indians, Eurasians, Chinese and Tamils. It makes for an interesting social experiment I would think. Most people in Singapore live in these public housing flats but today they buy them so it is not like what we think of public housing in North America. In fact, the market is super hot to buy the 99 year leases and the government is trying to cool the market.

In every flat, which might house thousands of people, there is veritable marketplace on the ground level. Today, for example, I had my choice of about three barbers to take a haircut, 5 or 6 clinics, bikeshops, every kind of good and service. I settled on a barbershop in the flats across the street. You are never far from food in Asia as there are dozens if not hundreds of little restaurants in these ground floors.

After getting out of the boat at the Esplanade, quite a different story than the ground floor of the public housing units, I had a brownie for $10 and saw quite an interesting children's performance. I then finished off the day in Chinatown which is still kind of fun, even though the mid-Autumn festival and the lights are no longer burning. It is still a hub of excitement. In the next couple of weeks I am looking forward to the Hindu festival of Deepavali which should be fun.

Every week-end I keep meaning to visit the bird sanctuary. Maybe next week-end???