"THE LION CITY"

(my realizations during our travel in Singapore)

A few years ago, my family and I had the chance to visit Singapore for the Christmas Holidays. Treat samin ni ate. Ang dami naming napuntahan at naranasan, if you would asked me how would I describe it in simplest form, ang masasabi ko lang para syang isang malaking BGC. Ang tahimik ng lugar, ang konti ng tao sa kalsada kahit weekdays, may ilang spots lang talaga na matao. Kahit nga sa mga public transpo, pansin ko yung "busy" sa kanila, parang holiday lang sa Pinas. Reflecting on my experience, here are my observations.

🌆 SCENERY

Seryoso, di mo maitatanggi na mapapahanga ka talaga sa view dito. From buildings, mga sikat na spots like Marina Bay Sands, Garden by the Bay, hanggang Universal Studios – wow factor lahat! Kahit simpleng lakad-lakad lang, parang nasa ibang mundo ka. Nakaka-amaze lang din na nakaisip sila na palaguin yung economy nila, makapagtayo ng buildings na hindi na-ccompromise yung natural ecosystems. Andun pa rin yung mga greens, yung ganda ng nature nila.

🧼 CLEANLINESS

Alam na ng karamihan na super strict ang Singapore pagdating sa kalinisan. Bawal magkalat, bawal ang chewing gum, bawal din kumain o uminom sa MRT. At kung lumabag ka? Boom! multa na halos ₱200,000! Even yung public toilets nila, sobrang linis. Malakas ang flush, may paper towel at sabon, tapos may touch screen pa para magbigay ka ng feedback. Grabe, level up! Napaisip tuloy ako, kung sa Pinas kaya may ganyan. For sure naibenta na yan. Haha!

Sa mga kainan naman, may sariling area kung saan iiwan yung pinagkainan mo. At kung may makalimot, automatic papagsabihan ng cleaners. It happened to us, we somehow forgot to clear our tables and the janitor caught our attention loudly. Una akala mo galit sila but they just want to implement their policies. Walang lahi-lahi dito. And I think part na rin yun ng culture nila kaya mag-aadjust ka lagi. Sa Pinas? Nako magtapon lang ng crumbled receipt sa ATM di pa ma-shoot sa basurahan na nasa tabi mo lang? Tapos hihingi ka ng pagbabago??? Haha! Well... anyway...

📹 SECURITY

Pagbaba mo pa lang ng eroplano, kita mo na agad yung dami ng CCTV. Lahat ng kanto, may nakatutok sayo. Sabi ko nga sa pamangkin ko, “Parang nasa bahay tayo ni Kuya!”  At kung di ka pa convinced at just to put the emphasis on it, may mga sign pa na “CCTV cameras are on.” Wala ka talagang ligtas. Goodluck talaga kung makapag-angas ka pa.

🚇PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Ang MRT nila? Solid! Napaka-systematic at well-connected. Hindi ka mawawala at sure na makakarating ka sa pupuntahan mo nang hassle-free. Bonus pa, since maayos ang transport, kaunti lang ang kotse sa daan – meaning, halos walang traffic! Diba nga sabi ng mga experts, ang tunay na indication na maunland yung bansa ay kapag konti ang private vehicles sa daan? Kase people opt to use the public transpo kasi nga maayos, mabilis at comfortable. Maraming kadahilanan bakit hindi ito magawa sa atin. Some say, population.

Others, would tell na umpisa pa lang ng construction ng mga publoc vehicles, mali na agad or poor planning kaya nag ssuffer tayo ngayon. But whatever it is, I really do believe na it is not just a simple transportation problem eh. People in thr government should find out the root cause kasi for sure once they were able to solve it, domino effect na lahat at syempre.kasama na mag-iimprove dyan yung transpo and traffic issues natin.

👫 PEOPLE

Ito isa sa pinaka-natuwa ako: yung mga tao. Disiplinado, helpful, at approachable. One thing that I was also amaze by them is that kung marunong silang tumulong, marunong din silang humingi ng tulong. Yung iba naman, kahi hindi fluent sa English, they really try their best na maintindihan ka. Kahit ulit-ulitin nila, basta makapag-usap lang. I don't know kung special effort sila for us dahil ibang lahi kami or inherently mababait lang talaga sila and I'm leaning into the latter.

Respectful din sila – “excuse me” lagi bago dumaan, hindi yung bigla ka na lang babanggain. Another example of how respectful they are and I think something na talagang kina-cool nila ay yung kumain kami sa isa sa mga food court nila na kung saan, pwede ka lang mag-iwan ng tissue, bote ng tubig, o bag sa mesa para sabihin na reserved na yun. And walang worry na baka may magnakaw ng gamit nila o baka galawin yung gamit nila. That's really how they give way talaga sa iba.

🌏 DIVERSITY

Nagulat din ako na super diverse pala sa Singapore. Andaming foreigners – may puti, may black, iba’t ibang lahi ng Asians. Plus, ang dami ring Pinoy na nagtatrabaho dun at ang gagaling sa ginagawa nila. Nakaka-proud!

💸 PRICES

Ito lang yung ouch part. Since rich country ang Singapore, expected na mahal ang bilihin. Sa pagkain pa lang, halos ₱300 na yung meal (drinks not included pa yan!). But I guess, kung alam mo naman na maayos ay maunlad yung lugar kung asan ka and nakikita mo kung san napupunta yung taxes mo, It is definitely valid ang prices nila. Pero kung matyaga ka din maghanap, for sure may mga spot naman na mas mura. Kailangan lang talaga ng tamang diskarteng.

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Whenever someone travels to another country, di talaga maiiwasan yung pag kumpara mo sa kung saan ka. And syempre during that time, mapapa-sana all ka na lang sa lahat ng improvements, advances ng bansa na yun. But I would still like to think na kahit papano nag improve na rin naman tayo. Hindi kalaki ng difference but I think we as Pinoys somehow getting there. Of course, marami pang dapat maayos at ayusin but at the end of the day, we should ask the question: Are we going to be part or the solution or the problem?

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