A Melting Pot.

Singapore is the second country I visited. I went there with my sister to watch Machi's concert (a Taiwanese hip-hop group) back in 2005. We didn't plan to go there, but after my sister got a call from her friend that Machi is going to have a concert there, and in the middle of shrieks, giggles, and incoherent exchange of ideas, we arrived in a spur-of-the-moment decision to travel and watch the concert. So after securing our tickets at Tiger Airways, we travelled to Clark and flew to Singapore. My sister's friend was gracious enough to let us sleep and shower in her place for three days, and that significantly helped us stick to our measly budget (the call came in three days before the concert and we didn't have time to save up), even letting us have some extra cash to buy a simple souvenir; a cap from an F4 endorsed clothing brand for my sister, and a CD bearing the group's signature for me.

Because of our tight 3-day schedule (which includes stalking and waiting outside hotels for a glimpse of Machi), we didn't see much of Singapore. But there are a few places we were able to visit like the famous Orchard Road, Botanic Gardens, Clark Quay (which is right beside Singapore River), and Sentosa Island. Except for Sentosa, all of the places we visited are all easily accessible by MRT, and if I remember correctly, we had to take a bus from one of the stations to get there.

With my short visit, I have come to admire the Singaporean's discipline and their drive to be better. It's a melting-pot of different cultures, ethnicities, traditions, and beliefs, but they all managed to thrive in peace and live in harmony. I also admire their former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's zeal for strict laws and order (isn't this the country that banned chewing gum?), and for making Singapore a First World country, ranking 7th (or 5th?) richest country (GDP per capita) in the world. It's a far-cry from being that under-developed, former British colony, and sometime-part of Malaysia we once read in history books. If only our leaders would share half of the zeal LKY had for Singapore, we're probably in a much a better place than now.. but then, that's probably wishing too much.

This may not be entirely related to what I've written above, but I'd like to share an article written by Lee Wei Ling, daughter of Lee Kuan Yew. I thought it's timely and appropriate for the times.