There’s the “bus”! It had better legroom and more space than a plane, and the seats were just as good. The food and coffee were pretty awful, but at least you get to stop and walk around every couple of hours. The border crossing was very smooth and straightforward. I’ve booked to return with them on Saturday.
I’m really enjoying Singapore. The Meredith’s have welcomed me with open arms, and I’ve had great fun travelling around on the MRT subways and buses. You’ll have to forgive me for being a boring old geography teacher here, but to me Singapore isn’t about shopping, it’s about multiculturalism and infrastructure!
Today I walked through Chinatown and Little India. They are fascinating, colourful places, but in a way what struck me was just how cosmopolitan and multicultural Auckland has become. Many of the things I saw are duplicated at home, just on a smaller scale.
Chinatown shop - same, same, but a lot more
I also wandered along the Singapore River and saw historic sight such as Raffles’ orginal landing place (not the hotel, I haven’t got there yet! or Orchard Rd!). The contrast between old and new is a very important part of Singapore’s landscape.
Old and New Singapore
This afternoon I ended up at the Tao Payoh centre, one of Singapore’s main urban developments and the home of the Housing Development Board “Hub”. This is where apartments in the state-owned apartment blocks are bought and sold, with bit of Singaporean – style social engineering thrown in. To prevent the development of ethnic ghettoes the HDB has a quota for each ethnic group in each aparment block. What’s interesting is the very community – oriented lfestyle that has developed as people shop, play, eat and to a certain extent work together in and around their apartment complex. Tao Payoh has a mall and other shops, recreational and community facilities and a huge bus interchange.
Later on Allan showed me around the Australian International School where the whole family goes to work and learn each day. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the photo I really wanted – the two fully-armed Gurkhas on security patrol outside the school! Apparently the government is concerned about terrorist attacks against ex-pats. Probably just encouraging the ordinary security guards to be a little more active would be as effective.
Singapore is a "fine" place to live
There certainly are a few rules! Funnily enough the traffic here seems a bit more dangerous than Cambodia. I got talking today to a very English-sounding Indian man who’s lived here for 9 years and says he felt quite safe driving in the UK or USA, but not here.
Tomorrow it’s more public transport and more wonderful infrastructure. I’m booked in for a tour of the water recycling plant! Should be fun! I might go for a mountain – bike ride in the water catchment area if I feel up to it.
