What Singapore has come to mean to me

A year and 10 months ago I was packing and was looking forward to what I thought would be a fresh lease of life to my career. And a new country to live in. Among other things….. Well the career headed south and is now skating along at the edge of the trough, as for the “other” things…they soon followed suit. The more things change more they remain the same.

But it took all this time to find something interesting about Singapore to write about! That’s because I finally made an effort to get around and look at my surroundings. Only since this week am I now am inclined to actually explore Sentosa…considering its literally in my backyard. A taxi driver gave me an education in Singapore history. Sentosa was known as Pulau Belakang Mati (malay for death behind) – it was used as a prison during the Japanese occupation. Before that the island was used by the Allied forces as a lookout for invaders. But hahahaha..the Japanese came in from the north instead of by sea. Then it got named “Sentosa”, yes after santosha. He also explained that the condo was the Keppel harbour and there were drilling ships etc. One of these rigs managed to bring down one of the cable cars. Luckily no one died in the accident but since children were involved in the accident, they started building the cable car higher and the big rigs weren’t allowed in the water. And of course the development of the area into a premium residential area happened. Amazing so much history is covered by all the glitz and commercialism of what the Sentosa Island has now come to be.

One of the main incentives to get off my arse and explore was the resurgence of my old sporty self. The entire boardwalk from behind the condo to Labrador park reserve is so scenic. Albeit crowded with chopsticks armed snackers along the way. It’s beautiful in the night though, past the mangroves. And then there’s Mount Faber Park and Telok Blangah hills and Kent ridge. Lovely quiet, wooded area, with great walking/ jogging trails. Plus I always lose my way there and have to find a new way home every time. Makes me feel intrepid! Of course that could be due to my own lousy sense of direction! And it is so easy to take safety for granted here in Singapore. Can’t beat that feeling. The tennis and swimming lessons gave a lot more than just a workout – learning something new or unlearning bad techniques is not to be easily scoffed at. Utilizing the brain for something I actually enjoy had more therapeutic advantages than the other stuff I had been trying.

After the frustration of the malls with same expensive shops and uninteresting branded things and lack of choice, glad to have discovered the small stalls at Golden mile complex at least for sports and camping equipment. Yes I’m aware none of these are great discoveries, but considering how disillusioned I was with Singapore last year, I’m enjoying this phase. I’m sure there are more such areas in the city. This was helped by meeting some normal down to earth people during my kayaking trip. More on that in the travelogue. That trip was one of the best things this year.

What cheers me up every morning is the breakfast show on Gold FM. The DJs are hilarious. Reminds me of the silly PJs and similar sense of humour which feels like home and brings a sense of comfort – like the sort you get with old friends, lightly ribbing each other and not the polite inane chatter you find most people doing these days. Like the sycophancy and fakeness on facebook. Arghhh!

Making new acquaintances on the bus journeys. Other members of the rare breed whose eyes are not glued to smartphones and gadgets.

And I’m so glad to rediscover my old friends – books!! I have not tried it but can't get over the distaste of ebooks. The National Library is a treasure trove. I finally became a member. See the typical lack of courteousness by the local visitors who chatter and are STILL glued to their miserable smartphones, loud noisy kids who need to be swatted - but they fail in their attempts to dampen my glee and I curb my urge to twirl and dance at the sight of so many books. I discovered a comic book by the writer of Asterix, never heard of it before – about the Vizier Iznogoud. Must search for some more in this series. And then Mark Twain’s “Story of Adam & Eve” are a couple of the gems I’ve found so far. Was recently loaned “84 Charing Cross” which carries all the charm of what “A love Story” was supposed to offer – but with little lines interspersed that only an avid reader can relate to. Like the stuff about a note scribbled in a second hand book adds to its value, since you get to speculate on who must have owned it earlier, etc. And how a second hand book falls open to a specific page in the book showing what the previous reader re-read a few times. Interesting observations! “ Born To Run” was a fabulous read – inspiring and transporting.

The kallang leisure club – and all the activities once can participate in. The couple of sessions I attended with the Writer’s group from meetup.com and the writing exercises reignited a creative process. I could feel the seedlings of creativity germinate again through the manure mush I thought my left brain had become! So much so that I still think I can learn to draw and paint…the blank sketchbook flummoxes me but does not intimidate me! Oh and the burning impulse of cooking and trying out new recipes is back. How I missed that!! Tried Giada’s Pea Pesto, organized my first Bbq, tried Nigella’s Peanut butter hummus (hmmm that needed more effort) – haven’t made any progress on making Asian food though.

The weather is something I can live with, I love seeing rains which have some “meat” to them – as in thunder and lightening – for some reason there is no smell of fresh earth like in India though. But no yucky slush to avoid after the rains is a blessing too!

All in all, an eventful rollercoaster of a year! I guess every year genuinely is.