no la, actually it's not that bad. it's just that i went there over the last weekend, and i've come back with a little sniffle in my nose that threatens to develop into a full-blown flu if i don't take extra care to get enough rest for the next couple of weeks.
The Wife and i were in Singapore to visit The Bro-in-Law, and we met The Parents-in-Law there too. The Bro-in-Law's a 3rd-year pharmacy student in NUS, and we stayed in the guest rooms of his residential college, King Eward the nth (can't remember how many-eth). i suspect that the powerful aircond and thick comforter in our room was a major culprit in my present sniffliness. i found it hard to sleep at night, because if i slept without the covers it was too cold; but if i slept under the covers, it was too hot. The Wife slept like a baby, though. =P
i enjoyed my trip to singapore pretty much. lots of walking, which was good exercise, and pretty good food. unfortunately everything was expensive, because of the conversion rate. and although it wasn't always easy, it was a good chance to bond with the In-Laws. hopefully if this cordiality continues, we will not end up considering one another Out-Laws. =)
one of the great things about this trip was that i managed to meet up with some old friends from sitiawan days who've been working and/or studying in singapore. after so many years, it was really wonderful to re-establish the bonds of friendship and catch up with the many events and developments that we'd been thru.
so, to contradict my post title; no, singapore doesn't make me sick. it does, however, leave me with a distinct impression of syntheticity (is this a real word, or did i just make it up?). everything there feels like it's man-made. seriously, even the trees there somehow manage to look more glossy and less natural than trees in malaysia!!! also, from conversation with my friends, i gather that it is terribly stressful to study in singapore and more stressful still to work there. as my father used to say, 'that place is like a pressure-cooker'*.
not a bad place for a short vacation. but as a place to live and settle down in? i'm not so sure. i rather suspect that malaysia, for all her shortcomings, doesn't do too badly in comparison.
*after obtaining brilliant STPM results, my dad won an Asean Scholarship to study medicine in NUS. this explains why his statement has credibility. and that was about 30 years ago; the stress and pressure are probably much more intense now than they were then.
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4 comments:
now y din u tell me that u were in Singapore...i'm here too u know...and oh yea..i've been reading ur blog secretly :p
it's king edward the 7th tho we normally just call it KE7
Regards
Cxtreme
hey kelvin... yeah i did think of contacting u, but thing is i was there with the in-laws... as written in blog post, already spent one evening re-union-ing with other old friends (not sure if u now them, they're mostly a year my junior, from wesley but studied in nan hwa). so, didn't want to spend too much time way from them la.
next time, mayb. =)
Wow..if your dada says it is bad then it is bad.....but I heard the city centre has no traffic jams..can you confirm it?...then again there is a total lack of freedom of speech..worse than malaysia even as there is only one issue Maalysians can't talk about but other things are fairgame...but in Singapore..anything antigovernment will cause you trouble.
got jam la i think... at least, i heard my friends talk about jams as if they happen at rush hour just as they would in any other city... but not as bad as kl i guess... since they really control the car market there.
another thing i think i remember my dad saying about singapore (or was it governments in general?) was "one day the government will tell you when you are allowed to pass urine and pass motion"... heheh
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