Spectacular Singapore

Malaysia has the most school holidays in comparison to most countries in the world. Now, this may not be ideal if you are attending school here and eager to learn, but for the young, English teaching, adventure seeking, world travelers, this is a dream. This past weekend I traveled to my 15^th country, Singapore, and what an adventure it was.

Immediately upon arrival, we could feel the differences between Malaysia and Singapore. For those of you who don’t know, Singapore was essentially kicked out of Malaysian territory in 1965, and struggled to make it successfully on its own. But in the last decade, it has expanded and modernized into the most beautiful and efficient city-state. Just 50 years ago, the GDP of Singapore was around $320 USD. Today, it is a whopping $60,000 USD. And it shows. I have honestly never been in a city that made so much sense. There were touch screen rating systems all over the airport, not just for the bathrooms, but for the service, and for the gardens. The Subway cards are made of paper, but are reusable and you simply set them on top of the scanner to reload them with credit. In addition, when we arrived at the subway station at night, lost and confused, someone was working there, showing you hands-on exactly how to get to where you’re going, with a smile on her face. The escalators move faster. Everyone looks happy.

Now, all of these incredible, efficient and beautiful things did not come with ease. The people of Singapore do follow strict laws and regulations, which take away many personal freedoms, to ensure that they stay a safe, clean and attractable place to the outside international partners they work with. I give them a lot of props. There is no chewing gum, no eating or drinking at all on the subway, no smoking in public places, it’s a law that you must flush the toilet, no j-walking, absolutely no littering, no drinking at all after 3AM, no selling of alcohol after 10:30 pm in convenient stores, people wait in line for taxis, rather than flagging them down the list goes on. People just follow the rules. And although yes, some of these things sound absurd to us, to see people follow the rules without question, and to take care of their country in a way that is almost expected, it really made me think we’re missing out on something.

Everything made sense. Everything ran smoothly. Everything was beautiful. In 3 days we saw Sri Mariamman temple (Hindu), the Buddha’s Tooth Relic temple which had a rooftop garden (Buddhist), the hawker stalls with incredible and cheap food, the Botanic Gardens and Orchid Gardens, Gardens by the Bay (the light show changed my life), the bridge across the water by the marina with a view of the whole city, Marina Bay at night, the old colorful alleyways, the street art, the mall district on Orchard Road (specially to see the incredible Kinokuniya Book Store), and even participated in a scavenger hunt around the city to locate our friends who surprised us in Singapore! For three days, we discussed how important it is that we move here someday to raise a family. It is that kind of place.

 My absolute favorite part of the trip, other than seeing my friends who I have missed since Orientation, would be the light show under the Gardens by the Bay Super trees. You can see these bright, colorful lit-up trees from far away, but on our final night, we finally went to see them up close. Upon research after leaving, it turns out that these trees actually have many unique orchids and plants on them, and are powered with solar energy. It wasn’t just for show, these trees and presentation have a purpose. Every night they have a light show, and we got there early to have a good view. We laid down on the pavement under the gigantic trees, and let it all sink in. It sounds silly to say that a light show had such a big impact on me, but I swear I have never felt that way. It was a mix of amazement, goose bumps, purpose, and realization. It started off with classical music, accompanied with beautiful lights to match the mood. Everything else was quiet. It then transitioned into Disney songs, taking us on a path through our childhood history. But then, it went into this scene that had children saying things they want to do when they are older. Expressing their dream jobs and aspirations. Followed by The Script and Will.i.am’s “Hall of Fame”. At this point, we were screaming. It was one of those moments that you didn’t want to end. There were so many good vibes while laying underneath the light show. The transition from tranquility and amazement, to our childhood minds and passions, to what children are dreaming about today, to where we are now in this moment, fulfilling those dreams. We are in the prime of our life. We can do anything. Go anywhere. Meet important people or connections at any given moment. But we all started out as dreamers, and we are still dreaming. Singapore is the kind of place that makes you want to dream bigger to do better. Singapore is a place that I need to come back to. Someday soon.