On the topic of Singapore, many people I know have often expressed their marvel and envy. It’s the country everyone wants to see- the country of diversity, of development, of tourist attractions, of delicious foods etc. I cannot disagree. It is one of the more popular tourist destinations in Asia. Sentosa Island, a recreational island resort, attracts millions of tourists each year. Then there are places like Suntec City Mall, Orchard Road etc. - ideal places for shopping! The food in Singapore is as diverse as its culture, with a blend of exotic Asian and Western dishes.
However there is the other side of Singapore, the side that most tourists see, yet don’t see. As much as it may be a wonderful place to visit, it’s far from a great place to live in. For starters the weather is absolutely horrible. It’s humid throughout the year, its temperature usually over 30 degrees Celsius. The lack of trees and the huge number of modern-day buildings aggravate this problem.
Then there is the housing. This is something that couldn’t have escaped any tourist’s eye. Over the past many years, condominium after condominium has sprung up everywhere. Small, cramped one-floor apartments are the norm. There are hardly any terrace houses, and even fewer semi-Ds and bungalows. I’ve always felt that these apartments, with their numbers and how they are all over the place, cramped together, one after the other, make Singapore a sort of prison island. In fact it doesn’t end here. Now there’s a scarcity of land to build more of these apartments. So what do they do? They build them over graves. That’s right. Graveyards all over the nation are being destroyed and houses built over them. How would you like to live in one of those houses?
Apart from that, the thing that does often get on my nerves is how everything is so systematic. There is no room for delay, no room for mistake. The place is spotlessly clean, the monorail system is so efficient that it is the number one means of transportation for the islanders, the school system is almost perfectly organised and there’s so much more. These features may make Singapore seem like the ideal place to live in but it only adds to the general prison impression one gets when they’re in Singapore long enough. I’m not saying Singapore ought to be dirty and corrupt with the system totally disorganised. All I’m saying is that it is a little too perfect. It’s almost unreal. For example, chewing gums are banned from the island because the government feels that it would dirty the place.
I could go on about the disadvantages of Singapore. Fortunately or unfortunately my classes begin in 15 minutes and I have to be off. You can only imagine the punishment I would receive if I was late........