Singapore

fragments

All photos of Singapore taken by me over the past 7 years

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“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

Marcel Proust

When friends come to visit us in Singapore, a rare but very beautiful thing, it turns us into tourists in our own town. I have lived in Singapore for 7 years, but my husband has been here for 9. Since I commuted so often for his first two years here, I feel like I have also been here for 9 years. I know, most people stay in the same city forever, and 9 years is nothing in one place. But I have been an expat since I was 4 years old, and wanderlust runs in my gypsy blood. I get bored very quickly. Until moving to Singapore, the longest place I had been, other than Montreal, was 5 years in Brunei. (That is a whole other story.) When I first moved here, it was all contrasts, intrigue and fascination. Now, the Singapore shine has gone, the eagerness to explore has faded, and it all feels a tad ‘normal’ now. The novelty has worn off. I am no longer surprised. But a visitor’s fresh eyes help to refresh the way I see Singapore.

I have thousands of photos neatly organised into many folders. The other day, I clicked open a file full of Singapore photos, back when a day out with my camera was a fresh idea. Wow, I thought. Singapore is beautiful, varied and colourful.

So today, some fresh eyes. Let’s look at my backyard again.

A few fun facts:

• It’s a city-state with a tiny landmass: Singapore is one of the world’s few surviving city-states and is among the smallest countries, with a total land area of just over 680 square kilometres. Much of its land has been created through reclamation projects. The population is 6.11 million.

• The country has a unique mascot: The official mascot is the Merlion, a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. There are seven Merlion statues around the city.

• It’s a cultural melting pot: Singapore has a diverse population with four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil.

• It’s the world’s 3rd largest refined oil exporter: Despite having no oil reserves of its own, Singapore is the third-largest exporter of refined oil.

• Public toilets sparkle. In fact, there is a law against not flushing the public toilet after using it in Singapore, and you will be fined SGD 150 if caught.

• Military service is mandatory for all men in Singapore for two years after finishing high school. And every year, servicemen need to return to train till they are 40 years of age.

• One out of every six people in Singapore has assets worth USD1 million or more, higher than anyone else in the world.

• Singapore has the highest homeownership rate in the world at 92%! About 80% of the Singaporean population lives in government-subsidised homes.

• Singapore is one of the world’s greenest cities, with over 40% of its land covered in nature reserves, parks, and skyrise greenery.

• Singapore is the world’s most expensive place to own a car, but it has a brilliant, cheap, and efficient public transit system.

• There are some strange laws: Being visible while naked indoors is illegal. From the 1960s to the 1990s, the government deemed long hair to be negative and detrimental to the country. Led Zeppelin and the Bee Gees had to cancel their Singapore tours due to the ban! It also has some very good laws: There are steep fines and public shaming (wearing of hi vis vests) for littering.

• Singapore isn’t one island. It is actually made up of 64 islands.

• The world’s tallest waterfall is at the airport. (And Changi is hands down the best airport in the world. No debate.)

• Capital punishment is a legal and enforced penalty in Singapore. The country is one of four in the developed world to retain the death penalty, along with the United States, Japan and Taiwan.

Fun facts are all very cool, but what is it actually like to live here?

Put it this way: I am probably spoiled for life. I can’t imagine anywhere cleaner, more efficient or safer. Or hotter. Or so driven by money. Or so shiny. It is easy living here. Unless the most important thing in your life is art, theatre and culture. Not to say there is nothing to see or do here, there is. There is culture, but if you are hungry for London, New York or even Hong Kong’s version of culture, you will have to travel. I am being western-centric here; there is a lot on offer that I am less curious about. I own that.

A rather tongue-in-cheek fact, but also true: There are two national sports here: eating and shopping. Both are taken extremely seriously. It is also a very healthy place. Singaporeans move. There are plenty of places to walk, cycle or run. If you want to know more, check out episode 4 of Dan Buettner’s Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones on Netflix. You will get a good picture of all the good things about Singapore. It’s worth watching, even if it doesn’t show the full picture.

What I love best about Singapore is how green it is. The Botanic Gardens is my favourite place and I also love the architecture. When you have the money to pay for the best architects in the world, you get some pretty fabulous buildings, often featuring some amazing public art- Dali, Moore, Botero. The traditional Peranakan architecture is mostly preserved and used to house restaurants, bars and coffee shops.

I am, and always will be, a visitor in Singapore. Expats, who come from all over the world, always know we are here on borrowed time and judging by how many people come and go, it is a very transient population. We are guests.

This is a fragment of a poem by a Singaporean poet that I actually had the good fortune to meet and share a coffee with. I am also fortunate that I have taught three of his poems to IGCSE students. This one is a critique of Singapore’s rapid expansion at the expense of the sea and a traditional way of life. It both celebrates and resents progress.

The Planners (extract)

They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded,
filled with permutations of possibilities.
The buildings are in alignment with the roads
which meet at desired points
linked by bridges all hang
in the grace of mathematics.
They build and will not stop.
Even the sea draws back
and the skies surrender.

Boey Kim Cheng

Singapore is not only a world-class city of the future, but it is also a city of contrasts, old and new. I will let these photos tell the rest of the story.¹

Thank you for being here and helping me revisit Singapore, my temporary home, but my home all the same. If you liked this post, show the algorithmic lords some resistance and tap the heart. It helps people find Notes from the Middle. Sam x

1. All photos were either taken on 35mm film with a Nikon FM2 or with a Fujifilm XT3