Singapore

2020

Oh man. I think it’s been a whole year. Longer, actually!

It’s kind of funny because on the main page, I can see a post titled “2019, Finally!”

Posted in… February 2019. Yep.

And scrolling through the sheer number of images on my phone to choose the featured image made me realise just how much has happened since then.

First things first. 2020 has been… Hoo boy! Quite the year so far, hasn’t it?

I mean damn, when news of Covid-19 (the coronavirus) first started coming out of China, people made jokes about pandemics of the past… but we’re in March now, and no one’s laughing.

Fortunately, we seem to have a grip on it here in Singapore.

Brief panic-buying aside, even with the Malaysian lockdown (scheduled to end in a few days), there haven’t been any shortages or even unusually long queues.

Yea OK, he’s wearing a mask a precaution but that’s about it, really

Psst, any Australians need a toilet roll hook-up?

We’re expecting a rise in cases though, and I haven’t been to the malls since the new social distancing measures were announced a day or two ago.

On the bright side, I have to say that working from home really agrees with me. Until I’m doing proposals at 3am… but yeah, that’s… that’s not really a major difference from what I’m used to so… yeah.

Maybe in times like these, it’s best to remember the good things that have happened, and try to stay as positive as possible, though it can be as hard as scaling a mountain with business shoes at night (which I kind of did in Hong Kong). Would not recommend it.

From Victoria Peak, and I’ll write more about my trip to HK in a separate post soon… eh, probably never.

So yeah, a lot has happened. From my mother-in-law finally making the move to Incheon (and just before the outbreak!) to a close friend getting married, to my first-ever trip to Hong Kong, to my return visits to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. It’s been quite the year!

Infamous Bangkok traffic (just, um, ignore the opposite road)

There’s so much more to write about… but it’s 1am and I’m exhausted.

So I’ll leave you guys with a few pretty pictures taken recently here in Singapore.

Multi-colour sunset at Gardens by the Bay

The Flower Dome at… Gardens by the Bay. I took a lot of pictures on that day, OK? It was a great day, dammit!

Oh, and I’ve only just learned how the new “Gallery upload” function works in the updated WordPress format. So… yeah. Eh, I’ll post more pictures later.

March 28, 2020 0

West Coast Park on the First Day of Chinese New Year

To get warmed up, I figured I’d write a little bit about our trip earlier today.

For those who don’t know, here in Singapore the Chinese New Year and the day after are official holidays. Unlike the other holidays mostly celebrated by minorities but we ah… we don’t really talk about that here.

Anyway, two days off! WooHoo!

Hadn’t had much time to spend with the Littlest Dictator, and Jenia recommended West Coast Park. Perfect!

It’ll probably be empty, I thought. I foolishly thought. How very wrong I was…

Lengthy queues for… MCDONALD’S. DEAR GOD…

And yes, it’s basically the only place here where you can get food… unless you’re in the mood to go fishing for your lunch.

Jenia said that the last time she saw queues like this here, she’d waited an hour.

I quickly glanced at the McCafe section and the queue was short! Managed to place an order fairly quickly.

Unfortunately, we had to settle for their… sandwiches. Look, they’re not horrible by any means… but if I had to choose between their burgers and these, I’d go for the damn burgers. Yep, that’s where they’re at.

They’ll do in a pinch or during the apocalypse, is what I’m saying

The Himalayan Tea Latte was pretty good though, as always.

We then moved onto the park!

OK fine, fine… it wasn’t like it was overflowing with people. Just many more than I expected. And more than what I prefer… which is close to zero.

The weather wasn’t too bad, and it kind of hovered between sunny and just about to rain, with the dark clouds over the water seemingly too shy to cross over. The wind wasn’t shy though, which made it quite nice.

The Littlest Dictator was so excited to play, and she’s at the age where she’s eager to make friends (and burp directly in my face, but that’s a different story).

As we all know, it can be hard to immediately join a group, or even hang out with someone you’ve never met before, you know? Especially for little kids still learning social skills.

So I… sucked it up, and made friends with a few other kids and we played for a while until it was time to go.

Oh and fortunately this time round, none of the other kids called me “daddy”, which happens occasionally. And it’s never been not creepy.

They were great actually, and even cheered her on at one point, which made her really happy and proud. Always a huge bonus.

Also, WHY DO I ALWAYS END UP BEING THE ONLY ADULT WHO PLAYS WITH THE KIDS.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I mind all that much, and I do like entertaining kids.

And watching The Littlest Dictator having fun, socialising and being part of the group is totally worth it no matter how tired I get. Every time.

But yeah, it’s EVERY. TIME. I get the feeling I’m on the receiving end of a long-running prank I’m unaware of.

Ah, you know what though? If it means she gets to have fun each time and feel great about herself, then bring it on.

Yeah, a pretty good day.

February 5, 2019 0

West Coast Park

After another long week, we finally got our one day away from the Littlest Dictator.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love my daughter. But any parents who claim not to want a break from their baby are either lying or have already gone off the deep end. Kids will do that to you. They’re like those Velociraptors in Jurassic Park, and you’ve always got to be on your toes or you’re well and truly screwed. It gets exhausting.

Anyway where was I? Oh yeah, the day off. So we headed over to West Coast Park.

I had a rough idea of where it was, but didn’t know exactly how to get there. And I wasn’t going to use Google Maps because dammit, I used to cycle past it on the way to work four or five years ago and I don’t need a damn phone to tell me how to get there.

I totally needed my phone.

We reached there eventually after walking about maybe 30 mins from the Clementi Bus Interchange.

We had a sandwich at a Subway-like place, at an newly-refurbished old, three or four-storey building in an equally old neighbourhood.

The many “licensed moneylenders” and pawnshops made it a little bit depressing. Clementi is what property agencies call a “mature estate”, which means it’s been around for longer than most, and is relatively well-developed.

The old housing estates and low buildings with shops on the ground floor and apartments on the floor above have got a kind of charm. Brings back nostalgic memories for me. And some not-so-pleasant ones.

I grew up in a tiny two-bedroom apartment, and as the years went by, slowly realised that we were on the lower portion of the income scale. Not dirt poor by any means. But yeah, quite lacking in certain areas.

By the way, as we walked through the neighbourhoods to get to the park, it only occured to me to take pictures once we’d arrived. So ah, you’re just gonna have to use your imagination for now. Put all those Sesame Street hours to good use!

After walking for a while and wondering if we were lost, and ng refusing to check my phone because I’m a man goddammit, we finally arrived!

Beautiful place. So green and windy and bright. Last time I was there, all I could remember was some tiny boats tied near the shore and nothing much else. Hadn’t been there in more than 15 years.

I was quite pleasant surprised.

Looks like it’s windy often because there were quite a few people there flying kites. Maybe one day I’ll show the Littlest Dictator how to fly one.

Usually a trip to a park in Singapore is accompanied by massive amounts of swearing and feeling like a perpetually melting chocolate bar. But this time it was pretty good. Weather was just perfect.

And even on a Saturday, there weren’t many people.

Yea I wouldn’t mind heading back there at all.

September 24, 2017 0

Singapore, the Beautiful Little Birdcage

I used to have fantasies of owning a big house in Singapore (or two) (or three) (or maybe a bushel of ’em). We’d travel all over, but if anybody asked where were based, I’d probably have answered Singapore.

These days however, I’m drawing almost a blank. Well, almost. I mean come on, my imagination’s pretty damn strong.

This article kind of pushed me over the edge and convinced me that we’ve got to migrate at some point.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-aims-for-fully-cashless-transport-system-by-2020-lta-9114728

Add this to the recent proliferation of cameras all over the island, the plans to implement ERP 2 ( a system that tracks the real-time location of every single vehicle in Singapore on public roads), the recent additional laws that further restrict free speech (and this is Singapore we’re talking about here), the continued existence of the ISA (we have the dubious distinction of having held the longest political prisoner in modern history), the government’s stated overall goal of turning Singapore into a “Smart City”.

But this article and the accompanying announcement, insulting our intelligence and further marginalizing the poor. This was the final straw. Soon, Singapore too might become an almost 100% cashless society like Sweden.

Hey, do you remember the recent financial crisis? Here’s a novel idea. Why not put those same exact goddamn institutions that caused the crisis in full control of our cash?

I could write a lot more about this. But with mass surveillance, which will result in an even more docile, unimaginative population, it’s made me realize that it’s time to move on.

Being a minority here (one of the officially-designated “Others”), I’ve never really felt like Singapore was home. But it was a decent enough place to stay in.

With a daughter to raise now though, it’s troubling to imagine the kind of mindset she’d have growing up. For a two year-old, she’s got a lot of fire and energy. Very rebellious too. I don’t want this fiery spirit of hers to get dampened or worse, extinguished.

Speak up. Rebel. Don’t accept what they say. Don’t obey.

So yea, we’ll need to find another place. Being a brown Arab-looking Muslim though, the list of places is pretty damn short. But it’ll be worth it. I hope.

August 16, 2017 0

Visit to the Esplanade and a Few Other Places

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, months? And now on the last day of Ramadhan, I finally have a bit of time to write about some the stuff we’ve been up to.

By the way, I’m writing this while watching the Littlest Dictator feed herself.

A few weeks ago, we visited PIP’s Playbox, located on the fourth floor of The Esplanade.

It’s sort of like a little library and play space for little kids.

Yeah, it wasn’t too bad!

I did get a little annoyed by parents who allow their kids to snatch away toys from the Littlest Dictator while she’s playing with them.

I have a new policy now: if the kid snatches away a toy, I snatch it back immediately. Gently but firmly. Waiting for some parents to do the right thing is like waiting for snow to fall in the Sahara Desert. Or the nee season of Attack on Titan. Just… just trust me on this.

BUT! It was hard to stay annoyed when you’ve got one hell of a view:

Then we went for a walk outside along the river.

Hmm, let’s see where else we’ve been to. Oh yeah. LOL Playland at JCube, an indoor playground near Jurong East MRT. Can’t recall if we went before or after The Esplanade though.

Oh yeah! I went to KL for my very first business trip. First time I ever flew there, and first ever day trip. Usually it’s a major thing for me. Takes about six hours by rail, and four by car or bus.

Yeah, not too bad. an experience! The budget airline terminal looked pretty damn good.

Then we took a goddamn 45-min cab ride to a place that looked like it had been carved out of a forested area not too long ago. A pretty cool place with a hipster-ish vibe, with apartments on the upper floors of the shopping centre, and brand new houses on the other side of a narrow road.

It reminded me of a nice waterfall in the middle of a forbidding jungle.

Despite how nice it looked and… ordinary it felt, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were so far away from the city centre, let alone the airport. Wouldn’t mind going back for a short vacation though.

Let’s see… where else? Where else? Oh right. We paid Big Box a visit. It’s a humongous shopping mall/warehouse next to Jem Shopping Centre, also near Jurong East MRT.

We’d gone there previously and it was pretty underwhelming. While it may be huge, the products sold there appeared to me to be of a cheaper, poorer quality compared to what you’d find in other shopping malls.

But I’d heard of a huge indoor playground there and thought we’d check it out.

It was pretty big, that’s for sure. Might bring the Littlest Dictator here when we get th chance.

Then we checked out their humongous supermarket.

Seriously, this place was huge. It felt exhausting just trying to look at all they had to offer. The design seems a little off though. The aisles were a little too wide, and there were white spaces nearly everywhere you turned, from the ceiling to the walls to the floor. Too many white spaces. The place felt vast but strangely sparse.

It wasn’t that bad though. Might return to check out some of the stuff they have on offer there.

By the way, this is now two days after I started writing. And now I’m attempting to finish this while watching Slap on Titan, an Attack o Titan parody. Armin is one hell of a creepy dude.

June 25, 2017 0

A Glimpse at my Route Back from the Gym

My workout objectives changed a while ago, and now instead of just focusing on strength without being too concerned if I looked like a huge walking sack of organically-grown potatoes, I’ve begun to put more emphasis on functionality and flexibility and to a lesser extent, aesthetics.

I still look like a sack of potatoes, but at least now I’m a sack that has better stamina!

It’s about a 45-min walk back from the gym, so I use that as my cardio after lifting.

The gym itself is in a relatively isolated area of Singapore, with a few seedy KTVs that come alive at night.

I’d deleted the picture of the KTVs, so um, here’s a picture of a Japanese workout band or something

During the day time, it can be quite pleasant.

Unless it’s a hot day. In which case I turn into a sack of fries.

While it may be cooler after midnight, the route looks quite different then…

Like a scene from every B-grade horror movie.

It’s been about a month now, so hopefully soon I’ll be able to kick it up a notch and begin running again.

April 10, 2017 1

Brief Trip to the McDonald’s near Jurong Point

Saturday’s back, and I’ve only just remembered to post our brief recent trip to the Jurong Point area, which is a now-sprawling shopping mall that used to be just one small building. Reminds me of how my waistline has expanded over the years 😂

I particularly like the McDonald’s across the road from it, in the park.

Anyway, after a short 15-min bus ride and we arrived at Jurong Point.

It’s actually much bigger but I ah, forgot to take more pictures.

Finally emerged on the other side.

It was a nice, short trip.

March 25, 2017 13

Return to Pasir Ris Beach and a Barbeque

Went to a birthday barbeque recently at Pasir Ris Beach.

We hadn’t been there since we moved away about three years ago, so it was really good to be back, even if it was just for a day.

A lot has changed.

The shopping mall outside Pasir Ris MRT Station. It’s still crap, just slightly prettier.

I even missed walking to the beach.

This river leads goes through the mangrove forest that borders the sea. The same old forest that used to be where the beach now stands (Singapore has no natural beaches). Makes me a little sad. And makes us not very smart in general, since mangrove forests actually protect us from tsunamis.

Anyway, back to nice pictures! Here’s the revamped Wild Wild Wet water park which is now HUGE.

Finally arrived at the now-overpriced barbecue pits and chalet rooms (kind of like motels), which now cost a whopping $300 goddamn dollars a night for a small room.

Stayed for a bit and decided to head to the beach while there was still light out. We stayed ’til sunset.

Just um, view the pics in reverse order.

Yea it was pretty good to be back.

March 12, 2017 0

My Grandmother Has Passed Away

She left in her sleep a few days ago, and it still feels a little unreal. I think the really sad part is the fact that I’m not really that sad.

Sort of like hearing about the passing of a friend’s loved one. You feel sorry for them, but the major emotional impact isn’t there.

She’d been living with my aunt for the past maybe 5-8 years, with her final days spent confined to her room, on her hospital bed, barely able to open her eyes for more than just a few moments. I last saw her only two days before, and she seemed to recognise me. It was my first visit in more than three months.

Some people say intentions matter. And over the years I kept trying to find ways to earn not just enough money for myself, but for my family as well including her. At her age she deserved a better place than that room. Each year would be better, I told myself. Then everything will be OK.

But the truth is, we abandoned her and my aunt and her family who cared for her. And now it’s too late.

We laid her to rest at Pusara Aman, one of the oldest Muslim cemeteries in Singapore, near the old mosque.

As we performed the funeral rites, I wondered about when she was born. Were her parents happy? Did her mother play with her when she was two years old, the way my wife and I play with my daughter now?

Did she cry when her mother gave her up to a Malay family? I never knew the real reason. Maybe it was because of the Japanese occupation; for her protection. The Chinese were being specifically targeted during that time.

What were her hopes and dreams? Did she ever get on a plane? It was a pipe dream for people like her back then. I’ll never find out now. Not from her, anyway.

Once, she gave me a hundred dollars. This was a fortune to her. At the time her health was already in steady decline and her financial status was in a worse position. The government had recently given cash or cash vouchers to Singaporeans for a reason I can’t recall now. And she chose to give me part of that money.

Years later when she’d become bedridden, she chose to give two dollars I think to my daughter in a packet, for Eid Fitri. Again, another fortune. According to my aunt, she insisted on the cash being hers.

It was a beautiful day when we lowered her into the ground.

It feels unreal. Like she left on a plane for a very long trip.

March 8, 2017 0

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