Postcard from Philippines

Philippines

From Singapore to Philippines, about a 3-hour trip.
Looking with a fresh pair of eyes, from a Singaporean perspective,
I cannot help, but draw a comparison.

I observed that the streets were bare of trees.
And not a single bus coach in the streets.
The private tuk tuk buses were open-air, with passengers cramped
tightly next to each other, and covering their noses with their handerchief.
The air was bad.

I look at the building along the streets.
Like an old man, the walls were aged and dull with dirts from the air pollution.
Hardly a newly-painted building in sight, except for the tall concrete
shopping centres in the heart of town.

In every building I enter, I had to go through a security guide who
would do a body and bag check. Just about every building and shop
has a security personnel.

One of the things to be found in Philippines, that you don't get in
Singapore is openness. Magazines that are banned in Singapore, such as
Playboy and Penthouse, can be bought at the corner shops. What a novel
gifts for virgin eyes!

There was an open letter to the President in their newspaper complaining
about a particular politician. Journalists could openly criticise the
political candidates. I don't think I can read that sort of things in Singapore.

The local food that I sampled so far, were not to my taste. The taste are too
extreme for my blanded tonger. They are either too dry or too sweet or too fatty.
I could not find a single vegetarian food stall in town.

I had the chance to eat the longest hot dog ever - a 12-inch long hot dog for less than
SIN$5. However the best meal was Kenny Roger's Chicken. The chicken was hot, tender, and juicy.

My friend says that the people are friendly.
Unfortunately, in my short stay, I encountered the worst kind of people,
people who try to fleece you and suck you dry especially
when they see that you are made of money.

When I went to their toilet, two attendants were standing next to the sink, and asking for money.
When I gave them a few coins, just about the price I would have pay at a public-paid toilet, they asked for more.
I emptied my wallet of all my coins, and gave them - in disgust.

The experience at the Philippines Airport make me realise what it means for Changi Airport to be a world-class airport.
At the Malaysian counters, it was closed at about lunch time, and the queue was long.
Another Malaysian just cut into my queue from behind. How rude.
In contrast, at the Singapore Airline counters, there was practically no queue.

The queue to the immigration counter was long and took about 20 minutes to clear.
In Singapore, it would take less than a minute.
The aircon was obviously weak. I could see fans around.

From the immigration counter to the gate, a distance of 150-200 metres, there was no trolleys provided.
So everyone has to handcarry their luggage.

It was good to return home - clean, safe, where everything works.
Philippines is like the dirty, wild wild West, where it is a happening place, vibrant, exciting, and a sinner's paradise. There's no boundary, markers. Freedom of speech, seeing the forbidden, it is like fresh air of freedom for the confined Singapore.

Home in Singapore, is a disciplined, highly rule-based, sanitised, no fooling-around place.
Great place for those who have enough of the unpredictable, the danger and the risk.
Great place for those who wants a steady predictable lifestyle, a conformist and an obedient citizen. Great place for those who prefers to be boring than to be risk-taking.

This is Singapore for you!