SINGAPORE AS A COUNTRY (EXPERIENCES AND OBSERVATIONS DURING APRRC 2009)

Below is my list of amazing and interesting personal experiences and observations of Singapore as a country:

-GOOD URBAN PLANNING. It seems there is a specific place assigned for malls, residential and schools.
-CONDOMINIUM IS THE USUAL HOUSING. Considering the small land area, I think this is really practical for Singapore.
-THERE IS NO SINGLE FACE IDENTITY FOR SINGAOREANS. People are combination of Malays, Chinese and Indians.
-SINGLISH IS THE ENGLISH ACCENT. This is a bit of Bristish and Chinese accents.
-THERE’S NO RICE DURING BREAKFASTS. Surely, there will be noodles and Tofu! PDRR Oliver told me to “Forget about rice!” :).
-FOODS ARE NORMALLY SPICY. There is always a plate of chop chili on the side. I missed the sweet and salty dishes! Haha! :)
- SINGAPORE IS A DISCIPLINED CITY. Locals dubbed it as “Fine City”. There is an iron hand in implementing policies. I heard that the shuttle that took the delegates to Clark Quay was barred by policemen simply because the Rotarators started having fun, singing, and obliviously standing while in the bus. The rule, it is not allowed to stand inside the bus while in motion!
- TAXI LCD MONITORING SYSTEM. All taxis have small LCD monitor showing the plate number, name of the driver and taxi bill status.
- ALL MALE SINGAPOREANS UNDERGO MILITARY TRAINING. Rotarator Andy Liu told me this while he kindly escorted fellow 3780 Rotaractors in the airport going back to Manila. They all knew karate and how to use the gun! Anytime, if the government will call them, whatever their professions are, they will serve as guards of their country. Singapore’s army is all of its male citizens. Amazingly, I can sense the patriotism and not because they all are simply required to undergo military training.
-THERE IS SUCH THING AS “GAY PROSITUTION”! I discovered this while strolling in Clark Quay.