Now boarding

Walking with a friend during my first day in Singapore was probably worth other travelers' whole week in the busy city-state. A friendly, walkable place, Singapore opened itself up to me, as my friend, who has been working there for two years, and I battled our exhaustion as we walked our way through some of the place's must-see spots. Naturally, being with a semi-local made the trip more inetersting, as he would interject a story or two about a place we were in, or take me down a winding path, and on to a hang out which only a local would be familiar with.

hat's strange about Singapore is that the city has two faces--one in the morning, and one at night. My succeeding days, I walked the city all by myself, often starting early in the morning, and marveled at how different a place was when the sun shone, as compared to how it was when we walked at night. Perhaps because of its size and the number of tourists it regularly attracts, Singapore has to keep pace with its visitors by keeping them busy from morning 'til night--even if they're literally staying in the same place.

A land of contrasts, Singapore is home to many foreigners and ex-pats, and the beautiful chatter of many foreign languages keep you company even as you cross the street. Inside the museum, you share the space with both foreigners from all over the world and--a pleasant surprise for me--its locals. I say any country that has its locals visiting its museums is a lovely place. As you walk the 'quiet' streets (the place is so tidy and spotless that the term 'quiet' seems befitting, as it is without clutter) and take in the many food shops and stores, you are suddenly greeted with a "House of Condom" store, or a "Sex Toys" shop (yes, they are legal). So many buildings dotting the streets are preserved, as they were once heritage buildings, but it's always a mix--albeit odd--of the old and new.

But in Singapore, what, really, is old?

From its British colonial past, Singapore has remodelled itself by blending the old with the new. Almost anywhere you go, you see buildings being constructed, with a giant tarpaulin outside, saying "Visit us in 2014," as if to urge you to wait in anticipation of Singapore's newest attraction. In Singapore, there is always something new and, as my friend quipped, "it's as if you're always a year or two early, during your visit. Something's always coming in a couple of years or so."

Indeed, it's true. Singapore is always one step ahead of you. It will always make you go, "Oh, I'm coming back for that next year!" So how does a small nation have enough room for all the buildings it constructs? Simple: by tearing out the old ones. One day, you leave Singapore and work abroad for a few years. When you come back, you realize your old elementary school has been torn down. I wonder how that feels, really.

Nearing midnight, as we continue our trek, I pointed out how people were wearing trench coats and fashionable boots. I told him how I've always loved winter clothes, but wearing them in the warm, tropical Philippines would make me look silly. The Philippines and Singapore share the same tropical climate, but for some reason, you seem to be in fashion when you're wearing winter clothes there. Because Singapore is a first world country who has the top brands in the world (which are almost always Western brands), they probably have the four seasons' clothings, thanks also to the many foreigners who visit their country, and whom the retailers target--thereby creating a market for winter and other season's outfits. Also, in Singapore, it would be hard to sweat, since almost every place you walk in are fully-airconditioned shopping malls.

My first visit there made me think how Singapore seemed to be a country made especially for tourists. However way you think of it, and however way you react to that, it seems to work. They are organized, they are rich, and it's a relatively safe place for the whole family. My first night I had to make sense of their metro rail transit (MRT) system, and I happily saw how easy it was to figure out. I took the last trip back to my hotel, all without any trouble. Naturally, my succeeding nights there, I was walking from morning until midnight.

It's hard not to enjoy Singapore, but it's also nearly impossible not to ask a lot of questions as to how it is run by its seemingly-efficient (and verily so) government. What makes it work? Would you want to live in a country that caters mostly to tourists, and share space with so many foreigners and lost tourists, bugging you for directions, and yet enjoy all the privileges of a first-world nation, or live in a quiet, "backwards" country that has its heritage and history so preserved, because it's almost completely untouched?

Maybe there's a way to merge both worlds. We'll need more traveling experience and more observations for that.