One of my sweetest memories was to visit my youngest son and his newly married wife in Singapore. Though our time schedule was not fixed with wisdom, it was a real pleasure because we heard so many good things about Singapore that it was almost our dream to visit the island country. However after checking in at ZIA (Zia International Airport) we got on board the aircraft of Singapore Airlines at about 10.40 p.m. The plane took off on time. After a 4-hours' journey we our plane touched the ground of Changi airport of Singapore. Upon landing at the airport The first impression was in a word 'splendid'! 'terrific'!! What a clean n' disciplined environment! It was a new world far, far apart from ours. We also have an international airport. We too became independent almost four decades ago. But the difference between our airport and theirs was too striking to contemplate. I asked myself: why have we failed to achieve what Singapore has been able to though she was pushed into independence almost a decade after us? Both of us are Asians and Singapore was poorer than us only a quarter of a century ago. I wonder what enabled them to bring about a miracular change! Is it patriotism? Or was it that Singapore was fortunate enough to have a unique leader like Lee Kuan Yu? Our son n' daughter-in-law come to the airport to receive us.
On way to Son's residence at Bukit Batok, we were enchanted to see the surroundings, the roads, the habitats and the environnment above all.
The short journey by taxi from Changi airport to my son's apartment was about 30 minutes' drive. All the way I was wondering what they have done with their small island country. The undulating landscape was dotted here and there with green grassy land and not-so-small forest lands. The green was really dazzling the reason for which, we knew later. But it was strikingly clean all around. The atmosphere air was fresh and clean; no smoke, no dust. Filled with the joy of coming to a country that could boast of her marvellous landscape, I felt fortunate. But there was much more to make me wonder.
Celebration of Singapore's National Day:
Fortunately for us, it was Singapore's national day. There was great jubilation celebrating the day. We went to the Marina Bay where the celebration was roaring. The whole scenerio was so splendidly spectacular that it struck us with great surprise. There were firecrackers, brightening the whole sky with multi-colored lights. Seven fighter planes were maneuvering in the sky displaying unbelievable feats. Their flying skills were astounding and took us quite by surprise. The crowd was very big and the whole area was teeming with human heads - both on land and on water of the lakes. But what struck us most was the absence of police to control the crowd of hundreds of thousands of people who were so disciplined. No hue and cry, no hubbub, no hustling. Only 10/12 policemen were just guarding a bailey bridge so that no one slips into the lake below. It was really a wonderful experience for us who are accustomed to witnessing policemen controlling the unruly crowd with batons and teargas. I wondered how a sense of discipline has been ingrained in the Singaporeans and how efficiently they were managing the administration of the island country.
However, we prepared ourselves to get back to our residence almost halfway in the celebration and jubilation. The crowd was so thick that we took about 40 minutes to cross a 50 feet bailey bridge over the lake. Tired as we were, we had to make our way through another big crowd to get to the nearest MRT station.
Transportation system of Singapore:
One of the unique aspect of Singapore is her transport system. We could check from the internet the number and time of buses and trains (MRT = Mass Rapid Transport) arriving at our nearest bus stop or MRT station. It saved our unnecessary waiting time at the bus stop or MRT. There are bus services to each and every destination within Singapore and that too so easy and comfortable that even a blind man won't feel any difficulty. Trains are more frequent -- a gap of only 3/4 minutes. Ticketing system is also electronically managed. No problem at all. Justifiably, a recent survey shows that more than 90% people are satisfied with the transport system of Singapore. The are bus bays on the roads for buses to stop without blocking the road. At terminals the system is all the more convenient: no hassele, no goading, nothing of the sort. For every route there are fixed lanes for the passengers to board the bus of particular route number. The MRT is another wonderful thing! There are two lines crossing each other at a point: one red and the other green line crossing each other at City Hall and Raffles Square. Another one, violet line crossed red line at Outram Park. City Hall MRT station is really a wonder. The red line is about 70 to 80 feet underground there and the green line crosses it about 40 feet above. You have to reach actual ground level at another 40 feet height. Yes, there is no direct crossing: one crossing the other at the same level. Neither is there any level crossing of both bus andMRT lines. Everything going smooth and easy excepting that around SunTec City, which is the centre of Singapore, there is occasionally traffic jams. But that too for a very short while. Singaporeans know the value of their time.
Bus service is also very comfortable. There are only two services: SMRT and SBST for intracity transport. You can go everywhere by bus. The ticketing system is also very neat. You can buy an EZ-Link Card to use for both bus and MRT fare. This is so easy and convenient. After all the transport system of Singapore is almost unimaginable for us Bangladeshis.
Shopping Malls:
O yea! The shopping malls are almost everywhere and full of everything you need. The dazzling beauty of the interior and exterior of the Malls are in a word overwhelming. There are shopping malls on the ground and far underground; but everywhere the sight is the same. Dazzling lights, colored signboards and display boards are really captivating. Every shopping mall was booming with people of all ages and color. I wondered how they have been able to keep the power supply on without break even for a second. In fact during my stay there for a month I never for once experienced power failure for a split second. I also wondered what would have happened if there had been power failure while thousands of people rushed about at the MRT stations or shopping malls 70/80 feet underground. Fortunately, nothing of this sort happened. Hats off to the Singapore power supply authority.
Food Courts: One more very interesting thing is that at every MRT, BRT and Mall there are food courts where every kind of food is available all the time. In Singapore one can have the taste of all Asian cuisines of alluring tastes and flavour. Besides food both 'halaal' and forbidden for Muslims is available in every food-stall. And every food court is hotly buzzing with a host of enthusiastic eaters. The whole thing is that you need not ever go to the kitchen if you wish.
However, we prepared ourselves to get back to our residence almost halfway in the celebration and jubilation. The crowd was so thick that we took about 40 minutes to cross a 50 feet bailey bridge over the lake. Tired as we were, we had to make our way through another big crowd to get to the nearest MRT station.
Transportation system of Singapore:
One of the unique aspect of Singapore is her transport system. We could check from the internet the number and time of buses and trains (MRT = Mass Rapid Transport) arriving at our nearest bus stop or MRT station. It saved our unnecessary waiting time at the bus stop or MRT. There are bus services to each and every destination within Singapore and that too so easy and comfortable that even a blind man won't feel any difficulty. Trains are more frequent -- a gap of only 3/4 minutes. Ticketing system is also electronically managed. No problem at all. Justifiably, a recent survey shows that more than 90% people are satisfied with the transport system of Singapore. The are bus bays on the roads for buses to stop without blocking the road. At terminals the system is all the more convenient: no hassele, no goading, nothing of the sort. For every route there are fixed lanes for the passengers to board the bus of particular route number. The MRT is another wonderful thing! There are two lines crossing each other at a point: one red and the other green line crossing each other at City Hall and Raffles Square. Another one, violet line crossed red line at Outram Park. City Hall MRT station is really a wonder. The red line is about 70 to 80 feet underground there and the green line crosses it about 40 feet above. You have to reach actual ground level at another 40 feet height. Yes, there is no direct crossing: one crossing the other at the same level. Neither is there any level crossing of both bus andMRT lines. Everything going smooth and easy excepting that around SunTec City, which is the centre of Singapore, there is occasionally traffic jams. But that too for a very short while. Singaporeans know the value of their time.
Bus service is also very comfortable. There are only two services: SMRT and SBST for intracity transport. You can go everywhere by bus. The ticketing system is also very neat. You can buy an EZ-Link Card to use for both bus and MRT fare. This is so easy and convenient. After all the transport system of Singapore is almost unimaginable for us Bangladeshis.
Shopping Malls:
O yea! The shopping malls are almost everywhere and full of everything you need. The dazzling beauty of the interior and exterior of the Malls are in a word overwhelming. There are shopping malls on the ground and far underground; but everywhere the sight is the same. Dazzling lights, colored signboards and display boards are really captivating. Every shopping mall was booming with people of all ages and color. I wondered how they have been able to keep the power supply on without break even for a second. In fact during my stay there for a month I never for once experienced power failure for a split second. I also wondered what would have happened if there had been power failure while thousands of people rushed about at the MRT stations or shopping malls 70/80 feet underground. Fortunately, nothing of this sort happened. Hats off to the Singapore power supply authority.
Food Courts: One more very interesting thing is that at every MRT, BRT and Mall there are food courts where every kind of food is available all the time. In Singapore one can have the taste of all Asian cuisines of alluring tastes and flavour. Besides food both 'halaal' and forbidden for Muslims is available in every food-stall. And every food court is hotly buzzing with a host of enthusiastic eaters. The whole thing is that you need not ever go to the kitchen if you wish.
To Singapore zoo and bird park: We were eager to see the zoo as we had heard the environment, though created, was very 'natural'. Our son Arshad and daughter-in-law Pamela were so enthusiastic that we forgot we had grown old. At the gate there were a few elephants and crocodiles. They were but statues but looked so live that many would get outwitted. Tickets bought, we entered the zoo itself. The environment was really so that it took us to a real rain-forest. We were thrilled. Considering the area of the zoo, we took a tram. We saw many animals, birds and reptiles including the polar bear and white tiger. Every creature was in its natural surroundings. Fantastic! The whole theme of the zoo was worthy of admiration.
We also went to the Jurong Bird Park. There was really a great wealth of bird life. Those birds - especially the parakeets were of so splendid in color that their beauty enthralled us. They were in their natural surroundings - on tall trees covered by nets. We had a ride of mono-rail in the bird park which was fantastic indeed! We enjoyed the trip with our hearts' content. Side by side, I remembered what we were doing with our so rich a country that has all the elements of tourist attraction but unfortunately, we don't have a Lee Kuan Yu or Mahathir.
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