One of the things Singaporeans are very proud of especially when they are talking to a Malaysian is how their public transportation is so convenient and well planned that none needs a car to get around.
Well, this is my 2 cents worth on this.
Behind all this convenience is a BIG inconvenience. Everyone in Singapore shape and live their lives around what the public transportation provides. Yes, you do not need a car to live your everyday life in Singapore. But what if I don't just wanna live an everyday life? I would like to have supper at 3am, I would like to join a night run, I would like to buy furniture from Ikea and transport them home myself, I would like my car boot to keep my baby stroller, I would like to ring my friend up for brunch and pick her up in 10 mins and get lost trying to find places to eat.
The MRT operation hours managed to standardize how Singaporeans live their lives. There aren't many restaurants open at 3am because no one is out after the MRT operation hours. Once, I was in a taxi in the middle of the night and the taxi driver told me that Singapore is a city that never sleeps because the traffic is still heavy at midnight. I almost choke on that statement. First of all, traffic is never heavy in Singapore. Secondly, uncle cabbie has certainly never seen a city that truly never sleeps at night.
My colleague once told me she joined a night run but they had problems getting home after the run because there weren't any public transportation still available. See how it's difficult to be different in Singapore? My first comment was "That's so inconvenient!" which of course the Singaporean disagreed.
I am also falling into this lifestyle-standardisation trap. When I am in Singapore, where I hangout, where I eat, the hours I eat, are all planned around the MRT operating lines and hours. When I first got here, I was so frustrated I couldn't get supper at 2am without needing to get a cab, and of course to find a nearby restaurant that's still open. I am slowly making peace with the fact that I should live like a robot like the rest of the Singaporeans, communiting to work like hordes of factory workers.
I like to be spontaneous and not be governed by how this perfectly planned city operates. I do agree that the public transportation here is very reliable, but that comes with a great disadvantage for a rebel like me.
Well, this is my 2 cents worth on this.
Behind all this convenience is a BIG inconvenience. Everyone in Singapore shape and live their lives around what the public transportation provides. Yes, you do not need a car to live your everyday life in Singapore. But what if I don't just wanna live an everyday life? I would like to have supper at 3am, I would like to join a night run, I would like to buy furniture from Ikea and transport them home myself, I would like my car boot to keep my baby stroller, I would like to ring my friend up for brunch and pick her up in 10 mins and get lost trying to find places to eat.
The MRT operation hours managed to standardize how Singaporeans live their lives. There aren't many restaurants open at 3am because no one is out after the MRT operation hours. Once, I was in a taxi in the middle of the night and the taxi driver told me that Singapore is a city that never sleeps because the traffic is still heavy at midnight. I almost choke on that statement. First of all, traffic is never heavy in Singapore. Secondly, uncle cabbie has certainly never seen a city that truly never sleeps at night.
My colleague once told me she joined a night run but they had problems getting home after the run because there weren't any public transportation still available. See how it's difficult to be different in Singapore? My first comment was "That's so inconvenient!" which of course the Singaporean disagreed.
I am also falling into this lifestyle-standardisation trap. When I am in Singapore, where I hangout, where I eat, the hours I eat, are all planned around the MRT operating lines and hours. When I first got here, I was so frustrated I couldn't get supper at 2am without needing to get a cab, and of course to find a nearby restaurant that's still open. I am slowly making peace with the fact that I should live like a robot like the rest of the Singaporeans, communiting to work like hordes of factory workers.
I like to be spontaneous and not be governed by how this perfectly planned city operates. I do agree that the public transportation here is very reliable, but that comes with a great disadvantage for a rebel like me.
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