Round The World Journal Part One: Majulah Singapura

Singapore Journal Part Fourteen: June 8 - July 7

by Matt Donath

June 10th. The end of one journal and the start of a new one. I've decided to change the format a bit. I'm going to put the dates in the text and add in more descriptive titles to each heading. I also expect to have more, shorter sections.

I toyed with the idea of naming this chapter "Escape From Singapore" but opted for a fonder farewell. Despite enduring an unfortunate work situation and becoming more keenly aware of the problems in this strange little country after living here, I still like the place.

The other day I got the following email from a local:

Date: Tue, 09 Jun 1998 11:47:05 +0800
From: Fu Rong Richmond Tung
To: mdonath@yahoo.com
Subject: Errors in your article. May 8 To May 13 part 12

Dear Sir, U do not take the airbus to airport by paying in coin because there is no such thing. When you reach the airport the Airbus rep at the airport will come on board and ask u for $5.00 sin dollars. U are mistaking ths SBS bus service no 16 going to airport. Thanks U tung. Please be accurate in your article. They make nice reading but facts must be correct. Otherwise u lose your readership.

It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about, but yes, mea culpa, at one point in Singapore Journal Part 12 I accidentally refer to an SBS bus as an Airbus. I know it's dangerous to guess at tone from an email, but this note reminds me of the atmosphere of incessant reprimand that seems to pervade this society. Often people seem to be constantly criticizing each other. One popular Hong Kong cartoonist tags Singapore with the sobriquet "Nannyland." Make sure you do this, that and the other thing. Don't do that or papa will cane!

Well, I can see how these people could need an outlet. Their dictatorial government won't let its corruption (not to mention its screw-ups) be criticized. All their news comes from the same source. Every movie, magazine, and TV show they see is censored. They get nothing but constant demands from their ungrateful bosses in the workplace.

No outlets for vice or discontent! This is one frustrated society. No wonder people get a bit testy and nit-picky.

Here's an excerpt from some email I recently received from a former Singapore expat:

It goes without saying that I thoroughly enjoyed your journals, perhaps for a slightly perverted reason. You see, I had lived in Singapore for nearly

1.5 years prior to moving to Bangkok. You could say I was in many similar situations most ex-pats living in Singapore found themselves in; with taxi drivers, hawkers, bank tellers, shopkeepers, and of course, the uncompromising toilets guards. Kiasuism is evident everywhere. I wasn't sure to get totally uptight about it or have sympathy on them. So, I took the easy way out. I quit; both my job and Singapore.
...
Would I consider returning to Singapore? Now, that is an interesting question. I would if, the boss keeps his/her promises, more creativity and less materialism in Singaporeans, lesser kiasu attitudes, people enjoy life a little more, the Singapore Government stops its patronising approach to politics, and pigs fly!

Singapore does seem to rub a lot of people the wrong way! I don't think I've ever seen more venomous attacks on a country than the ones I commonly see on newsgroups, bbs's, etc concerning Singapore. The expat who wrote to me is very mild in his criticism compared to most of the negative statements I've seen so many foreigners heap upon Singapore.

As an expat recently said to me: "I don't want to work in Singapore any more. What you see is NOT what you get." There is some truth to that. S'pore is not the efficient utopia the government tries to present it as. Things are not always what they seem to be at first glance. Callousness lurks behind a sanitized mask. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about working here is that employees are not treated with respect or courtesy. I'm remembering Sybil's quote: "Rugged individualism doesn't count for shit in this country."

I know what the rest of Asia is like and understand far better than most Westerners why Singapore is the way it is. However, when I make this argument to Sybil and she counters that it doesn't have to be a complete trade-off between Indonesian chaos and Singaporean dictatorship, I can understand her point.

Despite all the warts, I still very much like this place (more than Sybil does). The government may not be perfect, but it does a lot of things extremely well. Singaporeans are generally good people who have a much better realization of the problems their country faces than most outsiders realize. True, they are a bit too resigned to their fate, often forgoing complaint when complaint is needed. Some of them lead lives of quiet desperation....

Singapore is still OK with me though, so Majulah Singapura!

June 11th. There are several advantages to using Singapore as a base to explore Asia. First off, its location is perfect; nothing is too far away. Next, Changi Airport is a breeze. Third, this town has tons of travel agents. So, the advantages are fairly obvious.

The disadvantages take some research to discern. First, most of the best prices for flights are 30-day excursion fares (true for Hong Kong as well). Round trip fares for longer than this can be up to double the price. Second, you can often get cheaper fares from KL or BKK. Third, most of the many travel agents here are very, very bad.

Fortunately, we've found an agent we can work with: Allen Tan, 8363323, 11 Unity Street, #02-07, Robertson Walk, Singapore, 237995. Email: ho_sk@pacificnet.com.sg Tell him that Matt and Sybil referred you to him.

So, the current plan is to go round trip to Bali for a month, then go somewhere, maybe Thailand, for three weeks, and then go to Nepal on a one way ticket. From there we'll head for Darjeeling and make our way over to Rajasthan. Then down to Maharastra, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. That's a lot so we may have to cut something out.

Now you must understand that the fact that we have any sort of plan at all is entirely due to Sybil. My method of solo travel was to drift with the wind, paying the price along the way by being woefully under-prepared. Along with my fond memories of past travels are suppressed nightmares of being cold, hungry, wet, sick, and miserably uncomfortable. For some reason, Sybil does not want to have all of these extra travel experiences.

June 15. Sybil convinced me that we needed to get a pair of smaller backpacks. My first inclination was just to take our large packs everywhere, tightening them down when we weren't camping. However, it's much easier to have a smaller bag on your back (or on your lap) during long bus rides and getting in and out of airplanes.

So, without checking if we could fit all of our stuff into them, we purchased a pair of 40 liter (and seemingly smaller than that) Tatonka packs. Fortunately, they can carry all of our gear without trouble. I'm hoping they will seem roomy after a few months on the road. By then we will no doubt jettison some items of dubious use.

June 17. We've been busy with guests. Elan Freydenson stayed with us for a few nights as he prepared to settle into the area for a time. Last night we met with a couple (Mike and Anne) who are four months into their own RTW trip. We discussed the fine art of long-term travels. They were recently in the Philippines, a place that is looking increasingly attractive to me. Hard to know when we can get there though. They were also in Tioman and rather negative about it. Seems like my fears that this place had become too touristy may not be unfounded.

Interesting to compare people's itineraries. Mike and Ann are skipping India, Oz, and NZ, while Sybil and I are keen to visit these places. On the other hand they are going through China (which I've done enough times to know what a pain it is) and plan on taking the Trans-Siberian (which I am convinced is something of a waste, despite my great affection for Russian travel). We're all very interested in Indonesia though, even with the problems there.

June 18. Remember my bemoaning the impending doom of the Bidadari Cemeteries in Singapore Journal Part Thirteen? Well a former expat (Ralph) wrote to tell me that they tore up an old graveyard to put up the Ngee Ann City mall. One day this town will only consist of malls and HDBs.

June 24. Looked at some Internet info on Japan today. "Wait a sec," my astute readers with attention to detail are saying, "since when did Japan get included in the RTW travel plans. Well, hmm, only recently.... We'll see if we can fit it in.

Anyway, I was reading over the Japan travelogues of Evelyn and Mark Leeper. Any travel buff web surfer who isn't wet behind the ears has no doubt seen an account or two by this prolific, peripatetic couple. (They are prolix as well, but I'm also sometimes guilty of that - such as right now. ;-) Personally, I'm usually disappointed by their journals, but I've only just discovered why.

They are both good writers -- Evelyn in particular. The problem I have is that they just seem to slavishly follow their guidebooks to all the "important" tourist attractions. Evelyn sometimes even says words to the effect that they feel obligated to see certain things in certain countries. Because of this, they rarely interact with interesting people or venture off the beaten track. Now I'm not promising that Sybil and I will always avoid tourist attractions -- we will definitely see more than our share of them. However, one thing I can promise you -- there is no doubt we will mix it up with the locals (as well as other travelers) for good or ill. I'm remembering moments from our recent trips, including Sybil dancing with the Thai prostitute in the karaoke bar (Singapore Journal Part Nine) or meeting the Indian family in the Malay jungle and my conversation with the old man in Melaka (Part Seven).

Evelyn's Japanese travelogue is so jaded and boring that it is an inspiration to me. If I ever find myself slipping into tourist mode I'm going to think of the Leeper's and kick myself into doing something with the people around me!

June 25. I have only ten more days of work! I'm ready to go now because the ServiceGuard implementation project I've been so keen to complete before I leave has been disastrously delayed. The thing is, my bosses know I want to do this project, just out of techno-geek interest in solving a complicated problem. So their attitude is "why don't you just delay your departure date and stick around for it." Never mind that I've already arranged all kinds of travel plans! Of course my life must revolve around their convenience! Their arrogance is sometimes overwhelming.

Here's an example. Today, the HR head (Chan Kah Fai) meets with me to talk about my apartment. Cold Storage paid for my housing through the end of the year. So he presents the dilemma of my moving out of my apartment as a problem for me to solve. Of course, it must be my fault to be wasting the company's resources like that. What was I thinking when I sent in my resignation! Actually, this is how many of the managers here work. They just hand over their problems to the people under them and berate them continually.

After bantering back and forth a bit, the HR head accusingly says "who is going to pay the rent on that apartment?" I give up on the niceties, shrug my shoulders and say "I don't know, but it won't be me." I suggest that he should have negotiated a more flexible contract with my landlord. However, maybe he can salvage the situation by subletting the place.

I keep forgetting that Cold Storage Singapore managers are not used to their underlings pointing out their more obvious mistakes. Worse yet, I actually tossed the ball back to him and quit playing. He gets all bent out of shape and leaves. Unbelievable - I've been going out of my way to help these nitwits any way I can, but they just don't get it.

In the States we would say that some of the people here in S'pore act like they've got a stick up their butt.

I know it probably sounds like I'm angry with these guys, but I'm not. I'm just exasperated. I know I'm also sounding like a whiney expat, but I have a few reasons for being perturbed.

Despite giving them a detailed plan for completing this ServiceGuard project on the day I gave them three-month (!!) notice, and despite the fact that they have known exactly what equipment we will need to complete this project for over seven (!!!) months, they have still managed to screw up and not order everything in time for me to do the project before I leave. I'm continually astounded by the incompetence of some of the people around here. No worries though. I'm just going to do the best job I can in the short time I have left and not beat myself up over not seeing it through. I'm promising myself that the next job I take must be a whole lot better than this one.

June 26. I've been bouncing some emails back and forth with Bernd Wechner. This is a guy who Marc mentioned in his RTW journal. I came across his home page (now gone) and saw that aside from travel, he's also interested in Bokononism and hitch-hiking. Well, say no more! On several occasions I've mentioned the influence Bokononism has on my own HEN philigious thought. As for hitch-hiking, Sybil and I are becoming pros.

Anyway, I came across Bernd's hitch-hiking tales in a fortuitous manner. Sybil called me at work to suggest that the Japan Rail Pass was too expensive. Mind you, she wasn't arguing that it wasn't relatively a good deal, just that we couldn't afford it. So, I tell her (without really knowing anything about the subject) that we could just hitch-hike. I figured that the Japanese would be sure to help someone who needed a lift. I'm playing around on the computer while we're talking and just at that point I came across Bernd's hitch-hiking notes on Japan! As I wrote to him on an email: "Perfect timing! This is often a characteristic of a karass."

July 6. I know it sounds like we're going out with a whimper instead of a bang, but I'm simply sparing you (for once) from drab details of parties and outings. This doesn't mean we haven't had memorable moments: Jonathon's barbecue party, brunch at Andy and Stella's, the July 4th blowout with the Justin, Rachel, etc, hosted by the Navy guys at the Terror Club, dinner with Yew Chong and Pui Ying (who create some of the best travel photo albums you'll ever see), and baby Jen Wei (who loves to chew on Sybil and my hair). Oh, and last night -- drinking wine (after pushing the cork inside the bottle with my finger) with Henning atop Mt. Faber, eating cabbage (with a "Kraut"), cheese, and bread while watching the lights of the city far below.

Yes, we've been enjoying our last days in S'pore. The going-away party is next weekend and we leave for Bali (life is short and uncertain - so have dessert first) two days after.

July 7. Seeing that we could easily run short of money by the beginning of next year, I've polished up the resume, in case I need to do some contract work. I'll email it out to serious inquiries.

I've been having thoughts about Cambodia today. ;-)

Just saw Microsoft Windows 98 for sale in the Cold Storage supermarket, on the shelves near the juice and yogurt. I'm outta here!

As I've said many times before, I don't travel with a camera. However, we've still managed to pick up a few photos along the way. Many are from a disposable camera we took to Thailand. Henning contributed some shots, including the Bidadari Cemetery pictures. Kevin and Andy helped me by letting me use their scanners. I've put some pictures up. Check from the home page.

If you want to send me email my address is mdonath@yahoo.com.