101 Things I Like About Singapore!

Today is National Day.

Seldom do I sit down to think about what I like about my country. Hmm, come to think of it, I’ve never done this before!

Haha, so I might as well, right? To make up for decades of not saying ‘Thank you, Singapore!’, here’s 101 things I like:

1) Food, food, food! (how can this not be the first thing that comes to mind?)

2) The name Singapura
or ‘Lion City’.

3) Meritocracy

4) very regular tree pruning
– so you won’t die from having rotting trees fall on you while on your way to work. B has a friend who works as a tree doctor. His job is to visit trees everyday and heal the sick ones. No kidding.

5) CPF (Central Provident Fund)
– What a great Auto-save function for un-moneywise people like me!

6) nationwide wireless connection

7) geek and nerd friendly
– welcome to the land of study-worms. Everything educational is highly prized here.

8) dustbins everywhere

9) HDB flats

– they look a lot like tall factories but strangely, make me think fondly of home…

10) the Singapore Flyer

11) churches and mosques and temples side by side

12) things keep progressing and changing
– at a crazy pace. Why would I like that?? I dunno! Maybe cos I can get to see more in my short lifespan?

13) pasar malams (night markets)

14) Strict Laws
– It’s nice to bring up kids here.

15) NTUC

– my weekly shopping hangout

16) Pasir Ris Park

17) Peranakan museum

18) Neighborhood libraries

19) School uniforms

20) Clean taxis with meters and SBS buses(especially the double deckers)

21) MRT and LRT that work (most of the time)

22) old shophouses

23) Pulau Ubin

24) Tourist attractions (zoo, birdpark, Sentosa and the like)

25) cable cars and Sheraton Towers
– they remind me of Proposal and Wedding Anniversaries;))

26) void decks that host everything from weddings to funerals

27) Roadside Roasted Chestnut sellers
28) Roadside wafer ice cream sellers
29) karang-guni (rag n bone)

30) Singapore river

31) pseudo Singapore Rivers a.k.a big longkangs and canals

32) POSB (Post Office Savings Bank)
– the very first bank I saved money while still a kid!

33) Monkeys, wild boar and pangolins

34) Hawker Centres

35) Orchard Road especially at Christmas time
36) and Chinatown during CNY

37) and Geylang Serai during Hari Raya
38) and Little India during Deepavali
39) evergreen trees and plants everywhere (some pretty, some wierd)

40) And dry, clean roads to go with it

41) Neighborhood Police Posts everywhere
42) Science Centre
43) Shopping malls

44) Bras Basah Complex
– where I get nearly all my art materials

45) Botanic Gardens

46) birds

47) clean air
48) Newater
49) Efficient garbage disposal trucks
50) mama shops that sell Hacks sweets, Ice lollys and cheap plastic toys
51) the land lights at night!
52) the sea lights at night!!
53) the sky lights at night!!!

54) 24-hour coffeshops
55) mid-autumn and mooncakes season
56) our flag and national anthem

The red symbolises “universal brotherhood and equality of man”, and white, “pervading and everlasting purity and virtue”. The waxing crescent moon “represents a young nation on the ascendant”. The five stars “stand for the nation’s ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality” – taken from Wikipedia (and all our school textbooks)

57) Singapore Airlines and the Singapore Girl.

58) SPH and Straits Times Publishing and STOMP

59) East Coast Park (dog walkers, bbq smells, tents)

60) Popular Bookstore
61) the old Tanjong Pagar Railway Station

62) S. Park, PB Apartments, B Park
– memory lane places

63) SPS, STCPS, NYGH, NJC, NUS,
– memory lane places 2

64) Kreta Ayer Theatre, Golden Mile Theatre, Cuppage Plaza
– memory lane places 3

65) NIE, STC, PRSS
– memory lane places 4

66) Lee Kuan Yew

67) cool, windy days with grey skies
69) St Andrews Cathedral and other old churches, some falling apart quite drastically

70) Changi Airport
71) overhead bridges (especially if they have bougainvilla in full bloom or are green with vines and creepers)

72) NIE
73) Changi Beach

74) asian civilisation museum
75) rooftop gardens
76) underground shopping malls
77) park connectors

78) Happy old people working hard way past their prime

79) The government (a.k.a LSL’s gang plus the non-gangs)
80) wet markets

81) Parking coupons

82) Local Comedies like Phua Chu Kang and The Noose
83) Local Drama series on Channel 8
84) Homegrown movies like I Not Stupid and Just Follow Law

85) Retro playgrounds

86) Songbird Watchers

87) Singapore Dollars
88) Salvation Army
89) Neighborhood cats and dogs

90) bilingualism
91) Singlish
92) local street names
– like Kaypo(busybody) Road, and Bury Road and Lorong Liew Lian
93) dialect names
94) indoor carpark lot sensors