Turning "bano" as I move to SG

Almost 2 years ago, I visited the expensive Singapore with Taku to celebrate our birthdays. I fell in love with the "convenient" country instantly and wished that I'll have a chance to work and live there.

This year, after keeping my crazy faith in my dream job, I was given a very good opportunity to explore and establish my career and a bonus to move to Singapore. Coming from Manila, moving here is such a treat because of its convenience.

TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Who wouldn't love Singapore's Public Transport System? You can just go around the whole country with its MRT & LRT or if you prefer to do more sightseeing on the way, just hop in one of the many buses to choose from. 

Compared to Manila's MRT, Singapore's MRT has a very comprehensive comprehensive map (photo above), a panel that shows the schedule of train arrivals or the number of minutes left to wait, strict implementation of 'no eating and drinking' rules, and some trains have route info panels that show where you actually at! 

EZ-link makes my life so much easier! With its multiple use especially in transportation, I normally just need it and I'm all set.

LITTLE WORRIES GO AWAY

They say that low crime doesn't mean no crime at all but as a Filipino who had lived in Manila for almost a decade and has developed a good ill-never-be-a-victim-of-crime skill, Singapore is such a place where I could fully breathe (and never worry about my bag being stolen or left open when walking.)

I also do not sweat in small things because:

1. People in this country automatically take the side of escalators so that those who are rushing can pass by.

2. When crossing the small streets without stop lights, pedestrians can just cross the pedestrian lane anytime (but of course still with caution) because cars give priority to pedestrians and automatically stop compared to what I'm used to that I have to wait for the upcoming car to pass by before crossing.

3. And of course, stop lights are perfectly working and generally (some are not), people know how to use them. :)

SINGLISH

The only difficult thing for me might be to fully understand Singlish. Here, words like alight, take away and 1 for 1 are used instead of get off, take out and buy 1 take 1. Definitely, I'll learn more words as time goes by and I'll definitely learn how to appropriately use "lah."

(Image from: Google Images)

Some of my friends like this country so much even if they've visited or  lived in other progressive cities already. But some feel a bit suffocated of its strict rules and fast-paced environment. As for me, I'm still getting to know Singapore but the chaos of Manila will always be missed.