See you soon Singapore

See you soon Singapore

There are a couple of things I appreciate a lot in this city. It is really built for rain and sun. There is always a shelter for you if you cannot stand one or the other. A lot of covered market, food court, passages, simple covers over the sidewalks, inner coutyards, open public buildings. Even if you leave your place without an umbrella or a rain jacket, but you have the time to wait till the shower goes by, you can easily stay dry. Well, relatively dry, as from the humidity nothing protects you. I wandered if it makes any sense to use my deodorant at all.

Singapore is really well organised. It is great as a last item on your itinerary heading back to Europe to get used to the western ways, with a bit of asian flavour. But it is nothing like the Asia I know so far. My all time favourite is as peoole queue up at the MRT stations waiting for the incoming train: there’s two queues on both sides of each of the doors of the incoming train, and in the middle there’s some clear way for those who get off the train. queue in Singapore metroThere are signs on the floor indicating this order, and people actually respect it.

I find it really refreshing, that the public toilets are super clean. Soap and papertowel is available everywhere and you don’t have to run around for hours to find one. Again, this is in downtown – but still, it is uncomparable even with Budapest.bathroom Singapore
At many pleaces there is free filtered cold & hot water, so you are not forced to by mineral water and the many plastic bottles with it. I simply love this approach.

What I could not get used to – though it is high time to practice – that peoole keep coming in my way, and I had to remind myself a trillion times, that actually I am on the wrong side: keep left in the pedestrian street, keep left on the automated staircase, keep left in the metro passages. Jeeez, I actally keep bumping into people. Oh, and not only people: today I was so focused on one of the beautiful skyscrapers, that I actually bumped into a street lamp. Just like in the stupid movies.

So here I am, leaving this lovely place… – if AirAsia also wants it to happen. I’m sitting on the carpet at the airport, and waiting for the gate to be opened. Only half an hour delay was announced yet…