Anant: March 2013

Unabashedly yours...Singapore!

Did I read somewhere that the world economy is in shambles, that there is Eurozone crisis, that the economy in USA is in trouble, that the fuel crisis is leading towards conservation, that high inflation is causing home budgets to crash? Who says all that rubbish? At least to this wide-eyed tourist roaming around in these 700 odd square kilometres of an island-country called Singapore, life is hunky dory like in my good old days!

About the only thing Singaporeans care about is drinking water. It is for all wasteful Indians to know that after all, drinking water has a cost, and it cannot be treated simply as nature’s gift - and therefore free. Indian tourists, please note.

That apart, in between the wide, clean roads and islands of green (some natural and some artificial) are thick, very tall islands of concrete; the lighting effects at night are beautiful. However, if you are an educated tourist, a silly question arises: why waste so much energy? Pat came the answer: we make double the money that goes towards energy costs or for that matter, the costs of fancy high-rises. Ok, fine, says me glumly. The huge luxury car models that zoom around give a whirring effect in the head; there are good answers to that whir-whir in your head. Everything expensive, including the currency or profligacy in spending has perfectly logical answers!

So is Singapore the ultimate in urban utopia? No, said the Chinese guide, adding that she will tell us about the flip side of the visual beauty that is Singapore. She never told me, despite a polite reminder. Why, she could not answer me regarding the source of Singapore ‘river’ that is just 3 km long - and whether it is a sweet water river or having sea water mixed!

Let me stop raising stupid questions and be a normal wide-eyed tourist! I will rest this case and have a look at this city-state about which late Mukesh crooned, in an old Hindi film of same namesake – ‘yeh sheher bada albela, khubsoorat hasino ka mela...’

'Songs of the Sea’ at Sentosa Island

This 30-minute show is simply mind-blowing. They have smartly used the idea of musical fountains by scaling it up to one on a beach using sea water. To top it all, the huts on poles serve as beautiful background as technology goes in top gear to create one, happy blend of music, songs and laser-on-spray sea creatures also participating. Like Singapore, Sentosa island, and this show in particular, makes you ‘feel’ happy; you forget the sad aspects of your life – even if temporarily so.

Imbiah Nature Trail, Sentosa

Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Genting and Penang (Malaysia)

Thanks to our charming guide, we now know how a Chinese boy of 14 left his home town in search of job about 50 years back, squeezing himself into a dirty crowd on board a small ship and landed in what was then Malaya. He started with small jobs, developed vision, became a business tycoon, thought of giving Malaya its only Casino, 40 km away from Kuala Lumpur, envisioned and built Genting and went on to become a proud owner of all Star cruise ships. Amazing legend! What I did’nt know is that Chinese are some of the greatest, and sometimes compulsive gamblers in the world.

I fell in love with Penang straightaway! It gave me nostalgia of my chidhood days in Dar-es-Salaam, East Africa. It smells of the colonialism by the British who have left behind some lovely architecture so typical of those days. In fact, Penang is a UN designated World Heritage city. There is the sea breeze and sea-ish smells. It was here that we boarded Star Libra for a fantastic 4-day cruise to Phuket and Krabi in Thailand.

PUTRJAYA