Sights New and Familiar

My first day back in Singapore is about to end, and already, I feel I’ve done quite a lot. Seven months away doesn’t seem that long, but those who come from where I do know how fast this places changes physically. What’s new? Well, it’s only been a day, but already I’ve driven past the revamped National Museum, the controversial Fort Canning Tunnel, Vivocity and also the new Central mall.

And coming down the East Coast Parkway, one can already see the entire Singapore Flyer wheel in place. Completion is expected in the next few months. Compared to the London Eye, which is right next to the Thames, the local counterpart seems a wee bit too far removed from the center of town. Will it work well? Does a ride up to view Singapore’s skyline count as a romantic escapade?

I actually spent much of the morning thinking of how my life now revolves around the time in London – how I feel so entirely at ease and at home there – but by the afternoon, after a good steamy bowl of Radin Mas lor mee – with the requisite dollops and dashes of minced garlic, pepper, chili (both cut and paste) plus vinegar – I felt entirely Singaporean again. It’s certainly wonderful to be back.

What startles you is finding out again how inexpensive it is to live in Singapore, especially after having experienced the horrendously overpriced London. That bowl of lor mee would have cost just 1 pound. You can’t get anything decent to eat for a pound these days in London, can you? Not even a rotten hot dog from one of them rotten hot dog wagons.

Of course, it doesn’t pay to be cheapskate. I popped into Queensway Shopping Centre and figured I might go say Hi to one of the Malay barbers over there. Cutting a long story short – no pun intended – certain unfortunate developments occurred, and I don’t think I’ve ever had hair so short since I enlisted in the army many moons ago. It’s now durian like, as they say.

But life had to go on…and so I sat down this evening with a colleague who will soon be taking up an assignment at our mission in Washington – the very same job that I once had. He was keen to learn more about what to expect, and in retelling those days, memories of the past came flooding back, naturally.

It’s interesting how we take on so many different identities throughout our years here. That represented a clear part of my life, but, as I had realised earlier, it now signifies another time, another place, another career, another group of people. Does it have any link to what I’m doing currently, or where I am? Although I can recall clearly what I used to do, the images in my mind take on a strange hue, and I sometimes wonder if I was really there.