By Nic the HapiWanderer
Being sheltered by my parents since young, it was quite something when I had to experience independent living as I left for Singapore in my upper teen years for further studies and work later on. Suddenly, I was alone in a foreign city with nothing but a suitcase, a scholarship, and a heart full of uncertainty.
It was a tearful parting when my parents left me and headed home. During the days of fixed telephone lines, there was a suspenseful few hours of incommunicado as they drove home. When Mother called (to the rental flat’s phone) to say that they’d arrived home safely, I was relieved.
And so began my three years of studying, followed by another seven years of working in the country down south. As we stayed at Toh Yi Drive in Bukit Timah, our dinner was usually had at the Beauty World shopping complex, about 300 metres away. It was almost our daily activity with fellow Malaysian students to get our S$2.00 mixed rice meal. It was a wholesome dinner as we gathered for chats and updates within our little community. We laughed, vented, and found comfort in each other’s company.
I picked up photography with a film-based Canon compact camera, bought with money from a part-time job. Every shot mattered. Developing a roll cost S$4, and each print was 25 cents, so I memorised camera settings like scripture. I also progressed to borrowing the photography club’s camera and accessories to advance my interest in the hobby.
My favourite haunts were Sim Lim Tower, where many electronic and electrical items were on display, while Sim Lim Square was for shopping for other stuff. Bugis Junction arrived later.
My first movie on the island was Stargate. I was amazed by my first experience with surround sound. CK Tang was then the premier shopping centre before Takashimaya took over as the venue of choice for shopping.
Boat Quay and Clarke Quay also had restaurants and pubs, while it was always the East Coast Park for black pepper crabs.
For hikes, I went to Bukit Timah Hill and Fort Canning, while for a game of pool, I always had it at the basement of Bukit Timah Shopping Centre.
I had also walked across the bridge to Sentosa Island after a few games at the World Trade Centre’s arcade.
There was a nice swimming pool in my tertiary institution. In my final 3rd year, I made it a point to learn swimming. By myself. No classes. No money. I learnt by copying other swimmers — I was my own coach, motivating myself to move inch by inch, lap by lap, breast stroke to free style to 30 laps in about 50 minutes. I guess if I put my mind to something, I could do it!
To serve my scholarship bond, I worked in a shipyard, as that was my field of study. It was dangerous, dirty and demanding, but it was fun. It’s nice when you’re in a new environment, learning new things. I was young, single, and hungry to learn.
I had a bicycle to cycle from ship to ship for morning meetings and inspections. It was a seven-day-a-week routine except when I took the weekend off to return either to Malacca or KL. And that also was a rush, as it was either a 3.5-hour bus ride to Malacca or 4.5 hours to KL.
After a short night’s stay in Malaysia, it was back to the grind in Singapore again. During Chinese New Year, I even had to buy the bus ticket at least 1.5 months in advance for fear that I couldn’t get my hands on one for the important annual ritual.
Work for me then started at 0730 hrs and ended at 1630 hrs, although we’d stay till 2130 hrs on most days. Yes, it was very long hours, but since I was single, it was all taken in my stride.
To move about in a faster mode, I got myself an Aprilia RS125 motorcycle and even rode it back to Malacca to surprise Mother, who never bought me a bike as she thought it was unsafe. I promised her that I’d ride safely. And I’ve kept that promise for 28 years till today.
There was no GPS then. I learned Singapore’s roads by riding them—connecting junctions like puzzle pieces. After work, I’d just ride around.
The MRT and bus services were very reliable and cheap. A ride from Jurong to Changi by MRT will only cost about S$8.00. From money machines to fixed value cards, things progressed on how payments could be made.
As for buses (SBS or TransitLink), they started with buses with a conductor each, where tickets were issued after cash was deposited into a container beside the driver.
The bus companies also overcame the problem of cheating by passengers (who paid the least fare but travelled the furthest) by making passengers board from the front and scanning them before allowing them to exit through the rear entrance, thus ensuring accurate fare payments. When I was taking the bus from Johor when already employed in Singapore, it was always from Larkin, Johor Bahru, as there were more choices and schedules.
Marrybrown, which started in Johor, was a Godsend, and I enjoyed the alternative to KFC. Ramly burger was also a staple menu before boarding the bus, just as the tom yam soup! There were even rabbit meat Ramly burgers in those days!
The journey from Woodlands to Larkin was always hectic, struggling with thousands of other passengers. I had also walked across the Causeway as it was always faster to do so during peak hours in the hope of catching bus number 170 to Larkin.
Early personal communication devices began with the pager. Mine was a Motorola, costing about S$200. When it buzzed, I had to return the call through the public phone. That was the technology then.
My first handphone was Ericsson GH388, costing about S$800. It’s an analogue phone, and its polyphonic ringing melody was music to my ears because it meant someone else was calling me! Every ring felt like a miracle. Calls were expensive then, as calls received or made were charged. So, SMS ruled. SIM cards could only hold 250 contacts, so I had to prune my phonebook like a bonsai tree!
I always made it a point to call home every Sunday. To save money, International Calling Cards were purchased where charges were subsidised.
Mother’s voice often came on from the other end, and sometimes, Father would answer the call. Calls were usually centred on allaying their worries over my stay or work in Singapore, especially Mother, who thought a lot about my welfare.
Weekends after work would mean a bus trip to town, and on Sundays when I wasn’t working, I’d walk from Bugis Street to Orchard Road. It was part exercise, part exploration, I reckon. This walking habit started from my studying days. It may seem far, but it was good exercise and a good way of discovering and getting to know the city state.
Branded clothes were relatively cheap at S$30.00 for a pair of Pierre Cardin, Crocodile or G2000 shirt. My first Levi’s 501 jeans cost S$100 a pair, and so were my first Nike shoes at that same price.
Having enjoyed various branded goods in Singapore at bargain prices, there was no necessity for me to shop for branded stuff in Malaysia, as prices were relatively higher.
Food was also relatively cheap, where chicken rice used to cost S$2.50, and you may want to debate, but I’d still say that chicken rice in Singapore was (and is) better tasting than Malaysia’s!
Singapore’s premium coffee scene started with Coffee Bean, and it was then only S$5 a cup. Haagen Daz came at only S$10.
Nasi lemak in Singapore then was just plain Malay mixed rice. And don’t you go queuing in Hougang to get it.
However, there was one food item which I still can’t find a strong equivalent or contender in Malaysia – that unique mutton soup at Bukit Timah market. It was simple but delicious and satisfying.
The Bukit Timah market was demolished last year. And I don’t know if I’ll ever find a mutton soup that would taste just as good as the one that tickled my taste buds in Singapore. That unique taste still lingers in my memory.
Thank you, Singapore, for adding to my lifelong journey, for the lessons, the loneliness, the laughter. For shaping a boy into a man, perhaps.
WE