Manila commuters can ride anything!

The crazy Orchard Road shopping loafing crowd. Where the heck do they all live in spore-sized Singapore?

One of my favorite activities when I travel is commuting by metro or underground (subway). Being part of the mass of humanity in a city gives you a feeling of being less "the foreginer"and being one of the locals.
I seem to have a knack in commuting by public transportation, most especially by metro, and I almost never get lost after studying the metro map of any country (even in Russia! Thank goodness I can read cyrillic alphabet). It has become a pride thing for me not to check on the
subway map after I've studied it before leaving a hotel or a friend's place.

So it's great that one my travel contributors sent an account of her trip to Singapore with a public transportation story. I will only include excerpts that I want to comment on, while you can read the rest in her blog link:

http://thoughtcradle.blog-city.com/traveling_via_singapores_public_transport_systems.htm

Traveling Singapore via its Public Transport Systems:

The most interesting ride was the SMRT (or train) though. The second time I rode it, my brother and I were alone, so even though we had instructions and all, we still had to somewhat play it by ear. I thought their MRT was similar to ours, so at the station I went straight to the counter guy, gave my cash and asked for two tickets to City Hall. What he did was exchange my $10 for two 5’s and told me to get the tickets at the ticket machine. I learned later that the guys at the counter were mainly there for information, or to fix of faulty ticket readings, etc. The ticket machine was pretty straightforward so we didn’t have any problems with that. That time, I kept my eyes peeled for any sign that said we were in City Hall already. Apart from the announcements and the signs at each station, they also had this screen in the train that made known the next stop, so again we were able to get off without a hitch. I read that our cards can be refunded, so I did just that. The next couple of times I was more self-assured so it afforded me to alternate between blanking out one station and observing the scene the next. Their trains seemed to be roomier and cooler, or maybe that was because there seemed to be fewer people too, even during rush hour. Somehow, this made commuting less harried. Like the crowd here, the commuters were a hodgepodge of personalities: trendy teenagers, students in uniform, business professionals, homemakers. There were a lot of Indians too. (In fact, they even had a Little India station.) I considered this fact for a bit and then remembered that had a population of 1 billion. I know too that has a population of more than a billion. So if the world’s population is more than 6 billion (as of October 1999), that means 1 out of every 6 people you meet are either of Chinese or Indian descent. I admit to straining my ears also for utterances of my native tongue, wondering where the Filipinos were. But then we were there, so I guess that meant that the 3rd most ubiquitous nationality was well represented.

People may have their individual take on Singapore, but what most can agree on is that efficiency can be the country's synonym.

Coming from chaotic Manila, the stark contrast of Singapore's transportation system from our own hodge podge of fuel consuming metal contraptions is so refreshing. I abhor commuting here in Manila, but when I'm abroad--aside from the fact I cannot afford to take cabs often-- I like hopping in the metro or a bus. I feel independent and street smart when I can zip around the city alone, relying on my wit, language skills, and rapport with the locals if things get a bit shady.
Anyway, the last time I was in Singapore, I stayed with a friend up North in the Woodlands area--where the vast unpopulated forest area made me wonder where the large Orchard Road shopping crowd found land to live in such a spore sized country-- I had no problems commuting. I could take a bus, or the 30 minute metro trip with no help from my friend. I pretty much like to be able to roam around a new place alone for a day or two before having anyone tag along, so it was a convenient arrangement.

One of the things I miss when I commute in Manila is observing with wonderment the diverse mix of a commuter crowd. In a country like Singapore that has a population composed of different racial ethnicities, languages and culture, the Philippines seem a tad boring. People speak the same language, unless of course they converse in a provincial dialect.

The only drawback from the Singapore transportation convenience comes more from a personal philosophy. Because things are too easy, you do not feel pushed or challenge; and somehow, I feel like I'm missing out on something. I guess I always equate a challenging experience to a nice story I can take back home to share to my family and friends--until the next time I travel.