Singapore: Fifth Anniversary

Today marks the fifth anniversary of my return to Singapore. A few years ago, I had some medical issues, and I had to return to Australia. It was supposed to be for only a short period, but there were complications with my treatment and I ended up staying there for way too long. So, it was a joy to finally return.

Singapore almost changes before your eyes. There are major works everywhere across the island, and it’s been like that at least since I first came here as a child in the early 70s.

It’s the sort of development that I only witnessed in Sydney, and that was shortly before the 2000 Olympics. Perth does things piecemeal. The sinking of a train track, one decade. The building of a freeway, the next. Here it all happens at once.

They built whole rows of apartment blocks, near where I live, while I was away. And a massive shopping mall, with surrounding condominiums, as well. I think two train new lines were completed just before (or soon after) I returned, with another two or three under construction (including a new station a short distance from our home).

It’s not just the city that has grown. When I left, the plants lining the local waterway were bare shrubs, reaching just above the knee. Now they’ve grown into massive trees. And I think they’ve been trimmed constantly.

Life moves fast in the tropics, and I’m loving every moment of living here.