Harbourfront, Singapore, April 2015
There's nothing like a beautiful afternoon spent by a large body of water.
I got to spend time in Singapore with my cousin, whom I hadn't seen in years, and my girlfriend, whom, by the time we had arrived in the Lion City, I had not seen for a couple of days. Relationships tend to magnify the length of time between meetings. That's just the way things go.
Situated within the Bukit Merah area, Harbourfront has undergone a lot of development over the years. Outdoor mechanical walkway? Check. Ample lighting? Check. Shopping mall? Check. Cable cars zipping through the sky? Check, check. Eating places? Check. To the uninitiated tourist, the place can seem like a cornucopia of shops and eating places. What you get is the byproduct of industrial progress.
We have similar places in Manila, but none seem to be as clean as Harbourfront, or, as clean as Singapore in general, for that matter. I am sure Singapore has its share of problems, but hey, they make it work. They seem to make it work due to diligence and political will.
Until there is concrete evidence of progress, I suppose that we'll have to keep dreaming of having Singapore-level progress. Am I anti-Philippines? Not at all. I am just speaking candidly. Things are the way they are.
MC
