from singapore and back
@ethanonthemoon (1494)
Quezon, Philippines
February 13, 2010 6:58pm CST
Last week I went to Singapore.
It was my first international flight. It took some three hours to get there.
It is much much more developed than the Philippines in many ways than one. Well, the thing is, the Philippines is much much more bigger than Singapore to really manage it completely. If I can have an island like Singapore and a budget to get things in order, I can do it in fifty year.
Anyways, Singapore is very nice. It is the cost of living that can kill everyone. The food is expensive, water is expensive, in short it is very expensive to live in there.
1 person likes this
7 responses
@msfrancisco9369 (10002)
• Boston, Massachusetts
14 Feb 10
Hi Ethan,
welcome back home friend. it's nice that you travel and treated yourself for an international travel. any gift for me from singapore? LOL. my husband went there for a media conference when LG launched their Secret cellphone, he said that the country is really beautiful but you are right everything is expensive there.
@ethanonthemoon (1494)
• Quezon, Philippines
15 Feb 10
Yup! The food is really expensive. A bottle of mineral water costs twice here in the Philippines.
1 person likes this
@ethanonthemoon (1494)
• Quezon, Philippines
16 Feb 10
You can't help computing the conversion in your mind.
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@msfrancisco9369 (10002)
• Boston, Massachusetts
15 Feb 10
you're right. next time when you go back to singapore, don't convert it to peso so that you will not feel bad, instead enjoy your vacation hehehehe. my husband can relate with your experience in singapore.
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@vigneshindian (203)
• India
14 Feb 10
ya man i have lived in singapore for 2 years . first thing you cant compare Singapore with any country because Singapore is such a small country only 40km . But yes it is the most beautiful and safest city to live in the world . very cosmopolitan . i dont agree Singapore is expensive as you have to pick and choose right place there are restaurants where u get food which are cheap , yes water is expensive as they get it from malaysia .
so whole point to all mylotters is that it is must visit place
cheers
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@ethanonthemoon (1494)
• Quezon, Philippines
15 Feb 10
Where do you live, dude?
I stayed at my brother's house when I went in Singapore last weekend. It is really a nice little country.
Do you think Singapore has a high cost of living?
@vigneshindian (203)
• India
15 Feb 10
i was staying in serangoon , ya singapore u can say is little bit costly place but there are places where u can be happy with ur budget . Plces little india and china town are good place and u get value for money
cheers mite
2 people like this
@ethanonthemoon (1494)
• Quezon, Philippines
16 Feb 10
I went shopping at Little India. It is a mall called Mustafa. I've never seen so much Indian in one place.
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
14 Feb 10
Hi ethanonthemoon!^^
I envy you! I have always wanted to go to Singapore. I just don't have the time and money. .
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
15 Feb 10
Yeah, if only that can be done here in the Philippines. But the country is very far from that. Somehow it kinda seems impossible. It will take a tremendous effort to do that, tremendous amount of money, and most importantly, an honest and sincere leader.
2 people like this
@ethanonthemoon (1494)
• Quezon, Philippines
15 Feb 10
The public utilities here are government owned. Cabs, buses, MRT's, telecommunication companies, land development agencies, are controlled by the government, thus a very controlled community. I think this is why the cost of living is very high. Public utilities are monopolized and no one dares to compete.
You are right when you say that everything is well maintained. Everywhere is nice and clean. There you can't see a security guard because most citizen are honest. If only that can be transposed to the Philippines.
1 person likes this
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
14 Feb 10
I wish to visit the Philippines to go island hopping and snorkeling. I imagine the Philippines is cheaper and not as developed as Singapore. I have been to Singapore three times. I really like it there. I think prices are fairly high. I have been to Hong Kong once and prices are similar there. I found Sumatra in Indonesia to be a bargain. I found the Maldives to be incredibly expensive. I like to stop off in Asia on my way to or from Australia. I find that Singapore and Hong Kong are slightly cheaper than my home country.
1 person likes this
@ethanonthemoon (1494)
• Quezon, Philippines
16 Feb 10
Our country, the Philippines, is very different in its own right. It is not that developed like Singapore but there is something homely about this country. It is very laid back. Sure there are people who are not friendly and stuff but it is just a minority. Mostly, the Philippine population is much, much friendlier than people from other country in Asia.
That's just my opinion.
@my_name_is_coco (4334)
• Philippines
15 Feb 10
I would go to Singapore,but only for a vacation.it is a very progressive country.though it is progressive,I wouldn't want to live there.I admire their discipline,though.even their traffic is very minimal.I heard that 10 minutes is the maximum time you'll get stuck on traffic.
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@ethanonthemoon (1494)
• Quezon, Philippines
16 Feb 10
I've never experienced any traffic in my four-day visit there.
The only time our cab stopped in the road was in an intersection and the red light was on our face.
@Torunn (8609)
• Norway
14 Feb 10
I didn't really find Singapore very expensive, but then I live in one of the most expensive countries in the world and I had just been in Japan when I stopped to visit a friend in Singapore on my way back to Europe. I liked how green it was everywhere, I suppose it can be a bit overwhelming if you live there.
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@Torunn (8609)
• Norway
16 Feb 10
You mean why I didn't find Singapore expensive? I live in Norway, we don't usually find anything expensive, expect maybe Iceland (before their financial disaster) and Switzerland ;-)
In addition, I visited a friend. One thing is the living for free, but obviously she knew where to go to get good value for your money when eating. And we did eat out nearly every day as I wanted to try all the different cuisines there. Very different from Norway, I loved the food.
@clouds0327 (1389)
• Philippines
14 Feb 10
Good for you! How I wish I can also get a chance to travel outside the country. Singapore is on of those many countries I wanted to visit. I am still hoping that someday I will. Hopefully.
