Convenience

Singapore is a small bustling city with shopping malls, MRT stations and bus stops on every corner. It roughly takes about a little less than 2 hours to travel from one end of the country to the other. Buses and train services are regular, and the maximum waiting time for a bus is usually about 30 minutes. This has been something I have, and I guess many Singaporeans have been accustomed to, and sometimes taken for granted. I learned this when I waited for a bus in the middle of nowhere for over an hour, in a country far far away.

Among other things, having everything a stone’s throw away from home is why I appreciate living in this country. My home is a mere 10 minutes walk to a shopping mall that meets all my daily needs; a supermarket for groceries, a hawker centre for meals, restaurants for occasional indulgences, a few clothing stores, a bookshop (really Popular with the students) and a pharmacist. Accompanying the shopping mall is an underground MRT station that links to other stations with other malls in other parts of the country.

In areas with clusters of HDB flats and more people, the malls are bigger and with more shops to accommodate the people. Ang Mo Kio and Tampines are examples, with AMK Hub, Tampines mall and Tampines 1. Students can be found thriving in such malls after school, hanging out at fast food outlets , catching a film or shopping. This is because schools are often near housing estates, which are also near shopping centres. You can also find public facilities and amenities in most estates, catering to people of all ages and interests, for example, polyclinics, stadiums, community centres, libraries and swimming complexes.

Just when you thought that things could not be any more accessible, the oldest, most traditional form of shops often forgotten and has been right under our noses all these while, literally! Yes. That is the convenience stores usually found in void decks of HDBs; the “Ma ma shop”. You can get all sorts of things there, from bread, to feather dusters. Other shops can also be found in close proximity; hairdressers, dollar stores, clinics, pet shops, wet markets, coffee-shops and many more. No need for driving, neither for bus or train taking; everything is at a walking distance.

Singapore is one of the few cities that no matter which part of the island you live in, cars are not necessary. We have an excellent transport system that links the city from corner to corner, edge to edge.

With the recent opening of the circle line, the MRT network has expanded, and has brought things even closer, allowing commuters to travel from place to place faster than before.

Having amenities and transport at the tips of our fingers really makes Singapore a great place to live in, and that is why I call Singapore my home.

Done by: Tan Kiat Yi