Singapore trip

My first ever image taken using a tripod, in our apartment room at Balestier

Chasing rainbows: A pot of gold at the end of it perhaps? A storm brewing, and me clocking 120KPH

30th August 2008

Sunny, with scattered showers

Left for Singapore at 3p.m, after some dilly dallying in the morning. Top up RM100 into TnG, refueled, and set out at 3p.m, when it was raining. Stopped by McD at USJ Taipan to get some good offers on sundaes as it was Merdeka period. It was raining all the way until Seremban, stopped, then continued at Johor all the way till Singapore. Was trying to hold up my eyes all journey, because I was feeling very tired and all. Stopped at Pagoh rest area for grandma to come out and walk, so that she can loosen some of her muscles. Stopped not long later for mum to use the toilet, and for me too, at Ayer Itam. Reached JB at 8p.m, refueled at our normal Shell station in JB, my fuel efficiency was pretty good this time, used only 19.55 litres for the 350km journey, which I rarely drove above the 130km mark

Exchanged money at our normal money exchange area in JB, at Jln Wong Ah Fook, just outside the Malaysian customs checkpoint heading out of Malaysia. Exchange rate getting from bad to worse. RM1600 only managed to get $672. This shows how weak the Malaysian Ringgit is. Causeway jam was very very bad, all the way back to the Malaysian side, it was bumper to bumper, neck and neck. Probably because it was the weekend and that Sunday for a public holiday in Malaysia, so everybody was planning a weekend in Singapore. Finally entered Singapore at 10p.m.

Had dinner at the normal chinese restaurant at Balestier Road. Was late already, traffic police not allowing anybody to park at double yellow lines, luckily I was parked at a back lane. A carrier van was booked for illegal parking, despite early warnings from traffic men. Was having dinner, then this guy who works at the restaurant was pretty friendly, then we began chatting with him, about the social life in Singapore and Malaysia, because he noticed we were from across the Causeway as we were in a Malaysian-registered car. One of the things he said that I will never forget: "Singaporeans earn $1000 but pay $1.90 for a litre of petrol, but Malaysians on the other hand who have petroleum resources, earn RM1000 but pay RM2.55 for a litre of petrol", now how's that to be? We also talked about the quality of life which is indeed better in Singapore, my former PR status and all. It was quite nice to talk to this guy, whom I learnt was from Teluk Anson in Perak and had a wife from there too with 3 children now studying in Singapore.

Its Malaysia's 51st birthday tomorrow. I really hope Malaysia does progress and moves in the right direction, and be like Singapore one day, in terms of economial prosperity and infrastructural stability. And then we reached our house just 2 mins away form the reataurant, bathed and slept at around 2a.m, after the normal blogging, FB and MSN ritual:)