4 things I do not miss about Singapore and 9 things I missed

Happy 49th birthday Singapore!

Living in Nanjing, China for the past two months, the duration is not long enough for me to feel homesick, but neither so short that I do not miss my home country completely.

4 things I do not miss about Singapore:

1. Overcrowding. Singapore is severely overcrowded and our public infrastructures are strained to the maximum. I really cannot imagine a 6.9 million population living on such a tiny space.

2. IPPT/IPT/RT/ICT. Anything to do with SAF or MINDEF, especially when they are threats to charge me for the smallest thing like forgetting to submit the overseas notification when travelling.

3. Formal office wear. Why do men need to wear long-sleeved shirts and long trousers in a tropical country that is hot all year round? In worse instances, ties and suits are standard requirement. Here in Nanjing, I can switch to short-sleeved shirts, even t-shirts and shorts to beat the summer heat.

4. High cost of living. Singapore has recently been crowned as the most expensive city in the world. Enough said.

Here are 9 things I miss about Singapore:

1. Clear sky and fresh air. I cannot emphasise how important the latter is for a high quality of life. Hopefully, the passing of the transboundary haze law in Parliament recently will be able to combat the haze issue caused by errant businesses in Indonesia.

2. Cleanliness. After travelling to many cities and countries around the world, Singapore is still one of the cleanest cities and countries in the world. Not that Singaporeans are not prone to littering, but our sanitation workers and cleaners work hard. They definitely deserve the recent pay increments and even more. Salute.

3.  Orderliness. There is a system and standard procedure for everything. You know where a queue starts and civil servants will always respond to your queries (even if the replies are sometime templated or half-hearted). Things work and glitches are communicated and explained properly. Cars abide traffic regulations and stop at traffic lights and zebra crossings.

4. Cosmopolitan. There are people from all over the world living and working in Singapore. You can experience many different cultures in one small island. Foreign diaspora include Golden Mile Complex for Thais, Lucky Plaza for Filipinos, Liang Court for Japanese, Clarke Quay for Europeans, among many others.

5. Food. Singaporeans are obsessed with food and I miss my laksa, char kway teow, carrot cake and other Singapore hawker favourites. There are also quality international cuisines from around the world in Singapore, something not so easily available in Nanjing.

6. Free internet. The Great Firewall of China is painful.

7. Proximity. Everything is near and accessible in Singapore, no matter where you live. A lot of my colleagues in Nanjing prefer to do their shopping online here due to distance and inaccessibility.

8. Quality healthcare and hygiene. Food are always safe for consumption, even street food. Healthcare is expensive, but at least readily available.

9. My family and friends. This cannot be replaced anywhere.