My Travelogue: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia - Part 2

In Singapore
Announcement of an imminent landing at Singapore’s Changi International Airport and friendly orders from the crew to put on seat belt, standardize sitting positions and to avoid further movements inside the flight brought everybody back to life. The handsome steward politely discouraged my attempt to lean leftward and have an aerial glance through the window, of course neglecting the annoyance of the serious passenger beside, in to the wonderful land unfolding below, a greenish-concrete forest, a well-planned garden-city. It was 4 pm in my mobile, almost four hours from Chennai, but the crew announced it was 6 pm outside where a pleasant and breezy weather waits to welcome us in to the transit hub of Southeast Asia. A fellow traveler consoled his first-time incoming friend that he can retain the lost two-hours while flying back to India.

I had almost got up and opened the dashboard taking out my hand baggage the moment Air India halted at the bay, obviously not to be trapped in the mad and messy rush usual in the flights after landing. In the hurry to come out responding a ‘Hi’ to the ceremonially wishing hostess at the door, I overheard a nasty comment by the passenger behind in the line about the aged airhostesses employed in India’s flagship carrier, saying he would prefer private players where the presence of hot babes would be another treat onboard. On the day of documenting this note, however, I read in the newspaper an incident occurred in a Cochin-Delhi Jet flight. The incredibly beautiful Jet airhostess, annoyed by a high-profile passenger who took her photograph, protested and got the picture deleted from the camera.

Though I was one of the first to come out and pass through the neatly furnished corridor leading to the Terminal 3’s security and emigration check out counters, I realized that while filling others’ forms onboard I had not filled mine, which I did in few minutes.

Just a glance at both the counters gives you an outlook on the anthropology of Singapore; officials and security guards in various colors and physical features with an apparent indication to the multi-ethnicity of Singapore.
Most of the Air India passengers were mail laborers, and I noticed a difference in the attitudes of the staff towards them, little bit harsh and rough, though I myself felt an extremely smooth and cordial emigration process and gentle ‘happy-stay-in-Singapore’ wish from the black lady at the counter, thanks to my ‘purpose of the visit’ as a ‘researcher coming to meet a professor at prestigious National University of Singapore (NUS)’. In the local address column of the white emigration card, the counterfoil of which we have to keep with us always and should be shown to concerned authorities on demand, I had mentioned the name of Dr Farid Al Attas, head of the Department of Malay studies in NUS. To a query whether I am there on a student exchange programme between JNU and NUS, I simply nodded innocently, of course due to my preoccupations and precaution as advised by friends not to run into trouble disclosing plans to visit Indonesia, where the over-enthused security agencies falsely doubt to be the hotbed of new Islamic Insurgence.

There was of course no any demand to showcase my spending ability (show-money) or to produce my return ticket or the visa to the next embarkation point, a fact Shafeeq later told me unusual with tourists from countries like India. See we are still in ‘that cattle class’ category and we have miles to go to get even a visa-on-arrival status in countries like rich Singapore.

While hurriedly coming out for a warm and touching embrace from longtime friend Shafeeq Hudawi waiting outside, I could not resist myself from a glance into one of Singapore’s engineering marvel. Recognized as one of the best airports in the world (over 250 awards and accolades it boasts are clear proof to this claim), Changi International Airport accommodates more than 80 airlines serving over 180 cities in above 50 countries. Since its launch in 1981, Changi has grown up to become a major aviation hub in the Asia Pacific region, mainly linking South East and Down Under to Asia and Europe.

Spread in five systematically inter-connected terminals, the vast, efficient and well-organized Changi airport offers a wide array of duty-free shops and eating outlets, in addition to six open-air garden areas, mainly for the use of longer-staying transit passengers, and other high-class amenities like internet and games facilities, prayer rooms, showers, spas, gym, swimming pool and a hotel. There is Skytrain operating between Terminals 1, 2 and 3, with a total of seven stations. One of the main features of Changi is two exclusive terminals to cater to both high-end as well as budget travelers. Though Changis was pioneer in planning a budget terminal, Kuala Lampur was first to launch it, both were planned due to the boom in law-cost air travelling with a number of players in the field. While Chagi started its Budget Terminal in March 2006, its dedicated stand-alone ‘Commercially Important Person’ (CIP) terminal operated by JetQuay, started functioning since August 2006. It is the first luxury airport terminal in Asia.

I spotted Shafeeq from the far through the glass walls and ran to him for another reunion after 8 years. Wearing a long sleeved Arabian white shirt and crisp white turban tied with cap and a tail, a typical outfit of Islamic Ulama and Imams, Shafeeq had changed a lot within all these years since I saw him last. While coming out, he was playing with a cute baby girl of a tourist from Belgium, who sweetly responded thank you receiving a SGD 5 note he affectionately offered her. A warm embrace brought us back to memories of long 12 years we spent together in same class and same room, eating from same plates.

Shafeeq had come with a friendly taxi driver, Brother Ahmed, who got out of the car and politely welcomed me in to his fancy cab, a first introduction in to the warmth, care and politeness of Singaporeans, of the people of Southeast in General, that I experienced throughout my travelling. In a busy airport no vehicle was seen outside, another introduction about Singapore, everything is proper, systematic and well-organized. All the vehicles should be at the bay underground, come out on call by the waiting passengers only to take them away within minimum time to board.
There are multiple options to get in to the town from the airport, located 20km away from the city centre. The ultra-efficient Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network will charge you only S$ 1.50 from Changi Airport Station, located underground between Terminal 2 and 3 and directly accessible from both terminals, to City Hall for a 28 minute smooth journey, and there are services every seven minutes. SMRT Buses (SMRT is Singapore’s premier multi-modal public transport service provider offering ‘safe, reliable, friendly and integrated’ transport services with an extensive network of trains, buses and taxis ) and SBS transit, the leading bus operators in the region, use bus terminals in the basement level of the three main terminals for a budget transit to the city. Taxi stands are within the arrival halls of the three main terminals and just outside the Budget Terminal. Taxis charge S$3-5 supplementary over the metered fare from the airport, which comes around S$18 to most places in city centre.

Now the car is speeding up and I sit immersed in the greenish and lush surroundings we are driving through. A wonderful piece of landscape is being uncovered in front of me. Smooth roads, skyscrapers and concrete structures each showcasing different and amazing engineering excels interspersed by gardens abundant with all kind of plants and flowers. The exact personal feeling was really that of reaching physically to the virtual roads in the computer game ‘Road Rash’. Compared to the horrible traffic in peak hours at our cities, and even in cities like Kuala Lumpur, it was a smooth drive through the hearts of Singapore to the famous blue-domed Malabar Muslim Jamaat Mosque located in the heart of Victoria Street, adjacent to Kampong Glam Muslim quarters and situated between the City Centre and Little India.
Minutes left to the call for Magrib (evening prayer), I hastened to take ablution and completed my noon and afternoon prayers in the shortest form before falling in to the embracing hands of Rafeeq Hudawi, another Darul Huda friend who works in the same position as Shfeeq at Malabar mosque. After Magrib and Isha prayers in the mosque, I engaged myself in small introductions with some of the Malabar Muslim Jamaat members and other friends and well-wishers of Imams. It continued even while enjoying a delicious Biriyani brought from one of the historic hotels lined in the nearby Sultan Jalan street, where tourists and locals alike flock to taste mouthwatering Halal foods, which I explored more during my short stay.

Late in the night, I followed Adullah Haji, a Singapore citizen hailing from extreme north of Kerala, to his 10th story flat in a 30-plus-storied building, occupied mainly by retired elders and low-income people. As the mosque administration has recently banned outsiders’ night stay in the mosque due to, as they say, misuse of the facility by many, Shafeeq had arranged my stay in the tiny and congested room of this aged nice man, whose heart was spacious than any thing. To my surprise, I happened to sleep in the so-called paradise of earth in a dingy room where I could donate little bit of my blood to bugs (mootta for Mallus), the blood-sucking insect that was part of our Darul Huda daily life for long, but we have now really forgotten that nightmares, haven’t seen that insect in Kerala for long, and now in the high-class, most modern city I reclaim my historic bond, and meet another generation of my childhood friends.

To be honest and sincere, I had not any problem to sleep there, but was extremely happy and incredibly easy. For, the biggest training of our 12-year Darul Huda life was the ability to adjust with anything at any place without any complaints, be it in mosquito-ruling bus-stands or railway stations or in dingier rooms in many of the Indian cities. More clearly, I was totally home at the flat of this fatherly man, who has seen the entire development phases of Singapore for around last 60 years, and through whose experienced eyes I started watching the present and future of this city-state simultaneously. It was his extreme generosity as well as his affectionate and sacred bonding with the Imam of the mosque that induced him to warmly welcome me into his room in a city where you have to pay in thousands to spend a night, and where people are more self-centered or helpless in this kind of issues.