My third uncle is a living encyclopedia on cars. He just has to get one person to be interested in what he has to say, and the entire conversation on the dining table will be on price of COEs, TOP gear magazine, F1 drivers, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Maserati, Bugatti and the astronomical price tags for these beaus on wheels, never mind that for most Singaporeans(99%), it is only a much talked about dream.
It led me to think about the quality and cost of living in Singapore. I'm really quite dissatisfied with it.
For Singaporeans who are fortunate enough to travel beyond SEA, you will find that society more equitable and pleasant outside. I'll use food as an example, since I consider myself a food addict. Prices of meals in countries in the US, UK, France are generally more expensive. The cheapest meals usually range from S$7-10, and they are usually the chinese 'restaurants', or cafes selling bread and cakes. Singaporeans would scoff at the expense and remark that hawker food offers a superior value to that. My counter to that is simple, staff there are paid a 'living wage', thus the premium. The minimum wage in France in Dec 12 was €10.43/hr. This was mind blowing to me. I won't mind being one in Singapore if I were paid $21/hr for my efforts. No one the French waiters are proud of their craft and are always so professional in their conduct and demeanour. Hardly in Singapore do you get decent and consistent service save at the most established(and unaffordable) places.
This brings me to the next point, the price differential between normal restaurants and fine dining ones don't vary too much, which means to say regardless of how much or how little you earn, you are not excluded from enjoying artisan food. In Singapore, you can lead two very different lives here. There are those who can dine at michelin star restaurants, five star hotels, boutique outlets and food courts, and those who can only dine at kopitiams, hawker centres and food courts. The fruit of prosperity have not spread equally and unsurprisingly the Gini coefficient of Singapore is one of the highest in the world.
Ok, back to cars. I was quite shocked that at the seaside town of Cromer, UK, I saw a decent mini car by a restaurant on sale for £1 123. This is more affordable than the camera I have! I'll use another example to demonstrate how ludicrous the prices of cars are in Singapore. A Jaguar XJ 5.0 V8 Supercharged Supersport (LWB) (8speed) 4d Auto cost about £95 235 ($186 660.60 with a 1.96 EX ) in the UK, whilst in Singapore an identical make easily costs $465 000, including COE. This is roughly 2.5 times the amount and $280 000 more. My intention is not to incense people, but to ask if this is what we want.
Courtesy of parkers.co.uk
Cards
I consider myself a fan of most card and board games. Happy that my cousin Justin got a new game, "Loot" so that we could entertain ourselves while our parents continue with their boring banter after dinner. I think I've got an awesome bunch of cousins and I hope that even though we meet so sparingly, our bonds will not be like van der waals forces, but like ionic compounds.
I consider myself a fan of most card and board games. Happy that my cousin Justin got a new game, "Loot" so that we could entertain ourselves while our parents continue with their boring banter after dinner. I think I've got an awesome bunch of cousins and I hope that even though we meet so sparingly, our bonds will not be like van der waals forces, but like ionic compounds.
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