Life, as it goes.

Not even a speck of sunlight could come in through the thick curtains of the room and the air conditioning had maintained the same temperature so I was not concious of the time. For the first time in this trip R was up before me. He was all charged up for the day. I wasn't even fully awake when he told me he had planned the day in such a way that we would get to see the sights, have lunch with his colleague and go to Sentosa island.

So we set off on foot again after a breakfast that could last for three meals, through the maze of malls and escalators towards Suntech City Mall where the Singapore Tourist Hub was located. If you have seen Krishh you will recognise this place from the fountain which was featured as Krishh jumped/ flew in search of his father. Its the largest fountain in the world and is shaped in a way that water flows in instead of spouting out which according to Feng shui conveys that money should always flow in. It is constructed in the middle of the five Suntech City Mall towers which interestingly form the shape of a person's left hand. The left hand again signifying money coming in as the Chinese believe that in business you give with the right and take with the left hand.

All this we found out on our first tour called the Duck Tour. This was basically a tour in a vehicle which could move both on land and water, an amphibian. It took us through the Civic District, the Business District, the Shopping District and the Marina Bay. Its quite interesting to be in a country of one city. They do not use the word city at all, they just call everything country because the city is the country. Its size is just 42 kms, thats just the distance between Churchgate to Bandra and back and thats not even 1/3rd of Mumbai.

After the Duck tour we were to go to R's office for lunch with his colleagues. Again we decided to walk but realised that it would be too long. At the tourist hub they told us about a free shuttle which took us from Suntech City mall to the Metro station of Raffles City which was the nearest to the business district. The free shuttle was also air conditioned and R shook his head in frustration.

We reached his office, it was on the 10th floor of a business centre and had a view of the Marina Bay as far as the islands of Malaysia and Indonesia. Lunch was great at an Indian restaurant. Somehow I was craving Bhaji Pau and realised that could be great business here as there were not many Indian food restaurants.

It was close to 4:00, we had to board the bus for Sentosa at 6:00 so we took a city bus to Suntech City Mall and relaxed in a cafe for sometime. I was too tired to walk so R strolled around the mall looking at the brands and returned with a bag of chocolates. As I reached out to take one he pulled it away. "These are gifts. You have your chocolate sundae na." So then I had my second chocolate sundae. R had also tried to call V and S but the hotel said they had left in the morning and not returned.

At six sharp, the tour bus came and we set off for Sentosa. Now the best thing about these conducted tours are the guides. They are very entertaining and it takes a lot of spirit to repeat the same thing day in and day out without getting bored or boring the listeners. The tour guide Yan was the best of all we had met. She knew a lot about Singapore. As a passing remark she mentioned her age at 37 and R looked at me with surprise, she hardly looked beyond 20.

The ride till Sentosa took us through the port of Singapore, Yan talked about the history of the country, the story behind its discovery and its name, the current governance, the demography, technological advances, economy and what not, she knew a lot. I was really impressed.

At Sentosa, the main attraction was the musical fountain show. Yan told us to meet us at the entrance of the amphitheatre after the show ended and as we walked the amphitheatre looking for seats, who do we see, V and S sitting hand in hand sipping coke and snacking on Lays.

"Kuch toh connection hai apna." V said when he saw us. We talked of what we had done that day and our plans for the next day. The fountain show was incredible. They had used laser lights reflecting on water to form animated figures of animals and aquatic creatures. It was mainly for childern but even the adults sat in wonderous awe at the technology used. We went back to Yan after fixing with V and s to meet them at Orchard Road later in the night.

From Sentosa we rode back to Singapore, our next stop was Bugis Village street market. The moment I stepped out of the bus I wished I had seen it before. Right in front of me stood spread on sidewalks and spilling on the road, shops and stalls of all kind of food, clothes, electronics, watches, footwear and what not sparkling with halogen lights and tingling with human voices of emotions, a laugh here a shout there and the best part about it which R pointed out, no air conditioning. Thank God, they were after all humans or maybe they were allowed to be humans in this little area of Bugis village street market.

"Feels like home." I remarked to Yan.
"Why?" she asked.
"My entire country is like this, noisy, crowded and hot but undoubtedly alive. Every corner throbs with life in every possible form." I said.
"I would love to visit your country." she remarked, not with the tone of fake formality but with sincerity.
"Do come but be prepared for the shock of your life. It sure is different from yours." I replied.

We boarded the bus from Bugis to our next stop, Orchard Road where we were going to get off and meet up with V and S. We were to meet them at the Mariott Hotel. Actually both of us were very tired and I was longing to go back to the suite so was kind of half hoping that they wouldn't turn up. We waited for them for almost half an hour, looked up and down the building but couldn't find them so we took the next city bus available. We were the only people on the bus, as it ran down the road, I looked out of the glass window and saw S, her red kurti standing out in the crowd, R saw them too but it was not possible to stop the bus or call out at them so we just let it be.

Back at the hotel I was feeling much better after a shower and we were discussing our observations on Singapore. Yan had given us the people's perspective of the country. I couldn't help wondering how they managed to convey the discipline and the rules to the people and how they were convinced to abide by them. The population was 4.4 million, much less that even Mumbai's but still quite a bit for the space they covered. R came up with his point which made the most sense.

"Its all a little too good to be true. I swear to you, these people would also love to spit in the street and pee on walls if they were allowed to. Living in India we are free to have as many definitions as of freedom as the number of people, but here this definition is stated and made unargueable due to the penalties. It is forced and there comes a point in time when people begin to see the good of it too and then do not want to consider any other definition of freedom because theirs give them comfort and a good life. Its not such a bad deal you know."

He maybe right, it may not be such a bad deal but understanding that littering is bad for the country on your own is more valuable than the understanding being imposed on you I think. I slept that night with a vision of trying to impose and penalise each and every pan spitting and wall peeing male in India. A humungous task like that would take lifetimes. Nahi.