My Pathetic Universe

I remember the time I learned how to use Photoshop and manipulate pictures, I pathetically edited my portrait along with the Petronas Twin Tower as background. Although the editing was not that bad, still it’s not the real thing. But last week, I need no Photoshop anymore.

I’m not much of a story teller lalo pag true-to-life, so bits and pieces lang mababasa nyo dito.

I’m always fascinated with great man-made structures like buildings, bridges, statues, towers etc. Nakikita ko lang sila sa segment ng Discovery Channel like Extreme Engineering, and I always like ‘Damn, how do they do it?’ The same question lingers in my mind when the World Trade Center collapsed.

Anyway, Kuala Lumpur (KL) is only 5-6 hours from Singapore (SG), mabilis na yun, considering its distance of more than 300 kms. While Singapore is very different from the Philippines in every single angle, parang Manila lang ang KL. Mas tamad pa nga ata Malaysian kesa Pinoy e, they open their businesses at 11am kaya sa umaga halos walang tao at sasakyan.

But products in KL is much cheaper compare here, and mas mahal naman sa Singapore kesa Pinas. Gadgets in KL and SG, laking mura kesa dito, imagine a P150k laptop here will only cost about P80k sa Malaysia.

What I’m fascinated about Singapore is their transportation system, I’m more likely to get lost in Metro Manila but never in SG, lahat may signs, maps, and they’re translated in selected languages (Mandarin, Malay, Hindi, etc.). Wala rin traffic and in expressway, there are digital roadsigns which indicates road accidents, the specific location and lane so as to avoid traffic jam build up. Toll and parking fees are automatically collected by sensors. They have this EZ Link card that can be use to board trains and buses. You’ll only have to tap the card to the scanners and off you go. Ganun lang kasimple. Everything there is so systematic, organized and well disciplined. Wala ako nakikitang naglilinis pero sobrang linis ng paligid, wala ako nakita traffic enforcers and yet traffic laws are observed and abided.

When I arrived at Clark Airport last Saturday, I thought it will take hours before it will sink to me that I’m already in the Philippines, but guess what, it only took about 10 minutes max.

Sa eroplano, stewardesses handed us three forms (Health, Immigration and Customs) to be filled-out upon arriving at the airport. Since most of us e walang ballpen, we decided na sa airport na lang mag fill-up. To our dismay, walang ballpen sa airport. One co-passenger borrowed ballpen from an employee and we filled-out our forms one after another. Hiraman. Ako ang pinaka huli so literally, ako na lang pasahero sa loob ng arrival. Pinagmadali na ako at yung ibang part e pwede na raw di fill-upan, kasi ako na lang ang hinihintay at uuwi na sila. So I hurriedly handed them my passport and the incompletely filled forms, stamped it and handed back to me. Sabi ko ‘OK na yun?’, the officer nodded.

In Singapore and Malaysia Immigration, napakahigpit nila. Sa Malaysia, halos paghubadin ako e, pinatanggal cap and eyeglasses ko, they even asked me why my hair is longer than the one on the passport picture.

You may think that I’m a Filipino kaya di ako pinaghigpitan ng Clark Immigration. Not all my co-passengers are Filipinos, may isang foreigner na mukhang terorista and yet, he passed the counter as easily as me.

My check-in baggage is lying alone there at the carousel. Usually sa airports, when there's a baggage that is not attended for a period of time, magiging cause ng commotion yun suspecting that the baggage is some sort of threat or something, pero sa Clark, wala.

So much for comparison, in fact it’s not even right to compare. Besides, ‘di nman mananalo Pilipinas e.

Well, this entry is for the sake of ‘para lang may entry’. Di ako mahilig gumala, pumunta nga sa CR sa umaga tinatamad ako e, sa ibang bansa pa kaya. And I will not tell how the hell I got there, wala nga may alam na nagpunta ako SG and KL.