The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group A PC Enthusiast’s Visit To Singapore Gary Winder |
I must confess, I am a geek. I like technology. I like window shopping to see
this technology and trying to get the best deal for my dollar, but alas, I don't
have much in the way of the dollar. Retail PC shops exist in Australia, everyone
knows that, but they are usually small standalone shops in out of the way
locations. Only recently have we got a few large scale computer stores. Just for
a moment, imagine you are at your local shopping centre here in Oz, close your
eyes for a few seconds and picture it in your mind (well, read the next bit then
do it.). Now, imagine every shop in it changing into some sort of consumer
electronics shop. Seriously! In Singapore, these centres exist.
I did not have a clue that these temples of geekdom existed when I set off on my
first excursion to a destination in Asia. Singapore, this tiny island Nation at
the bottom of the Malaysian peninsula.
Stepping out of the air conditioned airport, my first sensation of Singapore was
the warmth, which I realised after about a minute was not just warmth by itself
but humidity as well. Very humid for a Melbournian but for some reason it did
not bother me. I waited in the queue for a taxi soaking in all my new
surroundings. The taxis were interesting - mostly diesel Toyota Coronas. They
have a speed warning device consisting of a tinny ding dong bell that keeps ding
donging once you go over 80 kph. So it was ding donging all the way along the
freeway, which in Singapore was not too long. We were passed by small trucks
with lots of people in the back, underneath a yellow flashing light that
indicates that they too were breaking the speed limit. I make it to my hotel,
and retire for the night.
The next day is full of work and I'm still in culture shock mode. Everyone at my
company greets me by name and knows my face, and I have not the faintest idea
who I'm talking to because I've only ever communicated with them by phone. Also
in town for the first time was an American, he too was in heavy culture shock
mode and not dealing with the humidity. In his first day there, he had four
showers in a futile attempt to beat his discomfort. The air conditioned office
is almost too cold for me, but he loved it.
There are a few people I know, and one of them tells my boss to take me to a
place called Sim Lim Square. "Sure" I say, not knowing what it was. After work
finishes we pile in a taxi and I say to the driver "Can you please take us to
some place called Sim Lim Square?" to which I get a response that indicates he
did not understand me. My boss in the back says "Sim Lim" and he indicates that
he knows exactly where he wants and takes us there. I don't understand why he
can't pick up on the words 'Sim Lim' from what I said, but I guess I just have
to learn. He takes us to Sim Lim, a whole $8 ride. The place looked a bit old
from the outside, and the inside was looked old too, but I did not care. I was
gobsmacked by the five floors of consumer electronics. Not only that, but it was
all the latest equipment that we had not seen in Australia at that time. You
name it, they had it.
Sim Lim Square had me wishing I were not so strapped for cash. I would have had
one of everything - well just about. The ground level was mainly your home Audio
and Video retailers. A trip up the escalators was a trip to PC heaven. Shop
after shop of PC equipment floor to roof. Hardware, software and everything else
PC related. There were decent PC speaker systems before they were even a thought
in a well decked out Australian PC, masses of keyboards and mice, joystick,
cases, games all stacked up and flowing out the doors. the list goes on.
Everyone of these shops was spotting the tourists and trying to make us part
with our cash. Actually, the tourists stand out easily as we could spot other
groups of foreigners walking around in groups.
Some of the shops seem to be somewhat bland, almost like they were having a
"going out of business" sale. A closer inspection reveals they are selling
software. Heaps of software, literally. There is software in piles on flimsy
tables. No hard cases or anything. Obviously these are illegal copies, and
copies of just about anything you want. I contemplated the punishment that would
be bestowed upon me at either end of the customs process if I was caught with
any of this and immediately decided to give it a wide berth. However, since
returning to the world's most liveable city, I've heard that there was a major
crackdown on these 'warez' stores and they don't exist now, unless you look very
hard. I did notice one in a Queen Victoria style market just up the road from
Sim Lim.
So, later in the week I ventured out myself thinking that Sim Lim is not really
that far from the Hotel. It's hot, it's sticky and dammit I'm an Aussie and I
can handle heat. So it's boots and jeans for me. So I walk to Sim Lim. I look
around again, but I get there late and most of the shops are closing. So I
search around some of the less frequented areas and find a few places open. So
much gear I wanted to buy, but the burden of a mortgage and little hungry mouths
keeps me from going nuts. A game or two for the little ones is all I can manage.
Trips away from the family must always be compensated for by offerings of
children's product.
I feel safe walking around Singapore. So I decide to walk around in search of a
place that sells cold drinks or even a beer. I head off down one street in
search mode. I think I made my way to an area where a lot of Indian people hang
out, and the streets got a little grottier and nothing was really open and
anything that was open was not really inviting. I seemed to be the odd one out
with my sun hating skin showing that I was not a local. I guess jeans and boots
added to the image as well. So I head back to the hotel... sort of. I could see
a building that I knew and headed towards it, but I must have taken the long
way. I ended up walking for ages which saw me heading up this main road. It had
a garden between the road and the foot path, and a metre high metal fence around
it. It was dark. An oriental woman turned around and looked at me. I was a
little startled as I didn't realise she was there until her big white eyes were
looking at me. She was wearing dark brown head to toe so she must have not stood
out in the darkness. She said nothing and I kept walking, all the while thinking
'what was she waiting for?'. Then something else stood out. Another oriental
woman, also well dressed. This one spoke to me however. She lifted up a part of
her garment and while rubbing her chest asked me if I wanted some sort of job. I
looked away and kept walking thinking to myself that this person had a rather
deep voice for a woman.
Another major location and main centre of hardware heaven and in a more modern
looking building is the Funan Centre. It was a much shorter walk from the Hotel
and also it housed an eatery that I fell in love with. Not because of the health
of the food though, but for it's speedy delivery of my favourite food, Mexican.
It was Taco Bell. The KFC equivalent of Mexican food. Pure bliss in my mouth
after my failed attempt as more exotic Asian food. If you call bean curd exotic,
and I think it bruised my internal organs anyway. After a selection of processed
Mexican delights, I headed up stairs to more floors of hardware. This was more
up market, and the prices reflected that. The range and quality of hardware
reflected that also. There were a lot more commercial level vendors here,
selling
equipment that only a large company would buy. Sure there were PC retailers, but
not as many. It just did not have the swap meet appeal and atmosphere that was
at Sim Lim Square. But still it is an awe inspiring place to visit if you have
never seen an entire centre devoted to electronic equipment.
Another sight struck me, and years before they appeared in any large form in
Melbourne and that was the Internet Cafés. Not wimpy little ones I mean, but
really big ones. And every desk had an LCD screen when the price of LCD screens
in Australian was almost more expensive than the system to which it was
connected. Although we now have similar establishments, Singapore was years
ahead. Everyone had broadband while cable Internet was only just being rolled
out back home.
In recent years we have done a lot of catching up. Home Cinema is everywhere,
hardware prices are low and there are a lot more PC related events. Even though
Melbourne is the worlds most liveable city, I like Singapore. Technology is
everywhere and I loved it. I could live there easily, and given the tight IT job
market, it just might become a necessity. Go there if you have a chance. Take
the spouse, there are plenty of shops where both of you can blow the card limit.
Reprinted from the March 2005 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
