The Local Commuter

Just writing about some things I saw while commuting on the train tonight.

The trains on North-East line were pretty empty when I went in from Hougang. As the train commences it's journey, my observation began too.

Hmm... The advertisement lightbox in the tunnel are not lit up. "Save cost. More so now that Buangkok station is losing money..."

It was relatively quiet. So rested my eyes and told myself to be ready for the crowd from Farrer Park on Little India stations. "There will be alot of those those foreign workers coming on board in those stations, " I thought to myself.

Well, surprise. There merely a handful of them who came in. Maybe it's because I was in one of the last few cabins.

A group of young Indians sat opposite me. They do not look like local Indians, as they are fairer. "Hmmm. The very rich ones and the blue-collar works are now thronging our shores. Similar to the Chinese who came in as well. THIS is the new group of people who would probably have a part in shaping the countries' future. They are, in some sense, migrants and pioneers. They will tell their children of their migrant stories in years to come."

This thought was verified when some Chinese-looking men took over the seats of the Indian young men when they left the train.

All goes well thereafter.

At the exchange station, I wasn't surprise to see throngs of Indian and Sri Lankan workers making a switch of train routes. They carry with them food and necessities bought from Mustafa Centre, or most probably bought from their shopping trip in Little India. There were hardly any locals in sight. "Maybe that's why most of us prefer to stay at home on weekends."

I think the sight of the army of migrant workers goes to show two things:

1) The property developments in Singapore are pretty well planned. They are so near the MRT stations that the workers, who are part of the development, can easily commute from town to their "homes" on their day offs. How's that for working in a foreign country as a labourer? The colourful town is not too far away from their work location.

2) There are more Indians in Singapore than you think.

3) (Another something that slipped my mind. Oh well.)

So yep. There you go.

Disclaimer:
I have nothing against foreign workers, in fact, I am thankful to them for taking up the dirty jobs that we Singaporeans dissed. Those people who speculate in properties should thank them even more. If not for these people, will these investors make money so quickly?

The above is generally an observation, it is not mean to discriminate, nor to propagate racial supremacy.