i cannot help making comparison between australia - melbourne, to be specific - and my homeland, singapore, because each year i spend a few months in melbourne and the rest of the time in singapore. if i do seem to paint a better picture of certain aspects of life in melbourne, it is not because i like australia more but it is more because i want to point out that although singapore may be considered a great place to live, it can be an even better place if we change some of our ways.
i have blogged about reserving seats at food centres. my australian friends - former singaporeans - had this unpleasant experience at one of the popular food centres in singapore. i have blogged about it here.
seats at food courts are not the only things that singaporeans 'chope'. there is also this practice of 'choping' parking space. in australia, although the car population is much larger than singapore's, they do not go around staking their claims on parking territory.
in singapore, the mentality appears to be 'my own convenience overrides others', so i have the right to chope the space outside my house for my own use. apart from the usual dustbins, what other articles can be used for 'choping'? i have come across used tyres, flower pots, cones, chairs, incense paper burning bins, poles on a concrete base, bicycles and even, tables. however, not everyone who places a bin or flower pot does so for selfish reason; some do it to prevent inconsiderate motorists from parking right in front of their driveway.
in the commercial areas of the city, delivery men and shop-owners seem to have exclusive use of the parking space in front of the shops or restaurants. even if it is a space meant for coupon parking, you seldom gets a chance to park in the 'perpetually reserved' space.
in melbourne, at my daughter and son-in-law's place, the parking space in front of their terrace house is designated a public car-park. even non-residents have the right to park their vehicles at that space. if my daughter or son-in-law comes home and cannot find a space, then she or he will have to park the vehicle further away, without making any fuss about it.
