Is it true that Singaporeans love travelling, wining and dining, pursuing actions that leads to bragging on Instagram and shopping? Are these activities hobbies which truly enrich the soul and widen the mind? Do hobbies have to fulfil a purpose or can they simply be pastimes? Is it part of a typical Singaporean psyche that we have to defend our modern pastimes, that are prolific in our time, against critique which is oft levelled upon us by ourselves?

Let us examine the activities that many Singaporeans engage in. Much can be explained by the pastimes Singaporeans choose to spend their time on. Booking and planning an overseas vacation speaks of a dynamic and adventurous character not afraid to get out of their comfort zones to explore new areas. Someone who dines out often isn’t afraid of challenging their palates, trying new textures and flavours in different forms and foams. A person who genuinely wants to expand their range of taste would be open to sampling any kind of food provided that it is prepared well. Singaporeans are well attuned to adventurous palettes given that we are exposed to various Asian cuisines, think Thai, Chinese, Indian, Malay, Mod-Sin, fusion, Pan-European.

The modern Singaporean palate is an elevated, sophisticated one. Using food as an analogy, we Singaporeans have wide exposure to the cultural range afforded to us by the creativity and diversity of taste and explosion of flavours by passionate chefs. Our exposure to many different cultures that come about due to our travels to other countries affords us new sensibilities in experimentation and exploration that lead to us having flexibility in a range of skills and abilities. We are lucky to be living in this new frontier of novel experiences, and being the beneficiaries of pioneers as well as building up their legacies. We truly are living in an emerging Asian century. It is simply remarkable to witness Singapore’s transformation in a few decades when other countries in stark contrast remain sleepy towns or witness a decline.

What’s more to come, can we flesh out our potential even further just like building another tower at the Marina Bay Sands? There seems no end to our ambitions as we pursue our livelihoods in vibrant townships and dense CBDs.