No Place Like Home

As Singapore celebrates her 38th year of independence and freedom, 15 of our jet-setting celebs reveal to Jacqueline Chen what they miss most when they’re not in the Lion City.

By Jacqueline Chen • Urbanwire
• email reporter • email story • printer friendly version •

What do you yearn for most about Singapore when you’re out of town? Is it the theme-park cleanliness of this little island? Or the Hainanese chicken rice? You might even miss being able to speak Singlish, something you can do nowhere else in the world. Whatever it is you pine for, there’s always something about our nation we keep close to our hearts.

Our country’s most recognisable and beautiful faces are no different. On the occasion of Singapore’s 38th year of independence, UrbanWire gets

Sharon Au
Edmund Chen
Li Lin
Chew Chor Meng
Eunice Olsen
Tay Ping Hui
Jaime Teo
Nick Shen
Cynthia Koh
Priscelia Chan
Florence Tan
May Phua
Alan Tern
Yvonne Lim
Celeste Valdes Lim

to share with us what they miss most about home when they are away.

Sharon Au, from Raintree Picture’s HomeRun which opens at cinemas on Aug 7, MediaCorp artiste Misses: Driving “I like driving myself around in Singapore. When I’m overseas, I travel by bus or in a car driven by the driver. I like to be in control, so I would miss driving myself.”
Edmund Chen, star of Ch 5 medical drama series First Touch, MediaCorp artiste Misses: Water “Singapore’s water is so well-treated. I will miss it most because I won’t get skin rash from the water [here]. I can even drink it off the tap when I’m at home. I don’t need to worry about whether the water is clean, because I know it is.”
Li Lin, host of Ch 5 infotainment series Ladies First (which will return on Aug 12 after a week’s break), MediaCorp artiste Misses: Convenience, accessibility and peace “I tend to miss the convenience, accessibility and peace of Singapore when I’m away. Especially when I get stuck in their traffic jams, street riots and protests!”
Chew Chor Meng, star of Ch 8 Saturday night sitcom Lobang King, MediaCorp artiste Misses: Family “I will miss my bed, my wife, my daughter and my mum. Without them, I will feel lonely.”
Eunice Olsen, co-host of syndicated gameshow Wheel of Fortune Singapore, MediaCorp artiste Misses: Food “…I spent my whole life in Singapore. Other than missing my family and friends, I can't seem to get enough of the food.”
Tay Ping Hui, star of Ch 8 primetime series Love is Beautiful, MediaCorp artiste Misses: Hainanese chicken rice, durians and friends “I’d miss the Hainanese chicken rice a lot. I would miss durians too because they’re one of my favourites. I’d also miss my golf and basketball kakis (friends).”
Jaime Teo, Ms Singapore Universe 2001, MediaCorp artiste Misses: Roads in Singapore and the convenience of throwing rubbish “I would miss the roads in Singapore because they are all so familiar, especially the Nicoll Highway. That’s one expressway I always take, other than the Pan Island Expressway (PIE). I will also miss the convenience of throwing rubbish. It is so easy to throw rubbish here because of the number of bins available.”
Nick Shen, from First Touch, MediaCorp artiste Misses: The Straits Times, local TV programmes “Because we are actors, we spend a lot of time watching TV. We watch our colleagues act and learn from them. It is like our homework. When I get on the plane, I’ll ask for a copy of The Straits Times. I read the papers every day just to keep in touch with what’s happening in Singapore.”
Cynthia Koh, from Ch 8’s first marathon Mandarin series Holland V, MediaCorp artiste Misses: Dustbins “As a Singaporean, we're so used to not littering. When you’re overseas, like in China and Taiwan, you hardly find [any] rubbish bins around, so half the time, you are travelling with litter in your pockets.”
Priscelia Chan, from Love is Beautiful, MediaCorp artiste Misses: Cleanliness and respect “I feel there’s no place like home. Whenever I’m overseas, especially in China, even Australia, it doesn’t matter how beautiful the hotel is, or in the case of China, no matter how much they try to clean the country, nothing beats the feeling of being in Singapore, where it’s so clean. Also, whenever I’m overseas, I feel like a second-class citizen. But at home here, I feel respected for simply being Singaporean.”
Florence Tan, MediaCorp artiste Misses: Food and the pace of life “We grew up eating Singaporean food and hardly get local cuisine overseas. Even if we do get Singaporean food, the taste is different because of the ingredients and cooking styles. The other thing I’ll miss too in Singapore is the fine balance of work and play.”
May Phua, from Love is Beautiful, MediaCorp artiste Misses: House phone “I’d miss my phone at home the most because I’m always on the phone making long-distance calls.”
Alan Tern, MediaCorp artiste Misses: Food and efficiency of Singapore’s system “I recently went to Europe and they were really laidback in their lifestyle. They had 2 hours of lunch. I like to get things done quickly. I also encountered a strike [in Europe]. In Singapore, things are orderly.”
Yvonne Lim, MediaCorp artiste Misses: Friends and food “I’ll miss the chicken rice and ba chor mee (minced meat noodle) in Bedok. The prawn mee stall in Upper East Coast is also a place I’ll miss because I always go there. The taste of the food here is different compared to other countries. For example, the chicken [overseas] is not tender enough and the rice is too hard.”
Celeste Valdes Lim, 2nd Runner-Up in Ms Singapore Universe 2003 Misses: Family, friends and food “Nothing beats having your family with you. It’s a totally different feeling. And nothing else can give you that [feeling].”

***All images except that of Celeste Valdes Lim are courtesy of MediacorpTV website. Image of Celeste Valdes Lim is courtesy of http://www.geocities.com/mufwac2003/results2.htm