30 June 2018 is a special date to me. It marks the 20th year of my relocation to Singapore.

On 30 June 1998, I boarded a flight departing for Singapore, with a luggage of personal belongings and banknotes equivalent to six hundred Singapore dollars.

When you are in your 20s, you don’t think too much because you have nothing much to lose.

In the midst of the Asian Financial Crisis, as a foreigner I was lucky to find a job paying S$4,000 a month. Not a lot but enough to pay my rent, living expenses and student loan instalments, and some money to send back home.

It was completely dark outside when the flight touched down at Changi Airport.

I had visited Singapore a few times for business. I had been to a few places, namely Orchard, City Hall, Raffles Place, Bishan, East Coast Park, Sentosa and Night Safari.

The