Please Mind The Gap

The mass transit system here is simply wonderful: efficient, easy to use, and inexpensive. You can get just about anywhere you need to go using the subway. And if it doesn't get you close enough, you can take a bus.
The mass transit system is primarily operated by two companies: SMRT and SBS. Both companies run trains and busses, although you wouldn't know there were two companies. They both use the same fare card system. (This is better than Tokyo where there are two subway operators that don't share the same fare system.)
Reflecting the multi-cultural nature of Singapore, the transit system's signage is in all four languages: English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil. (Tamil is the language with curvy characters in the photos.) So are many of the announcements, particularly on the purple line which includes stops in Chinatown and Litte India.
Of the announcements, our favorite is "Please mind the gap" or (on the North-South line) "Please mind the platform gap." The gap (as illustrated above) refers to the space between the train and the platform.
The MRT (subway) is our predominant method of transport on weekends. Paul takes it home from work a couple of days a week. Our apartment is between the Orchard and Somerset MRT stops and it's perhaps a 6-8 minute walk to either station. We've found the best route to take when it's raining: there's perhaps 25m that is not under cover.
The architecture of several of the stations is also pretty amazing. The ones at City Hall and Dhoby Ghaut ("dobie got") are particularly good examples. They have multiple levels, all interconnected by various escalator routes. ("Lifts" are also available.) We describe these stations as being very Escher-like. The photo at the left and the video below are good illustrations of what we mean by this.

It really is a terrific system.
PS: Updated the "At Home in Singapore" posting.

The Wedding Roadshow

The "roadshow" might just be the number one merchandising strategy in Singapore. On weekends, they are everywhere where there is any kind of pedestrian traffic.
Sidewalks. Foyers. And of course shopping malls.
The variety of things in the "show" can be just about anything that is reasonably high end. Cell phones, digital cameras, video cameras, flat screen TVs, and credit cards are the most common we've seen. We saw a couple for toys, one for household appliances like washers, dryers, vacuum cleaners, and microwave ovens. The most fun was one for OSIM, a Japanese maker of massage chairs and other devices.
We'd pretty much concluded that roadshows were for things.
We were wrong; they are also for experiences. Even once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
Like weddings.
At Vivo City, one of the largest (and quite amazing) shopping malls, there it was: The Wedding Roadshow. Right in the middle of the mall were over a dozen vendors promoting their contribution to the wedding experience. There were honeymoon travel agents (pictured), wedding dresses, photographers, hair, makeup, and entertainment. Any they were all very busy.
Raye reminded me that there are bridal shows back home that do much the same kind of thing. While the venue was a bit peculiar perhaps, it makes a lot of sense to be where the people are. And shopping is one of the two national pastimes.

The Singapore Flyer

To wrap up his month-long visit to Singapore, Tony wanted to take a "flight" on the Singapore Flyer. It's (at least at the moment) the world's largest observation wheel. That moment will end when the Beijing version opens in 2009. Note that it is NOT called a Ferris Wheel and one does not go for a "ride", but rather "takes a flight" which lasts about 30 minutes.
This is to justify the S$29.50 admission fee.
And yes, you can pay more for priority boarding (which includes a guide) or even more for a champagne or cocktail flight.
It's big -- 165m (541') -- in diameter and the view is wonderful. You can see our apartment from the wheel as well as several of the islands of Indonesia. (And you can see the Flyer from our bedroom window.)You ride in these very nice air conditioned cylindrical capsules. The wheel runs continuously so you enter and exit "on the fly". We got lucky and had one all to ourselves. We all agreed that it was probably worth the price as a nice Singapore experience. It also is a good thing to do toward the end of a visit because you'll know the city and can see the various places you've enjoyed during your stay.
They oddly reminded me of the brief period in the mid-1960's when the Dick Tracy comic strip featured the Magnetic Space Coupe.

At Home In Singapore

Here's our apartment building and a pointer to our apartment.
Our household shipment arrived. Here's a photo of what our living room / dining room area looks like. I hadn't see our furniture for almost two months. Initially it was a bit strange seeing our Plano stuff here in Singapore.
But everything fits nicely.

Jurong Bird Park & Daring the Durian

It was a beautiful sunny day with no real chance of rain (although you can never tell for sure given the tropical climate). Better still, there was a nice breeze blowing and it was relatively mild, about 30C (86F). We decided to ride the MRT out to the Jurong Bird Park, one of the 3 wildlife-oriented attractions here. The other two are the Night Safari and the Singapore Zoo.

The bird park is located in the far western part of the island. It's close to the end of the east-west (green) MRT line. We decided to take the long way on the north-south (red) line so we could see more the residential areas on the way. It took us up past Woodlands, which is the suburb where Chartered Semiconductor is located.

One of the interesting things we noted on the journey was the name of one of the MRT stops: Yew Tee. And no burnt orange to be found anywhere! I'm going to have to go back there sometime just so I can get a photo of the station sign. There's a t-shirt opportunity in here some where, I'm sure.

The end of the green line is the Boon Lay station. It's a major bus terminal and -- as it turns out -- a market selling all kinds of things. We had some thai snacks before boarding a bus that took us to the bird park. We passed the Asian HQ of Cadbury-Schweppes along the way.

The bird park is a great place to walk and watch both people and birds. There are several aviaries that provide opportunities to interact with the birds up close and personal. My personal favorite was the one that is at tree-top level with suspended walkways. A wide variety of colorful birds are always close at hand.

Raye got to visit with a crested pigeon. There were actually 3 different types, and the one in the picture is the rarest of the three. (On the other hand, I couldn't help whistling Tom Lehrer tunes, it being a Sunday and all.)

They also have several feeding shows at various posted times. Tony helped feed some finch-like birds that eat crickets. You take a cricket from the pail and hold it up high over your head. The birds dive-bomb you and deftly snatch the cricket from between your fingers. Having been around Texas bluejays during nesting season while cutting the grass, this was a bit unnerving.

At the end of the tour we took the bus back to Boon Lay for the trip home. Lucky for us, it is durian season (June-July). Better still, there was a great article in the Sunday Straits Times about these pungent delights. It turns out that saying "durian" is like saying "apple". Instead of names like Macintosh, Gala, or Delicious, the varieties have names like "Mao Shan Wang", "XO", "D13" and "Red Prawn". This season, the hot variety is "Mao Shan Wang" which is also known by other names: Cat Mountain, Butter durian, and Raja Kunyit.

The vendor didn't have this variety but he did have D13. The taste notes in this morning's article describes this a "sweet, less fibrous than most durians and not very strong in taste... good for people trying durians for the first time."

That would be us, so we bought one and Raye and I gave it a try. (Tony opted out having tried a durian pastry earlier in his visit.) My aunt once described it as "eating ice cream from a toilet." Yup. That about sums it up. It's got a creamy texture and a very strong characteristic smell. (You are not allowed to transport them on public transportation. So why was the vendor at the MRT stop?)

It was definitely a "one and done" for Raye. I found it interesting enough to do it again and especially with visitors who are brave enough to dare the durian.