Transportation

Singapore is a very well planned out urban design, and it public transportation is no exception. I have become quite a user of the public transportation for two main reasons - one, we only have one car in which we share, something we are very unaccustomed to, and two, I am still working out the driving on the wrong side of the road! I am actually making progress and now it really comes down to knowing where I am going. Jim has mastered driving and is getting more familiar with road ways. These facts have forced me to be a user of the wonderful public transit system they have here.

The train system is called the MRT (mass rapid transit)and has 4 main lines that run all over the island. It is an underground system and is amazingly efficient and clean. With the use of a card called an EZ-link you can ride the MRT for a very reasonable price. The card also allows you to use the bus system which is equally clean and efficient. I have given up my cab days to use the public system. The girls are getting used to it and quite enjoy it and I feel it is a great opportunity to enlighten them on the use and ease of public transportation.

When you have a need to cross streets in the main part of the city, you don't have to do it at street level. They have incorporated into many MRT stations, crosswalks that take you underneath the road, so you are not confronted with cars etc... It is quite a system that in the main part of the city can lead you to any four corners of a very congested street area. There are the usual musicians playing for money as well as shops (Singaporeans love to shop so why sacrifice valuable space) that you pass by while moving from one area to the next. The trick of course is figuring out which exit to emerge from which only comes with time and familiarity. I have more than once gotten to the street level, only to find that the location I have come upon was not my planned destination!! One thing I have yet to work out, like driving, is do you stay to the left when walking or the right which is very much habit for me. These are the little things that no one informs you!

On another transportation note, they have a very interesting system for parking. There are no parking meters in Singapore. Instead, there are signs posted as to .50 or $1.00 parking. They have a very unique system where you purchase tickets in increments of .50 and $1.00 and after punching out a number of chads (thought I would use that term since it is an election year!) on it such as date and the time you arrived, you leave it on the dashboard of your car. It is based on an honor system that you have entered the correct time that you arrived. The tickets can be purchased at none other than 7-11 stores! It is also one of those things that you happen upon someone telling you but find no mention of it in any book or other information source. We have parked many a time without any knowledge of the system and were fortunate not to get a ticket.

I find the more I am out and about that Singapore is a very easy country/city to navigate. The trick is knowing which MRT stop has what and which exit to use. But it is an enjoyable experience and an easy way to travel around.