Sleepless in Singapore

Where in the world is Jon's pen? (and by the way, there are no fat people in Singapore)

This is the first installment of a new series called "Where in the world is Jon's pen?"  Our great friend, Jon Wingerd, left his favorite pen (a college graduation present) in our Scattegories game on our last Outer Banks vacation together.  I found it right before we left but forgot to give it to him, and realized I had it in my purse when I got here.  Soooo.....today Jon's pen just happened to be riding the MRT (subway) from the Labrador Park to the Harbourfront stations.  Ha!  I'm so funny.

Well folks, we've been here for a little over a week, and everything is still going as smoothly as you could hope for.  The kids have found friends (so have the adults!) and I have almost mastered the public transportation system.  I have to admit, this was one of the things that made me nervous about coming here.   The thought of taking buses and taxis to do things like grocery shopping just didn't sound appealing.  Turns out, it's pretty darn easy!   So today's post will focus on how we get around this island...sorry it's not a more interesting subject!  But's a huge part of our lives here, so it deserves attention.

There are three modes of transportation that we've been taking:

1.  Buses:

By far, we take buses the most.  Right outside our complex is a bus stop if I want to go in one direction, and just down the road and across the street is another bus stop if I need to go in the other direction.  The buses not only come every couple of minutes, but there is an app that I just plug in the place I want to go and it gives me the correct bus numbers as well as the number of minutes until it arrives at my bus stop.  The buses are clean and generally not too crowded. 

The kids just love the bus.  We all have cards that we refill with money at the MRT station (more on that in a minute) and we swipe it when we get on and off.  The picture above is from today, riding one of the double deckers.  We got the awesome front seats and I have to say, it was really fun!  It's a great way to see the sights and get familiarized with the areas. 

Lastly, the bus is CHEAP.  The kids and I rode many times the first week, and all we had on our cards was $7.00 each.  It costs Jason about $2.00 a day to go back and forth from work (he rides two buses and one subway) - a taxi would probably cost $20 each way.

2.  MRT (Mass Rapid Transit AKA the subway)

Another mode of transportation that we frequently use, although not as much as the bus, is the MRT.  I can get on the bus, go three stops and am dropped off at the MRT station in Holland Village.  From there I can easily go almost anywhere on the island.  For example, when the kids start school, I will have to go about four stops on one line, transfer trains and go just one stop.  The school is located at the entrance to that MRT station.  Not too bad!

Cooper thinks he's really funny when on the MRT.  He refuses to sit down, and either entertains or annoys the passengers.  Hoping for more of the former.

3.  Taxis

Finally, the taxi system is pretty much ubiquitous in Singapore.  Like the buses, there are super convenient apps that you can use to order a taxi.  Just open your app, call the taxi with about two screen touches, and not only have you ordered your taxi, you are informed how many minutes until it arrives AND you can watch the location of it on a map as it drives.  Crazy, right?  Here is the completely nutty thing about taxis though.  Maybe because the price of a car here is astronomical and they are fearful of an accident, the drivers will not drive in the rain.  They literally pull over somewhere and don't drive until it stops (hopefully this is not true if you're already in the cab!)  So during rainstorms  it is almost impossible to get one.   Sometimes it is just not convenient to use public transport to a particular location, or we're just feeling a little lazy, but for the most part we try our hardest to resist calling a taxi.  

The picture above is from a cab ride home from the zoo.  He was hilarious and so friendly - LOVED horse racing and was excitedly giving us tips for an upcoming race.  Chatted with the kids etc.  Not all of them are like that of course, but overall I've had good experiences. 

So all in all, getting around is much easier than I imagined it would be.  I hope you didn't fall asleep reading this...it's just my day-to-day life and I wanted to document it!

Lastly, I have to comment on something.  I am willing to bet everything I have that there will never be a Biggest Loser contestant from Singapore.  There are almost NO obese people in this country.  It's unfortunate for me, but I probably land in the top 10% of heaviest people here.  No, I'm not insulting myself.  I'm accounting for my height too :-)  But I'm not kidding.  Most people are not just average, they are SKINNY.  And this is a country known for being a foodie heaven.  They eat a lot, and eat out a lot!  I don't know if it's the walking or the portions they are eating, but take note, USA.  They're making you look really bad.

Next time - all about the Singapore Zoo.  I read that it is one of the top ten zoos in the world, and it deserves the accolade.