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Recently Singapore has issued a new law to ban smoking in restaurants and eating places. You can only smoke in designated area, which is framed by a yellow box on the floor as shown in the picture. But I see at a lot of eating places, smoking tables are adjacent to non-smoking ones. Well, I really don’t think that the yellow box can trap the smoke in there.
Now, this is damn cool. There is no regulation on controlling the price of drinks in Singapore. Different shops sell at different prices. Local manufacturers have come up with these super cool advertisement posters. All the shop owners need to do is to take a black marker and amend the number to the price they want to sell. But something is not right here. Isn’t base number supposed to be $8.88 in order to be able to amend? I think this shop owner blacked out the number to be $0.00 so that they can keep using the same posters and can even change the price whenever they want to. No confirmation in writing…
Durian is one of the most popular fruits in Singapore. There are a lot of shops selling only durian and people go there just to sit down and eat a lot a lot of durian. There is one basic rule to learn here. Because of its distinctive smell, you can’t bring durian on public transportation. No bus, no MRT. You can only drive your own car or take a taxi. Sure the fruit is exotic, isn’t it?
This is an entrance to Chinatown subway station. Instead of making a small, pathetic looking glass box to weatherproof the escalator, they have made an effort to cover the entire open space there. Street lives are preserved and the two escalators become part of the space. But that planter could have been a bit better looking though…
this photo was taken somewhere near chinatown during a festive season. talking about the chinese's ceremonies, you can't avoid the 10-course dinner and stage performances. with the lack of big open space to hold big number of people, streets are sometimes temporarily converted to urban ballrooms.
singapore is considered one of the safest places in the world. the government try every way to make sure the citizens are well taken care of. therefore some animals that cause public nuisance must be eliminated. crow is one poor fellow. they are not cute, make a lot of noise, steal your food, mess up your stuffs and can even hurt you sometimes.
it's not easy to find a public phone in singapore. everybody, even some little kids, has got mobile phone. on a crowded train during rush hour, mobile phones have given people a private realm , a little virtual seclusion from the bustling crowd. getting in touch faster and easier is not the only gift that advance in telecommunication technology has brought to humanity. well, we all know what mobile phones can do nowadays.people in this country are hard-core sms users. according to singtel's record, some people send more than 1,000 sms texts a month. and in case you don't know, a singaporean woman holds the guinness world record for the world's fastest texter. she typed 'the razor-toothed piranhas of the genera serrasalmus and pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. in reality they seldom attack a human' in just 43 seconds...
this is the people's park complex, one of the earliest examples of mixed-use developments in singapore. the lower podium part is for commercial uses while the above block is for residential purpose. if the concept is successfully applied, you should be able to live, work and play without leaving the building. i think the building is cool by itself. no need to talk much. please read more at www.ura.gov.sg/spore1_1/publication1-26.htm
since the land is super limited, about 84% of singaporeans live in HDB flats. (HDB = housing & development board, http://www.hdb.gov.sg) HDB is perhaps able to be called the architect of the country because tons of buildings are built by them. the designs of the flats differ by their generations so it's not difficult to estimate the age of a neighbourhood by looking at architectural style of its HDB blocks.
how many things we need to consider when designing a flyover?1. density and directions of pedestrian flow 2. availability of space for insertion of the structure3. length of span across the street and type of structure, material4. need for handicapped access. ramp?etc. etc.in singapore, there is another major concern, how to blend it with the surroundings. in other words, how to make it green. every single flyover, both pedestrian and vehicular, has standard details to naturalise the unpleasant-looking concrete structure.
another cool notice found on a taxi. the world had just recovered from sars the first time i arrived in singapore. this is a historic sticker. you can't find this anymore.
ok here is the story. you and other 4 friends are invited to a saturday-night party but, hey, this guy's house is damn far and there is no public transportation there. you know what happen next? well, you need 2 taxis.here, it is not allowed to fit in more than 4 passengers in a car. but how about 4 of us and a little boy? to get rid of all confusion and excuses, in singapore they have made it very clear that seating capacity = 1 adult + 4 children = 2 adult + 3 children = 3 adult + 2 children = 4 adult = 6 children. what does that make? 1 adult = 1.5 children ??
if you take a cab in bangkok (where i'm from), the fare is charged by number of km and time spent on the journey. (for time, some taxi starts calculating once the car stops moving, some does even when the car is moving. i have no idea how this system work, really.) and you know, it's hard to predict how much the fare is gonna be, even though you often take the same route, because it depends on the traffic condition. and, in bangkok, you know that it's one thing you shouldn't be relied on...in singapore this thing is quite complicated because there are some extra surcharges added. dear tourists, good luck if you want to make sure that the fare is correct. ok, now take a look at the picture, see the midnight surcharge? this has created an interesting urban phenomenon called 'there-is-no-taxi-between-eleven pm-and-midnight' (T.I.N.T.B.E.A.M). since the surcharge is quite big (50% on meter fare), many cabbies are tempted to keep watching for midnight (like cinderella). they usually use this one-hour time to take a break, go toilet, drink coffee, read newspaper, or just simply do nothing. even if you lucky enough to see a cab with green light, the minute you try to flag, the sign will astonishingly turn to on call.
in singapore, according to lonely planet, there are about 4,000,000 people living on the 638-sq km surface of the country. (by the way, if you happen to visit lonely planet's website, go to 'explore asia' page. once you roll the cursor over a country's name, it is highlighted blue on the map. try rolling over singapore, the blue colour does not appear on the map. that is how small the country is compared to its neighbors.) with a few city centers to accomodate the number of inhabitants, the result is you almost have to queue for everywhere you go and everything you do. queuing is a practice of everyday life here. get your personal entertainment devices ready if you need to go in town during peak hours!
there are 4 official languages being used in singapore; english, chinese (mandarin), malay and tamil. (there are also some other dialects such as hokkien, cantonese, etc.) the whole country is a cultural blender where different norms, arts and cultures from each group collide and unite interestingly. on tv, there are channels operating in each language separately to tackle differences in taste. announcements in subway stations are made in 4 languages. all the ethnic groups are living closely together and discrimination is considered highly illegal.probably one of the most interesting fusions and some people consider this as a very uniquely singapore thing is 'singlish'. you will be quite amazed that local people are talking in english but you can't really understand. the sentences are short, straight to the point with classically wrong gramma. sometimes you can find more than 3 languages together in one sentence. for example, "aberthen! i don't makan i do what?! xiao ah you!"
singapore is critically acclaimed a garden city because of its green density. even in the airport, the artificial nature is created to delineate the country's reputation. forget about other time-killing facilities such as gym, massage, games room; it's cool to be sitting in a park looking at koi pond while waiting for the flight. we love nature!
singapore, an island country in southeast asia, is so tiny on the world map that the name has to be written in the sea. many westerners do not know where it is. some think it is a part of mainland china. some strongly believe that it is a city in malaysia, wait a minute, or indonesia?
however, even being so young (about 40 years old since its independence), cool things do happen here and there. this blog is an attempt to record whatever related to this city-cum-country.
