032_queuing

Queuing is a part of everyday life in Singapore, so as in other major cities around the world, see 004_excursion on density on this Singapore blog. Many times people even have to queue for parking space in department stores. Since the whole parking place is electronically controlled, when it is full, one car can only enter when the other car from inside getting out to avoid jamming. There will usually be a sign notifying that the parking is full but nobody cares. They just don’t mind queuing on the ramp like this.

031_yong tau foo

I like Yong Tau Foo. I think it is one of the coolest foods on earth. You pick your own recipe and the variety of choices is great. The usual ingredients provided are bean curd, crabsticks, cuttlefish, fish balls, ladies fingers, chilies, bitter gourds, kangkung (water morning-glory), tomatoes, and many more. Some of these items, such as chilli, and bitter gourd, are filled with surimi (fish paste). The rule is simple, first pick the ingredients you like, usually minimum 6 items, after that select type of noodles; rice noodles, egg noodles, or bee hoon (rice vermicelli) and then you can choose either to have it dry or with soup. Yong Tau Foo is usually served with chilli sauce and brown sauce. These sauces and the soup are keys to success for a good Yong Tau Foo stall.

030_no washing car here

Inside the HDB parking facility, there will be a sign warning people not to wash their car inside. Some residents must have done that before and the whole place would be flooded. Moreover I think the drainage system is designed only for rainwater. There may be no provision for wastewater with soap and grease washed off from the car. Note the use of elongated column to provide more room for parking and corner guards for protection.

029_mass production

Remember what I said about majority of Singaporean living in HDB flats? (see 009_public housing, on this Singapore blog for more info.) Each HDB (or a cluster of them) comes with a parking structure. There are some standard details for designing this facility such as floor-to-floor height, the length and gradient of ramps and the look of the building, which they all look like the one in the photo. The only factors to be determined differently for each project are the capacity, location, connection to the residential blocks, for example.

028_the great Singapore sale

Every year Singapore organises an event called the ‘Great Singapore Sale’, usually around May to July (mid-year sale). Numerous shops island wide participate with all kinds of special offer, some shops open until midnight. I still remember the first time I came to Singapore and I wanted to buy a computer. My friends* told me to wait for this event. It is quite a big thing in this small country. The advertisement can even be painted on the road surface during the festival. Learn more about the Great Singapore Sale at http://www.greatsingaporesale.com.

* I am grateful to these people as they picked me up from the airport, provided me accommodation and showed me around during my first few weeks in Singapore.

027_green structure 02

I’ve mentioned how infrastructure such as overhead pedestrian bridge could be soften by landscape. Please refer to 008_green structure 01, on this Singapore blog. A similar trick can also be applied to something like highway impact barrier. This picture was taken from a highway leading from the Changi airport to the city centre. It is easy to imagine how much time and money the Singapore government spent on maintaining these landscape features.