There’s no possibility of a White Christmas in Singapore. The next best thing for us, perhaps, would be the annual Christmas light-up along Orchard Road, which has been a staple since 1984.
Moving Around
It’s Time for a Freesheet Format Change
I was at Ang Mo Kio station on a Saturday morning and a lady was giving out copies of the weekend edition of TODAY, a local freesheet. I was low on data and it would be a long ride to Beauty World, so I grabbed a copy. I went about on my merry way, reading …
Tourist’s Guide to Singapore: Getting Around
An old Singapore patriotic song goes “you can take a little trip around Singapore town, in a Singapore city bus”. That may be true 50 years back, but ‘Singapore town’ is much bigger today, and with it the number of transport options have also risen considerably. With skyscrapers and similar-looking high-rise apartments towering all around, it can be easy for one unfamiliar with Singapore to get lost in this concrete jungle. What, then, is the best way to move around Singapore for the inexperienced?
Four Weeks of Pokemon GO!: My Experience (and Fatigue)
A crowd gathers outside Hougang Mall as news of a wild Snorlax appearance spreads.
I woke up the morning of August 6th, habitually reaching out for my phone. I had intended to go back to sleep after that, but I needed to get out of bed and download Pokemon GO!, which finally reached Singapore’s shores exactly a month after its initial release. For those unaware of the game, the …
The Rise of the Pokemon GO Economy
A few weeks ago, someone wrote in to the Straits Times Forum, urging Singapore (or rather, the authorities?) to think twice before giving Pokemon Go the go-ahead. While she has a point–I’ve seen people standing beside dustbins looking silly just because it was a Pokestop (apparently dustbins with graffiti artwork on it qualify)–she has neglected the main reason why Pokemon GO will probably be given the go-ahead anyway.
Free Grab rides every Monday
Just received this in the mailer today…. It’s certainly hard to believe that time has passed us by so quickly–but yes, Grab is turning four this month. To enjoy the promotion, simply use the code GRAB4YEARS to get up to $15 off. This promo is valid every Monday in June (i.e. 6, 13, 20, and …
Walk-Cycle-Ride: We Can Only Daydream
Over the past few weeks, you may have noticed the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) latest campaign banners near MRT stations, trying to bring across the message that walking, cycling and riding (the bus/ train) is a better option than taking a car. One particular banner that caught my attention depicts someone resting comfortably on a bus, with the tagline “someone else is driving, I can daydream”.
Cycling On Footpaths (Finally) Almost Legal
Since my family doesn’t own a car, when it comes to personal transport, the next best thing I have is my bicycle. When I was younger, I used to cycle to nearby places to run errands, or just to see how far my legs could take me.
‘Lush Green’ It Is — The Future of Singapore Buses
Buses are pretty much the workhorses of our public transportation network. While you hear grumbles of train delays every now and then, or taxi drivers whizzing past you because they have ghost passengers in their cabs while still complaining that UberX and GrabCar drivers are stealing their ricebowls, you seldom hear anything about buses. They …
Electronic Road Pricing 2.0: A More Equitable Solution?
And so distance-based Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) is finally happening–earlier this week, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) awarded a tender for the next-generation ERP system, one that is based on the Global Navigation Satellite System (of which GPS is a subset). The hot-button issue here is that when implemented by 2020, ERP will move towards a distance-based pricing model. No more stopping your cars at the side of the road one minute before the ERP light goes off, people.
Waterway Point: The next NEX?
Truth be told, even as someone who lives in the north eastern region of Singapore, I’ve never set foot outside Punggol MRT before. The closest I’ve ever been to there was when I cycled to Punggol Waterways once back in 2013. Back then, all I could see around me were construction sites. Perhaps one of …