Efficient Singapore

Its 9:55 PM in Singapore and our plane, a Singapore Airlines flight SQ 968 is pushing back from the gate right on schedule.  In only 1 hr and 30 minutes, we touch down at the international airport in Jakarta Indonesia and taxi to the gate.  Knock off an hour for the change in time zones and we've arrived right on time, 10:25 PM, local time.  That's where Singaporean efficiency collides with a new kind of chaos, one I've been mostly unfamiliar with until now.  Oh sure, I was warned before my trip,  that things were not as orderly in Jakarta, but still I was somewhat unprepared.

O.k lets step back a minute...  I grew up in a small town of 300 people.  We had a small grocery store, a hotel, a school, a post office, a community hall, a church, a gas station, a laundry mat and a convenience store.  Yeah thats right, a convenience store, because going to the grocery store, which is located on the other side of town; a leisurely 4 minute walk, is sometimes just too inconvenient.  The closest thing to a traffic jam in Plamondon Alberta happened only once a week on Sunday afternoon.  You see, located 7 miles North of town was a small village of White Russians (something similar to Hutterites I guess).  Sunday was their day off, a day when the young men and women drove to Plamondon in their shiny new trucks and cars, which they only drove on Sundays.  And because they loved their shiny cars and trucks so much, and wanted them to stay shiny, they drove only 20 km/hr on the gravel roads into town.  You could expect 2, 3 even 4 cars lined up coming down the hill into town at 20 km/hr.  Traffic jam.  Then they all rolled into town and either parked outside the Pelican Hotel to buy off sales, or they crowded the parking lot on the other end of town where they flocked into the convenience store for cigarettes and snacks. Chaos!

So flash back to last week.  I get off the plane in Jakarta, a city of approximately 12 million people by night, and about 15-16 million people by day.  I'm relaxed and reasonably upbeat.  That is until I stroll into the arrivals area.  Its something akin to what I would imagine the inside of a bee hive being like.  People from all corners of the world are buzzing around in every direction.  Signage is often misleading and more often non-existent.  Only by luck do I end up in a cue through immigration where 40% of the people, after having waited 20 minutes in line, are directed to another cue where they must first purchase a visa.  Thankfully I have my multi-entry visa for Indonesia that took 2 weeks to obtain, so I stay in line.  After an hour of waiting, my passport is stamped and off I go to find a cab.  Once again I'm swallowed up by throngs of people pushing their way towards the exit, all vying for a car to their next destination. After some jostling, and having to turn down a few aggressive wannabe bag carriers, I arrive at a taxi counter where I ask for a car.  A young man, takes my name and writes down two numbers on a piece of paper.  396,000 / 510,000.  The difference between a standard taxi and a "Mercedes".  No, I'm not buying a car.  The exchange rate is $1 Sing = 7,500 Rupias.  I opt for the Mercedes, having learned from a colleague that a Mercedes comes with a trained and experienced driver.  Something I'm also told, is invaluable in Jakarta.  Its now 11:50 PM, nearly 1.5 hours since landing and I'm just getting into my taxi.  The airport is a short distance from the hotel and its late, so traffic is "light".  An hour later, and I've arrived at my hotel.  After a quick sweep of the car for explosives as we pull up to the drive and then a casual gesture from the well armed bell boy to ensure my baggage is loaded onto the belt and through the x-ray, I find myself at the desk.

So if you've read this far, you're wondering where this is all going.  Well it all becomes clear on my return to Singapore. Traffic on the way back to the airport is thick.  I mean, unbelievably dense.  Y'know, I've been on 2 cattle drives.  I've driven hundreds of disorderly beasts through chutes to be sorted.  And as I sat atop my steed, looking down onto the mass of hooves and snouts, I wondered what it all was like from their perspective.

After Jakarta, riding in the back of my air-conditioned Mercedes, street level among the masses, hemmed in on all sides, centimetres from the next car, 5 cars lined up in a row, jockeying for position as we squeeze into 3 lanes, surrounded by swarms of kamikaze scooter pilots, like mosquitos, a constant buzz, honking, smoking.   I now know.

They say it can take up to 4 hours to get to the airport.  I'm lucky, we squeeze through the cacophony in just over an hour.  After 3 hours, 3 security checks, and having my passport thumbed through 7 separate times, I'm onboard my plane.  I'm sitting on the tarmac in Jakarta, but now in the sanctity of Singaporean efficiency and order.  The plane is loaded and pushes back from the gate on time.  The flight lands without incident and rolls into Singapore on time.  I deplane, cruise through a clean and well marked arrivals hall, quickly check  in and out of immigration, swiftly breeze past customs and into an awaiting car in 7 minutes.  I welcome the structure, the expectations met, the satisfaction that here, the system works how it should, the way it is designed, to effectively and efficiently move people from where they are to where they want to be.

Traffic flows smoothly and I'm home in 20 minutes, not because traffic was heavy, or light, but because I live, predictably, 20 minutes from the airport.  Some say Singapore is too controlled, contrived.  I happen to like it.  Today, a tour guide on the Singapore River Boat Cruise described his city, his country to me in 3 words.  Clean, Green and Secure.  I would add efficient.

Navigating through Singapore

The public transportation system in Singapore is very efficient and user-friendly (which is a good thing since our plan is not to get a car while we are here).  Buses and the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) are easy and reliable and there are some great apps that allow us to travel around Singapore without any thought or worry.

The main bus stops have boards stating the arrival times of the buses.  This morning we took Bus 14 to school so we only had to wait 3 minutes till the bus arrived.  If we missed this bus, the next one was arriving in 15 minutes.

I never stress about how to get somewhere.  Using this app, I select my starting location and my desired end point then it calculates my different travel options.  It states the approximate travel time and cost and after selecting the preferred option, it gives explicit instructions on where to go.  I wouldn't know what I would do without this app!

At the bus stops without the arrival time boards, I use this app to tell me when my bus should be arriving.  On the way out of the door this morning, I checked to see when Bus 14 would be arriving and saw that we have 11 minutes to get to the bus stop.  If we missed the bus, the app shows that the next bus will arrive in 37 minutes.

Bus commute this morning

To ride the bus or MRT, you use a ez-link card which you upload with money.  You tap your card on a sensor at the front of the bus, or when you enter the MRT station, and tap it again when leave.  The cost of the trip will appear on the sensor and it is automatically deducted from your card value.  So easy! This is what the entry gate at one of the MRT stations looks like.

This is the MRT station (obviously during non-peak hours).  There are two platforms headed in opposite directions but everything is so well marked that it would be very difficult to board the wrong train.  At some stations, a screen shows you when the next train is scheduled to arrive (typically, the longest wait time would be 5 minutes).

While doing errands today, I stopped at a "wet market", which is kind of like a farmers market, Asian style.  Each stall specializes in a specific speciality.  I've included some pictures for you.

Hope this finds you well,
Lisa

Skatepark Photo Shoot

The other week while we were at the skatepark, a girl was there taking pictures and asked if she could take some pictures of the boys.  She was kind enough to send me the photos - here are some of the shots.

                                                                       

Birthday Weekend in Bali

For my birthday, we headed to Bali this past weekend for sun, fun and relaxation.  Bali is a 2 hour flight from Singapore so it makes for a  great weekend escape!

The beach while the tide is out

Boys got massages...this is Josh after his.  Pure bliss on his face!

Jake just prior to his massage

We found a cool restaurant down the beach from our resort.  There was tree houses to dine in, pirate ships to play on and fun rope courses to navigate through while waiting for your lunch & beverages.  

Almost 2 Months In

We woke up on July 6th to some great news!  Congratulations, Andrew, on the 4 year contract with Edmonton Oilers!  We are looking forward to catching some of the action when we are home for Christmas.  How funny that the two jerseys I packed to come with us on the plane were the boys' Boston & Oilers jerseys!

Family Movie Night - While the boys litter our bed with chip crumbs, we enjoy watching a movie on the computer.  Last week, The Plamondon Cinema showed Happy Gilmore.  

We found a skateboard park near our house and the boys have spent some time perfecting their 'tricks'.
Its a good thing I packed bandaids!

 This past week during the morning, the boys were in a summer camp at the Canadian International School.  While they played and had fun, I spent the mornings walking through the neighbourhood.    It was nice to check out our new surroundings.  The picture shows what a typical street looks like.

This is the outdoor gymnasium at the boys' school.  Josh asked that I take a picture of him in action.  He specifically wanted me to capture him mid-air but my camera skills are not that quick.  Maybe Papa Andy will have better luck when he comes!

 I treated the boys to a Reflexology session - they loved it!  Josh was a little more squirmy than Jake as he has a few more tender spots.  The lady commented that the tender area is connected to the stomach and she said maybe it was too much McDonalds.  Josh quickly let her know that he doesn't eat that food.  Uncle D would be proud!

 This is a food center/hawker center in Singapore.  Each stall specializes in a dish and one can eat for S$3 - 4.  Signature dishes include chicken rice, laska, ramen, chilli crab - all very delicious.  It is not customary for restaurants to hand out napkins so locals carry around little packets of tissues and will use these to hold their place.  They will put the package of tissues on the seat before going to get their dinner.

I took these shots on Friday as we were commuting to school.  

The city is starting to decorate for their national holiday in August.

Truly best friends!  I took this shot this morning as we were walking back from spending the morning doing errands.  These two boys are inseparable which is a good thing because for the past 2 months, they have only had each other for playmates.


Thats all for now!

Hugs,
L