Yeah been there, done that, didn’t buy the t-shirt because they probably cost about $50 Singapore ($60 NZ). Anyway I was most disappointed. I strode up to this guy in a funny suit at the hotel and said “Can I buy a Raffle ticket?” and he didn’t even smile.
Not a fruit tree in sight!
And as for Orchard Rd, what a disappointment! NOTHING BUT SHOPS!!! And here I was thinking we were going fruit picking! We eventually found some strawberries, but not at that price!
That's per box, by the way!
And I found a nice jewellry shop but this big guy in a suit wouldn’t let me through the door. Something about “closing time”. Yeah right! I know when I’m not wanted!
The Bouncer
Enough of that, lets get down to the important stuff! I found out today that Singapore is the TWC. That stands for TLA Capital of the World. What’s a TLA? A Three – Letter Acronym of course! It’s a fact that Singapore has more TLA’s per capita than any other MDC (More Developed Country). And you see them everywhere! There’s the PUB (Public Utility Board), LTA (Land Transport Authority), URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority), HDB (Housing Development Board) and so on. In fact they’re so fond of their TLA’s that when I discovered a four-letter acronym at the TLA Gallery the guide reported it straight to the ACB (Acronym Control Board) for immediate inclusion in the ARP (Acronym Rationalisation Programme)!
Thats why they all like it here so much - it's the water!
And of course that was all just a long-winded way of telling you that, apart from visiting the odd hotel and shopping strip, I spent the day learning about, and experiencing, Singapore’s infrastructure!!
First it was NEWater. I had to take a long ride on the MRT to get there – it’s near the airport. That place alone had enough TLA’s to fill a reservoir, including such gems as IPU (Indirect Potable Water). Basically this is a plant where they clean up “used” water (yes, that’s right!) and re-introduce it into the water supply. Actually they have the world’s best technology at work and most of it goes to industry. However it shows that water security is a key planning issue for Singapore, and indeed for any country.
My next visit was to the LTA Gallery near Little India. Like NEWater it was typically Singaporean – rather loud, very high-tech, amazingly interactive, and generally a lot of fun. The sort of place I’d definitely take a geography class. This display traced the history of Singapore’s transport network and was very cool. At the end was a display a bit like Google Maps and I got the guide to zoom in on 6 Hazelemere Rd (although first she was looking for NZ somewhere near Russia!).
Basically the government here is very good at defining their vision of the city, and spending a massive amount of money to achieve it. In that sense it’s the ultimate planned environment. Not very democratic, but they all seem to like it – although I thought they might smile a bit more, for a bunch of people living in such a “perfect” situation. And as part of the “vision thing” the government is also very good at spending a lot of money on reminding everyone how good it is, and how much they all like it – hence the displays I’ve been to. They’re all a bit over the top, but very good nonetheless. And as they say, at least the trains run on time!
And to finish my afternoon I went to the URA display which features a huge scale-model of the central urban region.
Amazing scale model
And somewhere in there I managed another stroll through Chinatown and Little India. I’ve walked a few k’s on this trip!
I’ve also added a few more photos into the Singapore album – same link as yesterday.
So it’s goodbye for now to my new friends, the Merediths in Singapore. Thanks heaps Allan, Sue, Josh and Jessica, for letting me stay and have the use of your cool apartment, pool, basketball court, local knowledge etc etc. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you and I hope our paths will cross again. God bless you all. All the best for those camps, guys! Hope the sea lice aren’t biting!
Tomorrow it’s back to KL for a couple more days, then head home on Monday night. Can’t wait to see you all again!
