We have been living in Singapore a week now and are finally starting to get our bearings. I am by no means an urbanite. I have lived my whole life in the 'burbs and spent my youth riding around in my mom's minivan and now tote my own family around in our SUV. I have always been intimidated by big cities and in awe of people who confidently stride through subway stations and hail cabs like it ain't no thang. I see our time in Singapore as my shot to finally become cool and learn to navigate the urban jungle like a native {ha!}.
Now that I am completely reliant on public transportation to scout out American-ish food {vital for this pregnant lady}, I have gotten a few lessons in getting around this week. We spent the first few days hoofing it the old fashioned way, but after seeing pretty much all there is to see in the radius that I am willing to walk in the humidity and threatening thunder storms, it became apparent that I needed to branch out and try some other forms of transportation.
First attempt: subway. Very unfortunately the nearest subway station is about a mile away and includes a pretty steep hill with a sidewalk barely wide enough for Q's umbrella stroller. After doing that walk once I decided there had to be a better option {even if that option was never leaving our apartment}. The subway itself was easy enough. And there are even reserved seats for pregnant women, people traveling with small children, elderly, or injured and since I met 2 out of the 4 criteria, that is pretty sweet! {especially when trying to juggle a 1 year old, a diaper bag, and a folded stroller on a packed train} People are extremely courteous and helpful too, which is a plus.
Second attempt: taxi. Being the suburbanite that I am, I have never in my life hailed a taxi. I had a hard time even thinking of a time when I had even ridden in a taxi. Hubs gave me a lesson last weekend though. It is a little disconcerting taking a small child in a car without a car seat... but I guess I'll get over it eventually? Anyway, I now feel perfectly capable of getting a cab on my own, which is a good thing because sometimes it is absolutely necessary, like when it is pouring buckets outside {pretty much a daily occurrence at some point}.
Third attempt: hotel shuttle bus. This is probably the most useful resource and it also happens to be free! There are two shuttles that leave our hotel/apartment complex hourly and do a loop to popular shopping areas around downtown. At first I didn't think I would use this service that much because I don't really plan on doing tons of shopping while here {gotta get back to the US in the same 6 suitcases that were packed full on the way here}. However, as it turns out, the major shopping centers are scattered around the city near things I do want to be able to get to like parks, museums, historic sites, restaurants, subway stations, etc. After riding the shuttles a few times now, we are getting a pretty good feel for where things are and which shuttle stops are close to the things we want to get to.
Yesterday was a test of our ability using the public transportation system in which we had to take a shuttle, ride the subway, and take cabs to get where we needed to go. Despite some hiccups {bad directions, a Hindu festival, lots of rain, a clueless cabbie} we made it to our destination and back in one piece. We're learning!
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