Public Transport

 It's well known that the transport system in Singapore is one of the best around. Our subway (MRT) and bus system takes you to almost any part of Singapore. Taxis are also readily available at a relatively cheap price (try hailing a cab in London, Tokyo or New York). 

Having said all these, I have not step on board a bus or taxi for years. Ever since I got my driving license at 17, I have always had a car. It so happened that I had to send my car in for a service the other day. They found a fault that needed about a week to fix cause they did not have the parts in Singapore. Needless to say, I was fuming mad. 

However, when I regained my calm, I thought it would be a good time to check out our public transport system. Moreover, the bus stop is just across the road from my house. OK, I admit my working hours are flexible and I can time it such that I miss the morning rush hour crowd. To my surprise, I rather enjoyed the buy rides to work and back (yes I even secretly snapped this photo with my camera phone). 

I have since gotten my car back from the workshop. But I think for this year, I will try to take the bus to work once a week. I guess it's my little contribution to a cleaner environment. 

Japan Trip 08, Day 5 & 6

It's been two weeks since my return from Japan. I was rather busy over the New Year period and have not been blogging. Anyway, below are a selection of pictures I took during the trip which I have not posted up.

I guess Singaporeans are generally a rather well travelled group and we have also set roots in different parts of the world. An example would be this Singaporean Restaurant found at the foot of Roppongi Hills.

For Christmas, we settled for a nice Tempura dinner at our hotel's tempura bar. This was my first time spending Christmas in Japan. It not a holiday there but the commercial hype about Christmas did creep its way into the retail stores. Most were all decked up and the areas around the major malls were all lid. However, what was important to me was that my closest friends were there with me. I guess other than the spirit of giving and sharing, what makes Christmas special, as with other major festivals, is that we get to spend it in the company of our loved ones and friends.

Well, until the next trip...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing everyone a Very Happy New Year and may 2009 bring you happiness and good health!

Japan Dec 08, Day 4

Enoshima / Kamakura

Japan Dec 08, Day 3

Today, we did an outing to Gotemba. It is an outlet mall near Mt Fuji. We boarded the bus for Gotemba from the Odakyu Station in Shinjuku. The bus ride took about 1 1/2 hours. We spend the better part of the day at Gotemba and I don't think I covered all the shops. The set up is very much like a US Mall.

This place is like a shoppers paradise.

In the evening, we paid one of our favorite fish restaurant in Tokyo a visit. It's called Totoichi. The best part was, the owner remembered Rus and Gerry, so despite the restaurant being fulling booked, he manage to get us a table at about 8pm.

Japan Dec 08, Day 2

What a long day. We started off from our hotel at 9am in the morning and did not return till like 8pm. We started off at Harajuku and walked ( or rather shopped) all the way to Shibuya. It was more window shopping cause everything here in Japan is so expensive. Especially recently since the Sing Dollar has devalued quite a bit against the Yen. Nonetheless, I enjoyed myself alot. I guess it was more the company.

Japan Dec 08'

Chirstmas 2008! This year my friends and I decided to spend Christmas in Japan. My last trip to Tokyo was in 2005. How time flies. Since I have access to free internet connection at the hotel, I will try to post pictures I have taken during the day. I will try to write more tomorrow as this has been a long day.