Singapore - Rail corridor

To me, rail travel is just as fascinating as air travel. On planes, I usually reserve a window seat so that I can watch the changing scenery below during daylight hours as the plane crosses borders.  I have come across some very magnificent scenery on planes, from snow-capped mountains to majestic sunrise and sunsets. 

During take-off and landing in clear weather, I will always look out of the window to admire the landscape of my departing or arriving countries. No matter how many times I have boarded a plane, this never ceases to capture my interest.

A plane journey is over in the blink of an eye, transporting us to our destination safely and quickly. A 7-hour flight from Singapore will bring us to Japan, South Korea, Australia, China and the Middle East. A 12-hour flight from Singapore will bring us into Europe and the UK.

In comparison, a train journey is slow and gives us time to contemplate and think about many things. It allows us to admire the moving scenery outside.

Within Singapore, the MRT is my first experience with rail travel. The scenery is, well, quite limited. Beyond Singapore, I have embarked on some notable rail travels. 

For example, the Seattle to Vancouver Amtrak train which hugs the pacific coastline. Within Japan, the bullet train transports me quickly to different cities, from Tokyo to Hokkaido in the north, or Tokyo to Kyoto to Osaka.

I have also been on rail travels where the scenery is not as wonderful but the experience is just as great. Within Italy, from Rome to Florence to Venice. Within the UK, from London to Scotland. Within Norway and Sweden as well.

I have read about some rail travels in other countries offering majestic views. For example, the transiberia from China to Moscow passing by Siberia and the canadian from Toronto to Vancouver passing by the Canadian rockies. They have sort of tempted me into travelling long haul once more. 😃

Anyway, back to Singapore, the KTM in Malaysia have stopped travelling beyond Woodlands. So the rail tracks from Woodlands to Jurong and Tanjong Pagar have mostly been dismantled and turned into a green corridor for people to run or jog or walk. It has been sad to discontinue the train service. I haven't been able to get on one before its service ended. I have some hazy memories of having ride on a KTM train when I was really young, but that's about it.

For memories' sake, they have kept the rail bridges and its tracks untouched. Needless to say, they became places of attraction in their own rights. Locals, including me, have been flocking to take pictures of the rail corridor and the Tanjong Pagar railway station.

The walkable rail bridge complete with tracks by the Rail Mall

Beyond the bridge, the tracks were removed and turned into a green corridor

The magnificent structure in all its glory 😊

Not all the rail bridges are accessible. The one at Sunset Way has been cordoned off. Yup. So what remains now are short sections of rail tracks preserved along rail bridges and at Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Timah railway station. Well, I hope this piece of Singapore's history will live on.

Singapore - Istana

It's been a couple of months since my last post. Mainly because I have greatly reduced my travelling in recent times. I am contented at having been to all the places in the world that I wanted to visit. 

At this point, there is no regrets and I cherish each and every of my holiday adventures. As I have winding down in my career and have transitioned to a new work environment, I will not be travelling as much as before. 

I am thankful for the opportunity to have travelled to a vast number of countries. For now I just want to enjoy what life has in store for me, to cherish every moment and live everyday like my last with no regrets.

Right now I am looking forward to my upcoming trip to Laos in June. With this, I would have travelled to all the ASEAN countries. I chanced upon a very attractive air tickets promotion by Silkair, a full service airline from Singapore and decided to take up the offer.

After purchasing the air tickets giving me a six-day vacation in Laos, I have decided to visit the two main cities - Vientiane, its capital and Luang Prabang, a UNESCO world heritage site. I am currently firming up my accommodation, transport and tours and anticipating a great experience in Laos. :)

On Labour Day, Singapore's presidential palace, the Istana, is open to the public. For info, the Istana is only open about 5 days a year, all during public holidays. Suffice to say, on the day it's opened, throngs of visitors will visit to Istana, leading to very long queues. 

With that in mind, I arrived at its gate to a very short queue at 8am, ahead of its opening time at 8:30am. As it's early morning, the wait was bearable. There are queues on both sides of the gate and it was very orderly.

At 8:33am, visitors were ushered in. Singaporeans and PRs need not pay while foreigners pay a token $2 entry fee.

Once past the gate, it was an eye opening experience for me.

There are maps along the trail to guide visitors around the Istana

Installations from the museum

This is Edinburgh Road, the path leading towards the Istana main building.

This building is closed to the public.

The must-take photo of the water fountain and the Istana main building in the background

Tents were set up in front of the Istana selling tickets for the main building and nature guided tours for a fee. Those who signed up for both, including me, will get an Istana bookmark, while stocks last. 

The Istana grounds boasts great views of the Marina Bay Sands in the distance.

Singapore's national flower, an orchid

There are bite-sized information provided through the QR code in the Istana app.

A pair of swans in the swan lake. I learnt from the guide that swans mate for life. Upon doing some research, I found out that only about 11 kinds of animals actually mate for life !