Tag Archives: Travel

Traffic Travails and the need for a set of wheels

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This post was supposed to be posted on Tuesday, but for some reason, I didn’t do it then. The traffic that day was was the worst I have seen in my 2.5 months of commute. In about 30 mins, the bus that I was on moved the distance which would not have taken 5-7 minutes to cover on a normal day! The best part, there is no reason for this heavy traffic. If there was a major accident somewhere on the route, it would seem understandable but this is ridiculous. Maybe there was an accident, but I didn’t see anything that seemed to indicate any accident on the way. I think something should be done and soon. The BKE which in normal traffic conditions take around 10 minutes and during the morning peak hours take around 15-20 minutes to cover took about 40 minutes to cover on Tuesday! Yesterday S dropped me to work since he had some work in his Head Office which is not very far from my office. It took us around 35 minutes to reach my office! It is times like this I really want to have a car. But the costs really deter me. Add to the cost of the car and the COE (Certificate of Entitlement) which is ‘Uniquely Singapore’, I also will have to pay roughly around S$3 in ERP (Electronic Road Pricing) every day. This in addition to the S$100 for carpark charges per month. I don’t think I earn that much to justify this spending. Now I am dreading the office moving to the other end of Singapore and my commute will be from one end of Singapore to the other end (the longer end as I keep reminding my colleagues).

On the work front, another of my colleagues has decided to quit. He told us in confidence yesterday that he feels the organisation is going nowhere and so he wants out before it is too late. I am really concerned about the turnover of staff in this organisation. I am not sure what to do. Maybe I should work on my CV this weekend and see if I get some interview calls in the next month or so. If I get something by early December, then it would be ideal. Since I am in my probation period right now, I need to give them only two weeks notice. So if I get a new position soon, then I quit in the first week of December and give notice before I go on my holiday and then come back and join the new company. Will this work for me? God, if you are up there, listening and reading this, please do something, willya?

The World in Sixty Seconds

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This amazing video which I got from the MSN website is a series of time lapse images taken from the front of the International Space Station at on it’s orbit around the world at night. The video, done by science educator James Drake can also be seen in his website Infinity Imagined. From the website:

A time-lapse taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbits our planet at night. This movie begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America before entering daylight near Antarctica. Visible cities, countries and landmarks include (in order) Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Fransisco, Los Angeles. Phoenix. Multiple cities in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. Mexico City, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, Lightning in the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and the Amazon. Also visible is the Earths ionosphere (thin yellow line) and the stars of our galaxy.

Would you like to live in a Palace?

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Albeit for a fee and for a few days? Who wouldn’t right? Well if you have the moolah, here is Tripadvisor’s top ten Palace hotels. For more details click the tripadvisor report.

  1. Bussaco Palace Hotel, Luso, Portugal – Built in the 19th century for the last Portuguese Kings, the Bussaco Palace Hotel is one of the most beautiful hotels in the world. It is located in the lush Bussaco National Forest, which was once the grounds of a Carmelite convent established in 1628.
  2. Palazzo Magnani Feroni, Florence, Italy – Dating back to the 16th Century, the luxurious palace once belonged to the artistocratic Feroni family. With breathtaking views of downtown Florence, the Palazzo Magnani Feroni Hotel is located in the historical San Frediano neighbourhood.
  3. Parador de Lerma, Castilla y Leon – Located high above the town, The Parador de Lerma offers once-secret columned arcades. The first Duke of Lerma ordered the construction of this castle for King Philip III in the early 17th century. It served as a place of enjoyment for the King.
  4. Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur, India – The Taj Lake Palace was built as a summer retreat for Maharana Jagat Singh II, the 62nd successor to the royal dynasty of Mewa, between 1743-1746. The extravagant white-marble hotel is located directly on Lake Pichola, and appears to be floating.
  5. Kempinski Hybernska Prague, Prague – Kempinski Hybernska Prague was once a 17th century baroque palace. Now completely reconstructed, the luxury hotel combines modern design with traditional elements, including a private baroque garden and original double entrance doors.
  6. Ciragan Palace Kempinski, Istanbul, Turkey – The Ciragan Palace Kempinski was once an Ottoman palace built by Sultan Abdülaziz between 1863 and 1867. In the early 1900’s, the palace became the meeting place for the parliament, however it suffered a devastating fire in 1910. It has since been restored as this luxury hotel with breathtaking views of the Bosphorus.
  7. Taj Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, India – Today, Taj Rambagh Palace is an exquisite hotel with stunning suites and ornamental gardens. The palace was originally built in 1835 for the queen’s handmaiden, and was eventually turned into a royal guesthouse and hunting lodge. In 1925, the palace became the home of the Maharaja of Jaipur and remained with Jaipur royalty until 1957.
  8. Gritti Palace, Venice, Italy – The opulent palace on the Grand Canal was built in 1525 as the home of the Doge of Venice, Andrea Gritti. It was later the residence of Vatican Ambassadors. The Gritti Palace became part of the Luxury Collection for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 1994. It still possesses the original ceilings and entrance flooring.
  9. Hotel Du Palais, Biarritz, France – Hotel Du Palais was the summer retreat of Napoleon III and Empress Eugenia. Empress Eugenia was said to have fallen in love with the beaches and landscape of Biarritz as a child, so Napoleon III had the summer residence built for her in 1855. Presently, the elegant hotel still displays the style of the Second Empire.
  10. Hotel de Crillon, Paris, France – One of two identical palaces, King Louis the XV directed the Crillon to be built in 1758. It was once the home to the Duc d’Aumont and the Comte de Crillon. Located in the famous Place de la Concorde, the prestigious Hotel de Crillon is honoured with 18th century classical French decor.

To Work or Not To Work….That is the Question…

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Another day, another commute in a crowded bus. To add, it rained last night and early this morning adding to the jams on the road. There are a couple of accidents on the expressway which I take so the bus is inching it’s way to the exit. You must have guessed that I am writing this on my way to work.

The past few years I am increasingly being asked by myself this question – Do I need to work?  The answer is not as simple as it seems. Based on my earning ability we upgraded to a bigger house about  18 months back so any decision to quit work has to factor that in. But now this question has been quite insistent and I look forward to the way that I can take a break from work. I want to take a couple of years off, concentrate on BB & GG and once they finish the dreaded PSLE exams, do something that enjoy doing. Maybe study further – there is a world of possibility out there. But all this will remain a dream unless I find a way to replace my income for the next four years at the very minimum.  I estimate I will need approximately S$ 120,000, give or take a few thousands to replace my take home income for the next four years. This is actually a pared down income level as for the past three months I have been getting around 75% of my previously drawn salary as I am now working less hours a day. Now all I need is to strike the lottery or get an unexpected inheritance and I’ll be set for my life of leisure.

While we are dreaming let me dream about that perfect life I will have when I am not working. I can wake up later than the 4:45 am I currently do, maybe around 5:30 am? Then get GG & BB, along with S ready to get out of the house by 7:15 am and start preparing my day. I would quickly finish my cooking and clean the kitchen. Next on my agenda would be some exercises say between 30-45 minutes after which the exercises would continue in the form of clew if the house. Once that is done, I can go and have a bath. By now the time should be around 10 am. After this would be some computer time or other general stuff – like ironing, clearing things etc. By this time, if i have not had breakfast, I would be hungry so time for lunch. Then rest till the children get home from school. Once back, they should keep me on my toes till it’s time to unwind and sleep! Aah, while I continue to dream about the perfect life, let me get to work!!

Travel Woes…

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After almost eight years, I am now taking the public transport to get to work and it has been a huge culture shock to me! I had read about the crush in the public transport system in Singapore but it was only when I actually experienced it did i realize the magnitude of it.

By and large Singapore has a fairly decent public transportation system with trains, called the Mass Rapid Transit or MRT serving major towns and the Light Rapid Transport or LRT connecting newer towns to the MRT stations and buses which either connect the outer lying areas to the city centre or connect the suburbs to bus or train interchanges. The two operators which run the bus/train network are SMRT and SBS.

Eight years back when I last took the bus on a regular basis, it was easy since I was taking it from the first stop to the last one and was guaranteed a seat. My connecting bus from the interchange to my office was also from the first stop and since the journey was some 10-15 minutes only, not getting a seat was not a big issue! The traffic on the roads was not so bad and I could reach my workplace in the western part of the country in less than an hour. Then last year when S was on his last reservist duty, I had to take the public transport for about 4 days and I took the bus as usual and the journey took me almost double the time! The traffic in the roads was terrible and made me realise just how many vehicles were on the road, in spite of high car prices and the other expenses that come with owning a car! I then took the train on the other days and that was not too bad considering I was travelog in the opposite direction for most of the journey. I was so thankful to be driven to work once S was back!

Now since July I am working in a new place which is on the fringe of the Central Business District (CBD).  This means along with me, approximately 60-70% of Singapore’s working population travel in the same direction as me. The first few days I took the train, but the crush there brought to mind the Mumbai train crush the only difference being that people are a bit more polite here and all buses and trains are air conditioned. I’ve had to frequently miss trains because there was just no way I could enter the train! I then started taking my chances with the road traffic and am now taking an almost direct bus which takes me to a busstop about 7-10 minutes walking distance from my office. This bus is also extremely crowded. The stop I usually get on is the last one before the expressway and the days I can actually get on the bus is good! But there is one thing that I have noticed which is fairly disturbing. Most people do not like to move to the back of the bus but crowd around the exits. This means that the bus is front heavy and newer passengers have to squeeze in the front with zero personal space while at the back it is fairly comfortable.

Wish the powers that are (aka the transport minister or the biggies in the ministry) take these busses and trains incognito without getting the operators and the grassroot leaders in the picture and get a first hand experience of what most Singaporeans go through. Only then would any policy designed to alleviate suffering really take place, otherwise it’s all just gloss.