The Railway Station Is A giant Advertisement - and I like it

Linkway at Bugis MRT station in Singapore.

I know three stations in Singapore with long linkways which need travelators to speed you on your way. Two are Promenade and Beauty World. The third is Bugis, above.

The advertising is inescapable. However, I like it. The tedium of the walk is enlivened by the unmissable advertising. The walls and floor are filled with colour. You learn something new. Unlike permanent installations, the ads change every week or so, so your journeys offer new experiences.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Singapore is Fairyland, which you can find by bus, MRT and walking

Daytime or night-time, Singapore is fairyland. Earlier this month I took the 961 bus from outside Cashew station through the city to Henerson Road Community Centre. I was astonsihed by the beauty of the trees and buildings. The red stalks of the lipstick palms, the pretty fan shaped palms and traveller's palms like one big fan. It was like fairyland.

I thought I would take the same route again across Singapore all the way to Bugis, but the train went underground twice as fast. So, to be sure of arriving on time, I took the train. I thought how much better it would have been to see the sights from the bus. I thought I had missed out on the pleasures of the Singapore landscape. However, when I emerged from the Bugis MRT station into daylight, before 7 pm, I was impressed by the tall buildings in unusual shapes.

I looked at the DUO building right next to the MRT. Across the road was the Gateway building, or rather two buildings, semi circles around the central welcoming elegant fountains.

Finally the Plaza building attached to a suite hotel. Facing cute small shophouses from the old days, probably with a preservation order.

When I came out of the meeting at 10 pm, it was dark outside, but bright, from the lights on the skyscrapers, a veritable fairyland, again

Singapore near Bugis station. Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, author and speaker.

Singapore's new train lines - downtown line

My new year's resolution: to try all the new stations, underground and around the station and any nearby landmark or museum. Cashew Road is one of the new stations on the next extended line, opened on Dec 27 2015 with free travel until Jan 4th. A few delays in the early days, but it should be sorted soon. More photos later this month (January 2016). What a great start to the year. You can see the official MRT site with all the plans and a few local bloggers.

See my previous post about the train with windows which go white mist and block out the view when you pass the windows of homes overlooking the station and vice versa.

New line connects suburbs with the centre:
Starting from the north going south into the centre:

Bukit Panjang (The Terminus or end of line)
Cashew
Hillview - for HillV2 shopping centre with Market Place and IO Italian Osteria restaurant.
Beauty World
King Albert Park
Sixth Avenue
Tan Kah Kee -(See later post)
Botanic Gardens
Stevens
Newton - for Sheraton Hotel
Little India - for Indian shops and restaurants
Rochor
Bugis - big shopping area with Starbucks and many more shops and jumping fountains outside

Pick up the latest map from one of the larger central stations, the ticket offices open in rush hour at the bigger stations, and free maps at Changi airport.

MRT maps:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MRT_Map_as_of_2021.png - an old map but comes up large enough to read on a small 11 inch laptop.
http://skywoods-dairyfarm.officialnewlaunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Hillview-MRT-01.png

Angela Lansbury, Singapore resident.