From Singapore's Changi Airport Take the Train and learn Chinese, Malay,and English VIP Names

Airport Boulevard leading to and from Changi airport has roadworks and lane closures scheduled 13-25 Feb 2019, a good time to consider taking the MRT train instead.





Singapore Flag.

Singapore is a great stopover on your way to Asia or Australia and a great destination in its own right. Take the train from or to the airport and learn to recognize English, Chinese and Malay names.

Arriving at Changi airport you can catch a train into town. When I visit Singapore I look at the names on the train map and try to find out what they mean which makes them easier to remember and recognize. I also listen to the announcements and ask people sitting alongside me or passers-by for translations. The station names tell you about the terrain, the geography, as well as Singapore's history.

Airport On The Train Line
Singapore's Changi airport is on the Singapore MRT, the last stop on east end of the green line, the East-West line, which forks to go to either Changi or Pasir Ris. Pasir Ris means white sand.

Small carry on bags to carry onto the train.

A One-Wheelie Bag Hop
I recently travelled to Singapore, and for the first time travelled longhaul for about 13 hours from Heathrow,  with only a carry-on bag.  I had less weight to carry and less clutter than usual so I considered taking the train all the way west across the island.

Seasonal lights. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Taxi or Train?
Instead I gook a taxi, which cost a lot more. When my taxi got stuck in a traffic jam caused by a road accident, I thought: next time I should seriously consider taking the efficient train service. The trains  run about every 5 minutes or even quicker. From Singapore's major MRT stations you can switch to the bus, hire a taxi, or a bicycle, and find fast food and a free toilet.



Swap from train to bus or bike and watch others at work. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

A couple of days later I took the wonderful MRT in the opposite direction and travelled east on the blue Downtown line towards Changi. I changed at busy Bugis onto the green East-West line (which posters tell you is being extended even further), ending at Pasir Ris.

More people will have Changi Airport as their destination.

Changi Airport. Photo by David in Wikipedia under Changi Airport.

CHANGI AIRPORT and MRT train station
Changi is known for its award-winning modern airport, a great shopping centre which has green walls and palm trees, giant sculptures, seasonal displays and a free Butterfly Garden on two levels with giant butterflies which you can admire and photograph. Changi Prison and Museum also attract those interested in history.

Free Tour Bus
If you are on Singapore Airlines and have a long stopover of, say, five hours in the daytime, you can book a free bus tour of the city which takes about two hours and gets you back in time for the hour or so you need to check in for the next flight. (The airport also has a hotel with a pool, and a cinema.)

Changi's Tree Name
The name Changi is probably botanical. The Malay version of the name stands for one of two possible plants, perhaps the hardwood tree which grew in the area and was used in building.

When you take the blue Downtown line from Changi Airport, the train map has two stations using the word Changi. The next stop is Upper Changi,

Green East-West Line Destinations
The Green line takes you from Changi Airport or Pasir Ris into town to City Hall, a big interchange. Next stop is equally busy Raffles Place, named after the man whose statue stands on the seafront and in renowned Raffles Hotel.

Raffles Place MRT station exterior. From Wikipedia.

Shopping On Orchard Road
You could go to Newton, for the nearby Sheraton Hotel. Or swap to the red line, going one stop to Orchard, the centre of Singapore. Orchard Road is a hive of hotels such as the Hilton and shopping malls plus all the seasonal lights delightfully illuminating the streets and skyscrapers at night.

The green line passes through some easy and self-explanatory station placenames; Redhill, Queenstown, Commonwealth, Dover, Chinese Garden and Lakeside.

Tampines Trees On the Green Line
The next stop is Tampines East, and the Tampines is another tree. Singapore is full of trees, bordering every road, my favourites being the rain trees like umbrellas, with orchids crowing in the fork of the branches, which you will see if you take a taxi instead of the train.

On the train, on the blue Downtown line, after Upper Changi, you reach Tampines East MRT, Tampines MRT, a big hub and bus exchange, then Tampines West.

Changi Airport seasonal display for Easter. Full of Photo Opportunities. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Pasir Ris - Eend of The Green East-West Line
Pasir means sand. According to  Wikipedia Pasir Ris means white sand in Malay. Most people will tell you white sand, although Infopedia gives an alternative version. Malay is written in the English alphabet, which makes it easier to pick up than the Chinese pictograms.

The Blue Downtown Line
Instead you could take the blue line. Only one stop away from Changi is Expo, with vast exhibition halls. So exhibitors and visitors to exhibitions keep this station busy. I have visited wine fairs, food fairs and other events.

The Busy Blue Line
The Blue Line eventually takes you to: Chinatown, Bayfront, Promenade, Little India and Botanic Gardens, all major visitor attractions. If you are blessed with beautiful weather, go to the Botanic Gardens, which has wonderful walks, numerous photo opportunities, as well as big shopping areas and gourmet restaurants if it rains.

The end of the blue line in the north is Bukit Panjang. Bukit is Malay for hill. Panjang means long in Malay. The Malay words often have two syllables.The adjective usually comes after the noun, unlike English. (Pasir Ris - sand white. Bukit Panjang, hill long.)

Chinese Names
Stations with single syllable names, and three single syllable names are Chinese. Remember the VIP, the late Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have many more posts on Singapore, the MRT, the Botanic Gardens and cities and stations around the world and learning languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.

To learn Malay and Chinese (Mandarin) for free online, use Duolingo, Memrise. Chineasy is on YouTube or buy their products from Amazon or Ebay.

Chineasy

On your MRT (train station) map you can recognize the Chinese signs for king (centre top in the Chineasy signs in King Albert Park MRT (DT6 Downtown station 6). The sign for mountain (lower left) is in Hillview MRT station (DT3) Downtown station three.

Useful Websites
MRT Train
https://www.transitlink.com.sg/images/eguide/mrt_sys_map.htm

Changi Airport
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changi

Pasir Ris Station
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasir_Ris

Learn Languages
duolingo.com
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=chineasy

Botanic Gardens:
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/SBG

Butterfly Garden at Changi Airport
http://www.changiairport.com/en/airport-experience/attractions-and-services/butterfly-garden.html

Travel to Singapore
Singapore Airlines
shttps://www.transitlink.com.sg/images/eguide/mrt_sys_map.html

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

How to get a seat on a train, and fewer steps at stations

You can book a seat on intercity trains such as the GWR (Great Western Railway) going West from Paddington in N W London usually via Reading to Wales.

On other trains with first come first serveld seating such as the MRT. In Singapore I watch the queue all the way along the platform and join the shortest queue. Then as the train flashes past as it comes in I watch to see if the far end carriages have more spaces. I might have time to run along the platform or I might just jump in the nearest carriage and walk along inside a train until I find a seat.

Stations with Easy Changes
London, England
From London underground you can get a list of changes with step-free access for wheelchair users and people with sticks or just not keep on walking.

Singapore
On the Google maps get directions website in Singapore I was able to choose 'least walking' options. A similar choice is on the London, England underground and bus travel websites.
Some stations have very easy changes. It's worthwile marking them on your map for future use. In Singapore MRT I found a very easy change at McPherson. City Hall is a popular interhcnage. It's worthwhile noting whether your best option is changing at City Hall or Raffles Place (depending on which line in which direction).

I know from experience that on some stations the lift (elevator to Americans) saves you a lot of walking. But on other stations the lift is in the middle, so you walk beyond the base of the escalator, then come out behind the top (Newton MRT in Singapore).

A little nifty forethought, and you can save time and energy.

Useful websites
Visitbritain.com
Visitsingapore.com

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
I have other posts on trains and railway stations. Please bookmark and share links. Thanks

Palm trees and tree trail in central Singapore: walking from City Hall train station

One of the historic buildings in central Singapore is the former City Hall which is now the stately National Gallery.

I went to City Hall MRT station. How do you get up to the street to the gallery?

I took a roudabout walk by mistake, trying to escape from the City Hall MRT station. The signs directed me into what seemed like a mile long avenue of shops. 

I looked for an exit up to ground level. The only exit warned that it was alarmed. 

I could not see how anybody would escape in a fire. I felt foolish, claustrophobic, time-wasted and irritated, trapped in a long shopping mall.

When I reached ground level, I found myself in another long walk, this time through trees which had been listed, each one marked with its botanical name. Between them was a thoughfully made sign on the tree trail.

My day and evening was worthwhile. A step meter on my phone usefully told me I had taken zero steps. Really! 

So, zero to the mobile ap, zero to the safety of the exit from the underground walkway, but top marks to the designers of the tree trail.

If you like trees, you might enjoy the BBC trailer for a programme featuring actress Judi Dench and what she learned about how trees communicate.

Your New Year plans could include learning more about trees.

Useful Websites

https://www.nparks.gov.sg/activities/family-time-with-nature/recommended-activities/know-10-trees

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jxnv4 (Judi Dench trailer on programme on trees.)

http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/gb/home