Singapore, Day 3, March 23, 2023

Today we used public transportation. First, we took the Metro to the north of Singapore, to Woodlands. From there, we took buses back to the south where our ship is located. The Metro takes about an hour up, and the buses take more than two hours back.

The public transportation system is enormous. There is a dense Metro network (you can easily walk from one station to another) and besides that, there are almost infinite number of buses (see picture of the depot). There are so many routes that there isn't even a central directory. You check online to see which route is currently ideal. The typical frequency is between 6 and 15 minutes.

Along the coast, there is mainly industry and commerce with some nature reserves in between. Just like in the south, there are also dams in the north of Singapore that separate the river water from the seawater at the river mouths, creating a freshwater reservoir.

Further inland, the residential areas begin. There are only a few small houses scattered everywhere. The dominant structures are tall residential buildings. However, there is always a lot of greenery and beautiful parks in between, some even with small lakes serving as water reservoirs. There are even wildlife bridges over the highways.

The traffic flows quite smoothly. This is because Singapore only allows a fixed number of cars to ensure that the roads do not get overcrowded.

At the end of the day, we went to a nice café and enjoyed not only a good coffee but also some pastries, which are frequently found here.

It was a good way to experience the island differently. We saw the diversity of the island, how people behave in different areas, and learned about the size and topography of the island.