#c&jSingaporeSecondSummer

[atotaltaitaitale]

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And that’s 4 weeks in a row of Mother-Son weekly evening walk.

It’s actually our 4th walk together. After the Botanical Gardens (twice really), the Railway Corridor, the Southern Ridges, we have now ventured out even more to the west to Jurong Lake Gardens.

No beautiful sunset this week but what started as and was supposed to be a “Let’s walk next to each other and listen to our respective music/podcast while I show you around Singapore” has morphed into long conversations…. I, however, do not get to pick the subject of said conversations and I also do not dare to object. I merely listen. This week we (and by “we” I mean mainly “he”) talked about Qualia*

* I’m just going to put the definition here so you don’t have to google it 😉. “In philosophy and certain models of psychology, qualia (/ˈkwɑːliə/ or /ˈkweɪliə/; singular form: quale) are defined as individual instances of subjective, conscious experience. Examples of qualia include the perceived sensation of pain of a headache, the taste of wine, as well as the redness of an evening sky.” Yep!

[atotaltaitaitale]

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There’s always light at the end of the tunnel (and sometimes even a chair 😂)

Last day of Summer Break.

Tomorrow we start the final year of High School.

My absolute finale one (I feel like It’s my third… once for myself, once for C and now for J. 😉)

The chair where he will seat before crossing the graduation stage is in 280 days.

[atotaltaitaitale]

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It’s the end of summer.

It’s the beginning of the weekend.

I have nothing to post… So here’s a “filler” photo to illustrate time flying 😂

On the foreground one of my favorite building, the former Hill Street Police Station now home of the Ministry of Communications and Information. In the background the emblematic Marina Bay Sand Hotel (and a hint of the Raffles Statue)

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There is an HDB (number) for every occasion.

We have our return ticket for June 19…. It’s just a date J’s assistant picked to reschedule our initial flight first issued 2 years ago, but if we stick to this date, today marks the half point between J’s departure from Singapore and my departure from Singapore. Hoping really really hard that he will be able to come back to Singapore before we need to leave for good.

317 days done… 317 days to go.

[atotaltaitaitale]

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Everywhere is so quiet.

This is the hawker center & wet market near our apartment complex (you can see the tall towers in the background) and it is usually buzzing with people but with the group of 2 only restrictions and only take-out authorized it’s not really the same.

3 more weeks

[atotaltaitaitale]

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A city in the middle of the jungle.

I had nothing for you today so here’s a nice filler post picture ;-)

#KeepingItReal #TellingHowItIs

[atotaltaitaitale]

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Wednesday Wanderings and Wonderings.

The hobby of Bird singing…. in time of social distancing.

A couple months ago while walking the Coast-to-Coast trail we walked not far from the Kebun Bahru Birdsinging club and I mentioned it to my fellow walkers. I was surprised none of them knew what I was taking about (one said she had heard about it but never saw it) so I made them do a little detour to show it to them.

We came across it not long after arriving in Singapore in 2016 so I’m always surprised people don’t know about these little gems.

The century-old Singaporean tradition of bird-keeping is itself an endangered species, its continuing survival dependant on a small community of passionate enthusiasts.

In an expanse of parkland just north of central Singapore, dozens of ornate cages dangle from tall poles, swaying gently in the breeze. In the cages perch an array of chirping songbirds; at ground level, their owners mill around, drinking tea and chatting. the tradition is social: it’s about a close-knit community of enthusiasts bonding over the intricacies of their hobby.

The Kebun Baru Bird Singing Club is the largest bird-singing and display arena in Southeast Asia – but they’re not the only surviving practitioners of the hobby. “There are many little pockets of bird displays all over the country,” explains Robin Chua. “These are often confined to one or two types of songbirds. They are usually on the ground floor of a block of public flats or just a small structure on the ground for hanging a few cages.” Locally, these are known as ‘bird corners’.

[atotaltaitaitale]

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Mother and Son Evening Walk #8

I had initially planned this walk to be our last one because it was the longest (12kms) but J was getting his second shot just before that last planned walk and I didn’t want to have a too strenuous walk right after. So this is the penultimate walk: the big loop around MacRitchie Reservoir

After the early departure lessons we had learned the previous 2 weeks he was ready in less than 15 minutes when I told him we should get going (most of the walk is in the forest and it gets dark(er) fast). I would have liked to stay a few more minutes to see the sky turn pink but I wasn’t going to push more. He did awesome.

NB: my posts are rarely in sync with my real life… these walks are done and dusted weeks ago ;-)

[atotaltaitaitale]

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I have always walked a lot.

It’s a great way to discover a city.

Here with the humidity, strolling around the city is not as pleasant so I revert to walking as “exercise” (I don’t exercise so even writing that feels weird! Case in point One & Two) but that’s how I can only describe what I have been doing even more for the past two years. I find a Point of Interest A and a Point of Interest B and I connect them with steps and sweats (LOT of sweats hence why not calling it wandering around the city ;-))

When we did our 23+ km North-to-South hike for Women’s Day back in March, the end of the Green Corridor path was not opened (with several other sections which have been covered since then) but the last section has now been completed…. We reached the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station Signal Cabin.

The Tanjong Railway Station is a few meter further but it is closed for refurbishment and it will be a future site for Cantonment MRT station, one of the stations for Circle MRT line Stage 6.

[atotaltaitaitale]

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Wednesday Wanderings and Wonderings.

When you are searching for a coffee place and you randomly end up at this cool building nestled in the industrial area of Bukit Merah.

The Mill is a dynamic creative hub and event space for cross-disciplinary design initiatives. The building is made up of two towers – the one on the left is inspired by neo-gothic architecture while the other is influenced by post-industrial American architecture. It’s designed by Swan & Maclaren alongside James Adams, whose other masterpieces also include the Art Deco style Parkview Square that’s reminiscent of Gotham City.

As I was leaving the area I spotted an HDB across the road and had to climb the stairs to get another vantage view.

[atotaltaitaitale]

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Current state of mind: Want to hibernate 😭

And we are back in “this is not a lockdown” oops sorry we need to call it Phase 2 High Alert. (Restaurants closed and group of 2 only)

What does it mean for me concretely…. I cannot go to my monthly volunteer packing food group tomorrow (Wednesday). I cannot go on my weekly walk with my already reduced size group of friends on Thursday. My lunch at a restaurant with my lovely dentist/friend has to be canceled on Friday. And finally the BBQ on Sunday with 5 other friends I was really looking forward is now a no go.

Let me recap the situation since April 2020

* Circuit Breaker (everywhere else it’s called a lockdown)… Basically cannot go out, stay at home. April 7, 2020 til June 1st, 2020

* Phase 1-Safe Reopening. From June 2, 2020 til June 18, 2020. We could go out, everything closed but back to school.

* Phase 2-Safe Transition or “This is not a lockdown”. Social gathering only by group of 2. Home visitors limited at 2 per day. No dining-in at restaurant, only takeouts. From June 19, 2020 til December 27, 2020. Then May 16, 2021 til June 13, 2021 (but that was actually Phase 2 Heightened Alert) and we are now currently back here until August 18

* Phase 3-Safe Nation or a lighter “This is not a lockdown”… Social gathering only by group of 5 (and for a few weeks 8!). Home visitors limited at 5 per day. Dining-in at restaurant resume but limited groups of 5 (and 8 for just a few weeks). From December 28, 2020 til May 7, 2021. Then from May 8, 2021 til May 15, 2021 and from June 14, 2021 until July 21, 2021 (but that was actually Phase 3 Heightened Alert).

In a nutshell: Phase 2 means restaurants are closed. Phase 3 means restaurants are opened. High Alert reduced the number of people from 5 (rarely 8) to 2. And you can have any combinations!!

I hope i didn’t bore you too much… and because I was really bored I made a chart 😂 Again because I need to document it somehow 🤷‍♀️

[atotaltaitaitale]

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I feel like I need a PhD to understand the charts here. Not sure what kind of PhD though.

So basically since June 21* and until last Monday we were only allowed to eat in group of 2. Since Monday (July 12) we are allowed in groups of 5 and from Monday (July 19) we are (basically) back to groups of 2… well unless you hang out with people who recovered from COVID (we only had single digit cases per day since the beginning of this whole saga so good luck with that) or old(er) people because the younger group have just started to be vaccinated and they need their 2 doses (3 to 4 weeks apart) + a 2-week waiting period.

* before that we were in “We-Are-Not-In-Lockdown” situation. 🙄

All this because an “underground” Ktv (Karaoke place with hostesses) was a cluster of 59 new cases. Government has offered anonymous free test for people who might have been exposed in order to get as many people tested as possible which ensure a whole lot of interesting meme online:

Not quite the usually content on this page but I’m only documented this because in a few years nobody will believe this sh!t show was going on and I want proof of it 😂

[atotaltaitaitale]

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Wednesday Wanderings and Wonderings.

When you realize that your weekly MRT ride pass by the historic St James Power Station which will be the site of Dyson new global headquarters later this year.

The original power station was mostly known lately for being a major music-themed nightlife venue.

Built in 1926, it was Singapore's first power station (also previously the one and only coal-fired power plant in Singapore) and supplied electricity to the nearby port and the surrounding industries, shipyards and residences.

Due to its rich history, the St James building was gazetted as a national monument in 2009. As a result, its appearance - which has remained largely the same from the time it was built, with its distinctive red brick facade - cannot be touched. Owners of the building are not allowed to alter the facade, build any extensions or hack any walls. The building was also awarded the URA Architectural Heritage Award in 2010.

On a side note Sir James Dyson sold his Singapore penthouse said to be Singapore's largest at a loss, just one year after buying it. Singapore’s Business Times reported that he accepted an offer for $62m Singapore dollars ($47m) from US-based billionaire Leo Koguan. The sale price is lower than the reported purchase price of S$73.8m.

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When your mother makes you go on weekly evening walk - Part 2

You don’t always get an epic sunset but you get to see part of the city from a pretty cool bridge (Henderson Waves) and end you walk on another one (Alexandra Arch).

Henderson waves connect Mount Faber to Telok Blangah Hill park. It’s a 274-meter-long pedestrian bridge. At 36 meters above Henderson Road it is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore.

Alexandra Arch is a 80-meter-long bridge that features a curved deck and tilted arch like an open leaf. Like the Henderson Waves it is lit with Color-charging LED lamps

[atotaltaitaitale]

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And just like that I’m documenting our 5th week of Mother-Son weekly evening walk.

It all started as a stroll around Gardens by the Bay with an idea of pushing it to the Barrage for a cool view of the city at sunset. Since he wasn’t complaining we crossed the barrage to get another view of the city and when he asked where was the bus stop/MRT station and I pointed it out over the bay he was game for the finish line.

Our initial little stroll around Gardens by the Bay ended up as an 8-km walk around the bay with great views of the city at dusk.

He might secretly love those walks but would never admit it because #coolness

[atotaltaitaitale]

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When your mother make you go for the weekly evening walk* and you are rewarded by an amazing sunset, you don’t even complain when she ask you to pose for a photo (and even asked to have the photo forwarded to you)

*2 weeks in a row established it as a weekly walk and make it a mandatory evening walk to be done at least during the school holiday, don’t you think?