Someday in Land of Lion – Part 3: Walking Day

I think I miscalculate distance of several places in Singapore. I use google map and in my reading I find that several places are actually near to the hotel I stay.

For example, Orchard road is supposed to be around 1 km in my calculation. Means that it should only take a half on an hour to reach it (because usually when I go to office, it only takes 15 mins for 500 m distance). But I reach it about 1 hour. So I guess it around 2 km far.
And I walk that far…

OK, that makes me really healthy. Gladly I don’t walk alone, I walk with my colleague (I mean my boss during my assignment) in one evening after office hour on day 2.

We walk from the south (my office in Marina Bay area) into the center of entertainment Orchard Road. After several minutes we reach Beach Road. It’s said that in the past Marina Bay is a bay, a sea. The beach line is located on Beach Road. But now Singapore reclamate the bay and make it to be land.

After several minutes we finally reach the most crowded MRT junction call Dhoby Ghaut. It’s like Harmony in Jakarta.

And several minutes later we are welcomed to Orchard Road by the bird chirping. It’s crowded, very very crowded. When see it, I remember about Harajuku, Akihabara, or some crowded place I usually watch in Japanese Dorama. It’s full of huge malls with colorful lamps, but it also has nature touch: bird chirping. Very weird, but it’s real.

I visit my colleague apartment and then we go to food court for dinner. We get into mall, it’s surely even more crowded in here, it’s very packed with human being. So after eating I don’t want to stay too long on place full of carbon dioxide, I go outside and start my own adventure (I and my friend separate in here).

Since it’s mall area, so I can’t find too much interesting things here. But finally I find one, a bookstore, yeay… It’s a big bookstore ‘Borders’. I take a chance to go inside, walking around the bookstore. The place is very wide; there is big space between one rack to another. I also find several sofas so the reader can sit enjoy reading the book. All books in here are uncovered, so if you want you can read every book all day as long as you want. But the book type is mostly a written book, I don’t see too many comic books.

After get bored with so many serious books, I get out and look for something else. I find a part of street side where it has many picture about Singaporean places of interest. Hmmm basically my itinerary (I make itinerary before I go to here, hehehe) has cover some of them, so I am satisfied hehehe.

Now time to go home, it’s already far I have walked, I am very tired. I will take MRT to go home, my colleague has teach me previously how to travel by MRT, even he buy me my first ticket from station near his place (Somerset St). Now I have walked far away from Somerset St, and I find other MRT station Orchard St. But hmmm the ticket is more expensive because the distance Orchard St – Promenade St (my hotel) is farther than Somerset St – Promenade St. I get panicked, what should I do, should I buy other ticket Orchard St – Promenade St? Mean that I will not use the ticket I already have (Somerset St – Promenade St).

In the confusion I decide to walk back to Somerset St so I can use my MRT ticket. After think again, actually I can buy short ticket Orchard St – Somerset St, and then continue Somerset St – Promenade St. But probably it’s destined to be my walking day. In total I’ve walked:
2 km : Office – Dhoby Ghout
1 km : Dhoby Ghout – Somerset (my colleague apartment)
1 km : Somerset – Orchard
1 km : go back Orchard – Somerset
Total: 5 km

Fiuhhh… I need long sleep for sure to recover my walking energy for next adventure.

I get lost in MRT lair after that, hahaha (I still need more walk inside MRT lair!!!!). But glad after that day I don’t anymore trouble using MRT. I finally master it.

That’s my story on day 2 which I spend most walk. But I glad I can explore this place. There are still 6 days to go. Let’s adventuring!!!