My First Bus Trip

In Singapore, you have to buy a license to own a car.  This costs between $90,000 and $100,000 for a 10 year license.  If you leave before the 10 years are up, I've heard that you can sell back the unused portion of the license.  That is the fee before you even buy a car, and cars start at about $50,000.  So, we've decided to forego having a car.  We are in the midst of the city, so it should be a new adventure, after living for over 30 years in the suburbs of Chicago, where you HAVE to have a car.

Rich has taken a cab into work each day.  However, I like good value for my money.  I would prefer to walk or take public transportation and save that money for a nice glass of wine.  Also, one of my goals when I visit a new city is to do things that ordinary people do.  With that in mind, I checked the bus routes and schedule, and headed back to IKEA.

The bus stop was literally across the road from our building.  The road is pretty busy, so you have to go on a pedestrian overpass, but it's still an easy trek.  I was a little confused when I reached the bus stop, because I didn't see the numbers that matched what I had written down.  A very nice Singaporean woman answered my questions, and made sure that I knew what to do before she boarded her bus.  When my bus arrived, I boarded, told the driver my destination.  The only glitch was when he told me the fare.  I thought I had put in $.05 more than he said, when I actually put in $.30 less than he said.  He politely called me back to put in the additional fare.

The bus was very clean and smelled like disinfectant.  There were riders of all ages and nationalities, but I didn't see any other Americans.  Most riders had fare cards that they scanned when they boarded the bus and again when they got off.  There were signs all over telling riders not to swipe their cards before their stop.  I could imagine that being a big problem during rush hour.

I had written the specifics of my trip from the bus website.  However, I got a little nervous when I saw IKEA about a block and a half away, and the bus started heading in a different direction.  But my directions said I would end up 100 meters away, so I sat tight.  Good thing I did, because the bus looped around, and let me off at the bus stop at the bottom of the pedestrian overpass that led right into IKEA's doors.

IKEA was not nearly as crowded as it had been on Saturday, but it was still crowded for a Monday.  I know that IKEA usually has some good lunch specials so I headed up to the Restaurant.  As I watched people make their way through the lines, most had Swedish Meatballs with Noodles, or Chicken Wings.  It was just like America!  I was preparing to get a Cold Prawn Salad, but luckily the two middle prawns were upright - and looking at me!  I wasn't exactly sure how to make them eyeless, so I passed on the salad, and got an Open Faced Shrimp Sandwich.  It was a piece of bread with hard boiled egg, mayonnaise, and salad shrimp.  Very tasty!

I made my way through the store, ordering my couch and small dining table, and picking up the rest of my list.  After paying, I scheduled delivery, and tried to get my $50 gift card for making my purchase on a weekday.  It turned out that I had to get into the queue at Customer Service.  This took somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes.  Rich would not have had patience for this.  However, I had already mentally spent the $50 on my next trip, so I went to the cafe, got a $.50 ice cream cone, and waited.  Yum!

There was no line in the taxi queue on Monday, so I headed to the front cab.  But he would not take me.  I must have had too much stuff.  The second man in line kept telling me to go to the front cab, but he finally took me when I told him the front cab said, "NO!"  I'm glad I got him because he was very helpful when it came time to unload my stuff in the basement at the elevator.  All in all, it was a successful trip, and I celebrated by walking to the grocery store, and feeling like queen of my domain!