Driving in Singapore Part 1

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Orchard Road

Singapore traffic is heavily congested during commute hours. To discourage drivers from driving into congested areas, Singapore government deployed an automatic variable toll system. Cars in Singapore are equipped with standardized wireless toll collectors. Depending on the hour of day, money is deducted from the account linked to the transponder in a car at different rates as the car travels through heavily congested areas.

Glittering and colorfully-lit holiday ornaments adorn this opulent mile-long Orchard Road. This road is the Singapore version of Fifth Avenue in New York, Avenue Montaigne and Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris, and Oxford Street and Bond Street in London. It attracts not only shopaholics but also architecture buffs. Gleaming malls featuring the most sophisticated and leading edge structures are lining this street.
Not only do the boutiques refresh their window displays more than a dozen times a year with the latest trend from all over the world, but the building themselves get face-lifts or rebuilds every few years!

This constant change ensures that this place here is, arguably, the epicenter of retail therapy in Asia Pacific! This is a shopaholics’ heaven. Once they check in, they will never want to check out. And if shopping is not your passion, a vast number of cinemas, restaurants, cafes, and bars will keep you entertained.

Brash Basah Road

Orchard Road turns into Brash Basah Road. We are entering the Civic District where the past and the present converge harmoniously. Colonial buildings hosting government offices are surrounded by sleek glass and steel skyscrapers housing luxury hotels. This duality is highlighted by the two contrasting structures standing almost side by side - the white stone with red roof colonial Parliament building and the UFO-shaped glass structure on the top of the Supreme Court office.

Victoria Street crosses Brash Basah Road. Chijmes on Victoria Street is a unique complex that should not be missed. It is both a national monument and a complex of restaurants, pubs, and shops. This large neo-Gothic architecture structure was the Convent of Holy Infant Jesus; a girls school for 131 years. On weekend nights, live Jazz and dance music can be heard from the street...@driving-vacation

More pictures...

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