FROM FARRER ROAD TO HOLLAND VILLAGE VIA MRT

It's been ages since I last visited Holland Village, four and a half years to be exact. Given the crazy parking situation there, there hasn't been much reason to go despite its many attractions. The opening of the Circle Line MRT has changed that. It's just one stop from home, although 86 cents one-way does appear fairly steep, but this is Singapore, after all. Farrer Road station (above) has a colourfully designed lift shaft to life the greyish gloom.

Holland Village MRT station 

has actual shops! You could 

even have a meal here!

The exterior of Holland Village MRT, 

just outside the Holland Avenue 

row of shophouses.

Lorong Liput is where 

the food and shopping is. 

The windmill (left) is supercilious, 

as Holland Village was named after 

a person rather than the country.

Holland Village market and food centre.

Vietnamese and Thai eateries 

along Lorong Mambong, 

with a Rockwellian mural in the 

Vietnamese restaurant Pho Hoa.

Pedestrian-only Lorong Mambong 

and its drinking holes make it 

a happening place on weekends.

CIRCLE LINE OPENS / From Botanic Gardens to Harbourfront

At long last, the Circle Line Mass Rapid Transit has opened, with two stations within walking distance very near home. The first day, Saturday 8 October 2001, saw the Botanic Gardens Station open its doors, and it was a smooth sailing trip all the way to Harbourfront station. Some day, I'll even go the other direction to Esplanade.

The exterior of Botanic Gardens MRT station, which is as green as one might expect.

The spacious interior and an appopriately floral motif in the Botanic Gardens station.

The trains are shorter, with fewer carriages, but equally roomy.

As the trains are driverless. passengers in the front carriage are afforded a view of the oncoming tracks, as the train careens at high speed from one station to the next.

Finally, we reach Harbourfront station and VivoCity, all within 25 minutes.