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19 December, 2012

Public Transport Entrails: Part V

This is the most epic of my tales.
On the Sunday, I thought my ez-link transport card had run out of money.  At eleven I tried to get on a bus to Orchard Road, but I thought I didn't have enough coinage and they cannot give change for notes.  So I just got off the bus and went back to the atm to try to put money on the card but you can only do a transfer from your credit card to your ez-link card.  I also couldn't swap a ten dollar note for coins.  So I went back to the bus stop and tried to take one that took the shortest distance to an MRT station so that I would be able to top the card up.  I paid in coins, but not quite enough.  It was very stressful.  I got to Holland Village and topped up the card then went down to the MRT.  In fact, I actually still had just over a dollar on the card.  I think that the previous time I used it I must have accidentally double tapped the card when I got on, meaning that I both entered and exited when getting on.  The only way to get to Orchard Road on MRT was a stupid loop but I could not be bothered to go back up and cross the bridge over the road to the bus stop.  I waited six minutes for the train.  After a few stops I decided to get out at the Botanic Gardens and take a bus from there.  I looked at the locality map and I knew the roads but thought that maybe they would be taking me the wrong way.  So I went back down to the train but it was leaving the platform.  I waited six minutes for the next train.  I got on and at the next stop, I realised I had gotten on a train going in the wrong direction.  I got back to Holland Village and hiked over the bridge to catch a bus.  I was so relieved when I got on that I didn't hear the driver calling me back to say that I had not tapped my card upon entry until the people around me were also alerting me to this fact.  My 1230 appointment had been changed to 1300 meaning that I was having fifteen minutes to spare.  I was determined to make it over to the Scape Underground to exchange some clothing item.  So I hiked down Orchard Road to Grange Road, since I had gotten off at Lucky Plaza area.  I was rushing down to the underground but really ground level basement and shortcutted through a Long John Silver's fish and chips shop across a wooden deck and then because it was wet, I slipped and fell over.  I managed to get my stuff done, then hiked back down to Scotts Road, having a mini panic attack at the end of ion because I was above ground and sure I was at the right place but I saw a street sign saying Patterson Road.  But it was all okay because Scotts came off the other side of Orchard Road.  I was super tired because I was wearing these shoes I never really wore for very long before but also they sort of had these skinny pumped heels, which are obviously not that high, but I am just not used to wearing them.  And I had a heavy bag on my shoulder.  Dude, seriously, like, all day I nearly had a breakdown!

No pictures of this day!  But it's about time I put up a picture of the MRT system!


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