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The quarantine-free VTL across the Causeway between Singapore and Malaysia started yesterday.

Thousands of family have been separated for the past 20 months (since March 2020 when the borders were closed) and can finally reunite. Technically cross-border travel resumed in August last year but with the cost of 2-weeks, then 3-weeks than 1-week quarantine and PCR tests on each side it wasn’t feasible for almost anyone of the daily commuters. It is one of the busiest border crossings in the world, with 350,000 travellers daily. A vast majority of these travellers are Malaysian citizens working or studying in Singapore.

Up to 2,880 people will be able to travel each day, with 1,440 travellers in each direction. Travellers have to be citizens, permanent residents or long-term pass holders (work permit, employment pass, student’s pass or long-term visit pass) of the country that they are entering.

They must also use one of the 64 daily designated VTL bus services, 32 in each direction, which will run from 7.30am to 9.30pm every day.

Imagine being separated from your family for almost 2 years, if you wanted to keep your job in Singapore, by a causeway of 1 km (0.62 mi).

So this is not a “back to normal” situation but more a way for many to at least go see their loved one for a little while, have a little break.

If you would like to see the craziness of crossing the causeway by car, motorcycle or even as a pedestrian check this article.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3lmAi9w

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Monday Art by Murals Artist Yip Yew Chong.

Peranakan Wedding – 2020

“When I thought of painting a scene that is symbolic to the Peranakan community, I thought that an olden day wedding scene would be apt, because it would be colourful and intricate, qualities which Peranakan culture is known for. More so, it would be meaningful because that was how Peranakans came about –through intermarraige of the Chinese traders with local women in Singapore’s early days. Thus, we see an interesting blend of Chinese and Nusantara culture in their dressing, food, language, customs and architecture. As for the house, I chose the present-day ‘NUS Baba House’ at Neil Road, an iconic Peranakan museum painted in striking blue, because I pass by the museum almost everyday as a resident of the area. Just five doors away is the house that our first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew lived in as a child. He is probably the most famous Peranakan in Singapore!’”

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Back in March/April Yip Yew Chong had a few exhibitions across Singapore. The first one was at ArtPorters gallery with some of his mural inspired art and then 2 exhibitions back to back, one at the Substation, followed by one in the hotel Sofitel. Those pieces were slightly different than his murals but still very intrigued and detailed paintings. You could lose yourself in front of each of his canvas. I will post one each Monday (it will last until the end of the year!!! Yeah one less post to think about 😉)

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3rlixeu

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Closest thing to graffiti you will find in Singapore.

The private wall of a restaurant.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3xtF0qK

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When you see what looks like “graffiti” in Singapore, your first instinct is to Google what kind of marketing project it is, you never even think it’s actual graffiti 😂

Fashion powerhouses Gucci and Balenciaga have released “The Hacker Project”, a collection that “hacked” designs from iconic pieces from each brand.

Meanwhile, [we] also recently saw the partnership emerge in Singapore with a Gucci spray paint logo written over a clean Balenciaga storefront at Paragon.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3p2If4B

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Friday nights are a more reasonable night to have friends over for dinner.

And as I’ve mentioned before, the secret of a successful Thanksgiving is inviting people who never went to a Thanksgiving dinner… so there’s no comparison possible. 😉

Happy to host student friends this year.

Be thoughtful. Be thankful. Be grateful.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3151vGx

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It’s just another Thursday here.

But it’s also Thanksgiving celebration for part of my family.

Be thoughtful. Be thankful. Be grateful,

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3nRikgZ

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Wednesday Wanderings and Wonderings.

Still life… Singapore style.

I will never be able to see a red plastic chair and not think of Singapore.

They are everywhere. Usually in a stack in the corner, never chained, because well Singapore. You take one, you seat and then you stack it back up when you are done.

The Little Red Chair on the Little Red Dot… forever linked in my mind.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/312KyN0

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When your friend’s husband take a picture of the team in the outrigger canoes passing by their apartment.

With the restrictions back to group of 5 we can paddle again in the oc6 (minus 1 team member) and coach Denes kept us along the Sentosa coast so we could admire all the nice villas and condominiums 😂

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3oO2pPM

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Monday Art by Murals Artist Yip Yew Chong.

Deepavali Eve at Serangoon Road – 2020

“In Covid-striken 2020, I ccreated this painting two weeks before Deepavali with hopes of stirring up some festivity for our HIndu friends. It depicts the hustle and bustle at Serangoon Road on the eve of Deepavali in 1984. To make the scene more realistic and relatable, I included familiar shop names like Jothi Flowers, Haniffa Textiles, Komalas and Govindasamy Pillai store – all written in Tamil too. A speech therapist wrote to me sharing her story of how she used the painting to successfully spark positive response from an Indian patient who had been very withdrawn. The patient was initially apprehensive, but she looked at the familiar scenes, she ran her finger on the mobile screen and started to describe what she spotted. The painting had made her cry, and the story made me cray too!”

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Back in March/April Yip Yew Chong had a few exhibitions across Singapore. The first one was at ArtPorters gallery with some of his mural inspired art and then 2 exhibitions back to back, one at the Substation, followed by one in the hotel Sofitel. Those pieces were slightly different than his murals but still very intrigued and detailed paintings. You could lose yourself in front of each of his canvas. I will post one each Monday (it will last until the end of the year!!! Yeah one less post to think about 😉)

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3nF9nY7

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When you are really bored on a rainy Sunday, you color code the different phases of Singapore Restrictions during Covid. (Please don’t message me telling me I need a life, I already know it 😂)

Here’s a bonus picture of a Rainbow outside my window… because without the rain there would be no rainbows.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3FGiHBf