Sunday Sound of Singapore – Pedestrians Crossing

Sound on 🔈

This is the sound that started the whole series. It sounded familiar but not quite what I was used to. Same same but different as they say here.

The traffic light button, or PB/5 as it’s officially known, has been seen on the streets of Australia since 1984 and has been picked up by other countries such as Singapore, Ireland and the United States.

An ingenious built in microphone allows the button to detect the background noise surrounding the crossing, and then produce a beep based on how loud it is. This means pedestrians can always hear it over the traffic, but it’s not so loud that it disturbs neighbours.  

Another notable feature is the braille arrow which tells sight-impaired pedestrians which direction they are travelling in. The button also vibrates and makes a beeping sound at different speeds which indicates when it’s safe to cross. 

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~~Every city has its own color, smell, sound, and vibe. While I can share the colors through photography and sometime the vibe too, I thought I would try to share with you the sounds that are so specific to Singapore. ~~

atotaltaitaitale:

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When HDB looks like they could be condominium in Palm Beach, Florida

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5-Jun-2022: D-14 before departure

The HDB, and endless supply of photography subject with their bright colors (they have to be repainted on average every 5-6 years) and source of backdrop with their huge number on the side of building that I frequently used to commemorate milestones in my life. You get creative with what you have at your disposal🤷‍♀️

A few months after I arrived I was told by a Singaporean friend that since it’s public housing their access is not limited to just residents like condominium and a whole new world opened up to me. With almost 11,000 HDB blocks (and over 1 million HDB apartments) in Singapore it’s not like I would run out of stairs to climb to see what the view would be like from up there.

Not only could I see the city from elevated grounds but I also got to sometimes get sweet encounters. Something that I was sometimes frustrated with in Beijing while I was walking around in the hutongs alleys because of my limited Chinese, conversation stayed on the basic surface.

The Housing & Development Board (HDB) is the statutory board of the Ministry of National Development responsible for public housing in Singapore. It is generally credited with clearing the squatters and slums of the 1960s and resettling residents into low-cost state-built housing. Today, as many as 82% of Singaporeans live in public housing provided by the HDB! (and owned their apartment might I add).

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~~~Just a little FYI So for my last 200 days in Singapore I have decided to reblog, in no special order, a post from the 6 years I will have spent on the Little Red Dot. PS: you will then get 2 posts a day!!~~~

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This is what moving internationally looks like.

For a month or more at the end of our posting when all our belongings are either shipped or sold, we camp.

The same happens on the other side when we arrive and have to wait to find a place and then for our (minimal) shipment to arrive.

In between we have often spent the summer in France and have to live out of suitcases.

4 to 6 months every 3 years… that’s how you realize you actually don’t need a lot to be comfortable.

#GlamourousExpatLife

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atotaltaitaitale:

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It’s Friday!!
Happy weekend.

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04-Jun-2022: D-15 before departure

Little by little life BC (before Covid-19) is back in Singapore. Sunset cinema on the beach will reopen after a 2-year hiatus, unfortunately for us the weekend after we leave. Then there is also the return of Formula 1 race in September.

For a little while after you leave a place, you are still attached to it, you look more at what you will be missing than at what you will be gaining in the new place, because you are not familiar with it yet. Then little by little your new home becomes just your home and your old home a sweet memory.

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~~~Just a little FYI So for my last 200 days in Singapore I have decided to reblog, in no special order, a post from the 6 years I will have spent on the Little Red Dot. PS: you will then get 2 posts a day!!~~~

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A European plaza feel in the middle of Singapore.

Currently going through my iPhone camera roll and digging some pictures to post 😉

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atotaltaitaitale:

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Christmas holiday officially started at noon today.
Of course both kiddos were busy with their own schedule (but mom I’m not going to see my friend for three whole weeks!)… so it’s party time for the parents too 😉

I took a taxi and he dropped me off at the Main entrance. Hubby’s office is on the street on the other side of the hotel so I never saw this magnificent entrance! As soon as you step in you are brought back in time.

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03-Jun-2022: D-16 before departure

And we continue with the landmarks.

We finally joined the masses last week and did our very own staycation. While the boy was celebrating the end of IB and HS in Koh Samui, Thailand we thought we needed to celebrate too and Raffles hotel was our choice.

With over 400 hotels in Singapore, we had a large choice but Raffles history is very much wrapped up with Singapore history.

Raffles Hotel is a colonial-style luxury hotel. It was established by Armenian hoteliers, the Sarkies Brothers, in 1887. The hotel was named after British statesman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore. It has been a National monuments of Singapore since 1987 (1 of 3 hotels with this distinction). After an extensive 2nd renovation started in December 2017, it reopened in August 2019. (Documentary of the renovation part 1 & part 2)

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~~~Just a little FYI So for my last 200 days in Singapore I have decided to reblog, in no special order, a post from the 6 years I will have spent on the Little Red Dot. PS: you will then get 2 posts a day!!~~~

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/x52st9X

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I walked by it… I found it cute… I took a picture of it… I shared it.

The end.

PS that’s about all my mind can process right now 😂

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atotaltaitaitale:

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I couldn’t not post a photo from the famous pool on top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel 😜

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02-Jun-2022: D-17 before departure

Well after talking about personal landmarks being really important to document I will contradict myself and post all the touristy landmarks of Singapore. After the Merlion yesterday, the famous “world’s longest (150m long) elevated, rooftop infinity pool at level 57” on top of Marina Bay Sands.

The photo is taken from the CeLaVi bar because: “Entry policy. Exclusive to Hotel Guests. Trespassers will be handed over to the authorities. Valid hotel key cards (one per registered guest) and a unique QR code must be presented for entry.” 😱

To my defense all the landmarks pictures were usually taken when we had guests over.

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~~~Just a little FYI So for my last 200 days in Singapore I have decided to reblog, in no special order, a post from the 6 years I will have spent on the Little Red Dot. PS: you will then get 2 posts a day!!~~~

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/GF1WOZJ

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Thank you for the reminder but he is not too old… he’s vintage.

Happy birthday hubby

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atotaltaitaitale:

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Have you even visited Singapore if you haven’t taken a picture with the Merlion at the Esplanade?

Well Jocelyn now has a proof he came to Singapore

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01-Jun-2022: D-18 before departure

The photos that represent a place the best are not the same when you visit and when you live somewhere.

The Merlion, Marina Bay Sands hotel, Gardens by the Bay, etc are great photos to have but “my” bus stop, “my” MRT station, “my” hawker center favorite seller, “my” favorite street are the photos I’ll cherish the most.

Those photos have zero value to anybody else but they are priceless to me because they are MY memories, feelings of my time here.

I have a wobbly video taken on an old iPhone, handheld while riding by bike, of a route I used to take all the time while living in Beijing. There are no noticeable tourist landmarks, but all of MY landmarks (“my” tiny grocery store, “my” little bike repair guy, “my” favorite back street…). It is one of my all time favorite. It brings me back to a place and time in under a second.

I’ll keep taking those “insignificant” photos because their ROI is through the roof.

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~~~Just a little FYI So for my last 200 days in Singapore I have decided to reblog, in no special order, a post from the 6 years I will have spent on the Little Red Dot. PS: you will then get 2 posts a day!!~~~

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/DhEI3qf