Somewhere about Day 3 I was ready to venture further afoot. So I took myself down to the local subway station (MRT), purchased an E-Z Link Card and hopped a train or two towards the Konk Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in Bishan. I have to admit that I wasn't really sure what to expect, but in true Singaporean order the subway system was incredibly easy to navigate. Maps everywhere, all things color-coded, including the queuing and exiting lines from the trains. So when I 'alighted' at Bishan station I thought I was doing pretty good.
Ha! Even with a map in hand it is somehow impossible for me to determine which way is which once I make it above ground. Landmarks don't help (I don't know them) and the street signs are just too far away to read. The only choice is to start walking and figure it out as I go. Normally this approach works just fine and after a false start or two I'm headed in the right direction, but Singapore adds another dimension to the problem entirely.
It's not just that I have no idea where I'm going, it's also that I have no idea how it works. All of the roads in Bishan are called Bishan something-or-other! There is Bishan 11 and Bishan 13 and Bishan 20, 21, 22, 23 and Bishan Road, of course, and they all crisscross and intersection because there is no such thing as a grid here. None. It's Asia. The streets are serpentine and all named the same exact thing, which means that I am never really walking in the wrong direction, even though I sometimes take the long direction to get where I need to go.
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