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The underground world of Singapore

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Re: The underground world of Singapore

#41

Post by jsemrau »

hellofunk wrote: post #28
bartart wrote: post #15

Is it not a problem that Singapore is right on the ocean? Does anyone know if there risk of flooding or anything?

Singapore is one of the few major populations on earth that is shielded from most natural disasters. It's also not near a fault line, so earthquakes, tropical storms, tsunamis are unlikely to affect it. Major flooding can occur due to rains, however. The city has dealt with it in the past and seems to have that under control. The other major disaster that hits Singapore frequently throughout every year is the "haze"…

2015 wasn't too good either. Here the view from my office at the time https://imgur.com/zVECQQ3

Re: The underground world of Singapore

#42

Post by jsemrau »

IIAOPSW wrote: post #19

As cool as this is, I think the space savings is a red herring. There's still plenty of undeveloped land in SG, and lots of low rise buildings. A combination of well placed subway stops, transitioning some low-rise apartments to high rise, avoiding excessive road/parking space and generally competent urban planning should be enough to accommodate Singapore's burgeoning population without the need for mole people. Its…

You surely don't want to build another Hong Kong.

Re: The underground world of Singapore

#43

Post by hacking_again »

revicon wrote: post #14

I was similarly impressed by the gigantic underground systems in Montreal. Many people go for months during the winter time never going above ground, working, shopping and living all inside the interconnected underground shopping malls businesses etc.

It sounds nice and cool but the truth is it's just basically a mess of interconnected buildings and crappy malls that sometimes you can use to make a portion of your trip warmer. I mean, it's still good to have and everything, but it's not at all a city and people that live in that area go above ground routinely all through the winter.

Re: The underground world of Singapore

#44

Post by blt »

GlenTheMachine wrote: post #25
blt wrote: post #7

I could see Singapore building an air conditioned dome over the whole city. Besides the nonfree press, etc, the relentless heat and humidity is the biggest negative of the city.

No kidding. I'm from the US south. I thought I knew humid until I visited Singapore. Walking off the airplane at 5:00 AM was like walking into a sauna, and it never got better. I was talking to a shopkeeper, who apologized for "the bad weather". I said, yes, is it always this humid? She looked at me blankly. "Oh, this isn't humid; I meant the rain."

Same story for me. It was so hot, I basically lost my appetite and only got to try 1/2 of the foods I wanted to try there. I was constantly visiting the sugarcane drink and iced tea stalls though.

Re: The underground world of Singapore

#45

Post by jasonm23 »

hellofunk wrote: post #10
blt wrote: post #7

I could see Singapore building an air conditioned dome over the whole city. Besides the nonfree press, etc, the relentless heat and humidity is the biggest negative of the city.

Only for visitors. You get to used to the climate pretty quickly if you live there. Many of my neighbors there wouldn't even bother with AC.

Still took me 2+ years to acclimatise properly.

Now I'm uncomfortable in temperatures lower than 28C (84F)

Re: The underground world of Singapore

#46

Post by jasonm23 »

namelost wrote: post #40
xxpor wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the most important point, but also Singapore is in the southern hemisphere (barely), so December is technically spring/summer as well.

Singapore is in the northern hemisphere. It's north(west) of Pontianak which is on the equator.

We have 2 seasons.

Inside and Outside

Re: The underground world of Singapore

#47

Post by cyberferret »

blt wrote: post #44
GlenTheMachine wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No kidding. I'm from the US south. I thought I knew humid until I visited Singapore. Walking off the airplane at 5:00 AM was like walking into a sauna, and it never got better. I was talking to a shopkeeper, who apologized for "the bad weather". I said, yes, is it always this humid? She looked at me blankly. "Oh, this isn't humid; I meant the rain."

Same story for me. It was so hot, I basically lost my appetite and only got to try 1/2 of the foods I wanted to try there. I was constantly visiting the sugarcane drink and iced tea stalls though.

I miss freshly squeezed sugar cane drinks. Coconut water (straight out of a green coconut) is also terrific for rehydrating.

Re: The underground world of Singapore

#48

Post by cyberferret »

ggg9990 wrote: post #11
blt wrote: post #7

I could see Singapore building an air conditioned dome over the whole city. Besides the nonfree press, etc, the relentless heat and humidity is the biggest negative of the city.

When I visited I tried to walk ONE subway stop outside in DECEMBER. I almost fainted halfway through and had to sit down and drink water. Almost ended up calling an Uber.

If you are not used to the heat and humidity (i.e. coming from a colder clime) then it is very easy to overheat and dehydrate yourself. Don't underestimate the amount of water you have to drink.

You will find that locals will have subtly learned the art of avoiding the worst of it - i.e. avoiding walking outdoors in the middle of the day, and also walking along the side of the street that is in more shade from buildings etc.

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