Sim Lim and the SMRT (<<< band name)

Yesterday I went to Sim Lim Square. My various other relatives who had been to Singapore before had already mentioned this place to me, so I was excited to go. For all you uncultured dullards who have never been to Singapore before, Sim Lim Square is an epic-sized 6-story conglomeration of electronics retailers. It's amazing. But more on Sim Lim later.

Outside of Sim Lim Square

During my first few days in Singapore, I was made aware of the Singapore Mass Rabbit Transit (or MRT for short), which provides a way to cheaply navigate oneself to many interesting parts of the city. However, having only ever used the bus transit system in Waterloo, Ontario, the task of understanding this entirely foreign system was rather daunting. Luckily, my Aunt Sheryl decided to work from home that day, and she took some time to show me how to use the MRT.

I was shocked. The whole system makes so much sense; there are maps everywhere, the inside of the train-thingies display light-up maps showing where the next stop is, and it's cheap. So yeah, I was very pleased at how well executed the MRT was, and will probably continue to use it as my primary means of distance movement throughout Singapore.

Inside the Novena MRT

Map of the Singapore MRT system

Back to Sim Lim Square. It's awesome. Quite. After Aunt Sheryl showed me how to use the public transit, she left me to explore the shops and get back home on my own (independence!). First thing I noticed about the mall: cameras are hugely popular. Second in distribution only to laptops, the amount of cameras of every kind was bonkers. Problem was, I didn't need a camera. I had been excited to go to Sim Lim to scout out potential headphones, as I currently lack an adequate system to listen to the music in my iPod Touch. I'll plan on going back there some time to further compare prices and name brands. I'll let you know how that goes.

Part of the inside of Sim Lim Square

I also noticed that Apple products seem more popular here than they due in Canada. At least half the computer outlets also sold Macs, but only a handful of those were actually "Authorized Resellers."

So that was my adventure in the biggest electronics mall I'd ever been in. I plan on checking out some historical buildings later today; there will be a relevant blog post in a few days.

P.S. - Due to a combination of technical difficulties and laziness, pictures will be added later.