Checking Out Newton



Newton MRT Station

Julie and I have been pouring over information about Singapore for several months.  Now I am here and able to see things in person.  My first impression is just how small this country is—reportedly, the longest road in Singapore is the 25km Bukit Timah Road.  There is a bike ride around the whole country that is 128km.  I am pretty good with maps and their scale, but even I didn’t realize just how close neighborhoods are here.  Today I thought I would check out one of the neighborhoods we have been eyeing on ProperyGuru, so I took the MRT up 3 stops to Newton.



Scotts Road

Newton Skyline

Walking out of the station after less than 10 minutes on the train it immediately felt different than where my temporary apartment is near Kampong Glam/Bugis and certainly different than my office neighborhood in the CBD-- this was much more residential.  Shopping in one train stop in either direction, Orchard Road or Novena.  The Newton Food Center anchors the neighborhood and where I was planning on eating lunch after exploring.

Evelyn Buildings
(the condos have balconies!)

One of the condo buildings that we had looked at online was Residences at Evelyn (mainly because that’s Julie's mom's name), so that’s the direction I headed.  It is odd to have high-rises right in residential neighborhoods across the street for 2 story houses, but this is Singapore.  Who knows if we will end up there, but I liked the immediate neighborhood and the whole Newton area.



After a while of walking around, I was ready for lunch and had a nice stroll down streets and paths to the Newton hawker center.  Being about 100 miles north of the equator means that things are lush and green in Singapore and there is open space to appreciate it.

At the hawker center I found a stand I liked ( Bangkok Express), chope a table, and ordered a seafood Pad Thai and mushroom broth for less than $4 US.



Bangkok Express Stall

Shared Tables



A generous portion with shrimp, squid, and freshly ground peanuts it might be the best pad thai I have ever had.  

Lunch Time!

CLOSED!

 

The only bad thing was the beer stand was closed.  Oh well, that would have more than doubled the price of my lunch. 

So I liked Newton, but have other areas to explore too: Holland Village, Orchard Road, Novena, and Burkit Timah.  If anyone has opinions on these or other neighborhoods, we would love to hear them.



Even Singapore's Graffiti is Orderly