meag-rad

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The Temples of Chiangmai! A village of culture, preservation and exquisite detail.

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Chiangmai nature & nurture!

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Sustainable Singapore

*Hey there! I am following up my Singapore-play-by-play with a sustainability post because the country’s innovation and green motivation is what inspired my visit! I hope this post encourages you to get dressed in the dark and Rollerblade to brunch.*

Most people hear about climate change through world news and political campaigns, however, some countries are taking action to ensure the depleting ozone is a thing of the past!

Singapore, is the most sustainable city in Asia and the second most sustainable city in the world (trailing Zurich) according to the 2016 Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index. Singapore, having climbed from the #10 spot in 2015 to the #2 spot in just one year, has created innovative and cultivate programs that range from smart logistics planning and city master-planning, to green building and construction productivity. 

To put things in perspective, New York is the first U.S. city mentioned on the list at #26 followed by Boston at #34, San Fran at #39 and Chicago at #60... with a few others in between. 

Though Singaporean government officials are encouraging the movement, the public is the major driving force. Here are five ways Singapore is pushing the boundaries and keeping the competition on their toes!

1. NEWater

Singapore’s government has a goal to be completely water-self-efficient by the year 2061. They are well on their way to this standard with NEWater meeting nearly 40% of the country’s water needs currently!

NEWater is high-grade, reclaimed water produced and filtered by the city’s Public Utilities Board and sold to the public in recyclable bottles. The water is collected through a Deep Tunnel Sewer System and cycled through four different taps separating it into local catchment water, imported water, NEWater and desalinated water while filtering it for its specific use throughout the country.

NEWater has passed more than 150,000 scientific tests to ensure its safe consumption and authenticate its permanence in our future.

2. Local & Organic Mass Production

Singapore is home to several fishing villages and farms alike. Many people survive on their crops and produce being sold to locals and tourists in the streets. 

In the last few years, Singapore’s large markets, grocery stores and restaurants have picked up the local goods and started selling them in mass quantities. The producers are now being supported by the thriving markets and the consumers are able to afford the once expensive goods due to the lower manufacturing and transportation costs.

Definitely a win-win!

3. Green Collar Jobs

Green is the new ‘blue’ and ‘white’! Across the country, jobs are being created to maintain the sustainable efforts from designing and manufacturing the new products to installing and keeping them secure to landscaping and monitoring the efficiency progress.

Since sustainability has become a major priority in recent years, Singapore created a new industry, “Facilities Management and Maintenance” or FMM, to support the growing epidemic. This sector has grown so rapidly, in fact, that colleges in the area are offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the subject and government leaders are encouraging enrollment. 

To meet its goal of 80% of all buildings being Green Mark Certified by 2030, the country needs about 10,000 facilities management professionals. 

4. Car Restrictions & Rebates

It is not very common for natives to have cars in Singapore, they rely heavily on public transportation. The per-capita car ownership rate in Singapore is 12 cars per 100 people. This is not for lack of trying, the Singaporean government has put in place several laws making it unfavorable to have a car in the city. 

Drivers must be 18 years old to qualify for a license including applying for theory lessons. 

Once a driver passes the Basic Theory Test (BTT), a Provisional Driving License (PDL) which lasts for six months, must be applied for before taking the practical driving lesson. 

The last stage of obtaining a driving license is the practical driving test, for which a student must have a FTT pass result slip and a PDL. 

New car buyers are required to buy a Certificate of Entitlement (COE), which is only valid for ten years. The fee of each COE is added on to the costs of a new car based on engine size—Category A is 1,600 cc engine and below; Category B is 1,601 cc engine and above—and is generally lower for Category A vehicles. There are provisions for a rebate of the COE if the car is scrapped before 10 years. The COE fee get up to $80,000 in addition to the price of the car.

If you can swing it, driving an eco-friendly car is rewarded by the government in the form of rebates determined by the Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS). These rebates range from $5,000 to $20,000, depending on the make and model of the car.

5. Green Building

I recently took a skyscraper studio and the first thing my professor told me was, “Skyscrapers are not sustainable”. While this is true, designers are trying their best to make them as eco-friendly as possible. 

Several organizations have sprung up around the world to set standards for new and existing buildings. Green Mark is one of the organizations that monitors Singapore’s construction industry and measures how environmentally friendly a building is. It is Singapore’s plan to be 80% Green Mark Certified on new and existing buildings by 2030. Currently, they are 25% Green Mark Certified and the rate is steadily increasing. 

All of these actions are set to inspire the green movement and instigate change. Though some of these actions cannot be done on a small scale, there are many things that can be done by individuals just like you. 

Reduce, reuse and recycle. 

Don’t take more than you need. 

Turn off your lights.

Turn off your water.

Buy local.

Ride your bike.

Don’t litter.

Be a good person.

Get informed.

Get involved.

The world needs you to not be so needy.

[meag-rad]

Yum Seng!

Hey everyone! I have to start by saying that Singapore is amazing!

The flight from Chicago was 22-hours total. We started with a 15-hour flight from Chicago to Taipei, Taiwan (3-hour layover) then finished our lengthy travel adventure with a 4-hour flight from Taiwan to Singapore. The flights went pretty well and surprisingly fast since we traveled mostly at night.

How it all began

I was originally drawn to Singapore through a class project to promote the sale of a construction product. I, being the overachieving student that I am, wanted a product that sold itself. So naturally, I googled “cool sustainable products” and “amazing construction that saves the world”. Imagine my surprise when I came across, “Gardens by the Bay”, the new 250-acre nature park set to revitalize the infrastructure in Southeast Asia. I was even happier to learn that the “national garden” was reasonably priced and inexpensive to maintain. An easy sell for sure. When the Ryerson Travel Fellowship opportunity came along, I knew where I wanted to go.

Marina Bay Sands & Gardens by the Bay

When planning for the trip, I tried to plan activities along the coast and inland so we could get a good sense of the culture. We started at Marina Bay Sands … most notably recognized for the largest and tallest infinity pool in the world (how could anyone say no to that?!) … we had a room with a picturesque view of the gardens and ended our first night with the supertree light show from our balcony.  

Our first full day was spent at the gardens, beginning first with the walkway (admission: $8 SGD) among the trees since it was closing early due to the five-year anniversary celebration. This was followed by trips to the flower and cloud forest domes (admission: $28 SGD). The flower dome was not what I expected, it was very crowded and more green than the colorful flower spread I imagined but the cloud forest did not disappoint! We walked through a vegetated man-made mountain equipped with the tallest indoor waterfall in the world. The walkways weaved in and out of the structure just as if you were walking through a rain forest. We followed this up with a walk around the bay (stopping for photos with the scenic backdrop and famous merlion) and the five-year celebration under the trees.

When we weren’t at the gardens, touring the Louis Vuitton or walking the helix bridge, we spent our time at the pool or in the streets eating amazing food along the water’s edge.

Sentosa Island

Our second day, we took an uber (yes, they have uber) to the S.E.A Aquarium on Sentosa island. We must have gone during feeding hour because the tanks and pools were filled with scuba divers! There were a few glass floor water walkways and underwater tunnels, probably one of the cooler aquariums I’ve been to. Definitely worth it. After our quick but casual walk around the S.E.A., we walked around the town center (Universal Studios entry grounds) and boarded the (free) train to the beach where we sipped drinks that I can’t pronounce until the island ran out of fruit.

Downtown

While coast surfing and island hopping was amazing, it was also more expensive than my shallow, newly graduated and unemployed bank account could afford. We moved inland and spent the rest of our days at the ParkRoyal on Pickering in Chinatown. We set out to visit the Sri Mariamman and Buddha Tooth Relic Temples and ended up taking the MRT (Metro Rapid Transit) to find the nearest hop-on-hop-off tour bus to make sure we saw all there was to see ($49 SGD for 48-hours). Definitely one of our better ideas.

MacRitchie Reservoir Treetop

What’s any vacation without a little hard work? I read somewhere that there was a bridge among the trees and while the website said it included a hike, I don’t think my mom was ready for the 11 km (7 mile) climb to the top in 90-degree heat and 1000% humidity. In any event, the 300 stairs among the steep hills and dense trees was worth it when we finally did reach that treetop bridge. The 300 stairs on the way down didn’t seem so bad either once we got over the initial shock factor. The whole adventure took us about 3 hours.

Champion climber tip: avoid keeping croissant breakfast leftovers in your backpack for fear that monkeys will attack like something straight out of the Wizard of Oz.

Extracurricular Activities

If you’re travelling to Singapore and have extra time I suggest stopping by the famous Raffles Hotel. The colonial-style hotel has been around since 1887 and allows the public into the pool & billiards room, home of the original Singapore Sling ($27 SGD) and the classiest place you’ll ever throw peanut shells on the floor.

Also, be sure to visit Clarke Quay along the Singapore River for more restaurants and night life after visiting the famous Orchard Street for the best shopping in the country.

In Conclusion

Singapore is very clean, organized and visitor friendly! Since it was under British control until 1965, everyone speaks English (and drives on the left side of the road…)!

I would suggest splitting your time between water and land activities. There are plenty of things to do for people of all ages. Next stop, Thailand!

#Singapore #GardensByTheBay #Supertrees #Sentosa #MacRitchie #RafflesHotel #ClarkeQuay #OrchardStreet

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Singapore sightseeing!

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Fun fact: It costs nearly $80,000 just for a car title in Singapore. Steep prices encourage the use of public transportation & reduce traffic & air pollution allowing reservoirs like the MacRitchie to thrive! (at MacRitchie Tree Top Walk)

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Singapore’s culture. Preservation of history with modern design and innovation!

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Indescribable. These man made supertrees & dome forests are helping to save our planet! The future in design is designing a future. Be a part of the movement! #GardensByTheBay #Singapore #SupertreeGrove (at Gardens by the Bay)

[meag-rad]

"You Should Try It"

Today I went to Taco Bell… surprise, surprise. I ordered the usual #7 with a baja blast… and what is any Taco Bell order without some sauce on the side, am I right? Four packets of mild with an infinite number of slogan combinations and all four of them said, “you should try it”.

Interestingly enough, this was perfect for today because in just under 5 hours I will be boarding a plane to Southeast Asia for three weeks!

Some months ago, I submitted a proposal and was awarded The 2017 Ryerson Travel Fellowship in Architecture to study sustainability in Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong. This fellowship was made possible through The Ryerson Foundation and the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Upon being selected, I was able to collaborate with professors in both the School of Architecture and the College of Engineering to finalize my proposal, itinerary and budget. After months of strategic planning, the trip is finally here!

In the next few weeks, I will travel to several locations in Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong to document the latest advancements in sustainable technology, low energy living agendas and the newest government enforced green initiatives. These efforts have been put in place to ensure that our future in design avoids the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance and further our success for generations to come.

For updates and travel posts follow me on Snapchat, Instagram and twitter!

Snapchat: mradloff Instagram & Twitter: meagradloff

[meag-rad]

50 Before 50

States To Date

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Florida

Hawaii

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maryland

Michigan

Mississippi

Missouri

New York

North Carolina

Ohio 

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Next On The Horizon

Montana

Vermont

Nevada

[meag-rad]

Benvenuto!!

Venice checked off the list!! While fascinating that an entire city can sustain life dependent upon water buses and tourists... I do no think I will be going back. 

The flight in from Paris went well!... (Aside from going to the wrong airport, spending $70 on a taxi and convincing the driver to go 20+ over the speed limit so we could make it through security in time for our flight)... 

When we got to Venice we took the bus to the main drop off point (as vehicles were not allowed past this point)... We asked a local how to get to our apartment in San Polo, he pointed us in the right direction (literally) and we were on our way! We were not prepared, however, for the 7 step bridges it took to reach our AirBNB... (Now that I think about it, it seems quite logical that there would be bridges connecting the islands of Venice)... Nevertheless, I no longer appreciated my “good packing skills” because even though I only had 1 bag... that bag was 41lbs of regret. 

Eventually, we reached our apartment with a few other hiccups along the way and it was absolutely gorgeous! We stayed in a flat on a smaller canal off the grand canal. We were close to shops, food, gelato and the Rialto... what more could you ask for?! This apartment like the others in Europe did not have air conditioning (which was fine, Europeans are very good at natural ventilation). We had a fan and wifi to compensate the hot days and all was great... until our power went out when they decided to drill into our exit bridge. Fortunately, we were back up and running within a few hours. 

While visiting, we were able to explore the town, take a gondola ride through the canals, visit a few Biennale exhibitions, take the water bus to Morano to watch them blow and sculpt glass, tour cathedrals, visit the DaVinci museum, stumble across a Frank Gehry architecture gallery in a Louis Vuitton store and much more! The city is truly something worth seeing if you’re interested in visiting the world’s next Atlantis but the towns were flooded with tourists, the famous Rialto bridge was full of construction, shops and cheap trinkets, the food wasn’t anything special, the buildings were covered in graffiti, it smelled and I am pretty sure I have west nile from all the bugs... Perhaps if we only stayed for three days rather than four I would feel differently about my experience...

...I used to hear people say, “You should visit Venice before it sinks!”... Well, now I have. Onto the next adventure, the reason for my whole Eurotrip, my design worskshop in Volterra, Tuscany!

[meag-rad]

Bienvenue!

We made it to Paris! The three hour flight landed us at CDG around 10am on the 20th leaving us plenty of time to plan for a full day. I should probably mention that we booked everything through AirBNB and we could not be happier with the apartment we chose! 

We stayed 6 short blocks from the Eiffel Tower and 3 blocks from the train which we became very accustomed to during our stay. The trains in Paris are very similar to the electric lines in Chicago so we had no trouble getting from place to place through transfers when we couldn’t physically walk anymore. 

We had some trouble finding our apartment at first because the street layouts make absolutely no numerical sense and hardly anyone we saw spoke a lick of English. Though we stayed on the Avenue de Segur (named the same as the train stop) and we found 40 & 42 de Segur, we for the life of us, could not find 41 or 43. After two failed attempts at asking for directions and our third trip down the block we decided to walk in the opposite direction… this worked in our favor when we found our apartment three blocks down from its predecessor and successor. 

Anyways…

The first thing we did was walk the six blocks to the Eiffel Tower, obviously! I’ve seen several movies, countless posters and heard plenty of stories about the structure but nothing compares to seeing it in person for the first time. After taking a few pictures in the Parc du Champ de Mars we got in the short line to go to the very top! The views were great from but personally, I think the ride up was the best part. 

After taking 8 million pictures/ videos, we made the journey back down and walked the few blocks to the beautiful and chaotic Arc de Triomphe followed by a walk along the most famous shopping avenue in Paris, the Champs Elysées, and a pass-by of the army museum, Musée de l'Armée. 

Anyone that was worried about my safety while I was in Paris should find comfort in the fact that everywhere I went there was an officer or some army personnel with a giant assault riffle hanging around their neck no more than 20 feet away… I’ve never felt so safe in my life! 

The second day brought on the tour of the Palace of Versailles and a TON of walking. We decided to take a tour with a guide in order to skip the long lines and get personal insight on the grounds. We went with fat tire tours and had a guide named Jerricca, she was amazing! (Side note: she is from Canada and came to Paris to be a nanny for a year, ended up meeting a guy and never went home… #goals) The garden tour was two hours followed by a one hour audio tour. I would definitely suggest seeing the Palace if you ever get the chance! And only 20 minutes outside the city! We followed this up with the love lock bridge and a trip to the outside of Notre Dame while waiting for our friend Aari’s plane to land!

Day three (07.22.16) was our last full day in Paris and our most attraction filled now that Aari had arrived. We began the day with the Musée du Louvre! The outside was everything I ever thought it would be and more. The glass, exposed structure and historic palace were incredible. Because we got there just as it was opening, we were able to get a lot of pictures outside before people started flooding in. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the inside. Aari and I held our own among the masses in the crowd to see the Mona Lisa and eventually made it to the front but we definitely took a few elbows to the face and selfie sticks to the back of the head on the way up. Not only was it impossible to get up there, getting back out was just as bad! While it was an experience to see such a big part of history, it is not an experience I would like to relive. (Suggestion: bring a camera with a good zoom and steer clear of moms on power trips) After seeing a few of the exhibitions we went on our way to the next destination, Centre Georges Pompidou (an art museum by Renzo Piano). Next was Notre Dame followed by Sainte-Chapelle, both chapels filled with amazing floor to ceiling stained glass. Being that it was our last night in town and so conveniently a Friday night, we went to the Parc du Champ de Mars to watch the lighting of the Eiffel Tower. They light it every night at 10pm and it sparkles on the hour for 5 minutes until 1am. It was the perfect end to our trip… other than the macaroons I ate at the airport. haha

Obviously all of this sight seeing wouldn’t be complete without incredible coffee and croissants to jump-start our mornings, savory lunch entrees to get us to our next destination, the sweet deserts we ate to outweigh the bitter locals or all the wine we drank to forget about our blisters. Until next time, Paris! Onto Venice!

[meag-rad]

Välkommen!

Hi!! Three important things to note before you start reading...

1. I finally made it to Europe!! Yay!

2. As you may have noticed by the instagrams and FB posts, I landed a few days ago... haha oops! This brings me to my third point...

3. For those of you who thought I was busy before... Good Lord, were we wrong! Let me tell ya... I was planning to post nearly everyday but I barely have time to bathe let alone type novels out of free will. I will post as often as possible though and update you when a new one is submitted. I hope you enjoy them and are inspired to leave your couch if not your comfort zone.

”If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet”       -Rachel Wolchin 

Once upon a time, as in 5 days ago, I was a naive little girl that had a grand plan to see the world and for the world to see me. This is great and all... unless you’re planning to see the entirety of Stockholm in the 18 layover that you planned between Chicago and Paris... but ill get to that in a minute. 

Although I have been traveling for less than a week and I am new to international travel, (besides Mexico... but who really counts Mexico anyway?..) there are a few things I would do differently in the future and a few things that could not have gone better for us! Slight negatives first because everyone likes a happy ending, duh. 

First of all, lets talk about airplane food... not great, but I suppose I should have foreseen that. To be honest, I did not even realize we were served dinner being it a 9pm flight from O’Hare. When the stewardess did roll by with dinner and offered the choices, she looked quite confused... not because we spoke a different language but because she was quite literally confused. She went on to confirm that she had no idea what type of meat was in the meatballs, (this must have been better than the second option because I don’t even remember what it was...) comforting. lol The good news is the meatballs came with a small salad and bread so that was more than sufficient enough to get me through until morning. The second meal was very similar, fruit salad and bread before we landed at noon. I suggest bringing snacks for any flight, especially long ones involving mystery meat. (Pro tip: not all mysteries are worth solving)

Despite the food, the 8 hour flight from the U.S. to Sweden went really well! We only slept for about half the flight so naturally we were exhausted when we got off the plane. However, only 18 hours stood between us and our flight to Paris. This was just the first of our bright ideas (...to be continued). We were determined, excited and possibly a little drunk when we set out on our journey to conquer the Capital of Scandinavia. We managed to arrive at the city centre via the Arlanda Express Train and made our way all the way to old town seeing everything from the Stockholm Palace to the Nobel Museum. The city was beautiful, a good mixture between old and new. Though we were only there for a short period of time and we were not able to see everything, I am glad we had the opportunity to meet such kind people, taste such amazing food and experience such a great culture. We eventually grabbed a late dinner, more drinks (naturally) and headed back to the hotel knowing we had to be up at 5am the next day to take on our next country. France! 

[meag-rad]

No Reason To Stay Is Every Reason To Leave

Well, here I am again. I seem to be a creature of habit because it is 13 days before my 24th birthday (my last submission just 9 days before my 23rd) and I am only on my second post. Maybe my birthday has everything to do with me freaking out once a year…

Since “Between No Longer & Not Yet” a few of my friends got married, a few moved away, a few graduated and I have done none of the sort. I am still writing to you from my parents couch and I am sure the grilled cheese isn’t far off.

The difference between this year and last year is that I have stopped living everyday as a prequel to the next. I have made it my goal to be selfish and do all the things I always told myself I would do “one day”. I have finished my first year and a half of graduate school and jumped out of a perfectly good airplane but the thing that I have found most fulfilling is travel. Over the last year, I have traveled to five new states (Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia) and I leave tomorrow for a month in Europe including five new countries (Sweden, France, Italy, Spain and England).

While the planning was frustrating and the weeks leading up to this day were long, the day I thought I would never see has finally arrived. I’ve done all the research, read all the blogs and reread all of the travel tips but I don’t think anything quite prepares you to leave home for a month with people you barely know to explore a place that you’ve only heard about from history books and disaster news.

My family keeps telling me to be careful and that if anything happens to call them but realistically, the time difference would most likely inhibit them from answering my call and it would take them at least another 12 hours to get to wherever I was. At the risk of sounding morbid, if I flew half way around the world and someone decided to attack at the very moment that I am wherever I am…it’s a pretty probable chance that I was meant to go out that way.

What I am trying to say is that in the last year, I realized that a lot of people I surround myself with are afraid to live. Life is just that, life… I want to be sure I see as much as the world has to offer while I can. Although there is always a chance that something could go wrong, there are infinite things that could go right and I wouldn’t want to miss out on any of them.

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us”. Stay tuned for travel updates!

[meag-rad]

Between No Longer & Not Yet.

Hey Tumblr! I am new to the blog scene but I thought I would give it a shot since I always seem to have so much to say...I am sure my twitter followers will be glad I have a new creative outlet.

My name is Meagan and I am currently 22 years old (23 in 9 days!). I recently graduated from Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor's Degree in Architectural Studies. In one short month, I will be packing up my life once again to continue my life journey at The University of Illinois in Champaign! I will be in pursuit of Dual Master's Degrees in Architecture and Structural Engineering (The dream is to build industrial treehouses, but that's a post for a later date)!

I am the type of person who wears my heart on my sleeve. I try to see the best in everyone and everything (glass half-full mentality). Some may think it is annoying but most of my friends appreciate the fact that I can turn any situation into a positive. Usually our heart-to-hearts end up in a trip to the ice cream isle at 3 a.m. or a few empty bottles of wine but this is a small price to pay for their happiness.

The great thing about being there for friends is their willingness to lend an ear back. Whether I feel the need to bring up an old fling, a cute guy I met at the bar or want to complain about a coworker, they take breaks from their busy lives to let me rant and rave about irrelevant things that I think are important.

Right now, I am just trying to figure out the life "Between No Longer & Not Yet". I have so many dreams and aspirations that are seemingly right around the corner. However, I am writing to you from my parents couch while eating a grilled cheese...not so grown up if you ask me.

Older family members tell me to enjoy my twenties but society tells me to plan for my thirties. Pinterest tells me to build a dream closet but my bank account and lack of high class social life tells me I am an idiot to buy the same pair of heels in 3 different colors. My world is a mix of emotions stemming from what I want to do, what I plan to do and what I actually can do.

We only get one try at this life... or maybe this is just a practice run for the next life (that would be nice), who knows? I think that: I don't know what I think 80% of the time, but I also think that it's okay. We live, we listen, we learn and we grow! That is what being twenty-almost-three is all about and I think I am doing pretty well so far. ;)