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SINGAPORE – There are two types of people in this world: those who get excited about living in recycled packaging, and those who don’t.
As I step into the blue box that will be my home for the next 20 hours, I think about the trips he has made around the planet and what he has taken. And if I could smell it.
But even if my unit, ripped from its ocean travels and parked here in a patch of grass in Ayer Rajah Crescent like a beached whale, had smelled of cooking oil and auto parts, I wouldn’t have minded, because I find the idea of a shipping fresh container hotel.
For me, it talks about lunar habitats, Antarctic research capsules, and underwater bases. You know, tech chic.
However, others may not be able to overcome – let’s not put it into words – the ugliness factor: they see in its corrugated metal casing reminders of offices at construction sites, refugee housing, and temporary shelters built for survival, not for the comfort.
The hotel owners must have had people like me in mind because they have kept the exterior looking as container as possible.
Two cargo containers make up the hotel, each rented to guests separately.
The original cargo doors work (functioning as an emergency exit) and the identification text block has been proudly left on the exterior.
In a defiant act of duplication, they called the business Shipping Container Hotel – they won’t be ashamed of the body.
Inside, however, it’s a different deal. None of this involves difficulties.
At one end is the bathroom that is properly connected, with a full-size shower and sink.
The air is cold from the air conditioning and the floor, walls and ceiling are in soft beige and off-white tones. With the doors closed, the interior is quiet.
Still, the laws of physics cannot be changed and the shape of the interior reflects the geometry of the exterior.
At about 26 square meters, it is larger than, say, a typical Hong Kong apartment with a shoebox (18.6 square meters), but that space is distributed as it would be in a submarine or in the tubular part of the ship USS Enterprise spacecraft.
As they say, it is not the space they give you, it is what you do with it. The owners have done an extraordinary job making the most of the container’s long and narrow dimensions.
The two queen-size beds, for example, are fold-out beds: one folds up and turns into a table, the other turns into a sofa in front of the TV.
There is a small but fully functional kitchen, with a stove, a microwave oven, a fridge and a washing machine.
Open the curtains on the two floor-to-ceiling windows if you feel claustrophobic, but remember that the structure is at ground level, facing a busy walkway.
Anyway, come here for a vacation at home if, like me, you think the compact and efficient living layout is exciting and you want to experience a night or two in a tiny house, like the ones featured on Netflix or YouTube shows. .
Inside the container, I work and sleep mainly.
The two containers that make up the hotel are 50 percent reserved now, so act fast, nerdy friends.
Breaking the illusion of living in a human habitat on Mars is the fact that my unit faces the parking lot of an industrial building.
It’s full of busy tech, across the street from the One-North MRT station and Fusionopolis R&D complex, so forget about coming here to get away from it all, because this is where “it all” is.
A minute’s walk away is the Timbre + food court, which makes up for the lack of room service. Here, and Fusionopolis, is where I spend most of my time outside the container.
Families with young children may want to look elsewhere, unless their children’s idea of having a good time is to watch TV all day. Most importantly, there is nowhere for parents to escape.
The hotel is in such a strange place because it is a test bed, to show that recycled structures can function as safe and livable spaces.
My temporary home could one day be moved to another location, creating new semi-permanent habitats anywhere, ones that can be removed, leaving little trace in the environment.
What self-respecting geek wouldn’t want to vacation in that?
Good date:
It’s worth ordering the seafood bee hoon at the tze char booth on Timbre +.
SHIPPING CONTAINER HOTEL
WHERE: Blocks 77 and 81, Yesterday Rajah Crescent
INFO: shippingcontainerhotel.com
RATES: Basic rates before service and GST taxes are $ 160 (Sunday through Thursday) and $ 180 (Friday and Saturday)
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