Note: This article was first published on the 12th Septemeber 2016.
A Happy Coincidence
Pokemon Go is a modern phenomenon. People are already spending inordinate amounts of time on their phones, but Pokemon Go has taken this to a whole new level, hasn’t it? In fact, Challenger, the IT retailer, said that sales of power banks has increased by a staggering 130% since the game’s release in Singapore. There's also been numerous reports, photos, and videos from around the world, showing how Pokémon Go is causing people to lose their minds and disregard their safety. Just look at this video! To me, it’s all a bit nuts.
The only Pokéstop is a long way from home. It doesn't help that I have an aversion to physical labor.
But then I’m not a fan and I don’t know Pokemon. I never watched the cartoons, much less played any of the games. But my wife is. She knows the evolution of most Pokémons, and even the words of the theme song by heart. Naturally, she had to play the game, and this inevitably meant I had to play it too. But the biggest problem with it is that it’s advantageous to play the game around Pokéstops, and it turns out that the only one that is even remotely near my home is crap. It’s along the road in the middle of nowhere and doesn't seem to attract much Pokémons even if we put a Lure Module on it. This meant that we had to go out, which I’m not terribly fond of, especially if it’s just to catch Pokémons.
The new 718 Boxster S is a real looker. It has grown up and looks undoubtedly more masculine now.
Happily, however, it just so happens that Porsche asked if I wanted to review their new 718 Boxster S. They said I could have the car for 24 hours and also a full tank of gas. So I did what any loving husband would do. I offered to take my wife around Singapore to catch Pokémons. This way I could put the Boxster through its paces, plus check out the local Pokemon scene. Win-win, right?
So this was what happened that day.
Lucky Beginnings
Time: 1100 hours
Location: Kent Ridge Park
First stop of the day: Kent Ridge Park.
With the 718 Boxster S collected from the Porsche showroom at around 10:30 in the morning, we wasted no time in getting myself to Kent Ridge Park, because A: I wanted to drive the infamous “99 bends”, and B: I read that Kent Ridge Park was a Jynx nest. Jynxes are rad.
At this point, it will probably be wise to introduce the car a little. It’s the new 718 Boxster S, as I mentioned, and I suppose some of you might be scratching your head at the 718 moniker. It’s a reference to the Porsche 718 race car of the Fifties and Sixties. I haven’t heard of it until now and apparently it won Porsche a lot of races. The other important bit is that the old race cars were powered by a 4-cylinder boxer engine, the same as Porsche’s new Boxster.
The cabin is sporty and stylish, though, like other Porsches, suffers from having far too many buttons.
That’s right, the Boxster has lost its signature naturally-aspirated flat-six engine, and in its place is a turbocharged flat-four unit. The same predicament has also befallen the Boxster’s sibling, the Cayman. The reason for this major and unpopular change is due to reducing emissions, which probably won’t sit well with a lot of Boxster and Porsche enthusiasts. However, Porsche is quick to point out that it’s not all gloom and doom, and though the Boxster loses two cylinders, it's more powerful and also efficient.
However, South Buona Vista road was inexplicably crowded on a late weekday morning and I’m unable to tell you if the new Boxster S feels any faster. But what I can tell you is that the car feels composed through the bends at moderate speeds and that the cabin is a nice place to be in. It was a dreadfully hot day and the aircon was doing a good job. Anyway, it was only a short drive from the showroom and we soon found ourselves at Kent Ridge Park.
We were not alone, these players were camping out at the pavilion, happily catching Magmars, I suspect.
We saw many people in work clothes spending their lunch breaks catching Pokémons.
Clearly, we weren’t the only ones who thought Kent Ridge Park was a rich hunting ground because there were already many people there, phones in their hands and power bank in the other, pacing around looking for Pokémons.
You would think that most of the people playing are teenagers with nothing better to do, and you would be right, but surprisingly, we saw a lot of people in their work clothes - shirt and pants - hanging around looking for Pokémons and battling at the gym too. It was close to lunch time so I guess that explains why they were there, but even so, it takes a lot of dedication to make your way down from office to Kent Ridge Park just to catch some Pokémons right?
I didn't know Kent Ridge Park was so scenic.
As for our haul, it turns out that Kent Ridge Park isn’t a Jynx nest, it is, however, chock full of Magmars and other random Pokemons. Apart from a whole bunch of Magmars, we also got a lone Dratini, a Growlithe, and a couple of Clefairies and Staryus. Kent Ridge Park is a pretty nice place to go hunting for Pokemons. It’s not the most accessible, but there’s a great view and there’s a couple of Pokestops in close proximity. It was a good haul to start our day. Can't complain.
Pokemons caught: Magmar, Clefairy, Staryu, Nidoran, Goldeen, Dratini, Growlithe, Magikarp, Pinsir
At Singapore's end
Time: 1300 hours
Location: Changi Village & Changi Beach
Soaking in the sunshine.
The idea was to start at the very east of Singapore and work our way to the west, and the next stop was Changi Beach, which I’ve been told is another good hunting spot.
From now on, all new Porsche models will be fitted with Porsche’s new Porsche Communication Management (PCM) infotainment control center, which manages all your entertainment, navigation and communication needs. It’s a very slick setup consisting of a 7-inch multi-touch display and an easy to navigate interface. The system is super responsive and it felt like I was using an iPad that's been stuck into center console. Apple users will also be happy to learn that PCM also supports Apple CarPlay. In no time at all, I punched Changi Beach into the navigation system and we were off.
Clearly, Porsche believes that most of its customers are Apple users.
How ferocious do you want your Boxster to be?
The longer drive from Kent Ridge Park to Changi Beach gave me more time to play around the Boxster S’ various features. The car had the optional Sports Chrono package, which gives drivers a convenient selector switch on the steering wheel. There are four driving modes to choose from: Normal, Sport, Sport Plus, and Individual. The modes do a good job of changing the characteristics of the car. In Normal mode, the Boxster S feels almost like a regular sedan, but turn it to Sport mode and the exhaust note hardens, the steering quickens, and the ride stiffens. The engine also becomes more eager and wants to hold on to gears longer for maximum acceleration.
Like I said earlier, Porsche maintains that the car is quicker and it’s hard to argue against that. On paper, the Boxster S now has 350hp and 420nm of torque. That’s 10% more hp and 15% more torque than the outgoing Boxster S. More importantly, 0-100km/h timings have been reduced by half-second, so the new 718 Boxster S cracks 100km/h in just 4.2 seconds - that’s almost as quick as a 911 Carrera S.
On the highways, there’s no doubt that the new motor in the new Boxster S is a beast. One of the joys of turbocharging is low-down torque and the Boxster S has that in spades. A prod of the throttle and the Boxster S shoots off and soon you’ll be doing speeds above the legal limit.
There were many trainers lining Changi Village road during lunch hour.
We were in luck because Changi Beach and Changi Village turned out to be another rich hunting ground. We should have known, because while circling around Changi Village looking for a place to park - it was lunch time after all - we saw many people, in work clothes no less, zipping around with phones in their hands.
Stopping for lunch at an eatery along Changi Village road, we realized we were right smack in the middle of three Pokéstops. They aren’t quite close enough for you to collect items from all three, but if you position yourself strategically enough, you might be able to find a spot where you can hit two out three. Even so, we managed quite a good haul over lunch, catching a couple of Magikarps and Voltorbs, a Machop and a Drowzee.
No shortage of Pokémon trainers at Changi Beach.
After lunch, we headed over to Changi Beach where we were surprised, once again, by the sheer number of people playing Pokémon Go. Can we say it’s our new national pastime?
There also seems to be a close relation between the environment and the type of Pokémon you can find. At the beach, we were treated to flurry of Magikarps and Psyducks. We also found a lone Omanyte and a Sandshrew. So far, our hunt has been going quite well and while we haven’t got anything rare yet, we did get a good variety of Pokémons and managed to fill up a couple of missing Pokémons in our Pokédex.
Pokémons caught: Magikarp, Voltorb, Magnemite, Mankey, Machop, Oddish, Squirtle, Vulpix, Omanyte, Sandshrew, Drowzee, Electrode
Topless to the ECP
Time: 1520 hours
Location: Marine Cove, McDonald’s
Traveling down the coast of Singapore, we finally arrived at East Coast Park.
Since we were in convertible, I decided to let the top down for the next leg of our trip. The wife had heard that East Coast Park is another hot spot and that’s where we were heading.
The Boxster S has a fabric roof that opens and closes in just 9 seconds and at speeds of up to 50km/h. That’s super useful, especially if it starts to rain suddenly. Some might think that open-top driving in Singapore is ridiculous and that our weather is far too harsh for such pleasures, and there’s some evidence to suggest that is right. On that swelteringly hot afternoon at least, it was probably far too warm to be driving with the top down, even with the Boxster S’ powerful aircon set to full on arctic mode.
The Boxster's USP: the feeling of driving with the wind in your hair.
But, if you had a convertible, you won’t care. Driving with the top down is too much fun. Drivers in other cars might look on at you as if you were crazy, but you’ll be enjoying yourself too much to give a hoot. With the wind in our hair, it makes commuting from Changi Beach to East Coast Park feel purposeful, like we had a place we needed to be and a mission waiting to be accomplished. If I had a Boxster in my driveway and my wife told me she wanted McFlurry from McDonald’s in the middle of the night, I’ll happily head out to get it for her.
The problem with East Coast Park is that it stretches nearly 7km long and we weren’t sure where the popular hunting ground was. So I made an educated guess and decided to pull in to the newly opened McDonald’s at Marine Cove. Unfortunately, there was only a lone Pokéstop there, and while waiting for our refreshments - the lychee soft serve is pretty nice - we were disappointed to find that not many Pokémons popped up. Luckily, we did finally manage to get a Jynx, but otherwise, it was an unremarkable hunting ground.
Pokémons caught: Jynx, Magnemite, Venonat
Bayside Action
Time: 1600 hours
Location: Marina Barrage
So far, we spent most of our driving time on the highways and the Boxster is a really capable cruiser.
It was a warm day and we were starting to feel a little tired by now. Catching Pokémons isn’t as relaxing as you might think it is. It really is quite hard work, especially on a hot day. It won’t be a stretch at all to call it exercise, I think.
On the other hand, the Boxster showed no signs of tiring. Porsche’s decision to downsize the Boxster’s engine from a naturally-aspirated flat-six to a turbocharged flat-four is a bold and probably unpopular one. But it is hard to argue against its practical merits. Yes, it sounds like a Scoobie now, but the amount of torque the new motor produces is almost ludicrous. All 420nm of it is served at just 1950rpm, whereas in the old Boxster, you had to wring it up to 4500rpm to get 'just' 360nm.
In day to day driving, it just means that you can accelerate and overtake more quickly and efficiently, and that the engine can spend more time in lower rpms, which in turn translates to better fuel efficiency. Speaking of fuel efficiency, Porsche claims that the new engines are up to 13% more efficient and that the Boxster S can managed 7.3l/100km or roughly 13.7km/l, which is actually pretty fantastic for a 2.5-liter sports car.
No prizes for guessing what the people with their phones in their hands were doing.
The barrage offers a breathtaking view of the Marina Bay skyline. I can only imagine how much prettier it'll look at night.
Our visit to the Marina Barrage was fruitful, and we found that the area is home to many about 8 Pokéstops in close proximity. You can’t hit them all at once, but if you move around, you’ll be able to harvest items non-stop. Naturally, we weren’t the only ones catching Pokémons too. While going around harvesting items, we overheard staff remarking that there’s a Dragonair and that they have been making a frequent appearance here at the barrage.
As for Pokémons caught, we managed to get an eclectic mix of a Growlithe, a Haunter, a Jigglypuff, a Dragonair, a Tentacool, a couple of Psyducks and a bunch of Magikarps. Not ball at all, I think.
Pokémons caught: Growlithe, Haunter, Seel, Jigglypuff, Poliwag, Dragonair, Diglett, Ekans, Pidgey, Tentacool
Welcome to the jungle
Time: 1715 hours
Location: Upper Peirce Reservoir Park and Upper Seletar Reservoir
The Boxster cuts a lovely shape. Thanks to its low slung body. Not so sure about the optional 20-inch wheels, though.
As it was fast approaching evening, we headed to Upper Peirce Reservoir Park just off Old Upper Thomson road. It’s a quiet place that I like to go to take photos of the cars I review.
The new Boxster S is a real looker. The older Boxsters could be criticized for looking a bit feminine, but Porsche really made an effort to beef up the Boxster’s looks with the third generation “981” Boxster that was introduced in 2012. It’s low slung and wide, and cuts a really shapely silhouette. I think it looks even better with the roof down. My only criticism are the optional 20-inch wheels that the test car have. It looks far too big on the car since the brakes themselves aren’t quite large enough to fill the wheels, especially on the rear. The brakes, it’s worth mentioning, are straight off from the 911 Carrera. Predictably, it has plenty of stopping power and is confidence inspiring.
Monkey says, "No Pokémons here, but can I offer you a biscuit?"
In terms of Pokémons, there isn’t much to report. There’s only a single Pokéstop at Upper Peirce Reservoir Park and there didn’t seem to be anyone playing. Singaporeans, it seems, can smell a good Pokéstop just like how they can smell a good deal. If you don’t see anyone playing Pokémon, it probably means the place sucks. That said, the wife did manage to catch a lone Meowth while waiting for me to take photos of the car.
The new Boxster is a looker. Monkey agrees.
No doubt one of the most remote Pokémon Gyms in Singapore.
It was the same story for Upper Seletar Resevoir, there's not much in the way of Pokéstops, but there was a lone Gym at the Seletar Rocket Tower, which my wife decided to take over with the Magmar she caught earlier in the day at Kent Ridge Park. And just as she did, three dudes popped out from seemingly nowhere and asked if she was "kr4ine". She answered to the affirmative and they promptly replied that they are going to take her Magmar down. It was a hilarious exchange, but it left us wondering, where did they come from and were they just going all over the island taking down Gyms in remote places?
Pokémons caught: Meowth
Countryside Sunset
Time: 1830 hours
Location: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
A great place with lots of Pokéstops, but not a soul in sight, I soon found out why.
At this point, we have been out and about under the hot sun for about 7 hours, and were in desperate need of a shower. Before heading home for a break, we made one last stop in the Singapore 'countryside' - Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. We had read that it’s home to a cluster of Pokéstops and that rare Pokémons like Scyther spawn frequently there. And with the sun going down, the conditions were much better for top down driving.
The Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve looks like a good place to hike and catch Pokémons at the same time. It's a wetland, so predictably it's teeming with hungry mosquitoes.
There's a Scyther! But I wasn't willing to put up a fight with the determined "commando" mosquitoes, and neither was my wife.
The reports are true, Sungei Buloh is home to a fair number of Pokéstops and the entire trail seems to be littered with Pokéstops, making it an excellent place to play and get some exercise. Looking at the Pokémon “Sightings” it seems that rumors of Scyther appearing in Sungei Buloh are true too.
Unfortunately, we were ill prepared to walk the trails of Sungei Buloh. As soon as we ventured anywhere far from the carpark, we were greeted by swarms of hungry mosquitoes. I really want to add a Scyther to my Pokédex, but not that much. So here’s a pro-tip for any adventurous Pokémon trainer wishing to trawl the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve: wear appropriate clothing and prepare lots of mosquito repellant.
Petrolheads will recognize this road.
Did you know there's a dam in Kranji? Neither did I.
The disappointment of being able to add a Scyther to my Pokédex was soon assuaged by the brilliant sunset views of the Kranji countryside. The views were pretty, but I think they were made prettier thanks to driving topdown in Boxster, with my wife beside me, and with the cool evening wind in our hair.
Pokémons caught: Drowzee
Gone fishing for Magikarps
Time: 2130 hours
Location: Chinese Garden
It was nearly 9:30pm when we got there, but the carpark is about 80% full. I don't believe it would have been this full if not for Pokémon Go.
After dinner and refreshing ourselves and with the disappointment of Upper Peirce Reservoir and the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve still heavy on our minds, we decided to pay Chinese Garden a visit - an established Pokémon hotspot. Even at 9:30pm, with only 90 minutes to go before closing time, Chinese Garden was a flurry of activity. We were utterly surprised at the sheer number of people still hanging around, heads down looking at their phones and fingers flicking upwards on their screens.
Work's over, time to go farm Magikarps at the Chinese Garden.
So, so many players.
Launching Pokémon Go on our phones, we soon find out why. Chinese Garden is a rich hunting ground. Pokéstops a plenty and in close proximity - especially around The Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum - and the players there are generous with their Lure Modules. Although there were a lot of Magikarps - great for farming that Gyrados - we also caught a good number of Slowpokes, a couple of Psyducks, an Arbok, and the strange-looking Dodrio. If you live in the west, Chinese Garden is a hunting ground that is not to be missed.
Imagine the sight of this in your rearview mirror while driving at night.
The roads leading to Chinese Garden was dark and it was here that I noticed that the test car had been fitted with Porsche’s Dynamic Light System (PDLS). PDLS adjusts the range of the headlights depending on driving speeds. The slower you go, the more the headlights will dip to illuminate the road that’s just ahead of you. As you go faster, the headlights raise again to illuminate farther ahead. That’s not all, it even turns into bends as you corner. Sure, much of Singapore’s road network is illuminated, but if you frequent our neighbors up north, you’ll be glad you ticked the PDLS option box.
Pokémon caught: Magikarp, Slowpoke, Dratini, Arbok, Dodrio, Raticate, Krabby, Starmie, Bulbasaur, Clefairy, Psyduck
Into the belly of the beast
Time: 0000 hours
Location: Block 401, Hougang Ave 10
The carpark was, predictably, packed and full of Pokémon trainers pacing about.
Feeling pleased with our haul at Chinese Garden, we decided to drop by the infamous Hougang hotspot to check out the scene, and see for ourselves just how crazy it is and if it’s really true that you can find rare Pokémons there.
With the coordinates loaded into the Boxster’s navigation system, we left Chinese Garden and made our way to the North-East of Singapore. It was a weekday past midnight and the roads were almost empty by now. I put the top down again and had a good listen to the Boxster’s engine and exhaust note.
The new Boxster burbles, crackles and pops, but doesn't actually sound that exciting when you are gunning it.
One of the reasons why the Boxster was so loved was because it combined faultless handling and a soulful engine. The flat-six in Boxsters weren’t the most powerful, but it loved being revved and would reward drivers with a charismatic soundtrack when they obliged. Unfortunately, the howl of that flat-six as it approached the redline has now been replaced by Scoobie-like burble that builds into a dull drone. Lift off upon heavy acceleration produces some cracks and pops, but that gets tired after a while. This is a real pity, because one of the great things about a convertible is that, with the top down, it lets you listen to the engine more clearly. And in the new Boxster, there isn’t much worth listening to.
So while the Boxster’s new turbocharged flat-four unit is quantitatively superior in every aspect, I can’t help but feel that the Boxster would be better off without it. After all, the joy of driving isn't just about outright performance.
It might be 12:30am on a Wednesday morning, but nothing's going to stop us from being "the very best".
Parking was hard to find at block 401 Hougang Ave 10, and we soon discovered why. It was the wee morning of a weekday, but you couldn't tell looking at how packed the place was with Pokémon trainers. A quick glance on our Pokémon Go app showed that there was four Pokéstops in close proximity and trainers could hit all four by just taking a couple of steps. No wonder this place is so revered by Pokémon trainers.
Why are trainers flocking to Block 401 Hougang Ave 10? This is why.
With four Pokéstops so close to each other and with players so generous with their Lure Modules, our trip to Hougang Ave 10 was exceptionally fruitful. On that early morning, Psyducks and Magikarps were plentiful, and we also managed to get a Dratini, a Seaking, and a Slowbro.
Even so, I cannot, in good conscience, recommend readers to head down. Even though it wasn’t particularly crowded on this morning, parking was already an issue. Plus, even though players are doing their darnedest to keep their volume to a minimum, there’s still significant chatter, which is still painfully audible even from the highest floors of the overlooking block of flats. I can only imagine the bewilderment and anguish of the residents who don’t understand Pokémon Go.
Pokémons caught: Magikarp, Slowpoke, Slowbro, Seaking, Eevee, Bellsprout, Psyduck, Dratini
Closing Thoughts
Hougang was our last stop, and since we were exhausted by then, we decided to hang around longer before heading home. Did we manage to get anything good on that day? Well, we did manage to get a Slowbro each at Hougang with a pretty high CP, so we were quite pleased with that. We also managed to collect a good number of Magikarps, which we could later evolve into Gyrados. And I also finally got my Jynx, though it was by sheer luck. All things considered, it was a pretty good day of hunting.
Pokémon hunting isn’t quite as easy as it might seem. Spots like Hougang Ave 10 where there’s so many Pokéstops so close to each other are the exceptional. For the most part, trainers will have to walk to hit as many Pokéstops as possible, and all the walking adds up, especially if you are trying to chase down a Pokémon that you see on the “Sightings” panel. And if the weather is bad, like on the day we went on this trip, then it really becomes exhausting. Honestly, it won’t be an overstatement to say that hunting for Pokémons is exercise.
Sleep is for the weak. Gotta catch them all!
I was also surprised by the popularity of the game and the dedication of some of the trainers I encountered today. While at Changi Village earlier in the day, we were amazed at the number of trainers hanging by the roadside catching Pokémons, and surely hanging out at Hougang until 2am on a weekday cannot be normal?
Without question, Pokémon Go is one of the most impactful apps in the entire history of apps. And even though some of its effects on society is unfortunate - the residents at Hougang are a good example - I think that, by and large, it’s all just harmless fun. For readers who do play Pokémon Go, please play responsibly and be considerate. Not everyone is as passionate as you are about catching these virtual critters.
Porsche is on a roll. The new 718 Boxster S is easily one of the best roadsters you can buy, at any price.
Porsche’s recent track record has been exceptionally stellar, and their latest 718 Boxster S is no different. Objectively speaking, it’s a superb car and is a leader in its class. Few mid-engine roadsters are as practical - did I mention it has two boots? - and as drivable and usable. However, in its quest for lower emissions, I fear that Porsche has gone a bit too far and has sacrificed some of the qualities that made the Boxster great in the first place. Still, I doubt many of its customers would mind and I’ll be surprised if the new Boxster isn’t a resounding success.