Welcome to Singapura!

The incessant traffic snarl on both sides of the causeway has spawned a growing number of cottage industries in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru.

Visitors entering Singapore via JB will witness more beggars asking for money from motorists and enterprising boys selling copies of 4-D gaming results, especially after 7pm.

For the first time, dad saw an instant pizza delivery service for motorists today. The young man in the third pix gladly advertised Domino's Personal Pizza for only RM5 apiece or about S$2.20 each. Not a bad service if you are starving while stuck in the jam.

While caught in the traffic crawl, dad thought of other enterprising ideas to help motorists bypass the constant traffic jam since the two governments cannot come to terms to build a wider bridge to replace the old causeway linking Malaysia and Singapore.

Those new ideas include a ferry/boat service to Singapore, a helicopter service to Singapore, a cable car system to connect the two cities, or even a direct budget flight from JB to Singapore via Bangkok or Jakarta. Like the plan to build a new mass rapid transit network in JB and link it to Singapore's MRT subway system, all these ideas will take time as they will involve bilateral discussions.

In the meantime, dad is certain that some enterprising businessmen in JB will come up with a mobile toilet service soon for those who brave the causeway jams daily to enter Singapore.