I made my way down to the Active offices to meet Brian and Chris for lunch in the afternoon. We went to another “hawker stand”, which by the way you will find EVERYWHERE. They’re like food courts but indoors, outdoors, on nearly every corner. All more or less selling the same thing (rice, noodles, dessert, fish head soup?!?!). An entire meal here will cost you a maximum of $7 (3 pounds) and that’s when you being lavish. My last meal only cost me $3. Unfortunately most of what you can buy is fried and we think isn’t too healthy but if you go to the supermarket it costs the same amount….for one ingredient. Our cereal which we keep at the house cost me $7. That evening we took the train to another part of Singapore which they call “Little India”. This is exactly as it is marked on the tube (MRT, which I learned today means Mass-Rapid Transit) and is a complete contrast to the Chinese/ Japanese influence you see around the rest of Singapore. It has different smells, different people, it really feels like a world away from Singapore and made me really want to visit India one day. We found a realllllly good curry house which we discovered in Lonely Planet. The downside to using this as your guide is you are pretty much dining only with other Lonely Planet readers (Westerners). From now on we will stick to the theory that those places with a large queue or many local are the best places to eat. The most interesting thing I find about Singapore is every time you reach a new area, or turn down a new street you see something completely different. So many influences of other cultures really stand out in specific parts of town i.e. little India and Chinatown. Chinatown was particularly interesting it looks like old town China in parts, then you look up and you see a big sky scraper!
Back of Chinatown
Later that same evening we met with Chris and a guy called Jason, who is the coach for dragon boat racing in Singapore, at “Boat quay” which is where all the tourists love to go….i.e. over priced and so tacky. So we decided to go to an English pub (?!) which was very very scarily too much like home. Even the smell of the pub smelled exactly like home and the toilets were flooded and toilet paper stuck everywhere. A beer here cost $13, and that was happy hour!!!!Alcohol is ridiculously expensive here. Jason also happens to be a local and he told us many interesting things about various meanings and symbols around Sing. I love all the traditions and cultural references which the Chinese/Japanese etc keep alive for hundreds and hundreds of years and still show a real presence in modern times. When I can remember one of those traditions I will be sure to write it down so I can tell you some! Another thing I have been doing these last few days is randomly meeting fellow expats. I have met about 4/5 of them and everyone is so friendly and willing to share experiences. Some have been here for 2 months and others for 10 years!! But I find that we get our best tips and tricks of where to go and where not to go.
Us and the Brit Dragon Race Team
I have come to the end of my first weekend in Sing and I am feeling pretty good, the heat is getting more tolerable (or at least you learn where to get your next aircon fix) and the getting around is so much easier when you know where you are going.
No comments:
Post a Comment