More Singapore

So now I am on my fourth day here in Singapore. I really am starting to feel a lot more relaxed and am getting used to making my way around the city.

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!

Little India

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.

First Singapore blog

Welcome to my first ever blog! I am the most terrible writer and most of you will be appalled by my spelling and grammar, but I would say this is probably the best way to keep everyone up-to-date with what I am up to half way across the world. For those of you who prefer a more detailed and sophisticated account of what Singapore is like then I would suggest reading Brian’s blog.

With what appeared to be the longest flight in history I arrived safely with Brian waiting for me at the gate. The first thing he wanted to do was take me to a “typical food court” within the airport. It was much like what you would expect from a food court, except everything you can order has a picture, which is great as you can actually see what you’re going to eat! Being tired and confused I got Brian to go and he ordered me roast duck and rice. This will probably be the only time I will mention my day to day eating unless it happens to be amazing. However, I thought this was worth a mention as it was my first Singaporean meal. We spent our first night in our Condo, which is VERY big and fairly warm without the Air Conditioning. But we have a spectacular view of our pool, tall buildings and general Singapore cosmopolitaness.

I spent most of my first day being too nervous to leave the flat, but I had to wait for our mattress to arrive anyway so it was a good excuse to hide away. Around 4pm when I finally braved the outdoors I began to realize just how not-scary it really was. Being the whitest, blondest person to exist I imagined staring and pointing but was pleasantly surprised to fit straight in and even asked for directions! I had been told that most locals under 50 do all speak very good English, so even when I entered the shops for cleaning products it was very easy. In the evening Brian and Chris (the third housemate) took me down to the “Raffles area”, I didn’t actually see the Hotel (where the infamous Singapore Sling was invented) but there is a whole area dedicated to that name with a very beautiful river with Dumboats and a good mix of locals and tourists. This is also a good spot for people to run around the river in the evenings (it is waaaaayyyyy too hot to run in the day).

I awoke on my second day feeling far less daunted and somewhat normal. Everything is as convenient as people say it is. Every part of town has giant shopping centers and our flat is very close to a big shopping centre (bigger than Brent Cross!) with some recognizable shops, a supermarket, a gym and pretty much everything we need. I can also get the tube (MRT) here which easily connects me to all corners of the city. I am yet to venture out on this by myself, but it was definitely easier than the tube back home with less lines and no black lungs!

Mostly I walk around being confused and hot. This incidentally is the one of the first thing I noticed about Singapore, the humidity. You are constantly sweating. I literally cannot get the shine out of my face. Chris pointed out that people talk about Singapore being a very a fast paced city, but when you look closely you realize that this is true only in the evenings and in very well air conned buildings. If you observe the locals in the day, outside, you will notice they move very slowly. The second thing I noticed is that they don’t really have proper signage to places….(you have to walk right up to the station to know that it’s there).

Overall, I am pretty excited to be here. It’s my first time being far from home this and I’m feeling the odd pangs of homesickness but I already feel so comfortable on my second day I imagine it can only get easier. Anyway, leave comments on a postcard, I complained and Brian’s blog being so long and yet I whittled on for 5 paragraphs. Hoping to make them much shorter next time!