Chapter 2

Getting to know Singapore

Now that we are fit and well, we are spreading our wings and starting to explore.
We still cling to our Melbourne life though. I read the Age newspaper each day on the iPad, so can catch up on local news. (And yes Mr Walker, do something about those rail yards!)
I also brought my digital radio with me, so can fill the apt with music, and international talk back stations.

We have ventured to Changi Museum, a short train trip from home.
How incredibly sad and humbling this was.
Hushed tones as people walked around reading stories of a time in history that we could not imagine being a part of today.  One particular story was of an Englishman, Jack Sharpe, who endured more than 100 men should.
Torture (mental and physical), weight down to 4 stone due to diet and dysentery, but he rose above it to return to England to see his Mum again.
This story tugged at my heart strings. Family is so important in your life, and time together so short.

Philip could not wait any longer, he had to see the new James Bond movie "Skyfall".  We booked our Gold Class tickets on line, caught a cab to yet another shopping complex and settled in.  Our snacks were a bamboo steam basket of wontons, dumplings and spring rolls ($8), and a pot of tea each.
As we left the centre we indulged in a small tub of ice cream, ( very expensive here).

We talk to our girls nearly every day (and my sister a couple of times a week ) on Skype or Facetime.  Shirl is now set up on Skype as well, which she loves.
 To see them as well as hear them is amazing and makes the world seem smaller some how.

Shopping is a breeze as well, with plenty to choose from.  We have had Risotto with Norwegian salmon, English sausages and mash, chicken cacciatore, and even an Aust sirloin, although to eat out is so much cheaper and less messy!!  Happy to hang up my apron for half the week!

Each time we "cab it" we find out as much as we can from the drivers.  They are a fund of knowledge, like anywhere in the world. Where to eat, where to go, and what to see that is away from the madding crowds.  We now have a few Hawker sites lined up to visit, that we had not heard of before. Just need to find the specific stalls selling Chilli Crab, Steamed fish and Claypot Chicken, that will be our challenge.

 A recent festival here called Deepavali saw us head to Little India one night to join the throng. This is a festival marking the start of the Hindu calendar. A celebration of light over darkness or good over evil.  The streets are filled with lights, music and magnificent aromas.  We indulged in a wonderful curry dinner, walked around then headed home.

Another trip out was to the Gardens by the Bay. 250 acres of rare plants, sculptures, and water features. Two huge 3 acre glass domes are filled with displays of exotics, (including Boab Trees,Bottle Brush and Kangaroo Paw, just to make us feel at home) and waterfalls 30 metres high.  

They are located in the city, next to the harbour on reclaimed land. To add dimension to the area they have added "Triffid" like Supertrees, some of which are 50m high. These come alive at night with lighting, which we will return to see another time. They also store water, and are solar collectors. So clever.  The elevated walkway gives a perspective of the size of the gardens and layout, as well as views across Singapore.



We enjoyed a traditional Singaporean breakfast of Kaya last weekend, which is toast with butter and sugar, 2 eggs on the side, and your choice of hot beverage.  All I can say is "different"!  I did bring my Vegemite with me, and that would be my choice on toast. 
We tend to head out early, as it rains mid to late afternoon for about an hour. This freshens up the air, so we open all the doors of the Apt.  No "flying bugs" here. Have not seen a fly yet. 

We visited the Singapore National Museum, which was wonderful. We were given mini iPads to guide us through the many rooms explaining all the events affecting Singapore pre-war and post-war. 

We walked through Raffles, where we stayed (before it was "modernised"), when Laura was 4 years old.  Tried to work out where the pool used to be, as it is now on a roof, not in the garden as we remember. Think Somerset Maugham would prefer the before and not the after as well!

A new exhibition at the Arts and Science Museum is called "The Art of the Brick".  This is a Lego exhibition, by an American, who in a previous life was a lawyer. Some of the works had more than 30,000 bricks.

Annie and her Lego mate!

There was even one of Philip and I ,( or what could be).

Everywhere you look in Singapore, there seems to be another outstanding building that we want to discover.  They seem to be quite "out there" with the designs, and spare no expense it seems. 
An example is the Art & Science Museum, which is modelled on a Lotus Flower. Its actually called "The Welcoming Hand of Singapore". It floats on a 40,000 sq ft lily pond, and its surface is the same material as the high performance racing yachts. It even collects water in the centre to supply water to the washrooms!
Each exhibition or museum we visit is very reasonably priced. About $15 each on average.

Arts and Science Museum, or Melbourne Cup hat?

Laura has booked her flight to Singapore, and will arrive on 21 December.  Yay. She will spend 3 days with us, before zipping off to Kota Kinabalu for a week, then back to us for 4 days before she heads home. I am hoping she does not adopt an Orang Utan!
Sasha and Tim will be January visitors, as Tim has a research project to complete for his Pharmacy course.

Philip off to KL tonight, so I will be keeping the home fires burning.
Very safe in the Apt, with Security Guards at the door, and swipe keys to enter building and lifts and Apts.
Where to next.............

We miss our life in Melbourne, and would love to cuddle my girls right now, but are absorbing all here, while we are here.

Love to you all

Annie xxxx

PCs initial thoughts

Today is my second public holiday (Deepavali – start of the Hindu year) since being in Singapore, so I have some time to reflect on my first 3.5 weeks.  I’ve also spent Tue-Thur of every week in KL, which makes for a good comparison. 

The job has been an enormous challenge by my standards.  Apart from being shipped in from/to another country, and apart from being unwell for the first 2 and a bit weeks, I was handed a project which is in a state of chaos.  It is 70% complete and everyone on our side and the client’s side is stressed and working long hours – longer than me!  In the past week, I’m starting to understand where everything is up to. 

Other than that, I’ve found every aspect of Singapore enjoyable.  The food, the people, the architecture, the to-do list and the ability to get around are all great.  The people are friendly and respectful; I haven’t yet seen any cocky teenagers.  Every new place we go to in Singapore is a pleasant surprise.  Everywhere is clean and of high quality.  Our apartment is comfortable and conveniently located between the airport and the city.  My client’s site is near the airport, and my company’s office is in town.

KL, by comparison, is a bigger, noisier and less-sophisticated place.  It can also be very cheap to eat – I had a number of Char Kway Teow’s for AU$1.50 a plateful.  I didn’t mind KL actually.  It’s 50% Muslim population, many of whom caught the same train as me each morning and evening – are also very friendly and respectful – although not quite as warm as the Singapore people.

Only had one bad meal so far – at an average-looking hawker food area.  Had a good mix of cuisines, and Annie’s cooking most nights – albeit without an oven and hot water.  I get the feeling that many don’t cook.  There’s a huge number of places to eat, and they’ve always got loads of people eating there.

So… so far, so good.

PC

Canterbury to Geylang.

We are now a few weeks into our new life in Singapore.
The area that we are living in, is an interesting place, and very different to Canterbury as you can imagine.  
A few "ladies of the night" on local street corners (and if I get bored I will apply), many many spots to eat, lots of shops and a train station a five minute walk away. Accomodation is above all the shops or in tall complexes dotted around. Quite safe to navigate.  We even have a favourite restaurant already!
We are learning the Singapore way of life very quickly, and Singlish is easy to understand. Everyone is very helpful, and they do not mind being asked questions or directions.  
Philip has his Employment Pass organized, and I will get my Residency pass late this week.  So that will make us locals, including fingerprint ID at the airport.

Our first apt was a little depressing, given that all we could see of the outside world  was a small patch of sky through a ceiling louvre. They are called "shophouses", or "conservation houses" , and as the name suggests, they were old buildings that housed businesses that are now  converted into accommodation, retaining the facade, and quirky interiors. Furnished in a traditional manner as well.
We pleaded our case to the management, that we were not comfortable, so with the support of Philips employer, they moved us to a modern 3 bed, 2 bathroom apt with floor to ceiling windows, a much bigger kitchen, and a view!  It's nice to  have a couch now to sit on instead of a hard day bed.
These are at the rear and above the shophouses, so in the same complex, but new. Security guard on site 24/7.  Spare beds for visitors!I

One of our balconies with a view to the local street.  The roofs with glass tiles belong to the shop house apartment we were first in.

We have an Australian TV channel to catch up local news, as BBC World news is so repetitive. We also brought our Apple TV box with us so can enjoy a movie night on demand. (Or a TV series)

We have now unpacked properly, and are filling up the pantry and fridge. Starting to feel like its our space. 
Family photos out and fresh flowers. 

My challenge in the kitchen is no oven, and no hot water! Apparently normal.
 I have an induction cooktop and a microwave. I have hit my head on the exhaust hood many times as it is quite a bit lower, of course, and clear glass. The kitchen also houses the washer and dryer in a cupboard. 
My challenge will be to see how creative I am with 2 pots and a frypan and no oven. (We did enjoy a Beef and wine casserole the other night with mash!, and eggs, bacon and toast the next day for brekkie). I will let you know what I create.

We have a local supermarket a 5 min walk away, but I have discovered a great one 3 stops away on the train.
Aust beef and pork, Arnotts biscuits, Kraft products, Dilmah tea and most items I  am used to. There tends to be a lot of English products to choose from. Great array of fruit and veg, pasta and fresh fish etc. Beautifully presented. Fresh flowers as well. All varieties of wines and beers, with a good bottle of wine about $25.
Have not found a $2 shop yet though. Must be an Australian thing!

Philip was still quite sick when I arrived , so visited a Dr that his company recommended, which is just down the road. For the cost of $5, he had his consultation and was given a bag of 7 drugs to take.  The Dr dispenses the drugs on the spot. Interesting!
5 days later I was at the same Dr, with the same symptoms, but I had to pay full price of $70 with a bag of 6 drugs. We ran the drug names past our budding family Pharmacist (SIL Tim), and he did not know them......oh dear! There were lots of pretty colors though!
Interestingly, Dr.Tay trained in Melbourne and lived in Hawthorn for 14 years, so after a 5 minute consult, we chatted about Melbourne!
We are pleased to announce that apart from rattling a bit when we walk, we are nearly 100%, just the remnants of a cough now. 
Being sick put Philip on the back foot, as you can imagine.  New job, new country and unwell.  I am very proud of his drive and work ethic. ( I know where my girls get theirs from!)

We have visited KL twice now, as Philips support team is there, but the client is in Singapore.  He has to meet everyone to understand the project and how to move forward with it.
First time we both flew up and back.  The second time I caught the train up and back and Philip flew up and back. It is a 6 hour journey  on the train there and a 7 hour journey back?  Quite pleasant and relaxed. Cost about $20 one way.
I explored KL on my own while Philip was at work.  Seen many interesting sights. One of these was the Royal Palace.

Royal Palace KL

It is quite different to Singapore.  Noisier ( many many more motorbikes, and horn blowing), not as clean, footpaths extremely hard to navigate and you have to be more alert when out and about with personal belongings.  Nearly got cleaned up by a motorbike when crossing the road. The female bike rider got a fright as well.  I don't think there are road rules!
We stayed near the Petronas Towers, which is a magical site at night all gleaming Stainless Steel.  And if you like to shop, it has many levels of all that you could desire. ( not me, but Sasha would have melted)!

Petronas Twin Towers

In Singapore, we have had some fantastic meals out, including lunch the other day in the city, of Wonton soup and Singapore Noodles with pork and chinese broccoli for $5 each.  We skipped the Pig Organ soup, and Chicken Porridge !!

Weather is warm as you would expect, with some heavy showers in the evenings. My short haircut is coping well with the humidity and downpours, as is Philips! 
We are heading into the wet season. This has not stopped us from exploring though.  The train gets us everywhere for about 10 cents a stop, and we have a pass like Myki, which we top up as needed.  We are about 11 stops to Orchard Rd.  No food at the stations or on the train, so squeaky clean.

Philip has a local mobile phone now, and I will get one next week.  
We are on Skype and FaceTime, if anyone wants a chat, just remember we are 3 hours behind.
Annie XX