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
PC
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