Hi everyone
Well one last blog for the year and I hope it reaches you all before you head off on your Christmas holidays, or in Our Bev’s case before all those guests turn up wanting shurry and turkey on call.
It’s the same old saying really isn’t it “where the hell did last year go?” I’m another year older, but am I any the wiser”?
As you all know 2008 has obviously been a big year of change for us and most of it has been fantastic with the odd question about whether we did the right thing. We’ve been really lucky with finding a nice place to live and work, as well as play with some fantastic new, as well as old friends. Singapore is certainly an easy place to settle into once you get used to the heat (although it’s been almost chilly of late as we head towards the end of the rainy season) and realization that this place really is about shopping and air conditioning!
Our travels have been great as we’ve made full use of Singer’s location slap bang in the middle of Asia. G has been to some interesting (and even some exotic!) places for work, our week end dive trips to Tioman have been highlights for us, and our last trip of the year to Borneo to see the Orangutans in their natural environment was truly awe inspiring and emotional. We went for the long week end and stayed in Sarawak, which is the capital of Borneo, but in reality is no more than a sleepy, self-sufficient village with a few big hotels built on the riverfront. The first day was spent just mooching about the place, and on the Sunday we caught the early morning bus out to the rain forest where the orangutans live. Whilst this is a sanctuary, and the rangers tempt them to “come out and play for the crowd” with breakfast and dinner, this is their natural habitat and they are at will to come and go whenever they want. We were kept behind a wooden fence whilst they came down for food, but then as they started to wander we were able to follow them. Suduku who is a mum and grandmother came very close to us clutching one of her wee grandchildren and we walked up the main pathway with her, literally only feet away - awesome! Most people went back to their hotels after the morning feeding sessions, but we hung around for the afternoon feeding as well and were rewarded by meeting Ritchie, a bloody, big male “King of the Hill” ball of orange fur. He is quite magnificent and took delight in eating fruit and spitting the pips at us as we stood under a tree gawking at him. A few of the younger brood also swung by showing off their gymnastic flair and ability to pee at us from a great height! After a while we walked back to where the bus would pick us up and as we were about to drive off, another big orange ball came ambling out of the bush right next to the van, stopped, posed for a few photos, then ambled off in the opposite direction. It’s fantastic to get so close to these animals as this is not a zoo, and these animals have not been trained in any way. We were warned quite clearly that they are not tame and to keep our distance from them, not to touch them and let them just do their own thing. This is the closest we will ever get to see these animals in their natural environment, especially as Borneo and Sumatra are the only places left on this planet where they still live freely and breed – we’ve destroyed their habitat everywhere else. It was a very humbling and special trip for us. I took lots of photos, and have added some so you too can enjoy an “up close and personal” experience with a lovely, hairy person other than your current partner!!
What’s Hot
Christmas celebrations of course, but only for one day. Unlike the Southern Hemisphere where you get the chance to take a long, hard earned summer break, Christmas Day is the only day off (not even Boxing Day!), so most people take in the spirit it’s meant, swapping pressies with family and friends, or whooping it up in a posh hotel – of which we will be doing the latter! A friend of G’s (who just happens to be Welsh – they get bloody everywhere don’t they??) whose been in Singers for 8 years always organizes an “Orphans Xmas Dinner” whereby he books a big table at one of the top hotels and anyone wishing to can pay their money, turn up, and eat as much posh nosh as they can possibly manage, swilled down with as much Mumm champagne as they can possibly manage in 3 hours. Not quite Oliver Twist I know, but sounds like us, so that’s what we’ll be doing. Thank goodness I’m the only one in the office on Boxing Day as the guy I work with has taken the day off.
What’s Not
Not all that sparkles is quite so bright in Singapore. Like everywhere else, there’s particular caution being displayed by the super-spenders, and for a nation of shoppers the tills aren’t ringing quite so loudly this year. Retail is down and pre Christmas sales (unheard of before) are on the up. The retailers associations are trying everything to get people to open their wallets with bargains, and even live shows being performed in some of the bigger malls, and whilst people are still visiting to malls in their droves (they do anyway!), they’re more interested in browsing and bargain hunting than trying to win this years “Big Spenders” award.
So, who knows what is around the corner for any of us next year. Best not to dwell on that and simply have a safe and happy Christmas with people we care about, coz that’s more important than any latest widget, gadget, pair of sox or handkerchief that some lucky person might receive on 25th.
And finally…..
All that remains is for us to wish you all the very best for 2009. Take care of each other, travel safe and have lots and lots of fun and champers over the next few weeks.
Look forward to hearing all your news and stories soon.
Cheers then
J & G
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The Crisis, Black Presidents and Christmas
Hello everybody, we hope this finds you all well and with your money safely stashed under the bed – where else should you put it??!
Just like the rest of the world Singapore’s been dominated by the economic crisis, and whilst they announced a technical recession shortly after NZ, we haven’t really seen it hit, till this week. DBS Bank (the one most locals use for family savings etc) has announced big job losses, with no discussion around wage cuts, or similar alternatives offered at other time of crisis. Other financial institutes who are based here (and there are many!!) are expected to follow suit, and pinkies at the end of their contract are not being asked to renew. The new casino being built on the waterfront almost went belly up this week too. Miles behind time and struggling to pay it’s creditors, the Americans in charge of the project actually asked the government for a bail out. Silly boys! They don’t bail out private institutes here – as pointed out to them, “this is a commercial venture that receives our blessing, but get the money elsewhere and get the job finished”. They have, in the spate of a week, managed to secure more funding at the expense of another job in Malaysia, but who knows if it will be enough. The work carries on much to relief of the foreign workers who are on site everyday.
So, sorry times for everyone really. However, if you walked around the shopping malls here you’d never know anything was amiss. The youf are out in force for as long as the shops stay open. They fill the cinemas every weekend, and the food centers still brim with the sight of people eating out, and the smell of magi mee being tossed in a wok! It’s all water off a ducks back to them as they go about their business confident of getting a new job, and if not well, they’ll just take that overseas trip they’ve been wanting for a while anyway. The elders do worry so……
On the fun side of life, before the recession bit and we could still hear Rick Astley playing in the shops, G and I got the chance to go to Antwerp for a conference. Anyone whose ever been on a conference/business networking event knows that it’s just a big piss up really, and what a better place to have one? Belgium, not so much your ABC’s, but you BCD’s Beer, Chocolate and Diamonds in that order! It goes without saying we had a fabulous time, and were the star attraction as most guests were European, so being the Asian Contingent who’d come all that way meant we were given the best of hospitality and friendships. We all stayed in the Hilton Hotel overlooking the historic square and Town Hall, where the group had a fantastic meal on the last evening. Highlight was a beer tasting session held in one of the old monk’s cellars down a little ally way. All done by candlelight in the cellars with a beer expert giving us the run down of each beer as it came out. Very similar to wine tasting, only you get more and it goes down very quickly. “Get it down ya neck” as they in most parts!! Along with visiting the diamond museum, fashion museum and generally eating and drinking ourselves stupid, we had a great time and vowed to attend the next one in 2 years time. They announced that it will be held in Brazil – how could we not go to that one????
We squeezed in 2 days in Bruges coz we couldn’t get to the UK to see the folks before heading home in time for me to start my new job. Will fill you in another time, but basically it’s going really well. People like our ideas, we’ve had no problems getting in to meet with potential clients and have our first training course starting on December 2nd. Wish me luck!!
What’s Hot
Christmas. Yes, good old Santa must be dusting his boots as we speak because the festive season has arrived in Singapore with no escape!! I saw my first Christmas tree on 28th OCTOBER. By the 1st November Christmas trees had shot up all over the city and we now get “It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas” over the supermarket speakers. It just doesn’t seem right – Christmas songs, tins of biscuits with snow scenes on them, candy bars and selection boxes, meanwhile its 35 degrees outside!! The songs are so awful I have to wear my walkman to the shops just to get round without punching someone.
What’s Luke Warm
Our pub quiz team. We’ve been to two now, same venue, but a change in some team members. And overall we’re not too shabby, but not great either. Our first attempt we came second, much to ours and everyone else’s surprise! This time round, not as good, but there were more teams, and we were only 1.5 points off 3rd – if we’d remembered that it was Kelly Marie who sang “It Feels Like I’m In Love” all those years ago we’d have been in with a shout. Never mind, all good fun and there’s always next time.
What’s Neither
Greedy grandparents and black prime ministers are not hot right now. Since history was made in the USA a few weeks ago, the talk now is whether Singapore should consider such a dramatic change to it’s leaders or even- shock horror, god forbid – a woman Prime Minister!! This was very quickly swept under the carpet as total garbage, and whilst they applauded America’s decision, and will give Obama all the support they can, it’s basically a “not in our backyard” sentiment.
Euthanasia is also on the table over here. Now they’ve solved the problem of teenagers getting hitched and couples having kids, it’s time to look at the oldies and their quality of life – yes that old chestnut!! Although they don’t use the word Euthanasia, they are looking at the criteria for switching off life support machines, drip feeds etc.. and this includes; long-term illness, suffering, quality of life, and the biggie….. are they becoming an economic burden to their families? You can just imagine it can’t you – “look mother I won’t tell you again. If you keep eating all the chocolate biscuits I’m going to have to have you put down”.
So, we hope that none of you have to make such serious decisions as where to invest your next million without losing it, should a black man be running your country, or should you get granny put down now and save on the turkey! Whatever’s going on, we hope you are all well and will try to get one more blog in before Christmas. We’ve got one last trip planned this year to Sarawak to see the Orangutans, so will give you an update on how that went.
Check out the new photos on the slide show – I’ve been experimenting with black and white – very Andy Warhol!!
Send us your news, what’s everyone doing for the holidays?????
Cheers then G & J
Just like the rest of the world Singapore’s been dominated by the economic crisis, and whilst they announced a technical recession shortly after NZ, we haven’t really seen it hit, till this week. DBS Bank (the one most locals use for family savings etc) has announced big job losses, with no discussion around wage cuts, or similar alternatives offered at other time of crisis. Other financial institutes who are based here (and there are many!!) are expected to follow suit, and pinkies at the end of their contract are not being asked to renew. The new casino being built on the waterfront almost went belly up this week too. Miles behind time and struggling to pay it’s creditors, the Americans in charge of the project actually asked the government for a bail out. Silly boys! They don’t bail out private institutes here – as pointed out to them, “this is a commercial venture that receives our blessing, but get the money elsewhere and get the job finished”. They have, in the spate of a week, managed to secure more funding at the expense of another job in Malaysia, but who knows if it will be enough. The work carries on much to relief of the foreign workers who are on site everyday.
So, sorry times for everyone really. However, if you walked around the shopping malls here you’d never know anything was amiss. The youf are out in force for as long as the shops stay open. They fill the cinemas every weekend, and the food centers still brim with the sight of people eating out, and the smell of magi mee being tossed in a wok! It’s all water off a ducks back to them as they go about their business confident of getting a new job, and if not well, they’ll just take that overseas trip they’ve been wanting for a while anyway. The elders do worry so……
On the fun side of life, before the recession bit and we could still hear Rick Astley playing in the shops, G and I got the chance to go to Antwerp for a conference. Anyone whose ever been on a conference/business networking event knows that it’s just a big piss up really, and what a better place to have one? Belgium, not so much your ABC’s, but you BCD’s Beer, Chocolate and Diamonds in that order! It goes without saying we had a fabulous time, and were the star attraction as most guests were European, so being the Asian Contingent who’d come all that way meant we were given the best of hospitality and friendships. We all stayed in the Hilton Hotel overlooking the historic square and Town Hall, where the group had a fantastic meal on the last evening. Highlight was a beer tasting session held in one of the old monk’s cellars down a little ally way. All done by candlelight in the cellars with a beer expert giving us the run down of each beer as it came out. Very similar to wine tasting, only you get more and it goes down very quickly. “Get it down ya neck” as they in most parts!! Along with visiting the diamond museum, fashion museum and generally eating and drinking ourselves stupid, we had a great time and vowed to attend the next one in 2 years time. They announced that it will be held in Brazil – how could we not go to that one????
We squeezed in 2 days in Bruges coz we couldn’t get to the UK to see the folks before heading home in time for me to start my new job. Will fill you in another time, but basically it’s going really well. People like our ideas, we’ve had no problems getting in to meet with potential clients and have our first training course starting on December 2nd. Wish me luck!!
What’s Hot
Christmas. Yes, good old Santa must be dusting his boots as we speak because the festive season has arrived in Singapore with no escape!! I saw my first Christmas tree on 28th OCTOBER. By the 1st November Christmas trees had shot up all over the city and we now get “It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas” over the supermarket speakers. It just doesn’t seem right – Christmas songs, tins of biscuits with snow scenes on them, candy bars and selection boxes, meanwhile its 35 degrees outside!! The songs are so awful I have to wear my walkman to the shops just to get round without punching someone.
What’s Luke Warm
Our pub quiz team. We’ve been to two now, same venue, but a change in some team members. And overall we’re not too shabby, but not great either. Our first attempt we came second, much to ours and everyone else’s surprise! This time round, not as good, but there were more teams, and we were only 1.5 points off 3rd – if we’d remembered that it was Kelly Marie who sang “It Feels Like I’m In Love” all those years ago we’d have been in with a shout. Never mind, all good fun and there’s always next time.
What’s Neither
Greedy grandparents and black prime ministers are not hot right now. Since history was made in the USA a few weeks ago, the talk now is whether Singapore should consider such a dramatic change to it’s leaders or even- shock horror, god forbid – a woman Prime Minister!! This was very quickly swept under the carpet as total garbage, and whilst they applauded America’s decision, and will give Obama all the support they can, it’s basically a “not in our backyard” sentiment.
Euthanasia is also on the table over here. Now they’ve solved the problem of teenagers getting hitched and couples having kids, it’s time to look at the oldies and their quality of life – yes that old chestnut!! Although they don’t use the word Euthanasia, they are looking at the criteria for switching off life support machines, drip feeds etc.. and this includes; long-term illness, suffering, quality of life, and the biggie….. are they becoming an economic burden to their families? You can just imagine it can’t you – “look mother I won’t tell you again. If you keep eating all the chocolate biscuits I’m going to have to have you put down”.
So, we hope that none of you have to make such serious decisions as where to invest your next million without losing it, should a black man be running your country, or should you get granny put down now and save on the turkey! Whatever’s going on, we hope you are all well and will try to get one more blog in before Christmas. We’ve got one last trip planned this year to Sarawak to see the Orangutans, so will give you an update on how that went.
Check out the new photos on the slide show – I’ve been experimenting with black and white – very Andy Warhol!!
Send us your news, what’s everyone doing for the holidays?????
Cheers then G & J
Monday, September 22, 2008
Greetings from a rather soggy Singapore!
Yes, it is monsoon season in most of Asia, and whilst Singapore doesn’t really suffer from monsoons in the same away as say, India, we have all been getting rather wet over the last few weeks. It’s not cold and wet weather like we’re used to. It’s more like; go out in the morning, a few hours later dive for cover as the rain lashes down hard for about 20 minutes. Come out from under cover, continue with your day. A few hours later dive for cover and so on till the wee hours. The rains have cooled the temperatures to the extent that we are faced with the dilemma of whether to wear a T Shirt with sleeves or stick with a vest! Very warm, but not as humid.
However, the damp weather has not put a dampener on things here as we become more and more ensconced in local life. G continues to lap up the work and air miles, and I recently landed a full time job. The contracting was great while the work was there, but with less and less of it coming in, and the fear of having to join the crochet circle to network (I almost did!!) I have given up my freedom (and tag along status on G’s business trips) to help a recruitment firm set up a training academy. It ticks all the boxes in terms of challenging, opportunity to meet and make new clients/friends, “onto it” boss and, of course, regular wage. I start in October, so will let you know how it all goes.
On the fun side of life, we have made 2 dive/snorkeling trips to Tioman Island. Tioman is in Malaysia and the closest and easiest island to reach from Singapore, making it a great week ender. There’s a German guy who organises the trips, and has been diving there for many years, so knows how it all works. All we have to do is get up in 5AM for an early bus departure from Singapore at 6AM. Once we cross the border, it’s a 2 ½ hour bus trip to Mersing where the ferry departs from. The boat takes about 1 ½ hours to get to the island. So, with coffee stops and all sorts of hold up possibilities (it is Malaysia at the end of the day), it’s quite a trek. However, once you’re there you forget about all that. A lovely, sandy beach, dive centre attached to the place we stay at (so put your gear on and you’re away), and fantastic, friendly local people, most of whom I have now taken a hundred photos of (for my photo course!) make it a great week end. More importantly, big bottles of beer sell for under $3. G gets to complete 4 dives (2 each day), and also managed to fit in a night dive on the first trip, although, he missed out on the cheap beer so didn’t bother this time! Mind you, he also completed his rescue dive course and was quite knackered after spending all afternoon rescuing people who’d accidentally on purpose run out of air, lost their equipment, fallen off the boat, lost their buddy, or simply stopped breathing! It would be nice to go to Tioman for a little longer, and spend an extra day or 2 exploring the island – maybe next time.
I have now finished my photo course, but am still a member of the society which means I can take photos along on a Friday night to be judged (usually as unfit for human eye contact), and get feedback on how to “do better next time”. To be fair, I’ve come quite a way since the beginning, but only about 10% of what I take could be deemed “good”. As one of the instructors said to me, and I quote, “you’re getting better Julie, but you’re still not good”. Unperturbed I will continue in the hope of one day being deemed “good”! I’ve added a few new ones to the site, so you can judge for yourselves.
So, what’s happening in Singapore that might be of interest to you?
WHAT’S HOT
The F1 of course!! It’s all pistons go next week end as Singapore hosts it’s first ever such event. Not only that, but it will be a first ever night time event. Let’s hope Ferrari and McLaren have remembered to put some lights on the cars! They’re all going to be here – Lewis “He’s Bloody Gorgeous” Hamilton, and all the others who aren’t as cute, so I can’t remember their names……some bird called Kimi I think, and someone else????? Having attended and survived the Melbourne F1, when the course was set in Albert Park just across the road from where we lived., we have decided to invest in some ear plugs, beers from the supermarket, chicken and rice from the food centre and lock ourselves away for the week end. The noise, the people, the traffic jams, the crowded MRT. God, I sound like an old woman!! But seriously, it’s not really our scene, and it is horrendously LOUD, so we’ll leave it to the Grid Girls to entertain the crowds and soak up the atmosphere.
WHAT’S NOT
Teenage Boys and young male adults apparently!! You may recall in my last posting that Singer’s people aren’t doing their bit to keep the birth rates up. Various solutions have since been endorsed. The obvious one is throw money at young married couples and basically bribe them to have a few sproggs. This is all fine if you’re hitched, but what if you’re not and you can’t get a girlfriend? Research suggests that young males just aren’t up to the task of asking a girl out because they’re too shy and insecure. I would suggest bad eye sight, acne and thinning hair could also be a major contribution!! So, to tackle the problem they’ve come up with a new dating scheme where the parents go along clutching photos of little spotty and try to get them a girlfriend! One stop short of arranged marriages, but one way to get the darling out of his bedroom and off his Playstation. Be careful, if it’s a success there might just be one opening at a centre near you……..
As always – we hope these stories find you all safe and well, and would love to hear from you soon. Those who have emailed us, and stay in touch – thanks – always great to hear from you. Those who haven’t – please drop us a line, even if it’s only to say that you’re still alive!! Take care.
Cheers
J & G
However, the damp weather has not put a dampener on things here as we become more and more ensconced in local life. G continues to lap up the work and air miles, and I recently landed a full time job. The contracting was great while the work was there, but with less and less of it coming in, and the fear of having to join the crochet circle to network (I almost did!!) I have given up my freedom (and tag along status on G’s business trips) to help a recruitment firm set up a training academy. It ticks all the boxes in terms of challenging, opportunity to meet and make new clients/friends, “onto it” boss and, of course, regular wage. I start in October, so will let you know how it all goes.
On the fun side of life, we have made 2 dive/snorkeling trips to Tioman Island. Tioman is in Malaysia and the closest and easiest island to reach from Singapore, making it a great week ender. There’s a German guy who organises the trips, and has been diving there for many years, so knows how it all works. All we have to do is get up in 5AM for an early bus departure from Singapore at 6AM. Once we cross the border, it’s a 2 ½ hour bus trip to Mersing where the ferry departs from. The boat takes about 1 ½ hours to get to the island. So, with coffee stops and all sorts of hold up possibilities (it is Malaysia at the end of the day), it’s quite a trek. However, once you’re there you forget about all that. A lovely, sandy beach, dive centre attached to the place we stay at (so put your gear on and you’re away), and fantastic, friendly local people, most of whom I have now taken a hundred photos of (for my photo course!) make it a great week end. More importantly, big bottles of beer sell for under $3. G gets to complete 4 dives (2 each day), and also managed to fit in a night dive on the first trip, although, he missed out on the cheap beer so didn’t bother this time! Mind you, he also completed his rescue dive course and was quite knackered after spending all afternoon rescuing people who’d accidentally on purpose run out of air, lost their equipment, fallen off the boat, lost their buddy, or simply stopped breathing! It would be nice to go to Tioman for a little longer, and spend an extra day or 2 exploring the island – maybe next time.
I have now finished my photo course, but am still a member of the society which means I can take photos along on a Friday night to be judged (usually as unfit for human eye contact), and get feedback on how to “do better next time”. To be fair, I’ve come quite a way since the beginning, but only about 10% of what I take could be deemed “good”. As one of the instructors said to me, and I quote, “you’re getting better Julie, but you’re still not good”. Unperturbed I will continue in the hope of one day being deemed “good”! I’ve added a few new ones to the site, so you can judge for yourselves.
So, what’s happening in Singapore that might be of interest to you?
WHAT’S HOT
The F1 of course!! It’s all pistons go next week end as Singapore hosts it’s first ever such event. Not only that, but it will be a first ever night time event. Let’s hope Ferrari and McLaren have remembered to put some lights on the cars! They’re all going to be here – Lewis “He’s Bloody Gorgeous” Hamilton, and all the others who aren’t as cute, so I can’t remember their names……some bird called Kimi I think, and someone else????? Having attended and survived the Melbourne F1, when the course was set in Albert Park just across the road from where we lived., we have decided to invest in some ear plugs, beers from the supermarket, chicken and rice from the food centre and lock ourselves away for the week end. The noise, the people, the traffic jams, the crowded MRT. God, I sound like an old woman!! But seriously, it’s not really our scene, and it is horrendously LOUD, so we’ll leave it to the Grid Girls to entertain the crowds and soak up the atmosphere.
WHAT’S NOT
Teenage Boys and young male adults apparently!! You may recall in my last posting that Singer’s people aren’t doing their bit to keep the birth rates up. Various solutions have since been endorsed. The obvious one is throw money at young married couples and basically bribe them to have a few sproggs. This is all fine if you’re hitched, but what if you’re not and you can’t get a girlfriend? Research suggests that young males just aren’t up to the task of asking a girl out because they’re too shy and insecure. I would suggest bad eye sight, acne and thinning hair could also be a major contribution!! So, to tackle the problem they’ve come up with a new dating scheme where the parents go along clutching photos of little spotty and try to get them a girlfriend! One stop short of arranged marriages, but one way to get the darling out of his bedroom and off his Playstation. Be careful, if it’s a success there might just be one opening at a centre near you……..
As always – we hope these stories find you all safe and well, and would love to hear from you soon. Those who have emailed us, and stay in touch – thanks – always great to hear from you. Those who haven’t – please drop us a line, even if it’s only to say that you’re still alive!! Take care.
Cheers
J & G
Friday, August 15, 2008
Is it August already???
Well, a bit late with this month’s update but the time is starting to fly.
The last 5 or 6 week’s have brought festivals galore to Singapore starting with the Night Festival (to celebrate nighttime of course!), which opened with a stunning after dark free carnival and show. A theatrical troupe from Italy who performed at the Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony started things off. They danced literally on air (well, OK with the help of wires), flew above the crowd in massive balloons lit up to look like the moon and earth, pirouetted on top of shining white grand pianos (also dangling in mid air) to a mix of ethereal and operatic music whilst dressed in floating, delicate costumes. Just wonderful!
We’ve also had the Garden Festival, an Italian film Festival, Shopping Festival (but get those every week!) and the biggie, the one that’s been a year in the making - Singapore National Day!! This is the day all of Singapore celebrated its 43rd year of independence. Flags have been flying outside shops, apartment blocks and Retirement Homes for months now with more nationalistic fervour than England just before they get dumped out of the World Cup on penalties! Truly a day for the Nation to be proud of what it’s achieved, and to be fair, they have achieved an awful lot putting many other countries to shame with their economic boom, low crime rate, great education system, fantastic health system….need I go on?? Pride swelled in the chest, tears filled the eyes of old and young and the usual B grade TV celebs got their chance to do what they do best – get their faces on TV and talk crap for a few hours! There was a parade down the main streets and fireworks to round the day off.
But, where to next for Singapore? What about the “Youf” consuming like mad rather than saving their cash to look after ma and pa in later years? The biggest worry is birth rates. Not enough Singaporeans are having children and so the debates rage over what can be done to get people hitched and up the duff before Singaporeans become the minority race.
The expats are doing their bit to keep the foreign numbers up, including our good friends Ian and Louise Shenton. We met them in Melbourne where Gareth and Ian worked together. When we went home to NZ, they went to Japan, and years later we’re back together again as they have just re located to Singapore. Only difference is they now have a very cute, inquisitive, “touch it and I’ll break it” 2 year old called Dylan. They stayed with us for 5 days whilst “in transit” during their move. Fantastic to see them again and lots of laughs and good times ahead for us I’m sure. Dylan was reminder (if we ever needed one!) of why we decided not to have children, although it must be said, he was very good while he was here thanks to lots of hard work and expert timing by his parents to get him out and about when the energy levels rose. The pool came in very handy on numerous occasions. The locals loved the sight of this custe, little western boy and he was showered with gifts by store owners everywhere he went. They’re thinking of hiring him out if anyone’s interested…. We also had an overnight stopover this month from our property manager, Kane and his partner Robyn. Although only here for 1 day on a stopover to Bali (cheap flights – long way round in case you’re wondering), they really enjoyed it here, and for the price of bottle of gin they enjoyed good old kiwi hospitality and went on their way slightly more acclimatized (from 9 degrees to 32 in 1 go!), and well fed.
The windsurfing has taken a bit of back seat of late, but the camera club is great and I think my photos are getting better. I’ve added a few to the slideshow – see what you think. We call ourselves The Shutterbugs, but G calls us the anorak wearers – cheeky sod! So that he’s not left out, we’re off to Tioman Island, Malaysia this week end so G can do some diving -cheap bungalows on the beach and great diving – will report next time.
What’s hot
Singapore’s chance of a medal in the Olympic Games since 1960 (bit like England 1966 really!), and their first medal EVER as an independent state. Their “Paddlers”, table tennis players are up for it!
Mountain Biking on Pulau Ubin. This small island is just five minutes from Singapore by bum boat and was due for the usual redevelopment until locals protested and they decided to keep it as it – a lovely little island with lots of birds, wildlife and quarry which is the basis for a fantastic new mountain bike park. Some of the runs would even test Joe and Gerry! It's a great day out and not for the faint hearted. (You’d have been proud of me PT!!)
What’s not
Singapore’s “Shuttlers”, badminton players. All out in the first round of the Olympics after such high expectations and media interest ( a bit like the English Football Team really!)
The weather in Hong Kong. I was there last week to do some training, and had to cancel the 2nd day due to a typhoon 8 warning. 8 means bloody close, stay indoors, do not go out, all schools closed, all public transport cancelled. Quite frankly, I’ve seen bigger swells in the Cook Strait from our house, but I stayed put to be on the safe side and changed my flights home.
And finally
For those of you with Welsh connections (of which there are a few) – Gareth met a client yesterday whom he presumed had Welsh heritage – his name? Fong Jones!! Absolutely true!
Cheers
J & G
The last 5 or 6 week’s have brought festivals galore to Singapore starting with the Night Festival (to celebrate nighttime of course!), which opened with a stunning after dark free carnival and show. A theatrical troupe from Italy who performed at the Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony started things off. They danced literally on air (well, OK with the help of wires), flew above the crowd in massive balloons lit up to look like the moon and earth, pirouetted on top of shining white grand pianos (also dangling in mid air) to a mix of ethereal and operatic music whilst dressed in floating, delicate costumes. Just wonderful!
We’ve also had the Garden Festival, an Italian film Festival, Shopping Festival (but get those every week!) and the biggie, the one that’s been a year in the making - Singapore National Day!! This is the day all of Singapore celebrated its 43rd year of independence. Flags have been flying outside shops, apartment blocks and Retirement Homes for months now with more nationalistic fervour than England just before they get dumped out of the World Cup on penalties! Truly a day for the Nation to be proud of what it’s achieved, and to be fair, they have achieved an awful lot putting many other countries to shame with their economic boom, low crime rate, great education system, fantastic health system….need I go on?? Pride swelled in the chest, tears filled the eyes of old and young and the usual B grade TV celebs got their chance to do what they do best – get their faces on TV and talk crap for a few hours! There was a parade down the main streets and fireworks to round the day off.
But, where to next for Singapore? What about the “Youf” consuming like mad rather than saving their cash to look after ma and pa in later years? The biggest worry is birth rates. Not enough Singaporeans are having children and so the debates rage over what can be done to get people hitched and up the duff before Singaporeans become the minority race.
The expats are doing their bit to keep the foreign numbers up, including our good friends Ian and Louise Shenton. We met them in Melbourne where Gareth and Ian worked together. When we went home to NZ, they went to Japan, and years later we’re back together again as they have just re located to Singapore. Only difference is they now have a very cute, inquisitive, “touch it and I’ll break it” 2 year old called Dylan. They stayed with us for 5 days whilst “in transit” during their move. Fantastic to see them again and lots of laughs and good times ahead for us I’m sure. Dylan was reminder (if we ever needed one!) of why we decided not to have children, although it must be said, he was very good while he was here thanks to lots of hard work and expert timing by his parents to get him out and about when the energy levels rose. The pool came in very handy on numerous occasions. The locals loved the sight of this custe, little western boy and he was showered with gifts by store owners everywhere he went. They’re thinking of hiring him out if anyone’s interested…. We also had an overnight stopover this month from our property manager, Kane and his partner Robyn. Although only here for 1 day on a stopover to Bali (cheap flights – long way round in case you’re wondering), they really enjoyed it here, and for the price of bottle of gin they enjoyed good old kiwi hospitality and went on their way slightly more acclimatized (from 9 degrees to 32 in 1 go!), and well fed.
The windsurfing has taken a bit of back seat of late, but the camera club is great and I think my photos are getting better. I’ve added a few to the slideshow – see what you think. We call ourselves The Shutterbugs, but G calls us the anorak wearers – cheeky sod! So that he’s not left out, we’re off to Tioman Island, Malaysia this week end so G can do some diving -cheap bungalows on the beach and great diving – will report next time.
What’s hot
Singapore’s chance of a medal in the Olympic Games since 1960 (bit like England 1966 really!), and their first medal EVER as an independent state. Their “Paddlers”, table tennis players are up for it!
Mountain Biking on Pulau Ubin. This small island is just five minutes from Singapore by bum boat and was due for the usual redevelopment until locals protested and they decided to keep it as it – a lovely little island with lots of birds, wildlife and quarry which is the basis for a fantastic new mountain bike park. Some of the runs would even test Joe and Gerry! It's a great day out and not for the faint hearted. (You’d have been proud of me PT!!)
What’s not
Singapore’s “Shuttlers”, badminton players. All out in the first round of the Olympics after such high expectations and media interest ( a bit like the English Football Team really!)
The weather in Hong Kong. I was there last week to do some training, and had to cancel the 2nd day due to a typhoon 8 warning. 8 means bloody close, stay indoors, do not go out, all schools closed, all public transport cancelled. Quite frankly, I’ve seen bigger swells in the Cook Strait from our house, but I stayed put to be on the safe side and changed my flights home.
And finally
For those of you with Welsh connections (of which there are a few) – Gareth met a client yesterday whom he presumed had Welsh heritage – his name? Fong Jones!! Absolutely true!
Cheers
J & G
Is it August already???
Well, a bit late with this month’s update but the time is starting to fly.
The last 5 or 6 week’s have brought festivals galore to Singapore starting with the Night Festival (to celebrate nighttime of course!), which opened with a stunning after dark free carnival and show. A theatrical troupe from Italy who performed at the Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony started things off. They danced literally on air (well, OK with the help of wires), flew above the crowd in massive balloons lit up to look like the moon and earth, pirouetted on top of shining white grand pianos (also dangling in mid air) to a mix of ethereal and operatic music whilst dressed in floating, delicate costumes. Just wonderful!
We’ve also had the Garden Festival, an Italian film Festival, Shopping Festival (but get those every week!) and the biggie, the one that’s been a year in the making - Singapore National Day!! This is the day all of Singapore celebrated its 43rd year of independence. Flags have been flying outside shops, apartment blocks and Retirement Homes for months now with more nationalistic fervour than England just before they get dumped out of the World Cup on penalties! Truly a day for the Nation to be proud of what it’s achieved, and to be fair, they have achieved an awful lot putting many other countries to shame with their economic boom, low crime rate, great education system, fantastic health system….need I go on?? Pride swelled in the chest, tears filled the eyes of old and young and the usual B grade TV celebs got their chance to do what they do best – get their faces on TV and talk crap for a few hours! There was a parade down the main streets and fireworks to round the day off.
But, where to next for Singapore? What about the “Youf” consuming like mad rather than saving their cash to look after ma and pa in later years? The biggest worry is birth rates. Not enough Singaporeans are having children and so the debates rage over what can be done to get people hitched and up the duff before Singaporeans become the minority race.
The expats are doing their bit to keep the foreign numbers up, including our good friends Ian and Louise Shenton. We met them in Melbourne where Gareth and Ian worked together. When we went home to NZ, they went to Japan, and years later we’re back together again as they have just re located to Singapore. Only difference is they now have a very cute, inquisitive, “touch it and I’ll break it” 2 year old called Dylan. They stayed with us for 5 days whilst “in transit” during their move. Fantastic to see them again and lots of laughs and good times ahead for us I’m sure. Dylan was reminder (if we ever needed one!) of why we decided not to have children, although it must be said, he was very good while he was here thanks to lots of hard work and expert timing by his parents to get him out and about when the energy levels rose. The pool came in very handy on numerous occasions. The locals loved the sight of this custe, little western boy and he was showered with gifts by store owners everywhere he went. They’re thinking of hiring him out if anyone’s interested…. We also had an overnight stopover this month from our property manager, Kane and his partner Robyn. Although only here for 1 day on a stopover to Bali (cheap flights – long way round in case you’re wondering), they really enjoyed it here, and for the price of bottle of gin they enjoyed good old kiwi hospitality and went on their way slightly more acclimatized (from 9 degrees to 32 in 1 go!), and well fed.
The windsurfing has taken a bit of back seat of late, but the camera club is great and I think my photos are getting better. I’ve added a few to the slideshow – see what you think. We call ourselves The Shutterbugs, but G calls us the anorak wearers – cheeky sod! So that he’s not left out, we’re off to Tioman Island, Malaysia this week end so G can do some diving -cheap bungalows on the beach and great diving – will report next time.
What’s hot
Singapore’s chance of a medal in the Olympic Games since 1960 (bit like England 1966 really!), and their first medal EVER as an independent state. Their “Paddlers”, table tennis players are up for it!
Mountain Biking on Pulau Ubin. This small island is just five minutes from Singapore by bum boat and was due for the usual redevelopment until locals protested and they decided to keep it as it – a lovely little island with lots of birds, wildlife and quarry which is the basis for a fantastic new mountain bike park. Some of the runs would even test Joe and Gerry! It's a great day out and not for the faint hearted. (You’d have been proud of me PT!!)
What’s not
Singapore’s “Shuttlers”, badminton players. All out in the first round of the Olympics after such high expectations and media interest ( a bit like the English Football Team really!)
The weather in Hong Kong. I was there last week to do some training, and had to cancel the 2nd day due to a typhoon 8 warning. 8 means bloody close, stay indoors, do not go out, all schools closed, all public transport cancelled. Quite frankly, I’ve seen bigger swells in the Cook Strait from our house, but I stayed put to be on the safe side and changed my flights home.
And finally
For those of you with Welsh connections (of which there are a few) – Gareth met a client yesterday whom he presumed had Welsh heritage – his name? Fong Jones!! Absolutely true!
Cheers
J & G
The last 5 or 6 week’s have brought festivals galore to Singapore starting with the Night Festival (to celebrate nighttime of course!), which opened with a stunning after dark free carnival and show. A theatrical troupe from Italy who performed at the Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony started things off. They danced literally on air (well, OK with the help of wires), flew above the crowd in massive balloons lit up to look like the moon and earth, pirouetted on top of shining white grand pianos (also dangling in mid air) to a mix of ethereal and operatic music whilst dressed in floating, delicate costumes. Just wonderful!
We’ve also had the Garden Festival, an Italian film Festival, Shopping Festival (but get those every week!) and the biggie, the one that’s been a year in the making - Singapore National Day!! This is the day all of Singapore celebrated its 43rd year of independence. Flags have been flying outside shops, apartment blocks and Retirement Homes for months now with more nationalistic fervour than England just before they get dumped out of the World Cup on penalties! Truly a day for the Nation to be proud of what it’s achieved, and to be fair, they have achieved an awful lot putting many other countries to shame with their economic boom, low crime rate, great education system, fantastic health system….need I go on?? Pride swelled in the chest, tears filled the eyes of old and young and the usual B grade TV celebs got their chance to do what they do best – get their faces on TV and talk crap for a few hours! There was a parade down the main streets and fireworks to round the day off.
But, where to next for Singapore? What about the “Youf” consuming like mad rather than saving their cash to look after ma and pa in later years? The biggest worry is birth rates. Not enough Singaporeans are having children and so the debates rage over what can be done to get people hitched and up the duff before Singaporeans become the minority race.
The expats are doing their bit to keep the foreign numbers up, including our good friends Ian and Louise Shenton. We met them in Melbourne where Gareth and Ian worked together. When we went home to NZ, they went to Japan, and years later we’re back together again as they have just re located to Singapore. Only difference is they now have a very cute, inquisitive, “touch it and I’ll break it” 2 year old called Dylan. They stayed with us for 5 days whilst “in transit” during their move. Fantastic to see them again and lots of laughs and good times ahead for us I’m sure. Dylan was reminder (if we ever needed one!) of why we decided not to have children, although it must be said, he was very good while he was here thanks to lots of hard work and expert timing by his parents to get him out and about when the energy levels rose. The pool came in very handy on numerous occasions. The locals loved the sight of this custe, little western boy and he was showered with gifts by store owners everywhere he went. They’re thinking of hiring him out if anyone’s interested…. We also had an overnight stopover this month from our property manager, Kane and his partner Robyn. Although only here for 1 day on a stopover to Bali (cheap flights – long way round in case you’re wondering), they really enjoyed it here, and for the price of bottle of gin they enjoyed good old kiwi hospitality and went on their way slightly more acclimatized (from 9 degrees to 32 in 1 go!), and well fed.
The windsurfing has taken a bit of back seat of late, but the camera club is great and I think my photos are getting better. I’ve added a few to the slideshow – see what you think. We call ourselves The Shutterbugs, but G calls us the anorak wearers – cheeky sod! So that he’s not left out, we’re off to Tioman Island, Malaysia this week end so G can do some diving -cheap bungalows on the beach and great diving – will report next time.
What’s hot
Singapore’s chance of a medal in the Olympic Games since 1960 (bit like England 1966 really!), and their first medal EVER as an independent state. Their “Paddlers”, table tennis players are up for it!
Mountain Biking on Pulau Ubin. This small island is just five minutes from Singapore by bum boat and was due for the usual redevelopment until locals protested and they decided to keep it as it – a lovely little island with lots of birds, wildlife and quarry which is the basis for a fantastic new mountain bike park. Some of the runs would even test Joe and Gerry! It's a great day out and not for the faint hearted. (You’d have been proud of me PT!!)
What’s not
Singapore’s “Shuttlers”, badminton players. All out in the first round of the Olympics after such high expectations and media interest ( a bit like the English Football Team really!)
The weather in Hong Kong. I was there last week to do some training, and had to cancel the 2nd day due to a typhoon 8 warning. 8 means bloody close, stay indoors, do not go out, all schools closed, all public transport cancelled. Quite frankly, I’ve seen bigger swells in the Cook Strait from our house, but I stayed put to be on the safe side and changed my flights home.
And finally
For those of you with Welsh connections (of which there are a few) – Gareth met a client yesterday whom he presumed had Welsh heritage – his name? Fong Jones!! Absolutely true!
Cheers
J & G
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
2nd Blog - 3rd Month in Singapore
We can’t believe it’s gone so quickly and are definitely more settled in our new life now (although we’re far from “asianised”- which isn’t a bad thing!). The weather has been quite unpredictable with some rain this month, which has been great for cooling us all down – it actually got down to 25 degrees last week – I almost put my cardi on!! It doesn’t feel as hot as it did, so we must be acclimatizing a little. Either that or we’ve just got used to walking round like damp sponges which is probably more the case. We still need the air con on at night to get to sleep.
It’s been an interesting and action packed month for us, so will start the general stuff before moving on to the more exciting things. Work – it’s all steady for Gareth, mostly work here, but with trips to Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong (I was allowed to go on the KL trip on the promise that I would stay out of the way and not tell any jokes to the clients!).
I successfully completed my first “solo” 2 day training workshop last week, which seemed to go really well. It was on presentation skills, so just as well I got it right, or it could have been embarrassing not being able to present a presentation workshop! Feedback was good and another one is being considered for next month and we’re currently taking bookings. I’m also involved in some future training work in Hong Kong for MBA graduates with delivery set for August. We’re at the design stage right now, so that’s all new, exciting, and a little nerve wracking to be honest, but plenty of time to get it absolutely right on the night.
Our week ends have been pretty action packed too. We went to Bintan Island for a day one Saturday. Bintan actually belongs to Indonesia, but is less than an hour’s sailing from here. There are a few resorts at the top part of the island where most people go for a week end or a short break. We thought we’d go for a day (as you do!!) and naively thought that once there it would be easy to get around. Not so – if you’re not booked in a resort with a bus at the ferry terminal to pick you up, you’re pretty much stranded. After about 20 minutes we approached the security gates at the terminal where a line of mopeds and motorbikes were parked. After a few minutes of negotiation, and with the help of a local who could speak English, we’d hired a security guards motorbike at a very reasonable price (including 2 crash helmets) and we’re off exploring!! It’s a pretty big island and once you’re off the “tourist road” it’s pretty basic. We seemed to be the source of most of the local’s amusement. I don’t think they’ve seen pinkies on bikes on that side of the island before. Anyway, we loved it, and I even managed to have a go at driving the bike, but immediately ran it into a ditch. Needless to say G (AKA Troy Bayliss) took the reigns again and got us safely back in time for the ferry home, and with much relief to the security guard no doubt.
The BIG news is that I FINALLY went windsurfing last week end! Some of you will know it’s been a dream of mine for quite some time, but the cold and too much wind in Wellie has always put me off. Being able to attend a 1 day workshop where you get proper training and can practice in a sea that’s as warm as bath water, with a slight “breeze” blowing is much more conducive to my learning style. Needless to say I couldn’t do it alone, so G came too. I’m very proud to say that by the end of the day we could stand on our boards and actually turn the board around –although at one point G got carried away, couldn’t turn and our instructor had to go swimming after him and bring him back!! Our instructor was great fun, and had a LOT of patience when dealing with me. G said at one point all you could hear, right across the beach was me and him yelling at each other – great stuff! The thing now is to practice and practice, so our Saturdays will be booked out for quite a while now – wonder if we’re in time to qualify for Beijing????? Watch out Barbara Kendal – Bebby’s on your tail!
We’ve pretty much figured that if you want to make friends here, it’s all about joining clubs (we actually joined the Sailing Club so we can go Windsurfing whenever we want). No one will befriend you unless they know you pretty well. We’ve been putting it off as the idea of social networking just doesn’t do it for us, but there is an NZ/Ozzie club that’s meant to be good with lots of socializing (we presume drinking!!), so are thinking about that. G has been invited to join a pinkies dragon boat team, and I’ve just joined a photography club so I can finally learn how to use our complicated camera properly, and make some friends. I would love to be able to take better pics, so I should learn some stuff and go on some cool field trips too. Hopefully you’ll start to see an improvement in the pics next month! Talking of which, hope you like the new ones. Quite a few of you wanted to see the apartment, but it’s quite a big complex and tricky to get the right angles. Still, I hope they give you an idea – the outside is more flash than inside! The units are your basic 4 concrete walls with tiled floors, standard kitchen and bathrooms.
Our other big, new experience was going to the movies for the first time. The locals are getting the message about turning mobiles off now (quite recent apparently), but they make up for that with slurping and munching all the way through a movie, plus throat clearing really loudly, and laughing hysterically at stuff that’s not even funny!!
So, what’s hot and what’s not this month? Well. It’s all about value for money as we find our way around this place:
HOT:
Little India – a great place, full of Indian atmosphere and fantastic restaurants where you can get a wonderful Masala Dosai for $2.50 and large bottle of beer for $5.50. CD shops, all of which sell them for $20 or under – and that includes all the latest stuff. Book shops seem to be able to sell books between $5 and $10 cheaper than NZ too. Cheap wine!!!! Well, not exactly, but we have found a place the size of the Warehouse that sells lots of wine and their specials are around $15 to $18 – quite good stuff too, lots of Californian and Chilean reds which are cheerful enough when you’re in the mood and got nowt else! Euro 2008 is BIG over here. Of course, the Asians love their football and this tournament has got everyone going. Some companies are letting their staff work flexi time so they can stay up to watch the 2.30am matches live on cable TV.
NOT:
Petrol and transport prices. Like everywhere else in the world, this is a big concern and they’re hitting motorists hard (it’s very much a user pays society here) with added levies and taxes for driving in the city etc..This all means that the MRT is getting busier and more cramped – they recorded 5 MILLION trips last month alone. Plus, of course, it’s much safer to sleep on the train than behind the wheel!
Pig Organ soup –yes that old, family favourite that is still dished out at the local hawker food market is still available, but the younger generation don’t appear to be as keen on it as, say KFC, so it may be off the menu in many places soon. No – we haven’t tried it!
And that’s about it from us folks for this month. Hope you’re all well and happy. A BIG THANKS to everyone who’s made contact us – great to hear from you. The rest of you….please do email us, or post something on the blog – we’d love to hear from you.
Cheers
J and G
It’s been an interesting and action packed month for us, so will start the general stuff before moving on to the more exciting things. Work – it’s all steady for Gareth, mostly work here, but with trips to Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong (I was allowed to go on the KL trip on the promise that I would stay out of the way and not tell any jokes to the clients!).
I successfully completed my first “solo” 2 day training workshop last week, which seemed to go really well. It was on presentation skills, so just as well I got it right, or it could have been embarrassing not being able to present a presentation workshop! Feedback was good and another one is being considered for next month and we’re currently taking bookings. I’m also involved in some future training work in Hong Kong for MBA graduates with delivery set for August. We’re at the design stage right now, so that’s all new, exciting, and a little nerve wracking to be honest, but plenty of time to get it absolutely right on the night.
Our week ends have been pretty action packed too. We went to Bintan Island for a day one Saturday. Bintan actually belongs to Indonesia, but is less than an hour’s sailing from here. There are a few resorts at the top part of the island where most people go for a week end or a short break. We thought we’d go for a day (as you do!!) and naively thought that once there it would be easy to get around. Not so – if you’re not booked in a resort with a bus at the ferry terminal to pick you up, you’re pretty much stranded. After about 20 minutes we approached the security gates at the terminal where a line of mopeds and motorbikes were parked. After a few minutes of negotiation, and with the help of a local who could speak English, we’d hired a security guards motorbike at a very reasonable price (including 2 crash helmets) and we’re off exploring!! It’s a pretty big island and once you’re off the “tourist road” it’s pretty basic. We seemed to be the source of most of the local’s amusement. I don’t think they’ve seen pinkies on bikes on that side of the island before. Anyway, we loved it, and I even managed to have a go at driving the bike, but immediately ran it into a ditch. Needless to say G (AKA Troy Bayliss) took the reigns again and got us safely back in time for the ferry home, and with much relief to the security guard no doubt.
The BIG news is that I FINALLY went windsurfing last week end! Some of you will know it’s been a dream of mine for quite some time, but the cold and too much wind in Wellie has always put me off. Being able to attend a 1 day workshop where you get proper training and can practice in a sea that’s as warm as bath water, with a slight “breeze” blowing is much more conducive to my learning style. Needless to say I couldn’t do it alone, so G came too. I’m very proud to say that by the end of the day we could stand on our boards and actually turn the board around –although at one point G got carried away, couldn’t turn and our instructor had to go swimming after him and bring him back!! Our instructor was great fun, and had a LOT of patience when dealing with me. G said at one point all you could hear, right across the beach was me and him yelling at each other – great stuff! The thing now is to practice and practice, so our Saturdays will be booked out for quite a while now – wonder if we’re in time to qualify for Beijing????? Watch out Barbara Kendal – Bebby’s on your tail!
We’ve pretty much figured that if you want to make friends here, it’s all about joining clubs (we actually joined the Sailing Club so we can go Windsurfing whenever we want). No one will befriend you unless they know you pretty well. We’ve been putting it off as the idea of social networking just doesn’t do it for us, but there is an NZ/Ozzie club that’s meant to be good with lots of socializing (we presume drinking!!), so are thinking about that. G has been invited to join a pinkies dragon boat team, and I’ve just joined a photography club so I can finally learn how to use our complicated camera properly, and make some friends. I would love to be able to take better pics, so I should learn some stuff and go on some cool field trips too. Hopefully you’ll start to see an improvement in the pics next month! Talking of which, hope you like the new ones. Quite a few of you wanted to see the apartment, but it’s quite a big complex and tricky to get the right angles. Still, I hope they give you an idea – the outside is more flash than inside! The units are your basic 4 concrete walls with tiled floors, standard kitchen and bathrooms.
Our other big, new experience was going to the movies for the first time. The locals are getting the message about turning mobiles off now (quite recent apparently), but they make up for that with slurping and munching all the way through a movie, plus throat clearing really loudly, and laughing hysterically at stuff that’s not even funny!!
So, what’s hot and what’s not this month? Well. It’s all about value for money as we find our way around this place:
HOT:
Little India – a great place, full of Indian atmosphere and fantastic restaurants where you can get a wonderful Masala Dosai for $2.50 and large bottle of beer for $5.50. CD shops, all of which sell them for $20 or under – and that includes all the latest stuff. Book shops seem to be able to sell books between $5 and $10 cheaper than NZ too. Cheap wine!!!! Well, not exactly, but we have found a place the size of the Warehouse that sells lots of wine and their specials are around $15 to $18 – quite good stuff too, lots of Californian and Chilean reds which are cheerful enough when you’re in the mood and got nowt else! Euro 2008 is BIG over here. Of course, the Asians love their football and this tournament has got everyone going. Some companies are letting their staff work flexi time so they can stay up to watch the 2.30am matches live on cable TV.
NOT:
Petrol and transport prices. Like everywhere else in the world, this is a big concern and they’re hitting motorists hard (it’s very much a user pays society here) with added levies and taxes for driving in the city etc..This all means that the MRT is getting busier and more cramped – they recorded 5 MILLION trips last month alone. Plus, of course, it’s much safer to sleep on the train than behind the wheel!
Pig Organ soup –yes that old, family favourite that is still dished out at the local hawker food market is still available, but the younger generation don’t appear to be as keen on it as, say KFC, so it may be off the menu in many places soon. No – we haven’t tried it!
And that’s about it from us folks for this month. Hope you’re all well and happy. A BIG THANKS to everyone who’s made contact us – great to hear from you. The rest of you….please do email us, or post something on the blog – we’d love to hear from you.
Cheers
J and G
Thursday, May 22, 2008
WELCOME to our first ever Blog, and greetings from sunny Singapore!
Those of you who don’t know (where have you been??), Gareth was given the opportunity to work in Singapore, so we decided once again to leave Wellington behind, and explore life in South East Asia. Coming from the Southern Hemisphere, I guess our blog should be called South East meets South Westerners, but that was too long and doesn’t quite work, so East meets West it is.
We arrived on March 31st via Sydney (thanks again Doctor Bob for your fantastic hospitality!) and Bali (fantastic diving) with not much more than the clothes we were carrying and few bits G has brought over earlier, so the first week or so was very strange and we didn’t feel like we were “at home” at all. A month and a half on and with all our stuff now around us, and a familiarity with the island, things are much better.
So, what it’s like living in Singapore? HOT – simple as that. We thought our barometer had broken and were about to put an insurance claim in because it hadn’t moved from 30 degrees for 3 weeks. Then, one night we had a storm and it went down to 28 degrees. Conclusion – it’s just 30 degrees in our apartment night and day! I’d have to say that living on the East Coast is great though – there is a cycle/walking track that takes you to the beaches and neighbouring towns/villages, so we can safely cycle round to the beach to catch the breeze. The swimming pool at the apt complex is getting a lot of use too – how did we ever live without one??
We’ve also found a brilliant market that’s open every day till about 10 at night and is operated mainly by Malaysians. They sell everything from sarongs to saris and the BEST and CHEAPEST fruit and veggies on the island. Everything is either $1 or $2 and the food is delicious. Their fresh chickens are delish, and they even cut the heads and feet off for us pinkies (Westerners)! Mind you, I think we’re the only pinkies who go, I’ve never seen any others there, and of course we’re as much an amusement to them as they are to us when bargaining over a 50 cent bag of spices!!
Singapore itself holds no surprises – it is what it is – a small island no bigger than Lake Taupo with a population of 4 million (and growing). So, very few houses to be seen, high rises and apartment complexes everywhere. It’s very lush with beautiful gardens and flowers and tropical trees everywhere. Tropical fruit is cheap and everywhere – the same of which can be said for shopping malls. If you want to shop – this is the place baby!!! Everything you can imagine is here and most if it at a fraction of the price you’d normally pay (apart from labels). Shoes, bags, clothes, TV’s, household stuff, everything you could want, and lots that you don’t really need, but would like to have anyway!! Locals have 2 favourite pastimes – shopping (of course!), and falling asleep in public places. The MRT (local transport network) is full of people asleep at all times of the day or night. Some of them have even learnt to sleep standing up if they can’t get a seat (honestly!), You do get the feeling at times that it’s all too “nice” though and you just want someone to say a rude word in public, flash at an old person, or just dare to cross the line. Alas, they don’t.
So, What’s Hot and What’s not in Singapore right now?
HOT
The weather!, cold showers, Lush FM (a local radio station that’s very cool and sent me free tickets to the Giles Peterson gig held here last week end), air conditioning, the MRT for being reliable and easy to use, KC DAT who delivered all our stuff, gave us a free bag of goodies on arrival, came back 2 weeks later to professionally hang all our artwork and have invited us to a welcome cocktail party (wot service!!), Mel’s pub that serves PINTS of Heineken at $6 up to 6pm and $8 up to 8pm., you don’t want to buy any after 8 when they go to full price of $11, but usually do….
NOT
The humidity!, the bureaucracy and form filling you have to go through to get anything done, the full price of a pint, the full price of a bottle of wine (you can’t afford to be an alcoholic over here!!), local TV which is crap, the MRT for being so popular it’s packed most of the time and you can't get a seat coz everyone's asleep on them!
There’s lots more to tell, but will wait till next time in case the next few weeks are particularly dull, although I doubt it with lots of work coming up for both of us, except to say that we are well and happy and hope that you are too. We trust that you will enjoy future posting and please keep in touch with all the news from home and abroad.
Cheers J & G
We arrived on March 31st via Sydney (thanks again Doctor Bob for your fantastic hospitality!) and Bali (fantastic diving) with not much more than the clothes we were carrying and few bits G has brought over earlier, so the first week or so was very strange and we didn’t feel like we were “at home” at all. A month and a half on and with all our stuff now around us, and a familiarity with the island, things are much better.
So, what it’s like living in Singapore? HOT – simple as that. We thought our barometer had broken and were about to put an insurance claim in because it hadn’t moved from 30 degrees for 3 weeks. Then, one night we had a storm and it went down to 28 degrees. Conclusion – it’s just 30 degrees in our apartment night and day! I’d have to say that living on the East Coast is great though – there is a cycle/walking track that takes you to the beaches and neighbouring towns/villages, so we can safely cycle round to the beach to catch the breeze. The swimming pool at the apt complex is getting a lot of use too – how did we ever live without one??
We’ve also found a brilliant market that’s open every day till about 10 at night and is operated mainly by Malaysians. They sell everything from sarongs to saris and the BEST and CHEAPEST fruit and veggies on the island. Everything is either $1 or $2 and the food is delicious. Their fresh chickens are delish, and they even cut the heads and feet off for us pinkies (Westerners)! Mind you, I think we’re the only pinkies who go, I’ve never seen any others there, and of course we’re as much an amusement to them as they are to us when bargaining over a 50 cent bag of spices!!
Singapore itself holds no surprises – it is what it is – a small island no bigger than Lake Taupo with a population of 4 million (and growing). So, very few houses to be seen, high rises and apartment complexes everywhere. It’s very lush with beautiful gardens and flowers and tropical trees everywhere. Tropical fruit is cheap and everywhere – the same of which can be said for shopping malls. If you want to shop – this is the place baby!!! Everything you can imagine is here and most if it at a fraction of the price you’d normally pay (apart from labels). Shoes, bags, clothes, TV’s, household stuff, everything you could want, and lots that you don’t really need, but would like to have anyway!! Locals have 2 favourite pastimes – shopping (of course!), and falling asleep in public places. The MRT (local transport network) is full of people asleep at all times of the day or night. Some of them have even learnt to sleep standing up if they can’t get a seat (honestly!), You do get the feeling at times that it’s all too “nice” though and you just want someone to say a rude word in public, flash at an old person, or just dare to cross the line. Alas, they don’t.
So, What’s Hot and What’s not in Singapore right now?
HOT
The weather!, cold showers, Lush FM (a local radio station that’s very cool and sent me free tickets to the Giles Peterson gig held here last week end), air conditioning, the MRT for being reliable and easy to use, KC DAT who delivered all our stuff, gave us a free bag of goodies on arrival, came back 2 weeks later to professionally hang all our artwork and have invited us to a welcome cocktail party (wot service!!), Mel’s pub that serves PINTS of Heineken at $6 up to 6pm and $8 up to 8pm., you don’t want to buy any after 8 when they go to full price of $11, but usually do….
NOT
The humidity!, the bureaucracy and form filling you have to go through to get anything done, the full price of a pint, the full price of a bottle of wine (you can’t afford to be an alcoholic over here!!), local TV which is crap, the MRT for being so popular it’s packed most of the time and you can't get a seat coz everyone's asleep on them!
There’s lots more to tell, but will wait till next time in case the next few weeks are particularly dull, although I doubt it with lots of work coming up for both of us, except to say that we are well and happy and hope that you are too. We trust that you will enjoy future posting and please keep in touch with all the news from home and abroad.
Cheers J & G
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