Wine, cheese and heaps of paint

This week flew by and before I knew it, it was Friday and I was at The Australian Chamber of Commerce's Wine and Cheese networking night at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

It was food and drink heaven. There was every Australian and NZ red, white, rose and sparking wine (and beer) you could ever want. Then in the centre of the hall there were stacks of hard, soft and blue cheeses; breads, olives and other antipasti which were all absolutely delicious. On top of all this, there were some guys walking around with strips of juicy lamb and beef steaks (courtesy of The Meat Club) which were to die for. 

I still can't get over how amazing an event AustCham Wine and Cheese is - it takes place annually and I will definitely be back next year!

AustCham Wine & Cheese

After ingesting our body weight in steak, cheese and wine; a colleague and I headed over to Bar.Nkd on Club Street to meet Phil and some pals. We then walked a couple of doors up to Beaujolais where we drank and danced until the early hours.

Club Street is a great place to hang out and drink on a Friday night. They pedestrianise the area at night so all the bars spill out into the street. It kind of has that European holiday strip vibe, but without the fishbowls of miscellaneous cocktails and people vomiting on the pavement...

The next morning we went for brunch at Breko in Holland V with Phil's colleagues, then the two of us headed over to Sentosa Island to meet some of my colleagues for Singapore's 2016 Colour Run. Running in 35 degrees was sweaty and tough, but they put on a bit of a festival afterwards where we drank beer, threw paint and danced for hours in the sun. It was awesome.

This evening we met some pals over at Fort Canning Park for a picnic and to watch Anchorman as part of the the 'Films at the Fort' open air cinema. It's this kind of thing that makes me love Singapore so much. The weather and the expat crowd means there's so much to do and this weekend I feel like we have really made the most of what's on offer over here.

Waiting for Anchorman to begin..

Today marks our second month living in Singapore and I still haven't found anything about the country to complain about!

So many emotions.

Day 12 in Singapore was a real roller coaster.

I had an interview for an events role at an international school at midday, so I spent the morning prepping and getting nervous for that. I think the interview went alright but got the impression they had already filled the role so left feeling a little disappointed. I'm not sure when I'll hear back but my hopes aren't high.

Phil had asked me to pack a bag the night before with something smart, something casual and swim wear and to meet  him at the cable car to Sentosa Island after my interview. Needless to say, as soon as I had left the interview I was buzzing for what the rest of the day had in store!

We got the cable car over to Sentosa and spent a good chunk of the afternoon being big-kids.. whizzing along the 450m MegaZip wire, racing each other on the Luge and showing off on the flying trapeze. Sentosa really is just one massive playground. They also have a Universal Studios and waterpark there too which might be something we pop back to do another time.

Whilst we were queuing for the zip wire, we received an email from our realtor telling us that our offer on the Holland Hill condo had been accepted and it was all systems go to get all the paperwork signed off. We are still BUZZING. We wangled the price down a lot and the landlord has thrown in a new bed and mattress for good measure :)

The cable car to Sentosa

MegaZip Wire

Flying Trapeze

As dusk neared Phil said we had to go as had somewhere to be which he had arranged as a surprise... so we hopped into a cab and Phil asked the driver to take us to... wait for it... Marina Bay Sands Hotel. WTactualF.

We checked into our room on the 38th floor, and, as we entered the room, the curtains opened to reveal the most spectacular sunset over the city.

The view from our hotel room

We headed up to the infinity pool on the 57th floor and basked in the beauty of it all as the sun set and the city lights came alive.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel infinity pool

Once our fingers were sufficiently prune-like we spruced up and had dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Spago restaurant at Sands SkyPark where we got suitably drunk on Sancerre and Martinis.

It really was crazy day. The nerves of the interview, the excitement of moving to a new country and getting a home together, the adrenaline rush on Sentosa and the pure joy and awe of staying at Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

A day neither of us will never forget for sure.

Week 1 - getting to know the Garden City

I arrived in Singapore on the morning of Saturday 23rd April which meant Phil and I had a full weekend to familiarise ourselves with the city together. A friend from the UK was also in Singapore for business so the three of us spent an excellent Saturday night having drinks down at a bar with a microbrewery called Brewerkz on Clarke Quay followed by a boozy brunch at Tanjong Beach Club and a long sunbathe on Sentosa island the next morning. Safe to say we are all thrilled that boozy brunches are a thing here too!

Beaches with my beaches

I was left to my own devices for the rest of the week as Phil was back at work. I'm happy the MRT (tube) system is even simpler than London so I had no trouble finding my way around China Town, Tajong Pagar and Tiong Bahru and eating at the delicious (and cheap!) Hawker Centres.

I also spent a day in the Botanical Gardens. It was easy to while away the day here as there's a lot to see - it's huge. I could have listened to the sounds in the Rainforest Garden for hours. In fact, maybe I did. I'm keen for Phil and I to go back together, would be a great place to take a picnic and a good book.

Aside from seeing the city, I've also tried to make good use of my time in finding a job out here as I'm getting itchy feet to find my own thing ASAP when we make the move properly together at the end of June. This week I met with a PR professional and the Chief of Singapore Government Communications who have both agreed to put me in touch with some companies who might be looking to recruit. I've also got an interview lined up for next week!

We have been trying to cram lots in to our evening's together and get to know the night life of the city. We've had two delicious dinners this week - the first at Me@Oue which is located in one of the towers in the City and has amazing views over Marina Bay Sands, and the other was a cute little Italian called Paolo Bistro Bar just up the hill from The Rochester Park Hotel by Buena Vista MRT. Would definitely go to both again.. and again.

The view from Me@Oue

On Wednesday night we met a few friends at The Exchange for drinks. The Exchange reminded me of a banker bar in the City of London; a lot of Western men in white shirts and a lot of booze..! After the Exchange we headed to Club Street, which confusingly doesn't have any clubs, but has a good array of eateries and bars. We then stumbled upon some live music at a place called Octapas on Clarke Quay, followed by an evening of repetitive Pitball tracks at Attica. Clarke Quay seems a good place to be of an evening in Singapore - a huge variety of places to eat and drink and a great atmosphere right along the river front.

The other activity we crammed into our evenings this week was the famous Night Safari. Neither of us really knew what to expect as we are both quite anti the idea of keeping animals in captivity, however we were happy to see the animals had large enclosures and the Safari workers/tour guides assured the animals' welfare was well looked after and protected. 

It was a great first week, and in a way quite good Phil was working all day so I could familiarise myself with the city properly. That said, I'm looking forward to Phil being off next week so we can spend some fun days together!