No work, all play

It's been a slightly strange week for me this week as, after starting my new job last Monday, I wasn't able to go back in this week due to a delay with my background check being approved. It has been a right pain as this was the week I should have been shadowing three events which I will then have to manage next month. Anyway, these things happen and my fingers are crossed that my check will come through today and I can be back in work as normal again come Monday!

As I haven't been working, I have once again been filling my days with yoga, swimming, shopping and meeting new friends.

I adore Yoga Movement classes - this week I tried normal Yoga Power which is so much better than hot Yoga Power (as I could actually breathe!) and also another Yoga Core which involved continuous planks and leg raisers for an hour. That was two days ago. I still ache. 

I've discovered this quirky little place called the Plain Vanilla Bakery a few doors up from the Tiong Bahru studio which is a great treat after yoga. The bakery floor is covered in fake grass and cushions and they have the most delicious little cupcakes of every flavour.

I mentioned I've been shopping. Now, if you haven't already heard of Daiso, you need to. It's Japanese and has all the weird and wonderful things you would expect; from kawaii stationary, clothing and home decor, all the kitchenware you will never need and lots of great Japanese snacks and canned hot coffee. The best thing about Daiso is that everything costs $2 SGD. It's a dream.

Phil and I also headed to Dempsey Hill to check out all the cool shops selling rugs, furniture, lamps and other soft furnishings. Dempsey Hill shops felt alot like Bali - lots of statues and carvings we really wanted to buy but wouldn't have anywhere to put. We did buy a fun candle holder though, and spent a bit of time trying to 'feng shui' our living room when we got back.

Dempsey Hill purchase

Now our apartment is looking a little more homely and our fridge is well stocked; we had a few friends over for dinner mid-week. It's been really nice cooking and hosting again and we've got a few more dinner parties, game nights and BBQs planned in the coming weeks and months. 

I also went on another blind 'friend-date' with a girl I met on InterNations. We went for breakfast at Baker and Cook in Holland V and ended up chatting for hours. I love how easy it is to make friends here. I can't begin to imagine the reaction I would get in the UK if I asked a random girl I met online for a coffee. One of the many good things about Singapore!

It's Friday today so we're out with some pals in the CBD. Tomorrow we have been invited to a Singaporean wedding which I'm really looking forward to. Will update on that next week :)

Living in Singapore: one month review

I can't believe I have already been in Singapore for a month. The time has flown by. To mark the occasion, I thought I would post an update on some of the things I have learnt about living in Singapore over the last month:

1. Embrace the sweat. Being British, we are alot more used to shivering than we are sweating. It's been anywhere between 32-37 degrees since I moved here so it's safe to say you're gonna sweat, but it's ok.

2. Always pack an umbrella. It will be hot and sunny, then the heavens will open and it will bucket down for about an hour most days. Be prepared and always pack a brolly.

3. Eat cheaply, and deliciously. I haven't done this enough, but the Hawker Centres here serve some of the most delicious food from all across Asia and it will only cost you around $3-5 SGD. 

4. Buy the booze in duty free. Alcohol is ridiculously expensive here (about $60 SGD for an average bottle of wine) so buy as much as you're allowed in duty free on the way in. 

5. Join some clubs. So many people move here knowing no-one and the nature of expat living means that people come and go regularly, friendship groups change and newbies are always welcomed in with open arms. There are so many sports and social activities on offer in Singapore so sign up for yoga, skating, cycling, diving, kayaking, dragon boating, badminton, football, touch rugby, cricket, hiking, climbing, language exchange, board game nights, brunch club etc. Make connections, try everything. 

6. Learn some Singlish. Singlish is Singapore's colloquial English; a kind of mash-up of words from across the region. There are hundreds of Singlish words I haven't grasped, but the bare minimum that anyone living here will need to know are: 'can' = 'yes', 'cannot' = 'no' and 'lah' = which is added on to the end of most sentences or words.

7. Travel. Singapore is perfectly located to travel around all of South East Asia, as well as Central Asia and Australasia. It's incredibly cheap and easy to get a flight or ferry out to Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand on a Friday evening and return Sunday evening in time for the new working week. 

8. Accept the faff of food shopping. Food shopping is time-consuming and/or expensive in Singapore. It's tricky to find everything you need in one place so I have now learnt to buy meat, fish, fruit and veg from the local wet market on a Saturday morning; and sauces, condiments and any other tinned or jarred food from Cold Storage, FairPrice or online at Red Mart. Any 'western luxuries' like cheese or cold meats are extortionate so might be wise to ween yourself off before moving to Singapore!

9. It's normal to have a live-in helper.. or a weekly cleaner at the very least. Everyone I have spoken to with children (and even some without) have a live-in helper who will taxi the child/ren to school, shop, cook, iron and clean. This is normal here and not seen as a crazy, unnecessary luxury as it would in the UK. 

10. The MRT, buses and taxis are excellent. The MRT is super cheap and efficient, the buses travel like clockwork to and from everywhere, and the taxi service is a great back-up if you're feeling lazy. It takes up to 30 mins to drive from one end of the city to the other and using Uber is such good value it makes you wonder why you don't just take taxis everywhere all the time!

I'm sure I could keep adding to this list, but these are the top 10 I can think of this morning.

The last thing I'll say is that Singapore is such a busy, bustling and vibrant place and - although it may be the other side of the world - the expat culture makes the transition easy. Every morning I wake up, look out the window and realise how lucky I am to be here.

Sunrise over the city

Throwing ourselves into Singapore life

We've been back in Singapore for one week now so I thought it was as good a time as any for a new post. I have thrown myself into Singapore life and am loving it! 

Phil and I landed at 7am last week so had a full day together before he was back at work Wednesday morning. So, we did what most people in a new home do and head to IKEA to buy all the things we did (and didn't) really need.

Priority purchase

We also got the groceries in and have quickly learnt that we've been a bit spoilt in the UK. Back home, you can pop to Sainburys, Tesco etc and get anything and everything you need for a reasonable price. Over here, it is a bit trickier to find everything in one place so instead we are picking up odd bits here and there from different markets. There are a few Sainsburys-like supermarkets around such as Cold Storage, but it is so expensive so would quickly bankrupt us if we shopped there all the time. 

So far we've mostly been living off home-made Pad Thai (thanks to our Asia Scenic cookery class in Chiang Mai). We've been trying not to eat out too much this week but did give-in to the steak at L'Entrecote on Duxton Hill (same as the one in London's Marylebone), and a delicious Saturday morning breakfast at a place called Hatched in Holland V. Hatched is amazing - the whole menu is eggs served in a hundred different ways and it's great value for money.I think we will be back there next weekend.. and maybe the weekend after..

Sir Benedict
(AKA the best EB you will ever eat)

As I've not had that much to do during the days, I've kick-started my fitness by running through the Green Corridor (ok.. so I did only manage 4km but you try running in 31C and 70% humidity!), swimming, and trying out a local yoga class. I've also signed up to try another yoga class, kickboxing and touch rugby in the next week or two which I'm really looking forward to.

This week also involved getting the internet and gas up and running and our apartment is now starting to look a little more homely with plants and flowers around the place.

Had fun fitting this in an Uber

The best thing about this week has got to be Friday night. I made a pal online through InterNations a few weeks ago and he invited Phil and I out for drinks after work with some of his colleagues and friends. It was so much fun, we all got on really well and I'm sure we will be seeing a lot more of them! 

It's only been a week, but Singapore is such a bustling and beautiful place I cannot imagine wanting to leave anytime soon.

Week 2 - exploring Singapore

On Saturday we headed over to East Coast Park, rented some bikes and cycled around for a couple of hours, working up a bit of a sweat in the 36c heat! Phil taught me to cycle with no hands - possibly one of my biggest achievements this year..

We then stumbled into Little India, spotting some fun umbrella trees before getting lost in the extremely busy and intimidating, 400,000 sq ft department store called the Mustafa Centre. (Top tip: DO NOT GO ON A WEEKEND).

Umbrella Tree

In the evening we had set up a bit of a blind double-date (an intro through a friend of a friend) with a lovely couple who treated us to drinks at Rabbit Carrot Gun on the East Coast Road. Not only were they a fun couple to get to know, but Phil's going to join the guys football team and they've also put me in touch with someone who works in International Development which I'm really interested in being involved with over here.

We treated ourselves to another terrific brunch on Sunday at a little place called Jones's on Dempsey Hill. Dempsey Hill seems like a pretty cool place as it's an old army base with a few little quirky shops and eateries. The brunch we had was absolutely delicious so will be back there in a heartbeat I'm sure.

The Brunch of Champions

We then braved ION at Orchard which was productive albeit a little stressful. Shopping on Orchard reminded me a little of shopping on Oxford Street, but just a tad hotter. Not somewhere I want to be popping back to on the regular.

Later in the evening we headed up to Fort Canning Park and watching an open-air theatre production of Romeo & Juliet. The actors captivated the several hundred of us watching and Phil and I both loved it. The MBS light show began right over the top of the park, really brining it home for a moment that we were indeed sitting in the middle of a park in Singapore watching Romeo and Juliet. Another slightly surreal one for us I think.

Shakespeare in the Park

 
Phil had this whole week off work so we were able to spend the days together. We planned a full day of condo hunting on Monday and we knew immediately that a condo on Holland Hill was the one for us. The condo is minutes away from two MRTs and Holland Village has a good strip of restaurants, as well as a couple of Hawker Centres and a supermarket so a great location for us. We put an offer on immediately and are buzzing for it.

We went to a couple of other amazing restaurants this week. The first called Level 33 which is in Tower 1 of MBS Hotel. It's the best meal I've eaten in Singpore by far and cannot wait to go back there.

My delicious venison dinner at Level 33

The other delicious meal was at Latteria which is on Duxton Hill. Latteria is a mozzarella restaurant so every starter and main is cheese based - I never knew there were so many types of mozzarella but knowing this has made my life just that little bit happier.