Lunchtime at the Marina

Thunderbird

One thing I love about living here is the huge, deafening tropical storms (also love the clouds, but that's a different story).  We are in the middle of one at the moment.  Thunder that makes you jump out of your skin has been rolling over head for the last hour.  The rain is coming down in fast and furious sheets and the building site across the way is shrouded in mist, the banging drowned out by the sound of wind and rain lashing the trees.  Bliss. What I love most of all is that I am tucked up at home with a good book and I can put the lights on and feel cosy.  I have the balcony windows open to let in the cool, moist air and so that I can hear the thunder claps even better.  Actually, some of them are more like thunder explosions and I want to hide behind the sofa or under the covers, as if I was a little girl again.  But mostly I am an awed witness to Mother Nature's fearsome power.

p.s. just when you think it's over, and you are putting the finishing touches to your blog post, it all kicks off again.  What a great day!

Friends and F1

What a lot of excitement we've had, two weekends in a row.  Our friends JT and Sarah book-ended their trip to Thailand with two stopovers in Singapore with us.  They were officially our first 'non-family' guests and I think we were able to provide a similar level of hospitality as that which I was lucky enough to experience when I stayed with them in London.  Their feedback was very positive anyway. Potential future guests: take note. 

We visited a bit of old Singapore (the Changi Prison Museum - I would give it a 5 out of 10) and quite a lot of new Singapore, down by the Marina.  We had the obligatory cocktail in the bar at the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel to take in the view.  Being a property man, JT was impressed with the scale of the building that has taken place in the last 50 years, especially as we had seen glimpses of the old Singapore during our tour of the Changi Prison Museum.

Taking in the view on top of the Marina Bay Sands

Awww, those two

Very impressive

We were lucky enough to get tickets for the Formula 1 night race last weekend and even had two seats in one of the stands.  While JT and Tim watched the start of the race, Sarah and I devised and implemented our buffet strategy at the Raffles Hotel's Billiard Room where we were able to enjoy some corporate hospitality.  You need to have a strategy when a buffet is as outstanding as that one was, otherwise you end up peaking too soon.  We did swap with the boys about half way through the race.  I didn't think I would like it, but was surprised at how exciting it was seeing these huge cars whizz past (too fast to take photos).  At one point, some brave track clearers ran out and started clearing the bit of road in front of us.  They were literally taking their life in the hands and I thought it was all going to end badly when Sebastian Vettel (who led for most of the race) turned the corner and accelerated.  The last guy made a dash for the side, just in time.

The lights of the F1

View from the stands - we were very close!

The aforementioned track cleaner who was almost ketchup all over the track

That blur?  Sebastian Vettel

We were sad to say goodbye to our friends, but know that we will see them again real soon.  Next visitor - little Al who is en route from Saigon as I type!

Sushi on a Sunday evening

Supper at our favourite sushi restaurant.

Getting to grips with the food situation

Food is very expensive in Singapore. Actually, I should qualify that: Western-style food is very expensive in Singapore. Since we arrived, we have been trying to find the most cost-efficient way of buying the food that we want to eat. When Tim's family were staying I put in large food orders with an online mostly frozen/canned food retailer. That worked quite well feeding 7 mouths, but we are now left with large quantities of garlic bread, chicken and pizza bases to get through.

After two months and a few mishaps along the way, I think we have settled on a reasonably good solution: I head down to Carrefour once a week and we buy bread and milk in a variety of different local stores in between trips. Carrefour is a joy because they sell a lot of delicious French food at reasonable prices. A large camembert will set you back $7 (approx £3.50) - the supermarket up the road sells a small slice of my favourite Cambozola cheese for $30 (that's about £15 - yes, it's true). Never, ever would I pay that much. In fact, we are trying to eat more of the local fare which is reasonably priced and tasty. There is a whole section of green vegetables that I have never seen before in Carrefour. Each week I buy one and we experiment in a stir-fry/curry.

Anyway, a couple of weekends ago we decided to venture down to a much-talked about furniture warehouse near the docks. This place has a reputation among expats as being difficult to find but a veritable Aladdin's cave when you get there. We were chuffed that we found it so easily and spent about three hours looking around and then trying to decide what to buy. The bonus is that this place also sells food and wine, cheaply. You pick what you want from a catalogue and they deliver it along with your furniture. Quite random, but somehow it works. I was excited to see so many delicious canned goods available and I merrily ordered a crate (6 cans) of green olives, a crate of black olives, chopped tomatoes, chickpeas etc. The staples. But I was extremely shocked, and actually very amused, when it all arrived. I'll let this picture do the talking. Let's just say, we won't be hiring a full-time maid anytime soon - there is no space in the maid's room!

'Normal' sized can on top, for the purposes of comparison

From now on, instead of taking a bottle of wine when we are invited out to dinner, I will be taking a can of chickpeas. Or a decanted jar of olives. I think a 2500g can of peeled tomatoes might be a step too far.

August

August has flown by and I have been in Singapore nearly two months. It feels like a lot longer. We have both been very busy in the last couple of weeks - Tim trying to deal with the effects of extremely volatile financial markets and me trying to pass my teaching course. I passed the final hurdle yesterday so I can relax now, and maybe have a little down-time.

We've tried to get out and about during the weekends and here are a few photos of Chinatown/Tanjong Pagar taken last Sunday. The old buildings (called shophouses) are lovely and a real contrast to the modern high-rises of the last few decades.



We also visited another temple in Chinatown, much larger than the ones we saw a couple of weeks ago. The golden Budha was spectacular.

Meet Gordon

The newest addition to our household is Gordon, our gecko. He's a bit camera-shy, but I managed to snap this before he ran away. Hopefully I'll get some better shots once he has settled in.

A walk in the Botanical Gardens

Tim and I came across this little fellow on Sunday evening in the Botanical Gardens - I almost missed him as he was so small but the spot of colour drew my eye. He seemed happy to pose for a few photos and appeared very content perched on his palm leaf.

Temples and a cockroach

We've had a lot of excitement for a Saturday. We decided we needed to do something 'cultural' today so thought we would go and visit a few temples in Little India. Little India was just like India! Actually it wasn't, but it was fun. The temples were interesting and colourful. The best bit was our lunch - $14 (about £7) for two fresh naan, paneer, something with okra in it and a large plate of chicken and rice. Oh, and a marsala tea. So delicious. I think Indian is my favourite food, after Italian.

Buddha in the 'Temple of 1,000 Lights'

The ornate entrance to Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple

A spot of lunch

But the real excitement happened before we left the flat. I opened a cupboard to get the camera out and there was a large, brown cockroach staring right back at me. I was shocked, especially as I have no idea how he got in there. Obviously, when you see one cockroach you start thinking that the place must be overrun with them. So our cab ride to Little India was a little frenetic, as Tim called a selection of pest controllers trying to get someone to come and look at the problem today. Our guy Sam duly turned up at 2pm and has done a great job spraying, laying bait and most importantly catching the live one in the cupboard - I did take a picture, but I'll spare you that. Our 'realtor' told us when we were house-hunting that she gets her house sprayed 'every month - just for peace of mind' - I totally get it now.

p.s. I know that these sorts of creepy crawlies are all part of living in the tropics...I'm just not overly keen on sharing my house with them.

A quiet day at home

We got up early this morning - before 7 - and decided to walk to the Botanical Gardens before it got too hot. It is amazing how busy the city is that early in the morning. The park was full of people doing tai chi and the Singaporean take on 'keep fit', which did not look very strenuous. There was a lot of half-hearted arm waving and the instructor had a small tape recorder playing a jazzed up, 'modern' version of Beethoven's 9th (choral) - I think Beethoven would be turning in his grave. There were lots of other people out and about, as well as the ubiquitous maids walking huge, hairy, panting dogs. It is a lovely time of day, before the heat gets too much.

We have spent the rest of the day just chilling. We are really enjoying spending time in our flat. We said we would go out for dinner tonight but have opted for an Ottolenghi special instead. What is great about living here is the range of Asian veggies, spices and carbs available in the shops so we can experiment with some very different dishes. And the local produce is, obviously, a lot cheaper than 'western' food. We will be trying a Malay 'sambal' this evening - it's supposed to be very spicy!

When I am not busy getting distracted, I am also trying to prepare for a grammar lesson that I am teaching on Wednesday - the difference between the future perfect and future continuous tenses. Answers on a postcard please! I am now teaching upper intermediate English learners who are apparently a lot more challenging than my lovely pre-intermediate expat ladies. They ask you tricky questions and expect on-the-spot answers. Pesky students! So it requires a lot more preparation - as the teacher, I am the middle(wo)man between the grammar book and the class. So that requires me to understand the grammar myself and then put it into simple terms so that they understand, whilst ensuring that my lessons are fun, engaging and 'student-centred'. Not a lot to ask really.

Family time

The family have been here a week and a bit. I've been busy having so many guests to look after - just keeping us in the staples (bread, milk and butter) is nearly a full-time job let alone everything else. The washing machine has been going non-stop as has the aircon. But practicalities aside, they are really enjoying themselves and love the facilities on offer in our condo, the pool and tennis courts in particular. Apart a bit of background noise from the building site across the way, they could be in paradise.

We all went to Raffles for afternoon tea on Sunday afternoon which I liked much more than I was expecting to. It is almost certainly a clip-joint, but the cakes and sandwiches were delicious (I miss sandwiches) and the atmosphere, with a harp being gently plucked in the background, very pleasant. We then retired to the Raffles Long Bar, famous for the Singapore Sling and Tim, his mum and brother and I sat wiling away the last few hours of daylight talking about home and a lot of other things besides. They put bowls of peanuts on your table here and you are supposed to eat them and then throw the shells on the floor. I really liked the atmosphere in the Long Bar and could imagine what it would have been like in the colonial times. Although it was overrun with tourists, it didn't have that touristy feel to it. I'm not sure about Singapore Slings though - far too sweet for my liking.

Mother and son

Unruly nephew added to the picture

In the long bar with the Phibster

Nothing like a rug to bring the room together

I have just spent a happy hour putting all my books into our two new bookshelves which were delivered this afternoon. It's like hanging out with old friends. We are also the proud owners of our first rug. As you can see, things are staring to take shape...just waiting for the new sofa to arrive!

Chick Chick Chick Chick Chicken

The last week has passed in a blur of study, socialising and Ikea furniture building (I could have paid someone to do the building for me - but where's the challenge in that?). Our visitors arrive at 10:30 tonight and I think we are almost ready. They have a mammoth journey: Northern Ireland to Dublin, Dublin to Abu Dhabi, three hours in Abu Dhabi and then on to Singapore. I am sure they are going to be extremely tired when they arrive, so we want to make sure that they can just crash and then relax for the first few days of their journey. Friends have lent us all sorts of things for my nephew, including a travel cot and lots of toys. I think he is going to have a great holiday - even if he doesn't remember it! Anyway, this is where they will be chilling out:

On the socialising front, we have been busy entertaining friends new and old, which has been fun. I decided to do a 'mid-week' roast last Wednesday (inspired by my friend Sarah), so after my course finished late, I hot-footed it to the supermarket to buy potatoes, chicken and salad. Although I am a closet vegetarian, I am not normally too squeamish around raw meat. So when I got home, I unpacked the chicken, noted that it was extremely fresh as it had been killed that day and checked its innards to see if there were any giblets I should be aware of. As I placed the bird back on the chopping board, I was dismayed to see a small, white, ghostly head (with one eye) looking up at me. Dry-heave. A moment of indecision: do I wait for Tim to deal with this (which would mean eating later) or do I pull myself together and hack it off? As I got our biggest knife and something to cover the head with, I made an immediate resolution to become a full-blown vegi, out and proud (I have since reneged on that - it was the salami pizza we ate last night, I couldn't resist). I was particularly disturbed that this ghostly head had earlier in the day had been full of feathers, running around clucking! I can't believe that something could go from alive to completely and utterly dead and plucked within a day. When he was carving, Tim kindly showed me the feet (thankfully I didn't see those when I put it in the oven), which looked like small, shrivelled grandma hands. Bleurgh.

I realise that this story shows me up to be the cosseted city girl that I am, but I guess I was just a little shocked. We don't serve our meat like that back home! I don't want to see head or feet or eyes! Two big white breasts and a couple of legs is enough for me...although I'm not sure that sounds quite right right...

Now the cleaner has been...

...I can show you a few select shots of the flat. Once my new bookcases and chest of drawers arrive next Tuesday I will be able to show you everything, no holds barred! You will see that the flat is still pretty bare, but I quite like the fact that I could do a cartwheel pretty much anywhere at the moment. We are just loving all the extra space that we have!

(the sofa in the office that we assembled on Saturday morning - we must do it more often, as it was a real bonding experience and we felt very pleased with the result).

The 'Jack and Jill' guest bathroom with two doors!

One week

It rained all day yesterday but today the sun is shining. I have spent the morning clearing boxes which has been very satisfying, but I have got to the point where we have run out of things to unpack into to, so I am going to call it a day for now. Once the Ikea delivery arrives, I am heading out on the hunt for furniture and then I have booked myself a mani/pedi as a treat later this afternoon.

I started my TEFL course on Monday and my second day was Wednesday. I'm glad it is not full-time as I think it would be more than I can handle at the moment. The rest of the week I have time to unpack, run errands, wait in for deliveries and generally sort things out. But I have enjoyed the first two days, and teaching adults is going to be a very pleasant change from the rug rats I had in London. The course is already teaching me things that would apply to my teaching practice in general and as an extra bonus, I think I might have made a couple of new friends.

Tim is so excited about having our own table and chairs that he has been inviting all the people he has met so far in Singapore and their wives to dinner. We entertained for the first time last night and it went well. I attempted my first meringue for desert which, as my Mum says, is very forgiving and it ended up in a chewy, creamy, fruity Eton mess. Just how I like it. I unpacked all my cook books this morning so for next week's guests I am going to try something a little more ambitious.

My first full week in Singapore has flown by, but we have accomplished a lot. I have had moments of feeling homesick - not having been away from home for such a long time, I kind of forgot what it felt like. But if we didn't have such wonderful family and special friends back home then I wouldn't get homesick at all, so I remind myself how lucky I am and get busy settling in and embracing this Asian adventure.

The move

I arrived in Singapore on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning first thing the movers arrived. On reflection, it was quite liberating living with only a few belongings in our serviced apartment. Many of the things we unpacked on Saturday could (and should) have stayed in the UK - Tim's winter coats in particular. I am not sure how they crept into the boxes, but just looking at them makes me break out into a sweat. Still, we were both happy to see certain things again: Tim is overjoyed to have the TV back, I loved making our bed after a three-month hiatus. I was also oddly moved to unwrap the wine decanter, a family heirloom that is older than I am. It was like being reunited with an old friend.

This is how things are taking shape in the flat:

Our bedroom - the bed is the only thing in it at the moment

The living/dining area. TV console, new table and chairs delivered on the day of the move! No other furniture as yet.

We are having a temporary sofa and a bed for the spare room delivered today, so I will post some more pics later, once things are looking ship shape. In other news, the Singtel man came early and connected the internet so I am now available for Skype calls. I don't know where I would find the time for a full-time job...

The (very) long goodbye

My last two weeks in the UK passed in a blur. I spent some great time with some wonderful friends who have been so supportive and accommodating. I bumped into people I thought I wouldn't see before I left which made me extremely happy. I returned to the bosom of my family. When the final goodbye arrived, I (mostly) managed to hold it together and there weren't too many tears. I am sure the Power of the Internet and Skype in particular will make it feel like we aren't so far away. Now it's time to embrace this Asian adventure!

Singapore from the sky

Vietnam - Day 2

It wasn't all play - Al actually had to do some work on our second day so I tagged along and tried to look 'professional'. The first meeting we had was with a luxury travel company who organise tours in South East Asia. I sat in on that meeting and got really excited about how many places we have to explore in this part of the world. Then we headed to the nearby Park Hyatt for another meeting Al had with the General Manager and his team. When we arrived (both of us in shorts, me looking like a hippie) the GM and about fifteen other people were lined up waiting for us in the lobby. We both felt a little embarrassed about 1) how late we were and 2) that we both looked like hippies. Lucky for me, I was able to skip that meeting and was whisked off instead for a complimentary breakfast and then an hour by the pool. Lovely! The Park Hyatt is the best hotel in the city and is extremely civilised (photos below).

My kind of place

As I was living the high life, Al was being given a detailed tour of every room in the place (nearly) and was valiantly trying to 'warm' her tour guides up - all she wanted was a smile! No luck, so we reconvened back at the Hotel Continental and hit the shops for a small-scale shopping spree. Extremely small-scale.

Another meeting in the afternoon resulted in quite a few changes to the Vietnam plans and by the evening we were both booked on new flights - me to fly back to Singapore, Al to Danang where she was booked in to see the Nam Hai (http://www.thenamhai.com/). So with our plans somewhat altered, we decided to make the best of our last night together. We headed up to the Saigon, Saigon bar for a cocktail. The bar was famous in the Vietnam war as the place where all the journalists would gather after a day reporting in the field. All the big news agencies were based in the Hotel Carravelle below. Across the square is the Rex Hotel, also famous as the CIA headquarters during the war. The bar didn't seem to have changed much and it was an extremely pleasant and breezy place to enjoy a Journalist's Juice (my drink) or a Saigon Sour (Al's) and take in the Ho Chi Minh skyline at night.

Saigon, Saigon bar - it really didn't look like it had changed at all in thirty years

The tall pointy building is the latest addition to the HCM skyline - they built a helipad on the side (just visible) but didn't think to ask whether they could land helicopters on it. They can't!!

Al propping up the bar

After a quick turnaround we headed to a trendy ex-pat hangout right on the banks of the Mekong River. After a few false starts with the cab driver (and wrong turns) we eventually got there and it was a blissful oasis of calm compared to the rest of our trip. Our table was right on the Mekong - we could have dipped our toes in the water - and we sat watching the boats float by and generally felt super relaxed. The photos don't really do it justice...but it was a very special place.

The Mekong at night

Ethnic

We both decided that we need to have a Vietnam War movie marathon when we got home - sitting by the Mekong made me want to see Apocalypse Now, Good Morning Vietnam and maybe even Air America again. Any other suggestions?

I was really sad to say goodbye to Al the next day at the airport. Al has been with me for the last week and a half, exploring Singapore and just generally keeping me company, so being back here without her is weird. But she is off doing much more exciting things - Cambodia today, Hong Kong on Friday!

To summarise my short trip to Vietnam though - I'll be back!

Vietnam - Day 1

I'm back from Vietnam and that bit closer to flying home - but where is home nowadays? Normally I would say where my family is...but that isn't right because it doesn't include Tim. And I am not living permanently in Singapore just yet. So I think I will say that I am 'between homes', which is actually very close to the truth. The house hunt here has lost momentum. We found a place we liked, the owners rejected both our offers, so we are thinking about whether to go for our second choice, or put the whole search on hold until I come back in June. To be decided.

So Al and I hopped on a plane early Monday morning and took a short flight to Ho Chi Minh city (HCM) or Saigon, as the locals call it. Al was scoping out the place for a party and I tagged along for the ride. We stayed in the Hotel Continental (not the Intercontinental, where our cab drivers insisted on taking us, despite our best efforts at clear pronunciation and some use of the international language of sign). The Hotel Continental is in one of the best locations in Saigon and is housed in an extremely attractive French colonial building. But that is where the positives end. It is owned by the state tourist board and they are missing a big trick. The hotel was last refurbed in the early 80s and it was looking seriously tired. Such a shame, as it could be made into something truly spectacular - perhaps it is the influence of the dead arm of the state that is holding it back. Either way, it was good for me to demonstrate to my sister that I don't always need to stay in 5* hotels :)

Our hotel at night - pretty from the outside!

We explored the city on the first day, in scorching heat. I was surprised how hot it was - much hotter than Singapore. I had to make an emergency hat purchase in the Diamond Mall (I hadn't been in a mall for at least 12 hours by that point, so I needed a hit) but it was a case of buy in haste, repent at leisure. Let's just say, the hat won't be modelled outside of Vietnam. Still, it did the trick. After that we walked up a wide, shady boulevard with the Reunification Palace at one end and then headed to a large, smelly and extremely hot indoor market where Al bought three communist hats for a song. By this time, we were both sweating profusely so we headed to a restaurant that supposedly serves the best Vietnamese food in Saigon. Al's dish was good (pork meatballs with rice). I didn't order right. Then it was time for a power snooze.

The Reunification Palace - we weren't really sure what it was all about

The view from the Reunification Palace

Saigon is a hectic place and it turns out that you do need to fear for your life when crossing the road. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of scooters jostling with each other plus buses and taxis. No one looks when they pull out into a main road, no one indicates, they cut each other up and beep their horns constantly but it does seem to work. Apparently, the best way to see the city is on the back of a scooter. If we had stayed in Saigon today that is what we would have been doing. Next time maybe...

In front of the Notre Dame church, with a few scooters in the background

You forget that Vietnam is still a communist country when you see how rampant capitalism is - designer shops are everywhere, everyone has the latest mobile phones, the latest scooters and there are shiny new buildings being thrown up all over the place. But there are also billboards around town that remind you of the communist regime's influence, such as the one below. Even though the government has introduced measures to liberalise the economy, that's as far as they have gone. Did you know, Facebook is blocked in Vietnam? Contradictions abound, but it is a fascinating place and I hope that Tim and I can explore it together soon. It is also the cheapest country I have ever visited!

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