New Year, New Beginning! Happy 2011!

It is almost natural for everyone to reflect on the finishing calendar year, no matter what culture one comes from and whether one celebrates it on a different date of the year. People look back and think of their personal and professional goals and how successful they were achieving them throughout the year. The New Year is a chance to work on those failed attempts and set up new goals, sort of like a New Beginning! We begin with a clean slot again what gives us hope that this time we might be more efficient and proactive, as we start from the scratch with new energy and motivation.

We are in Singapore for more 6 months now and our plans and goals shifted and took a new direction. This is not an excuse, don’t get me wrong, we just had to re-evaluate things and find new goals after moving… After all we are on the other side of the world, in a multi-cultural country where people think differently and again, we are in a minority… What stroke me that in Singapore there is a mix of various New Year beliefs and customs, traditions that come from entirely different Asian countries but they clashed together in this multi-cultural place and the boundaries between them seem a little blur to me. Some of the New Year’s traditions are similar in many countries, but there are few that are specific to a particular geography…

In Japan they have a whole week national holiday to celebrate the New Year! It is one of the major events in Japan. People start cleaning their houses many days before the festival as they believe it to be the best way to get rid off all the dirt of last year. Talking about starting with a clean slot, right? On a New Year’s Eve, people offer prayers at midnight; it is considered highly auspicious to listen to the chimes of a Temple bell. According to the Japanese religion, sound of the 108 chimes drives away all the sins and gives birth to new life. People of Japan usually eat noodles on New Year's Eve which symbolizes closeness and advance for a prosperous New Year. People celebrate the day with great zest and enthusiasm. It is time to be spent with the loved ones. Japanese carry forward celebrations up to January 3rd. They wear religious Kimono dress and visit shrines to pray for longevity and good health.

In Korea people also clean their houses and decorate houses with colorful lights. On the New Year’s Eve people clean their houses. In the evening, Koreans take a bath with hot water and put on new clothes, as a symbol of preparing for the New Beginning. As per the Korean belief, no body should sleep on that night otherwise the eyebrows would turn white. Lights of every room and kitchen are kept on all night. This is a special way to welcome the New Year with brightness and open eyes. Better not go to Korea for New Year’s without good all-night-party-plan, although my eyebrows are already quite fair, so I have no reason to worry!

Thai New Year, also called as Songkran, is celebrated for three days from April 13 to April 15 every year on the Gregorian Calendar. Songkran falls on the hottest time of the year in Thailand. It comes from Sanskrit and means 'a move or change'. The date of Thai New Year was set according to the astrological calculations. Traditions play a very vital role in presenting a true picture of New Year celebrations in Thailand. Traditional activities are performed with serious dedication by the people of Thailand. A most common tradition of throwing water over one another is performed with fun by the people. It is conceived to bring good rains all year ahead. Thais also clean their houses thoroughly and do general preparations for the New Year celebrations. They dress up in new attires to welcome the New Year in a fresh manner. As a part of the New Years celebrations, people visit monasteries and shrines to offer prayers and gifts like rice, fruits, sweets and food for the monks. Following this is the custom to release birds from the cages or fish from the bowls. This is believed to bring good luck for the members of the family. Songkran celebrations are incomplete unless water is thrown on each other. People roam the streets with buckets of water and children play with water guns to drench people. Water is thrown to get rid off all the bad deeds and give a fresh welcome to the New Year. This reminds me of Polish ‘Dyngus Day’ which is a tradition of water throwing on Easter Monday; every person at certain part of their life in Poland got all wet for the Dyngus Day, after all we need to cultivate the traditions, right?

Cambodian New Year is celebrated for three days. According to the Gregorian Calendar, it falls on April 13th or 14th. New Year in Cambodia represents the end of the harvesting season. Everyday people visit temples to get blessings from monks and priests. People of Cambodia follow a tradition to sprinkle holy water on each others faces in the morning, on the chest at noon and on the feet in the evening. New Year in Cambodia is celebrated by performing various rituals and playing number of games. The three day New Year celebration include the following traditions: The first day of the New Year is called Moha Sangkran. It is believed that on this day God's angels come to earth to take care of its creation. To welcome these holy angels, people clean and light up their houses. Members of the family place an idol of Lord Buddha on an altar with flowers, candles, incense sticks, a bowl of scented water, eatables, drinks and shaped out banana leaves. On the second day of the New Year celebrations, people offer charity and alms to the poor. It is also considered good to present gifts to family members and relatives. On the third day of New Year celebrations people wash all the idols of Lord Buddha with scented water. It is said this ensures good rains all year long. Children pay respect to their elders by washing their feet and get blessings in return.

New Year celebration is a grand event of China. New Year festivities last for one month in China. Chinese New Year is also called the Spring Festival. It begins from the middle of the last month of the year and ends up in the first month of the New Year. Chinese New Year falls on a different date every year; in 2011 it starts on 3rd February. Lot of excitement can be seen in the last 15 days of New Year celebrations. Every day has a special importance to it. Chinese ritualize and celebrate each day in a customary manner, on specific days they offer prayers to their ancestors and gods, visit families, prepare sumptuous meals and ask for health and prosperity in the new upcoming year. To prepare for the New Year, Chinese clean their houses, repay any money they owe, get their hair cut, and buy new clothes. They also light up their houses and adorn it with signs of peace and luck. They use red color in all their decorations which is very considered auspicious.

In Singapore the calendar New Year is celebrated as well as the Lunar Chinese New Year. Hey, they get to party twice for the same occasion! People clean and decorate their houses with Chinese New Year’s ornaments in the last few days on the calendar New Year and they keep them until the Chinese New Year’s celebrations. On 31st December Singaporean families gather for a festive dinner, exchange small gifts and wait for the midnight countdown. In Singapore people also have a tradition of buying new clothes, new bed sheets; it’s an occasion to buy new kitchen appliances or furniture. These also symbolize new beginning, fresh new start. Shopping is one of the most popular retail-intensive countries in Asia, shopping malls are open every day and long hours which created a heavy shopping habit among Singaporeans. Shopping malls are usually among popular entertainment spots, which make every day look busy regardless of the day of the week or period of the year. Young Singaporeans meet their friends, cook together and await the magical midnight. In the commercial centre of Singapore there is massive fireworks display, as there is a ban on individual use of firecrackers; these were banned in 1972 after an explosion had killed several people. From 2003 the government allowed firecrackers back again during festive season but only under controlled assistance of the Singapore Armed Forces. Firecrackers are not allowed to be commercially sold, so we will be only able to see the ‘official fireworks’ in the Singapore Central District… The island of Singapore and especially the most popular spots still shine with sparkly Christmas decors now, but they will be taken down shortly after the calendar New Year and replaced with the Chinese New Year red ornaments.

What our New Year Eve will be like? It’s going to be a mix of our European customs, habits and food, but it an entirely new context. The Chinese New Year decorations are already up in our place, the food starts to smell nice; we are just awaiting our multi-cultural Singapore guests! We will have some nice home made food, Desperados, French cider, cheese and crepes; we will drink champagne and eat 12 grapes at midnight the Spanish style…

And what about those New Years resolutions? Well, I find it easy to come up with those, but as many of you, I am not great sticking up to my guns… So as this blog is a good way for me to officially declare my commitment, these are few changes I would like to see happening in my life next year:

I will eat healthy food
I will dance more than this year (including social dancing)
I will go out more with my friends, and my girlfriends!
I will learn more about fascinating Asian religious and cultural customs
I will start learning Mandarin
I will be a good role model for kids (in my volunteer work)
I will travel more than this year
I will update my blog more often… I promise!

I will update you on my progress on a regular basis, just to keep myself on my feet! And if any of you sees me doing the opposite, please kick my a**, I won’t hold it against you! So what about you, what are your New Year’s Resolutions? If there are any similarities between our lists, let me know, we could help each other out!

Well, will go back to cleaning our place and cooking, to cultivate the Asian New Year preparation rituals… I wish you joy, love and motivation to follow your dreams and achieve your goals, have a successful 2011 dear friends! See you next year!!!

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas was the first Christmas we spent without our families, away from our family homes and in tropics, with around 30° C temperature and in the midst of monsoon showers! It was the first Christmas of this kind and I must say, it was really different.

Singapore has been decorated with lights and very unusual and original Christmas trees; especially famous and vivid is the Orchard Road with amazing Christmas atmosphere! Most Singaporeans do not celebrate Christmas the most traditional way, as the majority of Singapore population is of Chinese origin, and therefore Buddhist. Christian population is close to 15%; similar number is for Islam and Atheists; Taoism is only about 8% and Hinduism 4%. Most of my colleagues and friends treat Christmas only as an occasion to visit family, friends or as a time off school or work. They all decorate their houses with trees and lights, exchange presents; it is very much of a more festive family weekend here with more elaborate food and gifts. For many it is also an occasion to get out of Singapore, as I noticed it is a habit for the locals to use any long weekend to travel and spend time in Bali, Phuket or Australia… Wherever a long weekend is approaching, I can see long queues at the Money Changers, as Singaporeans wait patiently for their turn to get foreign currency for their awaited weekends abroad…

Our Christmas was different to the traditional one, a mix between what we know, like and what we have here. On Christmas Eve we did last shopping and rushed home to start our Christmas weekend! It has been a tradition in my house to have ‘pieczonki’ for the Christmas Eve feast, so I took my time to peel and slice potatoes, beetroots, carrots, onions and garlic. For those not familiar with the dish, it is a pot of vegetables cooked in layers: pour some water to a medium size pot, place a layer of potatoes on the bottom, then onions with garlic, several slices of beetroot and carrots and then you go with potatoes and the rest again and again… Normally there is bacon and slices of sausage on the top of every pile to add some flavor to the dish, but as we do not eat meat these days, I added more garlic and onions for better aroma and cooked for about 30 mins! Yummy! I also grilled salmon in the oven; I seasoned it with spring onion, herbs and sprinkled with the fresh lemon and lime juice, wrapped it in the aluminum foil and grilled for about 20 mins. Easy, healthy and quick!

Before starting our Christmas Eve dinner we exchanged wishes for the New Year, without the consecrated wafer unfortunately (it’s ‘oplatek’ in Polish; it’s what is shared during mass, a white thin wafer that symbolizes bread sharing), my mum sent it to us in post, but Singapore Post is apparently very strict on what’s coming in to the country, even via post… After dinner we opened presents, as in Poland we do presents on Christmas Eve, we had a lot of chocolate, the regular Polish-Chritmas-sugar-overdose; we watched a movie and went to sleep before midnight. On 25th December we visited our friends. We had dinner and several drinks; it was nice to see how Singaporeans decorate their house and what they do during Christmas. I had a really good time, although I must admit that Christmas without family is less of a festive occasion, I hope next year we will be lucky to spend it with our folks! Merry Christmas dear Singapore, friends and our loyal blog readers :)

Gunshooting!

Last weekend we booked clay shooting at the Singapore Gunshooting Club. It was a totally new experience to us, especially to me, because I had no experience whatsoever with handling a shotgun! Herve and Simoon, who went with us, play computer games and go to arcades sometimes, so I was the only total layman...

We took a taxi from our place, as the shooting club was on the western side of the island, with very poor public transport connection. The taxi driver wasn’t sure where the club was, so he used his GPS. When we got close, the GPS took us away from the road so we found ourselves in the middle of the field! For a moment we weren’t sure the driver wasn’t some serial killer trying to take us in the unknown area and do ‘you know what’… But soon we reached an asphalt road and we reached the club, in the middle of nowhere…

We had the safety introduction first and we moved to the shooting stations. Got the guns, loaded and the shooting started! Man, that baby weighed 3kg, my right arm hurt for several days after that! We had 25 cartridge shots each. Clay target shooting involves shooters attempting to break clay targets flung into the air at high speed from a variety of angles. Herve got most of them, Simon got a lot and I broke about 4 or 5… Well, we booked for another session, this time with baretta pistols, so I will have a chance to get some more practice!!! Bring it on baby!

Weekend in Kuala Lumpur

My brother Marcin and his wife Dorota visited us for over 2 weeks; they currently live in Nanjing, China. As a part of their holiday we planned to go to KL for a long weekend. I was curious about it, as it was my first time leaving Singapore and visiting a different Asian country. My knowledge about Malaysia was limited to: it’s quite conservative, as it is a Muslim country, they prepare their meat differently, you probably heard of Halal food, and that it’s different to Singapore. Well, from the very first hours in Malaysia, I could feel it was a different world…

When we arrived in KL the queue time to the passport control was longer than the flight… The lady who checked my passport and examined in detail every single page of it and asked if I entered Singapore at all, as there was no chop (Asian word for a stamp!) stating I ever crossed a boarder to Singapore. I was shocked, as I didn’t even know if I was supposed to have a stamp, I travelled a lot in Europe and actually they do not these any more… She started questioning me, as she knew I came from a Singapore flight, and her voice sounded as if she was interrogating me, like I was some illegal immigrant or something… I didn’t feel very comfortable; after all I had been in a holiday mood just starting my long weekend. To prove her I live and work in Singapore I showed her my Singaporean Employment Pass card, which she examined suspiciously, showed it to her nearby colleague speaking Malay, put a Malaysian chop on the first page of my passport and returned my both documents. When I opened my passport I realized that on the same first page where she put her stamp, there was a Singapore chop! Well, maybe she missed the first time she looked at it… I wasn’t really sure… Nice welcome in KL…

After passport control we went for a taxi to get to our B&B. But, as we approached the taxi stand, we only learned that to get a taxi ride we need… a ticket! So, we went back to the main airport building and purchased a ticket from a special taxi ticket counter. We went back then to a taxi stand, with all our bags, and finally took off to KL. When we entered the city we noticed that it’s pretty busy, noisy and dirty… After Singapore our standards became very high, as it’s very very clean, so KL stroke us as poorer than our ‘new hometown’. We found our B&B, refreshed a little and went out for lunch to a nearby restaurant and coffee and cake in Starbucks just across the road from our B&B. The rest of the day we spent in Chinatown, wandering in the local markets and discovering this part of the city. The first and lasting impression was very similar to the one we had in the morning, Chinatown was also dirty and poor… The hygiene standards were bad, the buildings looked old and you could feel the city didn’t get any financial support from the government for a long long time. Even the shops and stand around Chinatown didn’t project high standard of their products… In one of the jewelry stores we saw a security guy, who didn’t wear any uniform, but he had a machine gun! Was this just a culture shock or it’s just me?

The next day we got up early, as we wanted to go up the famous Petronas Towers. I heard from my colleagues that people start queuing for tickets since very early morning, so we were there after 7am. The ticket shop opened at 9am, and we were lucky enough to get tickets for 11am the same day! We had a Malay breakfast, famous Nasi Lemak, and came back for the tour. The view from the 86th floor of the Petronas Towers was fantastic, although the weather that day wasn’t the best. Then we went to the bridge connecting both towers. I must say that it was worth waiting all morning for those views!

In the afternoon we went to a National Mosque of Kuala Lumpur. We all got purple gowns covering us from head to toes, the Muslim way, and we went in, bare foot. When we got to the main point of the mosque we started chatting with a very nice gentleman who was there to give information to tourists like us. He sat down with us for about 30 min and spoke about Islam and some of its rules. Well, I have always perceived myself as a tolerant person, especially when it comes to nationalities, customs and religion, but I couldn’t agree with the traditions and boundaries of Muslim life he told us about. Well, it’s totally different to my Western understanding of life and society, but it was nice to learn more about the Malay lifestyle! We went for dinner to our next-door Moroccan restaurant, in the spirit of discovery, and I must say we all really enjoyed the food…

On Sunday we went to the Batu Caves with one of the most famous Hindu shrine outside of India, up in the mountain cave. But before we got there, we had another ‘culture-shock-experience’ in KL, riding a bus! We took a bus from our street to get to the bus interchange station first. There was a bus driver, and a ticket man. They waited till there was a good bunch of people on the bus and started selling tickets when the bus was full. When the bus took off he sat down on the bus stairs, yes, the ones we used to enter the bus, and stayed there with the bus door was open throughout the whole ride! We were shocked to see this, as he could have easily fallen off the bus at any time and hurt himself! The ticket man was encouraging people in the street to get on the bus, so several times we took more passengers just in the middle of the street! The bus also hit a man who was just crossing the street! That was just unbelievable! We switched the busses on the bus interchange station and we waited again till the bus got full before it could take off. The ticket man was shouting around: ‘Batu Caves! Batu Caves!’, trying to get more customers on the bus. When we finally took off we could see more of the city’s parts, not too different from the city centre… When we arrived at the Batu Caves we saw the world’s tallest statue of Murugan, a Hindu deity, outside of the caves. Batu Caves serves as a pilgrimage site for not only Malaysian Hindus, but Hindus worldwide from countries such as India, Australia and Singapore.

One other thing that stroke us was a sense of fashion in KL. For men, it’s pretty much similar to the Western standards, but most women wear black gowns showing only their eyes. Some other show also their faces, but tourist women are somehow a subject of interest for local men and women alike, as they do look different. Although both, myself and Dorota, we wore more conservative clothes there, we still felt we were looked at constantly…



In the afternoon we went back to the airport, as our KL weekend was coming to an end. There were no major surprises on the KL side this time, but when we arrived in Singapore, we learned we couldn’t purchase alcohol in duty free, as all Malaysia flight passengers are not allowed to buy liquors, according to the local law! I wondered, although Singapore and Malaysia are neighbors and close trade partners, there are still things like this where you can feel there is tension between those two countries! Singapore was formerly part of Malaysia but was separated in 1965 due to political differences and racial tension, so even as a foreigner who might not be aware of the historical background, one can experience some of this tension while travelling!

The weekend in KL was a great learning experience for all of us. It is incredible how different 2 neighboring countries could be. I saw differences between certain European countries before, but never to such a big extent as between Singapore and Malaysia... I am glad I experienced KL, but I was definitely happy to be back in Singapore where I can drink water from the tap, wear what I like and enjoy clean city with safe public transport…

Hungry Ghost Festival

Hungry Ghost Festival is held in 7th month of the lunar year, this year it was celebrated between 10th Aug and 7th Sep 2010 in Singapore. The Taoist Chinese believe that during this time, the gates of hell open for spirits to visit their living relatives. Hence, the seventh month is a time for the Chinese to reminisce and pay respects to their deceased friends and relatives. The Chinese feel that they have to satisfy the imprisoned and hungry ghosts in order to get good fortune and luck in their lives. During this time, they prepare sumptuous meals as offerings to the spirits. Hell money, candles and joss sticks (which are often deemed as food for the spirits) are also burnt as offerings. The communities also organize prayer ceremonies at their temples.

Hungry Ghost Festival or Zhong Yuan Jie is also celebrated with ceremonies at homes, associations, and guilds. Prayers are offered to the dead and offerings of food such as chicken, vegetables, fruits, bean curd and white rice are placed at street corners and roadsides to appease the spirits. This is believed to prevent the wandering spirits from entering their homes and causing disturbances in their households. Offerings are also made at Hungry Ghost Festival or Zhong Yuan Jie by burning replica money notes, which are also known as ‘hell money’. Some families also burn paper houses, cars and even paper television or radio sets to give to their dead relatives. The Chinese feel that these offerings reach the ghosts and help them live comfortably in their world.

Very often during the Ghost Festival, there are Getai performances held throughout Singapore. Getai are “road shows” held on make-shift stages where performers, often dressed in elaborated costumes, sing and entertain the spirits. These performances sometimes comprise Chinese opera performances, as well as popular hits in Chinese dialects such as Hokkien and Cantonese. Everyone is welcome to watch the show as long as you don’t sit at the front row, which is reserved for the “special guests”.

This festival is like a Chinese Halloween, only it lasts all month and it is much more spiritual. In my street there was food and stakes of burned fake money (‘hell money’) almost all month. First time I found food in the street was on 9th August, I thought someone was just messing around after the Singapore National Day but now I know it was for the hungry ghosts! At first I didn’t know about that festival and I was very surprised that there is food in the street and no one cleaned it. Singapore is such a clean place that you notice such things… Well, they cleaned the food and ashes now and my street is all back to normal… Singapore-clean!

‘Excuse me’ the Singapore Style!

When I first came to Singapore I was impressed by how people behave in the streets and public transport. Singaporeans seemed to be very calm, polite and friendly. All bus stations and taxi stands have queue barriers that make people queue in an orderly fashion and everyone seems to follow the rules so I thought: what disciplined and polite people those Singaporeans are! They seem to apologize a lot as well, in the street, in the bus, in MRT (metro/train), in the shopping malls, elevators, etc. The phrase I hear most often during a day is in fact: ‘Excuse me’, or ‘Excus’, ‘Escus’, ‘Skus ah’, ‘Skus ah’, ‘Eskus lah’, in any Singlish version there is! But, there is something that ‘doesn’t belong’ here…

Well, it took me some time to figure this out, but what sounds as a polite and kind Singaporean ‘Excuse me’ has nothing to do with being or feeling ‘sorry’ for anything. I was trying to observe when exactly do they use this phrase and I came to a very surprising conclusion, Singaporeans use it when they need something from you or they want you to do something!

Most common meaning of ‘Excuse me’ is ‘move off my way’. Yes, they disguise this phrase with polite and international ‘Excuse me’ but what they really mean is ‘I am passing and you are on my way’, ‘get off my way’, and sometimes, with the specific tone of voice and volume you could even get, ‘get out of my way!’ type of ‘Excuse me’… It is very common that the stations, shopping malls and trains are really crowded, so you hear many ‘Excuse me’s’ and see many people elbowing their way through the crowds… Funnily enough, if you are not Singaporean and you use ‘Excuse me’ the Singapore style, they look at you as you were the rudest person on earth!

‘Excuse me’ has also been used to stop you and engage in any form of sale of a product or service. Restaurants here always have a person outside to bring customers in, so that’s also quite difficult to refuse about 50 persuasive restaurant staff while walking along the street or quay especially after you have just eaten your dinner elsewhere…Even when you walk with your headset on, they manage to stop you, it is impossible to ignore some of the pushiest and most experienced ones! Of course, they smile and they are nice, but the whole concept of ‘Excuse me’ is lost again as it is very far away from being polite or apologizing for stopping you and taking some of your time, especially if you don’t buy their product. Usually those street or shopping stands’ people are young, sweet and innocent Asian girls or handsome nice-looking men, so if you ‘don’t know’ and stop and listen, most likely you will end up buying their product or service regardless of your current needs…

Sometimes Singaporeans do use ‘Excuse me’ in a proper context, but again, it doesn’t sound apologetic, more of an irritation of you ‘being on the way’... If someone steps on you, hits you with the shopping bag, pokes you with a wet umbrella or bumps into you, you would hear the famous phrase but if you didn’t speak English and interpret the tone of voice only here, you might think that this person not only invaded your personal space but also yelled at you for no reason! Well, sometimes you can learn politeness from impolite…

Air conditioning in Singapore, a friend or a foe?

Before moving to Singapore I had to make a series of difficult and painful decisions, one of them was selecting my wardrobe items. My luggage size and weight were limited, so I had to compromise… My female need of bringing all my clothes and shoes with me, even the ones I didn’t wear for the last 2 years, lost with my husband’s convincing arguments: you won’t need this, you won’t need that, this is not nice, you won’t wear this there, it’s definitely too hot for all those sweaters, jumpers and jackets. Well, the all-knowing-Google advised me the same, so with a heavy heart I donated majority of the clothes I took years to hand-pick. For all those who always trust men and Google, DON’T! Let me elaborate…

Singapore is the first and only country I have ever been to where you put your jacket on when you enter any building and you take it off while going outdoors! It is not a joke, I am dead serious… The average temperatures are usually 32/33°C during the day and 25/26°C at night. The climate is very consistent here; it is very hot and humid all the time, so as a result air conditioning is used everywhere! Or should I say overused…? Offices, shopping malls, public buildings, trains and busses, taxis even, in other words – all living spaces! Your first reaction is probably the same as mine – it’s too hot outside, get me some AC!!! Yeah, it is nice maybe for the first several minutes... As my body took over a month to get used to the thirties’ temperatures, it was not easy to manage the change from the air-conditioned about-twenty degrees office to thirty-something outside… My colleagues told me they have jackets at work so I brought a sweater, but little did I know that my thin cardigan was not enough… Now I have a cardigan, a sweater and a pashmina and on top of those, very often my colleagues see me at my desk sipping hot green tea with my hands stuck to the teacup to warm myself up! I am not the only one though; my colleagues wear their jackets every day as the office feels like a one big fridge!

Many people around me have a constant cold, no wonder I’m thinking, with such drastic temperature changes I say everyone is destined to have several of those a year… I did not have one just yet, because, as surprising as it is to my colleagues and probably some strangers in busses and trains I take every day, I put tights and stockings while wearing skirts or dresses to work. And I always wear closed-toed shoes to work, no sandals. Yes, I am hot on my way to and from work, but I am not that cold at work! Let me just narrow it down, I am hot while moving between the means of transport, which is from my apartment to the bus – about 3 min plus waiting for the bus; the longest waiting was maybe 5 min, then from the bus to the train (MRT, Massive Rapid Transport, a metro if you will; most stations are underground) - 2 min, and then not even a minute from the train to my office building. The bus and train are air-conditioned, so not only am I not hot there, most of the time I am actually chilly... Then, there is 9hrs at work every day, where I am cold most of the time, even wearing shoes and tights, so as you can see wearing layers is not such a stupid idea in Singapore!

Man, don’t I miss some of those clothes I donated…? What can I say… next time I will compromise better and consider my feminine side more seriously, right honey....?!? So a word of advice, if you are planning to visit Singapore, remember to bring some warm clothing! Not a joke…

Happy Birthday Singapore!

Last week I vitnessed my first Singapore National Day and I must say I was impressed! Singaporeans are very patriotic as a nation; I haven’t seen this pride in any country, OK, maybe America... Singapore celebrated its first National Day in 1966, one year after Singapore's independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. Every year all island gathers in the main areas of Singapore with all the country officials, the army, performers and thousands of volunteers who help out with the celebrations. Usually there are civil-military parade presentations and ceremonies in the afternoon in Padang area of Singapore that finish with amazing fireworks in the evening. I watched the whole parade on TV, as advised by my colleagues, so I had a very good and close view of the whole event! I also saw some of the fireworks from my balcony, after all I live on the 29th floor and Singapore is not that big.

What amazed me the most was the pride and joy of being a Singaporean! It is really unusual that the people are so affectionate about their country! Every year there are new National Day Songs written for this occasion and all Singaporeans know them as they promote the event and the theme song weeks before the National Day! This year it was ‘Song for Singapore’, and some of the previous years’ ones were ‘Shine for Singapore’, ‘There’s no Place I’d Rather Be’, ‘One United People’, and one written in 1984 and still performed this year – ‘Stand Up for Singapore’. All Singaporeans knew the lyrics of all the songs! All island was decorated with various Singapore symbols and emblems, every window in every building had a flag even 2 months before the event! Everyone was wearing red and white on Singapore’s 45th Birthday, as they call it, the colors of the Singapore flag. Also, every year the National Day has a theme, this year it was ‘Live Our Dreams, Fly Our Flag’, and some of the past years’ themes were ‘Our Global City, Our Home’, ‘A Progressive Society’, ‘City of Possibilities’, ‘Come Together - Reaching Out. Reaching Up’. So I suppose you can see what I mean saying that Singaporeans are outstandingly patriotic! It is very diverse here and it is perceived as strength, as it brings growth and prosperity to the country.

I admire the patriotism of Singaporeans, but for me it was another public holiday Monday that I could spend home at swimming pool, Jacuzzi and with the cable TV that I had installed 2 days before the National Day! Happy birthday Singapore!

Salsa, baby!

Last week I went to my first salsa course in Singapore! The instructor checked my level and assigned to Salsa 3. The group was quite big, more than 10 couples and several extra ladies… as usual. The class was 1’5 hours, so we could really benefit from the dancing! Bernard, the instructor, did some good footwork warm-up including some advances shines! The salsa routines’ terminology differs here to what I have been used to so I was improvising a lot and relying on my dancing intuition… I wasn’t the only one though, so I wasn’t too worried. Bernard went through the more sophisticated footwork and after about 30 mins he moved to partner work. The routine he taught was very nice, most of the dancers managed to follow it. Unfortunately there was no fiesta after the class; usually there is social dancing afterwards, but next week definitely!

People in class were very open and friendly! I must admit it was very nice as after 2 months here I have an impression that a lot of people here ‘become friendly’ after you get to know them first, so it was lovely to meet some new people who are more forward and chatty at the first contact. Maybe it’s just how the dancers are, socializing comes easier to people who dance as they usually go out regularly… The instructor was really easy-going and funny as well; he created a nice atmosphere in class. Reminded me of Fintan actually… Here I go again, I must be missing my Cork salsa people…

Singapore Food Festival

Last month Singapore hosted one of the most popular festivals that brought crowds to one of the city’s busiest spots, the Clarke Quay. It has become one of the key cultural events on the island as it profiles Singapore’s culinary offerings of the local and international food, and as some of you may know by now, food is one of the first and most common subjects in Asia! Every year the festival highlights different gastronomic flavor, this year’s Singapore Food Festival celebrated versatile Chinese cuisine!

The Clarke Quay food stalls offered so many different types of dishes that I wasn’t sure what to try first… We went around first to get a better idea what a ‘Chinese cuisine’ is. I am here for about 2 months now and I still cannot tell difference between many Asian dishes… Chinese, Malay, Indian, Indonesian, Philippine...there's too many of them here... We bought a festival card that allowed us to purchase smaller portions from many food stalls; after all we were there to sample different things!

While going around I realized how diverse Chinese cuisine really is! After all China is an enormous country with many provinces, climate types, various regional products, seasoning, culinary traditions and cooking techniques. The most traditional Chinese dishes you might know are chicken-rice, Kung Pao chicken, various stir fry’s, steamed/fried/boiled dumplings, hot soup pots, fish ball noodles, steamed egg (this is very interesting! You add egg to broth/soup in a small pot and steam it until it gets solid; very particular in taste, but yummy), roast goose, shark fin soup (this is really different too, but tasty), popiah (like a spring roll, thin paper-like crepe with filling – different combinations of vegetables, meat, seafood, but not fried like the spring roll, it is served fresh). Most popularized Chinese cuisine types in Europe are Cantonese and Sichuan, that’s the only two I heard of before moving to Asia anyway, so it was real feast for us to try new dishes during the Food Festival!

We tried popiah, chicken pau (steamed Chinese buns, like Polish ‘papmuchy’), vegetable and meat filled dumplings, Chinese rolls with meat and seafood filling, and for dessert Durian pancake (Indonesian/Malay origin fruit with a very particular odor; you probably saw FB pictures when I eat the Durian pancake and make funny faces… It is really very special taste, apparently it is a local favorite… I’m not a big fan, Herve, on the other hand, ate the whole thing without making faces, that’s progress! Becoming Singaporean already...) and a variety of rice cakes, very popular here. I noticed that rice is a base ingredient for many foods and drinks in Asia, even pastries or alcohol!

Apart from the Chinese cuisine you could get any local Singaporean food, such as Indian, Malay, Indonesian, Western, including the signature Singaporean Chili Crab! I tried the sauce served with the crab, it’s hoooooot!!!! Another thing I learned about food here, hot dishes are really really hot! So if you think you know 'hot' you should try original Asian food... I still cannot eat hot dishes here, whenever I have lunch that is a little hot, I end up lobster red... But I'm getting used to spicy Asian buds.

Overall, the event was really great, it gave the Island of Singapore another occasion to showcase their gastronomic diversity and share it with all hungry tourists and locals. I cannot wait for the next year’s one… Hmmm, feeling a little hungry writing about all the food… What do I have in the fridge? Talk to you later!

Durian fruit



The durian is the fruit widely known in Southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odor, and formidable thorn-covered husk. The fruit can grow as large as 30 centimeters (12 in) long and 15 centimeters (6 in) in diameter, and it typically weighs one to three kilograms (2 to 7 lb). The edible portion of the fruit, known as the aril and usually referred to as the "flesh" or "pulp", only accounts for about 15-30% of the mass of the entire fruit.

The edible flesh emits a distinctive odor, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine and gym socks. The odor has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in Southeast Asia.

My first week at work

My first workweek is behind me. I met all my new colleagues and got installed at my new workstation. I must say I love the environment and facilities here! Our office is on the 21st floor of a Suntec Tower 4 in the Suntec City, so I have a view on the famous Fountain of Wealth! Yes, that means I have a window view, for those who work in the natural light every day it is probably normal, but in almost all my jobs in the past few years I was always stuck in air-conditioned offices with no windows, so I can surely appreciate my own window now! Unfortunately I still have to deal with AC, but look, I have a window right? That’s definitely an improvement.

Another thing I love is the pantry area… OMG, we have cold/hot water machine, a fridge full of canned drinks at all times (Coke, green tea, juices, café frappe), milk, great coffee machine that makes milos, the local name for a hot chocolate, and lattes, at least 7 types of tea available, minimum 8 full pastry/cookie boxes, ice cream even! I am really impressed I must say! There is no canteen here, but downstairs there is a food court serving dinners with a world-wide variety for about 3-6 Singapore dollars, which is about €1,5-3! After lunch my colleagues have a habit of taking a stroll around the shopping mall, as both the food court and the shopping centre are within the Suntec City architectural structure. There are also restaurants around the Fountain of Wealth, but these are a little more expensive than the food court…

My colleagues are mainly Singaporeans, but there is a good diverse mix too. I struggle with the English accent used in here, but it will just take some time to get used to I suppose. When I came to Cork first time, I wasn’t sure I was in an English speaking country… It was really hard to understand people speak, and I studied English as my major for 5 years so I had thought I was all set! That was a real shock for me! After almost 4 years in Cork I was told that I had a Cork accent, so give me several months and/or years, and I will be speaking Singlish!

Well anyway, first week down!

New salsa dancers in town!

Dinner, cinema and salsa dancing… Perfect plan! We pay the entrance fee; I can already hear salsa beats… my feet are moving! We order mojitos and Cuba Libre and the band is getting on stage. Our friend Christine finds a table right beside the band, very close to the dance-floor, great job!

The dance-floor is quite small considering the size of the club, it seems that it is really a challenge to find a proper dance-floored venue for the dance addicts not only in Ireland, but once the musicians start their hot bachata it does not seem to be an issue! It gets full of couples moving smoothly to the rhythmic timing of the bongos. My first thought, they know bachata, that’s a good start! I wasn’t really sure what the salsa scene was like in Singapore, so I was a little anxious to start dancing here. Several salsa pieces later I get more and more comfortable, the songs sound familiar and so are the moves on the dance-floor. I must admit Herve did not loose his salsa moves, so I profit from it almost all evening…

Funny thing, I watched people dancing and I danced with several partners that night and I noticed something disturbingly familiar… One of my Asian salsa partners had a lead that resembled Pratheesh’es lead and another one I watched on the dance-floor looked like the Asian version of Fintan… That’s really weird… Maybe I just miss my salsa crowd I got into back in Ireland, but it made me feel a little more at ease. Great night, excluding 45min of taxi searching at the end of it, not so easy to find one after midnight apparently…

On our second salsa night we had some Korean food and we took a taxi to get to the ‘Pinguin Can Dance’ studio. Our friend Ion knows one of the instructors there so we get in easy, on the 14th floor of the industrial building in the south of Singapore. It’s not too busy yet, but the dance-floor is quite big. It is a theme party, ‘Black&White’… The level of dancing is a little different, we could see there were more students of the dance school practicing their routines there. It didn’t put us off though, we had great dancing night again, learned some new moves… I had another flashback though, among all the Asian dancers I saw the local equivalent of Ciaran, very similar lead… This time it was easier to get a taxi, we are home before 2am.

I think it will take some time before we discover all the salsa places here and decide which ones we like best, but for now we will just enjoy discovering Singapore-salsa-social…

Singlish ramblings…

Before coming to Singapore I was told that English is an official language here. I was glad, as I though I would be able to communicate no problem with all Singaporeans! I also heard that they speak English with ‘an Asian flavor’, mixed-Asian accent that makes English uniquely Singaporean, commonly known as Singlish. Well, I experienced different English accents and I could understand them all right so far, so no big deal, just another rhythm, intonation or word stress will make it that more interesting! Little did I know about the ‘real Singlish’…

My first encounter with Singlish was in taxis and by the swimming pool, where I saw families and groups of friends interacting. I wasn’t sure what language did they speak, but I could catch some English here and there. Yet, I didn’t understand the whole conversations, so the only indicator was body language… A little frustrating, they were supposed to speak English here…

Well, not giving up just yet I heard some more Singlish in town, restaurants and shops. I could handle the special accent on the ‘regular English’, as in retail stores and common entertainment centers the locals did not use the real Singlish with customers. Relief… Maybe it’s not so bad after all; it’s just a matter of adjustment…

Ok, it’s time to do some research here… Nearly everyone in Singapore speaks more than one language, with many people speaking three or four. Most children grow up bilingual from infancy and learn more languages as they grow up. Naturally the presence of other languages (especially various varieties of Malay and of Chinese) has influenced the English of Singapore. The influence is especially apparent in the kind of English that is used informally, which is popularly called Singlish. Singlish is a badge of identity for many Singaporeans.

So, as a matter of fact Singlish is Singaporean slang, with English taking from Chinese grammar and is liberally sprinkled with words from the local Chinese, Malay and Indian dialects! It’s not only an accent, the whole syntax is different, vocabulary and phrases! Getting more and more interesting! Examples?

Very common feature of Singlish is scattering of the Malay term ‘lah’ used as a kind of verbal exclamation mark:

For example: "OK lah!" or "Go home lah!"

Another common phrase is:

"Aiyah, he always catch no ball one."

Which means: "He doesn't understand what I'm saying."

The local government does not support this version... It doesn't like Singlish because it thinks it is bad language and bad for Singapore's sober image as a commercial and financial center. The Speak Good English Movement was launched in 2000 by the Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, which organizes everything from creative writing to scrabble contests on a yearly basis in order to encourage Standard English. I took a quiz in ‘Improve Your English’ section on their official website and I failed because I wasn't sure what was the correct way to say - "I ownself go."

a. I will go there myself.

b. I can go myself.

(According to the website, the right answer is a.; explanation to justify the choice was: the word “ownself” does not exist in Standard English. “Myself” or “on my own” are more appropriate terms; it does not explain though why b is incorrect… would you agree?)

Well, I understand those who use Singlish every day, as it is a way of preserving linguistic heritage of Singapore, but on the other hand I agree with the government who would like the nation to speak Standard English for its position in the business world. For my own benefit, I would prefer if the Singaporeans all spoke the English I know, but maybe I should stop complaining that ‘I always catch no ball one’ and go out there and learn some Singlish…

Singapore Sling

Last week I had my first Singapore Sling! Or shall I say my first Singapore Slings… although I am not a cocktail type of person. I read about it on a website describing traditional Singaporean food and drinks, and I must say it’s really extraordinary and different from what I have tried before! The Singapore Sling was developed by Ngiam Tong Boon in the early 1900's for the Raffles Hotel in Singapore and it has become a signature drink served in every bar in Singapore since then. Its today’s version differs from the original one; apparently bartenders use more simplified variations of the original recipe. The Singapore Sling, no matter which version I had, is very smooth, sweet and delicious!

Original Singapore Sling Recipe

1 1/2 ounce gin

1/2 ounce Cherry Herring

1/4 ounce Cointreau

1/4 ounce Benedictine

4 ounce pineapple juice

1/2 ounce lime juice

1/3 ounce grenadine

1 dash Angostura Bitters

Garnish: Cherry and slice of pineapple.

Shake with ice. Strain into an ice filled glass.

Singapore food adventures…

Every lunch or dinner in town is a new experience, as most of the time we order dishes we are not familiar with… It’s a part of our Singaporean Experience to discover local flavors…

Our knowledge of Asian cuisine was limited to ramen soups, noodles, and rice dishes before moving to Singapore, so now we are open to sampling all new, unknown and most unusual foods.

In our trip to Chinatown I had my first Satay, barbecued beef and chicken pieces served on the shish kebab style wooden sticks with chopped onion, cucumber and ketupat (Malay rice cakes often wrapped in coconut leaves) and accompanied by a dip of spicy and sweet peanut sauce. Satay is quite original, as it is a combination of heavy and oily meat and sweet but spicy and aromatic peanut sauce, a very strong fresh onion taste and a very plain rice cake… It is a dish unique to Singapore and it has its roots in Malay and Indonesian archipelago.

Satay

Another typically Singaporean dish I tried in our local food court is Laksa, a dish consisting of noodles, fishcake, prawns and chopped bean sprouts served in a spicy coconut-based soup. Its creamy coconut gravy makes it quite rich and chili seasoning adds a very spicy savor. There are many variations of Laksa such as a lighter version of the dish known as assam laksa, more appealing to a Western palate… Laksa comes from the Peranakan culture, which is a merger of Chinese and Malay elements found in Malaysia and Singapore, and to some extent from Indonesia.

Laksa (also known as Curry Laksa/Laksa Lemak)

Singapore’s food diversity is amazing, because if you are not in a mood to experiment with Southeast Asian cuisine, you can always find more familiar foods almost everywhere in town:

Singapore thunderstorm

A sudden and heavy thunderstorm woke me up this morning after 7am... I am up for the last 2 hours and it is still lashing rain… Last time it rained it resulted in a considerable flood in the Orchard Area, city’s shopping paradise and a hub of entertainment and artistic events. There was no major property damage or casualties, however the 2-hour morning downpour caused enormous traffic jams in the affected parts of the city and gave the Singapore government work till the end of the day.

Showers in Singapore are more frequent during the northeast monsoon (November to January) and they are also abrupt and rough, but impromptu thunderstorms visit Singapore all year round, apparently… They are manageable though, as the temperatures do not change during showers and never drop below 25ºC during the day and 20ºC at night.

View from our window this morning

At the local train station (Woodlands MRT station 2 day ago)

Orchard Road recent flood (last week)

There you go, two hours since the thunderstorm began, they are reporting floods in certain parts of Singapore on the Channel News Asia… I hope it will stop soon and they have time to clean up the damages, because we have cinema tickets this evening for the Cathay Cineleisure Orchard…

Cuisine of Singapore

The cuisine of Singapore indicates the ethnic diversity of its culture. The food is influenced by the native Chinese, Malay, Indonesian, Indian and Western traditions. Food is viewed as central to Singapore's national identity and a unifying cultural thread; Singaporean travel literature declares eating as a national pastime and food, a national obsession. Food is a frequent topic of conversation among Singaporeans and tourists. Food in itself has been promoted as an attraction alongside its shopping. The government organizes the Singapore Food Festival every July to celebrate Singapore's cuisine, which is coming up soon so expect more information and pictures in regards to the abundant Singapore cuisine!

The multiculturalism of local food, the ready availability of international cuisine and styles, and their wide range in prices fitting all budgets at all times of the day and year helps create a "food paradise". Singapore's geographical position connects it to major air and sea transport routes and thus allows it to import a variety of food ingredients from around the world!

In Singaporean restaurants and food centers chefs of various backgrounds and origins experiment with different styles and ingredients and create new fascinating dishes. This phenomenon makes the cuisine of Singapore a cultural attraction! Most prepared food bought outside is eaten at hawker centers or food courts rather than at actual restaurants. These hawker centers are abundant and cheap, encouraging a large consumer base.

The quality of food does not differ significantly between restaurants and hawker centers, only the serving conditions really. The food courts are outside-based, you can get food instantly and you consume your meal at the simple plastic table/chairs layout; they can be found in any location in Singapore. Restaurants, on the other hand, are located in more expensive areas of town; offer more attractive looking menus and more appealing air-conditioned interiors. And just to give you an idea of the difference in the cost of dining in those, the average meal in a restaurant is about $12-20 Singapore Dollars (SGD) whereas in the hawker centre it is usually $2-4 SGD…

(Footnote: today’s conversion rate is 1 SGD = 0.58 Euros)

I have tried some of the local dishes in restaurants and casual hawker centers and I must admit that the variety of styles is countless! From sweet to spicy, cold to warm, raw to cooked or fried, seasoned to plain… Even noodles or rice dishes have different taste; depending on which food court or restaurants they were served in. I like trying and sampling foods in here; I just hope the discovery and research part of it will not affect my weigh scale!

More info on: http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/browse/dining/cuisines-of-singapore.html

Law and Order In Singapore

Special features of Singapore law: What you can and can't do

Many foreigners are concerned about the strict law here. It pays to understand the special features of the law, and what are definite no-no's over here.

Littering

To maintain the clean and green city, there are strict laws against littering of any kind. First-time offenders face a fine of up to S$1,000. For repeat offenders--it's a fine of up to S$2,000 and a Corrective Work Order (CWO). The CWO requires litterbugs to spend a few hours cleaning a public place, for example, picking up litter in a park. The litterbugs are made to wear bright jackets, and sometimes, the local media are invited to cover the public spectacle. Naturally, the authorities hope that public shame will make diehard litterbugs think twice about tossing their scrap paper or cigarette butt on the roadside!

Chewing gum

As an extension of the "no littering" mantra, the import, sale and possession of chewing gum is banned! You are also not allowed to bring in chewing gum for your own consumption. In short, no chewing gum whatsoever. This rule was introduced because of the high cost and difficulty in removing stucked chewing gum from public premises.

Smoking

Smoking is not allowed in public buses, taxis, lifts, theatres, cinemas, government offices, and in air-conditioned restaurants and shopping centers. First-time offenders face a maximum fine of S$1,000.

Drugs

A definite no-no. The death penalty is mandatory for those convicted of trafficking, manufacturing, importing or exporting more than 15g of heroin, 30g of morphine, 30g of cocaine, 500g of cannabis, 200g of cannabis resin and 1.2kg of opium. Possessing these quantities is deemed as evidence of trafficking. In other words, if you possess these quantities (and possession means you had control of them), you are deemed to be a trafficker and therefore subject to the death penalty! For unauthorized consumption, there is a maximum of 10 years' jail or fine of S$20,000, or both.. So, a definite no-no!

More info on: http://www.expatsingapore.com/content/view/1376

There are even no litterbins in the bus and train stations as food and drinks are forbidden there! The fines apply here also… However, Singapore is recognized as one of the cleanest, if not the cleanest city, in the world. But it takes a lot of time, energy and law enforcements though! Singaporeans take their country’s cleanliness seriously and in this city-state of over 4 million people, litterbugs beware. Otherwise a fine of several thousand dollars, hours of litter collection and even state-sponsored counseling await you!

Good morning Singapore!

I landed in Singapore and the first thing that hits me is how Singaporeans are well organized! No problems at the airport, entering the country requires visa and not having one could be a huge issue, so I pass the customs fairly quickly as I have all my paperwork done. Herve is already waiting for me, so great to see him after 3 months of living separately, that was quite a challenge... I couldn't really feel it inside the airport building, but once I went out I felt an overwhelming heat wave on my face, almost as if someone just opened the steam room door! This is one of those things that will take me some time to adjust, high temperature and humidity... But well, I got used to the moody Irish weather, I can take this too!

The apartment is lovely and its downstairs facilities are just mesmerizing! I couldn't believe we can use all the swimming pools, gym, jacuzzi, steam-rooms, BBQ corners, all the relaxation common areas whenever we wish... In this temperature the swimming pool is like a salvation... A huge relief anyway and a little more interesting than just a shower. It's only my second day here and I already have used several T-shirts and shorts, sticky hot weather. Well, time to get used to the new conditions...

My first noodle dish came from the local food quart, I must say that for a $3 meal it was delicious and really tasty! The variety of food here is great, hard times making my first food choice, I want to try everything. I cannot find any of the regular spices and herbs here yet, but I only visited the local area situated in the north part of Singapore called the Woodlands, where our place is. The benefit of living outside the city centre is definitely lower prices, less crowds and nice running space. This environment is just calling for a healthy lifestyle!

It is not only hot any sunny here though, I witnessed my first storm today! It lasted several hours, it was loud and a little scary. The air was much better after it though. I thought I shouldn't have taken my Irish umbrella here, but I will be probably better off keeping it in my bag, in case the next storm hits Singapore!

My Singapura Travelogue

I am packing for Singapore, leaving the Green Island of Ireland I spent almost 4 years in... Definitely a funny feeling, preparing for new faces, strange culture and loads of new 'first-time-evers'... Singapore has only been this far far away place I knew from the internet, but I am looking forward to discovering its exciting traditions, customs and culture. I want to record my first experiences and impressions of this foreign land and its people, as I know how fast one forgets little things that make your own new picture of a country. I will keep you up-to-date with any new exciting Singaporean discoveries and adventures, so stay around and feel free to provide feedback! Take care!