Living Foods and yoga in Singapore!

Last weekend we did an amazing course with Lina Loo at the Singapore Branch of Light Love Laughter Academy. It was called Ultimate Living Chef and it covered recipes and lifestyle tips for aspiring raw food practitioners. Although we are not vegan, at least not yet, we greatly enjoyed this course and benefited already by seeing an amazing impact living foods have on your body!


Throughout the 3-day intensive program Lina taught us many delicious recipes; she showed us how to make delicious green smoothies, make your own milk and cheese from nuts, raw food breads and how to sprout! We also had a session where we made our own raw cocoa chocolate nuggets, brownies and vegan desserts! Yum!!!

As a part of the program we also had few transformational yoga sessions with Jolyn and Linda, it had an enormous impact on the quality of our brething, flexibility and focus.

Linda holds many interesting workshops and teaches about vegan lifestyle including great tips of where to shop for the best quality organic products and fresh fruit and vegetables. Check out her blog and read articles on food and courses offerings: http://rawfoodlifestyles.com/

If you would like to learn more about this, please contact me! I am more than happy to share more details about Linda’s teachings! You should come and try her delicious recipes yourselves!!!

Great Singapore Sale 2011 - group madness!

From 27 May to 24 July 2011, many major stores and shopping malls in Singapore offer a range of exclusive promotions, including dining, wellness experience, and nightlife & entertainment! It’s what they locally call a ‘Great Singapore Sale’!This is one of the greatest events here, as Singaporeans absolutely love, love, love shopping! Singapore has without a doubt the most shopping-without-limits culture I have ever experienced in my life!

For eight glorious weeks shopping malls offer up to 70% discounts on almost everything! This is a major magnet to Singaporean women, who use their credit cards much more in this period. The central shopping belt of Orchard Road to the city suburbs turns crazy-busy as many Singaporeans as well as tourists want to enjoy the exclusive discounts in the most popular malls such as 313@somerset, ION Orchard, Orchard Central, TANGS Orchard, Wisma Atria, Marina Bay waterfront, Suntec City, etc.

Singapore is really a very fashion-conscious country, just when I look at the women in trains or buses commuting to work every day, it’s so obvious! They look like from a runway, fashion magazine, or in other words, as if they were to go to a party on Sunday evening or to a club. They wear fancy dresses, designer bags and shoes, as here you are measured based on what labels you wear… That’s indeed true, even my fellow Singaporean colleagues and friends admit this! During the Great Singapore Sale, GSS, it’s easier to get the designer items at a better price, so this is a great opportunity for Singaporeans to get their favorite brands!

My shopping experience is limited to occasional shopping sprees in specific shops and I have seen big crowds and queues especially when the new collections come in, but after visiting few more popular shops during lunch time in the Marina Square shopping mall this month, I must say I was a shopping-virgin! One of the shops I went to the other afternoon was Zara; it was full of women going through every rack and with queues at least 30-people-long! And they were rushing, because it was only the lunch break and the queues were so long… It was the busiest in the sale back end, where the clothes were in a mess, mixed together, even on the floor… In Ireland this was quite common sight in the shops, but not in Singapore! The women were trying the clothes on the office outfits they were wearing, to avoid queuing to the changing rooms… I was glad when we left the shop, as this shopping-madness was uncontrollable… The shopping malls are also open late to allow late night shopping for those working regular office hours; almost all of them close only around 11pm. I read that many women take time off work in groups way in advance the sale starts, just to shop during less busy hours and to get the best choice of the product; well, in here I cannot say that surprises me any more…

Although many countries struggle these days due to bad economy and inflation, Singapore is blossoming and pumping lots of cash into the system! Happy retailers can be proud and more than satisfied, as the MasterCard survey of the sale's first month showed cardholders splashed out a total of US$676.6 million (S$831 million) - 49 per cent more than in the same period last year! And the GSS is not over yet… alamak!

Made in China 中國製造

Autobiography In Five Chapters

1) I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost... I am hopeless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

2) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I'm in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

3) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in... it's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

4) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

5) I walk down another street.



Portia Nelson

From: Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

iFly Singapore!

Last weekend we went to the newly opened iFly sky diving centre in Sentosa. I won discounted tickets on Facebook, for once I won something in an online competition, and so we made a booking came to the iFly earlier for the safety induction.

The building was very modern and the whole experience, quite interesting! From the very beginning we felt like we were on the plane… In the first chamber we were put in the mood of sky diving, as we were sat down on side benches, it was all dark and there was a big screen with a video of people jumping off the plane and diving in the air, making various moves and ‘dancing in the air’! It was all shown ‘from the plane’ perspective so we had an impression that we were sitting on the bench of a plane and that we were about to jump next.

Few minutes later we moved to another room where they provided detailed security briefing and explained the communication signs that the instructors would usually use during a dive, as it’s not possible to talk in the wind chamber, daah! We met our instructor there and everyone got a try in a proper flying position on the matt provided. Instructor tested our memory for communication signs and we moved on.

When we were in the main fly area of the building our instructor gave us the gear: overalls, helmets, ear plugs and goggles. The wind tube had a small staging area where our group sat awaiting their turn. Each of us went one by one to the wind chamber, also as if we were on a bench of a plane and taking turns to jump! Everyone went twice and for those more adventurous or crazy ones, you could go for the 3rd time!

It was really funny feeling being in the wind tube, as there were different laws governing your every move: the laws of physics! When I did my first flight I was smiling and laughing out of excitement and didn’t even feel when my saliva started going down my chin… Yeah, I didn’t really see that coming! My hair in a pony tail became all tangled; it took me more than half an hour to comb them at home after this.


The third dive was in a tandem with the instructor; he grabs your arm and leg and spirals up and down few times at a very high speed! It was an amazing experience, and added even more adrenaline to the whole experience. The speed of wind went up from about 150kph in the previous dives to over 200kph!

The last dive was at an extra cost, and they do the tandem trick only on the third one, nice marketing move. There is no photography allowed there so you can only buy their pictures at $25 each, so it was quite an expensive afternoon! The tickets to iFly vary from about $70-100, depending what time you are available to fly, so it’s not the cheapest entertainment in town. It was so worth it though!

A piece of advice for the iFly first timers: bring sports shoes and comfy, stretchy trousers; and during your dive: close your mouth, maybe smile for the pictures but do not laugh, seriously; and for ladies with long hair, hide it under your helmet to avoid the combing pain! Otherwise, you will love the experience!

Made in China 中國製造

The Blind Men and the Elephant

Several citizens ran into a hot argument about God and different religions, and each one could not agree to a common answer. So they came to the Lord Buddha to find out what exactly God looks like.

The Buddha asked his disciples to get a large magnificent elephant and four blind men. He then brought the four blind to the elephant and told them to find out what the elephant would "look" like.

The first blind men touched the elephant leg and reported that it "looked" like a pillar. The second blind man touched the elephant tummy and said that an elephant was a wall. The third blind man touched the elephant ear and said that it was a piece of cloth. The fourth blind man hold on to the tail and described the elephant as a piece of rope. And all of them ran into a hot argument about the "appearance" of an elephant.

The Buddha asked the citizens: "Each blind man had touched the elephant but each of them gives a different description of the animal. Which answer is right?"

Pulau Ubin Trip

Few weeks back we made a trip to one of the Singapore get-away islands in the north east of Singapore called Pulau Ubin. This small island is nothing like Singapore, there are no traces of modernization, no skyscrapers, no shopping malls, no restaurants… In fact, it is like Singapore good few decades back when it was a ‘kampung’ – a village! It is a great spot for Singaporeans when they want to a break from modern lifestyle…

Our trip started in Changi Harbor Terminal, where we bought tickets for the bumboat. We had to wait until the boat was full and the cigarette smoking ‘captain’ decided, we could take off! The emergency vests on the boat were all covered in mould so we really doubted the safety of the boat, aiyoh…

Pulau Ubin welcomes its visitors in a small harbor, so called jetty, with few shops where you can rent bikes, small ‘restaurants’ looking more like hawker centers serving famous seafood. We decided to try it out and had a steamed fish and a coconut drink! I must say they were both delicious, and from what we saw on other tables, food looked fresh and quite tasty! We rented a bike, got a map of the island and off we disappeared in the jungle!

The roads around Pulau Ubin are rather rustic but it was quite nice break from the stylish and concrete Singapore! The island is small, but we wanted to explore every corner of it! We pedaled through the whole island, under the coconut trees, near old rubber tree plantations and old kampong houses, there was even a Buddist temple there! Pulau Ubin has a great biking trail system, with different difficulty levels from blue to black, so every biker can enjoy a day out cycling here. There are many break-out stations with locals selling fresh coconuts, cold drinks and other refreshments.

One of the surprises we had was weather changing in seconds! We visited an observation tower, had a break walking around the jungle and on the coastal boardwalk in the east part of the island and we took a turn to the central Pulau Ubin. It started raining, but as the rain did not bother us initially we decided to continue along the road. Little did we know about rain in Pulau Ubin… Within few seconds it was lashing rain, really lashing! It took us about a minute to get to the next shelter, and… we were completely soaked!

One of the highlights of the trip was amazing nature experience! We saw few interesting birds’ species, fish types, monkeys, even the komodo dragon! We took a wrong turn that turned out to be a dead end with a Buddhist temple, and on the way back to the main road a komodo dragon crossed out way! I wanted to stop and take a picture, but Herve was the sensible one and reminded me that after all these lizards can be dangerous and very fast… Few years back there were stories of komodos attacking people in Indonesia… we took off as quickly as our leg muscles allowed us…

After returning the bikes we went to the Secret Garden where they grow various types of fruit, flowers, herbs and vegetables. It was the first time I saw fields of aloe vera, lady fingers, or curry trees! It is well hidden in the other side of Jetty, Herve discovered this place when he was in the island some time ago, a magical and secluded place…

When we finished visiting the Secret Garden the dark clouds were back, so we rushed to the bumboat. Luckily there was one just leaving, so when we just got on board, a huge thunderstorm began! Pulau Ubin was an interesting and relaxing island, perfect for a day break from Singapore, especially for nature and cycling enthusiasts, but with that thunderstorm, we were happy we were on our way home…

Made in China 中國製造

Some days we feel like strangers. When our heart opens, we will realize that we belong just here. Those who are awake live in a state of constant amazement.

Singapore Exotic Fruit Tasting!

One of the great benefits of travelling to new places is discovering new foods and cuisine. Singapore is a never-ending-story when it comes to food, as on almost every corner of this mysterious country you can find foods you would not know of or have never tried before! I mean all types of food, meats, seafood, various types of rice and noodles, dumplings, sweat and sour, boiled, fried, steamed, you name it… Last week I went to discover the exotic fruit Singapore has to offer with a group of girlfriends, what an excursion it was!

Fruit markets are very popular in Singapore, not only among tourists, but actually you can spot a lot of locals going there and enjoying the great variety of fruit on a regular basis. The fruit markets have tables and fresh water, they serve fruit and drinks so they are like small outdoor ‘fruit bars’! We saw many of them in the Gaylang area and they were all quite busy. The must-have in every fruit stand is DURIAN, a very special fruit I came across with already, and let me say: yak!, a fruit of special importance to South East Asian, they call it a ‘king of fruits’ here. Its distinctive odor is unforgettable, locals consider it fragrant, but I think it’s very overpowering and somehow offensive as it is very difficult to get rid off once you are around it for too long! Let me also remind you durians are forbidden in all kinds of transport, you can pay a fine is you are caught with it in the train or other public places! Well, those who are durian-lovers please forgive my resistance to ever falling in love with this part of Asian culture, I found other exotic fruit I came to enjoy and unfortunately, they are not durians…

So we chose one of the biggest food markets in Geylang; we ordered coconut drinks and a few types of fruit to sample, we sat down and started the exotic fruit tasting feast! We tried dragon fruit, mangos, rambutans, longans and mangosteens! These were amazing, juicy, sweet, fresh, rich in antioxidants and most importantly, so delicious!

Dragon fruit, also known as Pitaya fruit, is one of the cactus species with creamy sweet pulp inside. It is very nutritious and has very intensive color, beware as it might stain your clothes! You can find dragon fruit with red/purple or white pulp. Yummy!

Rambutans are vivid red fruit covered with hairy spikes that taste a little bit like lychees. To me they looked like ‘hairy fruit! They have white juicy flesh inside which is very sweet yet refreshing. Very original flavor I must admit!

Longans, also known as ‘dragon eyes’ because their shape and size, are small, hard, round, their shells are brown and thin. They are quite fun to open, as they are very juicy and the shells are firm, so it is not easy to get to get to the fruit especially to the first-timers. The fruit flesh inside is also white and sweet…

Mangosteens we tried are purple and have thick shells (there are also yellow ones, but we didn’t try them at the time). When you peel them you find white juicy flesh inside. It’s sweet and very refreshing! It’s called the "Queen of Tropical Fruits", it is one of the most popular tropical fruits in South East Asia and, contrary to what the name might suggest, they are not related to mangoes at all. They do not taste like mangoes… Mangosteens were my favorite fruit of the evening! Definitely, you need to try when you visit Singapore or any other neighboring country!

After all those delicious fruit we were all full and high on sugar. I cannot wait for another discovery trip like that! So girls, what are we discovering next, lah? We did Singapore Sling, Japanese chocolates, vegan food, exotic fruit, what about the famous Singapore chili crab and seafood, can?

School time! Singapore Education System

Singapore is such a hot country, that it’s really summer all year long in here! I thought of that time back in Poland or any other European country, when kids are awaiting the summer holiday and already in May and June and think of what they want to do in the 2 months school break! Children in Europe also have a short Christmas break and about 2 weeks winter break around January/February. Here it’s all different, the school year starts in January and there are 2 longer breaks: all June and all December. So different, right? But actually this school year organization makes it easier on the students, as they have time to study for 5 months and then rest for one full month and the whole cycle repeats itself till you graduate the university…

The whole educational system is totally different too. It took me some time to understand this whole educational machine; it differs from the European system and they use different terminology to describe certain school levels.

Primary School
A child starts studying at Primary One at the age of six and studies for six years. The overall aim of primary education is to give students a good grasp of English language, Mother Tongue and Mathematics. It finishes with a National Examination (Primary School Leaving Examination) and students are encouraged to participate in Co-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programme. It’s quite rich in some extra development activities already at this young age... Most of my colleagues with young kids have to work their weekends around their kids’ horse-riding, dancing, karate lessons or science clubs! And so the rat race begins here…

Secondary School (that’s our ‘junior high’ or ‘middle school’)
Second School Education places students in the Special, Express, Normal (Academic) or Normal (Technical) courses according to how they perform at the PSLE. The different curricular emphases are designed to match their learning abilities and interests. In secondary school, kids can choose based on the examination results to enter in the School Cambridge General Certificate of Education 'Ordinary' (GCE 'O's) level examinations. Kids study there for 4 years if following the express/special route and finish with the ‘O Levels’ or 5 years if they study at the ‘normal’ pace and graduate with so called ‘N Levels’. Of course in here people are so competitive when talking about education that the express route has become a ‘norm’ so when your child goes for the originally ‘regular’ 5 year cycle, he/she is considered ‘behind’… That is a lot of pressure on a child but you need to keep up if you want to stay with your friends!

Pre-university education (that’s our ‘secondary school’ or ‘high school’)
After the secondary level, it's time to decide where to go next:
• Technical (ITE) or commercial institutes (MDIS, MIS, TMC, SIM)
• Polytechnics (Nanyang, Temasek, Ngee Ann, Singapore Polytechnic) to pursue diploma courses (‘polytechnic’ in Polish is a technical university!, here it’s a vocational school)
• Pre-university centers or junior colleges to prepare for the Senior Cambridge General Certificate of Education 'Advanced' (GCE 'A') level examinations and later on tertiary education

ITE – The primary role of ITE is to ensure that its graduates have the technical knowledge and skills that are relevant to industry. ITE is the national authority for the setting of skills standards and the certification of skills in Singapore.

Polytechnics – were set up with the mission to train middle-level professionals to support the technological and economic development of Singapore. Reflecting the wide range of abilities, aptitudes and interests of their students, the polytechnics train students with relevant and specific skills for the workplace to give Singapore a competitive edge as we move into a knowledge-based economy. These two can serve as vocational training schools; students can start working within their trade straight after graduating from these.

The Pre-U Education prepares students for the GCE "A" Level examination at the end of the 2-year junior college or 3-year centralized institute course. Students who completed their pre-university education will receive a School Graduation Certificate (A levels, or Polish ‘Matura’). All students take part in at least one CCA (Co-Curricular Activities). CCA performance is considered for university admission, that’s interesting as well!

Tertiary Education (third level education or university/technical university)
For tertiary education, the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) provide a wide choice of courses. Singapore's undergraduate university education aspires to prepare students not only for today's world but also for a world where there will be jobs that have yet to be invented! There’s some creativity, finally! University students are highly competitive in Singapore; they want to finish their studies as soon as it is possible to start working. I don’t know why they are in such a hurry; the university time was one of the best periods of my life! I wish it could have lasted longer :)

Singapore is a very particular and competitive country while talking about education. I heard that the curriculum is very strict and all students must go thought the same material at the same pace, so it’s almost like education in the army-style environment! (You might know that army is obligatory for every male Singaporean, they serve 2 years at the age of 18 and every year they need to come back for few weeks’ refresher training!) The schools are controlled by the local government, the schedule, teachers, syllabuses, and the school rules all come from the ‘administration’. The students become a part of the ‘system’ from early years of education, and they quickly learn that opposing it in any way will not work to their advantage. This is a little too ‘one-fits-all’ approach, as there is little room for creativity and greatness, as many kids cannot reach for the sky from their rigid educational system. It’s perfect though for training the mass equal-in-brain society with a collective mindset of greatness that gives a constant spin to the system.

Made in China 中國製造

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole, which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.”

The old woman smiled, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”

One year older and richer!

Where there are new beginnings, there are also endings. New Year and new plans for the 2011 made us think and talk about the last year. We were in the swimming pool on a sunny Sunday afternoon, on the 2nd January and realizing, wow, we would never think we would be doing this in the middle of the winter time! As January is a month we know as snowy, cold, white and with minus temperatures! So here we are, in the pool and talking about the last year. I didn’t realize this until Herve asked me, but the last year was really full of changes and abundant in new wonderful experiences!

It was the first time I had to quit a job I really liked at EMC Cork; I moved to Singapore; I came to Asia, first time ever; in my new EMC job in Singapore I work on projects that include all Asia Pacific HR Teams so I get to know how things work in all Asia Pacific!; I started to co-lead our regional volunteer projects at work; I started dancing West Cost Swing, Hip Hop and Contemporary Dance; I learned how to play netball; I attended a Kali Majapahit outdoor Marital Arts outdoor workshop; I went to a Tahitan dance class; I became semi-vegetarian; I learned how to use the shotgun and short guns; I went to Muslim mosques and Hindu shrines; I tried totally new cuisine and variety of Asian foods; I got to know some great, creative and generous people here (and still miss those I left behind…); I can swim in the pool more less every day of the year as the weather here does not change much (apart from occasional monsoon showers); and finally, I set up a blog and started writing!

This last year brought some changes for the rest of my family too, as my mum moved to a new place, my brother relocated to Nanjing in China and got married there with his fiancée… Only my sis stayed put, still in Ireland and happy out...

With all changes came new experiences and I must admit that my whole life shifted to this totally new dimension last year! I started getting a different perspective on life, food, religion, spirituality, relationships, tolerance and how one chooses to live their lives! They often say that travelling broadens your mind; I would even say that getting to know other cultures and traditions influence and change your life in most unexpected ways. My last year’s experienced taught me that, at any stage of your life, you shouldn’t take things for granted and think you are the person you have always wanted to be, as your perceptions change constantly as we learn new skills, meet new people and grow from personal experiences. I hope you find some time to stop, that’s not easy in modern and fast-paced society, and reflect on all you learned last year, as we tend to think of problems and failures more than successes and happy moments… I think it’s quite rewarding to realize that there are so many of things that made our lives so interesting and colorful! Have another colorful year and thanks for reading…

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 :)

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…

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…