First 2 days in Singapore

After a 13 hour flight I have arrived in Singapore at 1430 local time on the 25th May. Feelings before the flight were mixed however in a few words excited but sad at the same time after a great few weeks back at home in the UK. Will of course miss friends, family but not the British weather. Spain seems a distant memory now but I will never forget my experiences, friends and of course the Spanish lifestyle.

The flight itself was quick, very smooth and after watching a film, reading and taking a Nytol I slept most of the flight. I was sat next to a girl called Kate who was a bomb disposal specialist in the army so very interesting stories but ultimately a huge physics geek. She was meeting her English boyfriend (also in the army) in Singapore and then flying onto KL. Richard picked me up, good to see him after 3 years and he laughed at the fact I was wearing a jacket, shirt and jeans. The reason for this is the fact I was only allowed to bring 20kg which I later learnt was rubbish and I could actually take 25kg and for a one way flight 30kg.

Walking out the doors of the air conditioned airport was like hitting a wall of heat and I immediately started stripping off the jackets, jeans and shirt replacing them with shorts, flip flops and a t shirt.

The next few hours consisted of catching up with the Mellor's, drinking, and having dinner at Boat Quay a very vibrant area of the city. We walked through the Fullerton Hotel, saw Marina Sands and had a general walk around. If I had to describe Singapore in one word I would use 'civilized', everything is very clean, there is no loutish behavior, kids run around happy whilst expensive cars pass by.

Today (as I am writing this on the 26th) I set up a bank account at DBS, a very easy procedure and got picked up by a estate agent recommended by Richy, called Delfin. She took me to a number of condos and I saw flats between S$2600-$4500. The best, fortunately, in my opinion was Vista Park (location link below) a two bed flat with ensuite bathroom on the 3rd floor of a 3 floor building. The facilities included pool, gym, squash court, tennis court, and bbq areas so great for the sporty type. Behind the development was a huge park with rooftop walkways so a great place to run. It is 10 minutes walk away from work and next to the Kent Ridge MRT station. The area is known as Pasir Panjang and it holds a number of food courts and drinking holes, in my opinion perfect. The reason it was cheaper, I was told, was the fact that there was no lift and it was considered far from the centre. My definition of far is very different to a Singaporean's definition of far. The condo is located in the south west central part of Singapore and using the MRT maximum 30 minutes from the furthest reaches of Singapore so really not that far in any direction. Anyway good for both Christina and I because everywhere is within easy reach.

I was trying to work out any other downsides of the flat. I couldn't see any apart from the amount of insects as we are pretty near a park which could be seen more as a jungle but that said the noises are calming.

So day 2 over and after a fantastic dinner of Chilly crab at East Coast Hawker center we are now watching the monaco gran prix qualifier and the 2nd test of the England v WI test match. Tomorow will be a combination of chilling by the pool and a trip to sign up for Singapore Cricket Club. I will don the amazingly thoughtful birthday present - delivered to the Mellor household from the US, which I opened early - that Christina got for me, a Singapore CC cricket shirt, she amazes me with her resourcefulness.


 http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=vista%20park%20singapore&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1440&bih=809&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=il

The first entry !

So the first entry of a blog I hope I have the motivation to keep updated. Although I haven't decided what exactly this blog will entail I think the general gist will include, culture shock, amusing attempts to learn Mandarin, travel and food experiences, nights out and ultimately anything interesting Christina and I think is worthwhile to write about. Hope you enjoy...