The Arrival

Hello everyone,

In this country of beautiful weather, great food, and never ending shopping – the only thing that’s been hard to come by is SLEEP!  To pass the time, I’ve decided to write down my experiences in Singapore, hopefully every Sunday evening, and share them with anyone who cares to hear about them.  

After just about 72 hours in Singapore, I’ve actually accomplished a lot, including securing our new apartment, doing some shopping, figuring out the transportation system, and getting to know the neighbors and neighborhood.

The experience of moving in was quite interesting and I keep finding nuances in our apartment very different from the US.  First, the “takeover” appointment included myself,  two representatives from my realtor, one representative from my relocation company, three representatives from the property management company, two maintenance workers, a man from the gas company, and a very patient man from StarHub (Singapore’s version of Comcast)  This cable guy is by far the most bizarre since he actually waited for ME vs. the other way around!  (think about trying to schedule a Comcast appointment by comparison)  The meeting included a complete tour / inspection / owner’s manual review to ensure I was satisfied with everything.  About 100 pictures were taken of minor defects like scratched tile, marks on mirrors, etc. – to ensure I’m not charged for these minor damages when we leave.  (Jennifer – make sure Jessie and Charlie know I will leave them here if they decide to chew on the walls!)  Yet to be finalized are all of our new curtains, blinds, etc. – as I can’t possibly make those decisions without Jennifer.

After all sign-offs were complete and cable service was installed, I started to get settled.  With furniture delivery a few hours away, I spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the property, inside and out.  A few things I found interesting. 

1. There’s a remote control for everything.  Every room has at least 2 remote controls hung on the wall, plus multiple light switches – these operate ceiling fans, AC units, and lighting.  Amazingly, I’ve used the AC very little.  Our unit is very bright, but we are positioned in such a way that at no time of the day do we get direct sunlight blasting through our windows.  Our neighborhood is also off the main roadways a bit and has a lot of green space – based on conversations with others who lived elsewhere in Singapore, our area is much cooler on average than most other areas due to the location, low-rise structures, and green space.  All good as far as I’m concerned.
2. There’s a key for everything.  I need a janitor’s key ring to keep track of all the keys for each bedroom, mailbox, front door, back door, etc.  In a country with little, to no crime, I find this amusing that there are so many locks!
3.  Each bathroom and kitchen has its own hot water unit.  Pretty smart actually – you simply flip a switch about two minutes before getting in the shower to ensure there’s enough hot water and to avoid heating a large hot water heater all day.
4. The community grounds are beautiful.  You’ve all likely seen the pictures of the pool, etc – but the rest of the ground are very nice.  Every morning, a crew of about eight are outside sweeping, pruning, and cleaning.  It reminds me of every resort hotel I’ve ever stayed at both by appearance and the never ending attention to maintenance of the grounds.
5. SNAKES – no I haven’t seen any, but have been told the ground floor units occasionally find one laying on the back porch.  Once again, when this topic came up in conversation I expected people to tell me it never happens….but no, the responses simply confirmed they are alive and well. 

Transportation:   I wouldn’t say I’m an expert yet – but with my iPhone in hand, it’s pretty hard not to be.  The basic “map” app provides everything you need to get around town, including directions to the nearest bus or MRT stop, and specifics on which bus or train to take once you get there.  Seriously, it couldn’t be any easier, unless you take a taxi.  Taxis can be pre-ordered via another iPhone app or by flagging one down – which is just as easy.  The buses and trains are key, however, since the taxis pretty much become extinct during rain storms.  Odd.  I picked up my SMRT card yesterday, which is essentially a debit card you swipe when you get on or off the train or bus.  Really easy, and about 30% cheaper per ride than paying with cash.  Tomorrow morning’s my first real test as I take two buses to get to the office.

Shopping:  There’s plenty of this and it’s actually pretty daunting because of the sheer volume and massiveness of the malls.   It’s a five minute bus ride in any direction from our apartment to a shopping mall.  Orchard Road has the most shopping close by and is likely where we will spend most of our shopping time (and money).  There’s everything including grocery stores, electronics stores, KFC, McDonalds, DIY stores and high end retailers like Prada, Armani, Louis Vuitton, etc.  The crazy thing is each mall covers between 5-7 stories and there are often multiples of the same brand stores in the same building.

My most interesting experience was buying a new TV.  I checked a number of places, including Carrefour – which is the equivalent of Walmart.  They have everything, but no one who works there knows anything- again, the equivalent of Walmart.   I wound up picking out a 40-inch Samsung LED at an Australian-based retailer called Harvey Norman – basically a Best Buy store. (Jennifer I didn’t spend too much) – but  the interesting part of the transaction was the conversation with “Michael” who was about 25 and lived in Singapore his whole life.  He asked how I liked Singapore, and went on to ask if I liked how safe it was…..”it must be different than the US, because you are safer and you don’t have to worry about people carrying guns”.  This is actually the second time I’ve heard this reference to pistol-toting Americans roaming the country and I find it very amusing.  He was shocked (and I think a little disappointed) when I told him that was not the case and that the movies tend to overplay this aspect of American life.

Neighbors / Neighborhood:  One thing I’ve really come to enjoy about living here is the neighborhood and people here.  Out our back windows we can see the pool and it’s obviously a central point of social life in the neighborhood.  Both Saturday and Sunday, it was full of kids (10-15 at a time) all playing together.  There are bikes and scooters everywhere and kids running throughout the neighborhood.  Cooper and Sophia are going to love it!   I’ve learned there are only about four American families in our community, but everyone else is European or Australian and nearly everyone speaks English.  Honestly, I think more people speak English here than in Kennett Square! 

I’ve met a few families, all of them very nice – but suspiciously, I’ve seen no cornhole play, yet.  I actually have to credit a 3 year old girl for helping me start meeting the neighbors.  After about 10 minutes at the pool, she swam by with her father and asked me “who’s daddy are you?”.  I spoke with her American mother and Swiss father for the next 30 minutes and was quickly introduced to a bunch of other people as they came to the pool.  I was very lucky to meet this American / Swiss family – as they have an 8 year old daughter who goes to the same school where Cooper and Sophia will go.  She’s the only child in the neighborhood who goes to that school (most of the others go to the other national schools – Australian, Swiss, etc.).  Ella was very excited to hear that she would soon have friends in the neighborhood who go to her school.  She talked about how much she loves the Zoo, so I’m sure she and Sophia will get along very well.  Both parents spoke very highly of the school and the teachers, making me feel very confident in our decision to send the kids to SAIS.

 

About a 10-minute walk from our front door is an area called Dempsey Hill.  http://www.dempseyhill.com/  This area is home to a giant, 10 year-old Asian Arapaima named Peng Peng (I mean GIANT – like eight feet long), a bunch of antique furniture shops, and more bars and restaurants than you can count.  Okay, maybe you could count them, but there are a lot.  There’s fine dining, casual dining, seafood, pub food, Japanese, Mexican – even a Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream.  In addition, there are three really great little deli / wine shops with all kinds of fresh meats, cheeses, breads, etc.  So far, it is my favorite place to just walk around and have dinner. 

About five minutes further away from Dempsey Hill is the Singapore Botanic Gardens http://www.sbg.org.sg/   I’ve learned the gardens cover almost 200 acres and include ponds, the National Orchid Garden, and a ton of open space.  Every morning, this place is full of people exercising, doing Tai Chi – and my favorite, some bizarre Asian version of “line dancing” – I’d recommend seeing this spectacle just one notch below the Marina Bay Sands Observation deck.

 

So, that’s what’s been going on since Friday morning when I arrived.  In about three hours I’ll be heading to work – which hopefully will force me onto normal sleeping hours over here.