Hype or Height

Things got a bit kooky last night... I took Brad to a ‘Micro Brewery’..to be honest though the concept was slightly lost on me, it looked like a bar, served drinks like a bar but smelled slightly like old porridge...apparently that’s the yeast.

                                        

This place was called Level33, it is pretty famous in Singapore for having redonculous views and a good selection of beers, again lost on me I had a wine, (and on that note a pretty average Sauvignon Blanc for the $18 I payed for it) Although yes the views were epic, I wouldn’t hugely recommend this place. Located on the 33^rd story (obvi) of the Marina bay financial centre, it is expectedly filled with banker w*ankers, especially on a Thursday evening. The decor is alright but if you are not eating the lay out is in need of a 60 minute makeover...there is hardly any space to sit or stand as the bar itself is huge surrounding the big tank things I presume beer is kept or made in (ok I have not done my research). 



The tanks
picture courtesy of the robot must eat

The service was also robotic, if you wear waistcoats and long aprons, I expect faux European charisma, a French accent is not necessary, but I like to be charmed when having my wine.

The saving grace was definitely the view. All the tables outside seemed to get booked up pretty quickly, but pretending to be Mr and Mrs Chong we sat down at their table until they were due to arrive- executed seamlessly.



the view



We only stayed for one. This alone speaks volumes.

big pint/ small hands?

Not to let our spirits be damped we then went on to our trusty local, 'the bank' under our building. Thirsty thursday glory was swiftly restored.

Idyllic Indonesia

*Warning many, many photos*

As I am sure you all gathered by the rushed and non chronological nature of my last post, I was rather excited for our weekend jaunt to Indonesia.

Now I have made a point about the perks of Singapore previously, but this is beyond amazing. The place we went to was a picturesque spot called Bintan, a mere 50 min ferry journey from the shores of Singapore, and guess what...because they are an hour behind you actually arrive before you departed- seriously there are few things in life better than gaining an hour and ten minutes on your friday night!!



Waiting for the ferry, just in time.



Nervous anticipation?





A little more keen!



Off we jetted from the Ferry terminal at 8pm, playing it big time in 'Emerald Class' I would highly recommend that anyone who does a Bintan trip from Singers does this as it means you can sort your visa on board, you get priority boarding, all the free orange and apple juice your bladder can hold, and apparently (judging by the people who retreated from the upper deck as we docked) if you go out onto the upper deck you are actually transported back into the 80s. 

Why Bintan?

Well not just because 'we can' but because it is probably the most serene (apart from when they bang the gong when you arrive at the hotel- seriously) and easily accessible place from Singapore and the travel is dirt cheap and speedy. As it was our first trip away Brad VERY kindly splashed out on a beautiful hotel, a world renowned spa resort called the Banyan Tree, which made for a, not extortionately expensive weekend, but it is definitely possible to do it on a more sensible budget.

One of the main reasons for travel to Bintan is the golf. It is ball achingly (oh, pardon the pun) expensive to play golf in Singapore, so much so that it is just as cost effective to get a ferry over to Bintan, play a round, stay the night and then come back as it is to do 18 holes in the Shiny city, thus there are a LOT of golf types on board- not so much the stuffy 'too rich to do anything else' type as they can stay and play in Singapore- but more the Dad types and men on 'lads' weekends or corporate trips away, giggling gruffly over some tiger tinnies in the queue, and then having a little panic over whether or not their wives remembered to pack them pants for 2 days and sun cream for their sensitive maturing hairlines.

The Beautiful Banyan Tree

Without need to scramble for an overly exuberant adjective, the Banyan Tree was nothing short of incredible. Advertising a variety of rooms including villas on the rocks and villas on stilts, the selections is rendered irrelevant as once submerged in your own little paradise, you have absolutely no idea that there is anyone else around, until you are reintroduced to civilisation on your buggy rides to and from locations in the resort and in amongst the comforting background 'restaurant mumble' at breakfast and dinner.

We stayed in a Villa on the rocks which was beyond what I expected. the pictures on the website painted a stunning picture of sumptuous décor with traditional trimmings, however the breath taking setting a eye stretching views could only really be appreciated once there. Our room was set up above the rocks in amongst the trees, with a small gated terrace area with out own private pool/Jaccuzi with sun loungers and a table, so if you didn't want to , you didn't have to leave your villa at all. 

Hopefully the pictures will give you an idea...



Welcome



bed



mosquito nets have never looked so romantic



treats from reception





our outdoor area



Brads First Meal, traditional Indonesian Nasi Goreng, fried rice with mean satay prawns and fried egg





Breakfast views





Fernando the Frog



Argh posting those pictures just brought those Monday morning blues right back. Trust me, after a mini break to a tropical island, the cold reality of facing your inbox at 8:30 on a monday morning could not be further away!

I have to be honest though, as this was Brad and I, there was obviously a bit of drama....

On the final night after getting dropped off at our room we approached the movie set stairway leading up to our villa and Brad noticed our door was ajar...this was unexpected and instantly unnerving (We've all read about honeymooners horror stories in deserted Islans villas). Being the man and taking charge Brad marched on to investigate, on closer inspection we noticed it was a gang of hotel staff. Brad told me to wait behind as he commanded an inquisition. Certain they were taking their chances and having a rummage in our room Brad proceeded forward with his authorative face, telling them all to "stay exactly where they were."

 Turns out we weren't being robbed.

Nor was what came to follow Brads romantic handy work. Shame, he could have totally taken credit, lesson learnt 'Thou shan't be so hasty upon suspected robbery' as you never know when you could earn serious BF points (disclaimer. If there is an actual robbery taking place, probably best to act on it, more boyfriend legal credential that way) 

See the actual goings on below

 Imagine we'd had an argument at dinner. Awwwkward

Anyway after that photo overload, I will leave you all to planning your next sunshine jaunts.

Speak soon

XXX

Mini Milestones

Oopsies, I worte this post on Friday, but due to having a 'too long' long shower, almost missed our ferry to Indonesia so did not have time to publish it. So please attempt to read this babble through Friday eyes...

Doing my bit for the Singapore Road Network

We rounded off the weekend with a good old comfort Sunday, had a lie in, gymmed, bought unnecessary but ‘useful to have in the cupboard’ stuff at the supermarket (ground cumin?? I don't even know what a Cumin is), late lunch at the pub finished off by a cinema trip to see the Dictator. Thank god we did, because it has  been quite a hectic week

I must give you some prior warning this post is going to be rather scatty shambolic and incongruent, lacking both theme and/or structure. However I think this is ok as it accurately reflects my week, which is after all the point of this venture. So stick with it friends and I promise, if nothing else it will serve to make future posts seem far more professional.

Odd occurrences this week

Learning Chinese (sort of), Brad starting hockey, Brad prematurely retiring from hockey, Brad retaking up hockey, local lunches, and putting my fine blonde hair on the line braving a trip to a Singaporean hairdresser. You will be happy to know I am here to recount the events, in hopefully a not too lacklustre manner. (it is after all nearing the end of the day on Friday and we are off to Indonesia this evening for a spa retreat. GET ME THERE NOW)

Yao (Chinese for yes) I am on the road to bilingualism. It will however be a long and arduous journey. When I say I am learning Chinese, my mates Jen and Elyn at work are actually just giving me little phrases in Mandarin to learn to freak out the locals, thus far my repertoire includes yes, no and how much- useful in conversing at a)market stalls and b) with ladies of the night- apparently my Mandarin accent is far superior to my Cantonese, who knew! On the theme of my ongoing localisation, I have also gone for lunch with the girls from work a few times this week, it has been interesting to see what/ where/ how they eat on a day to day basis (Jen actually brought Brad and I some chopsticks back from Vietnam this week as a gift which was awesome, I’m now quite a dab hand, it only took me 2hrs 45 mins to eat my ham and cheese salad on Tuesday night). Food is a massive part of the culture here, but it turns out what and when they eat is very healthy- and trust me when the only implements you have are too large cocktail sticks you will soon cut down on the amount you shovel into you face. These are some of the lunches I tagged along to:

Beed, beansprout and noodle soup

Rice bean sprouts and vegetables

Grilled fish, veggies and rice.

Ok not strictly  a meal but some of the goodies Jen took back from Vietnam, some dried Mango and er, traditional Toblerone.

 Today we had an all out feast, Jay who sits with all of us girls (lucky boy) took us to a sort of back ally local food joint, ordered us a load of food and we just tried bits of everything, check out our little lunch time bonding sesh:

Don't be fooled by the smile, I don't really like rice. shhh

a vacuum packed cheesecake- just had to take a picture! 

In a ‘come dine with me’ esque twist Jay has offered to invite Brad and I round to eat with him and his wife next month where they will serve up an array of local delights and generally test us on our Singaporean immersion, I in turn offered to cook them a roast- he didn’t look so keen.

So my new idea... As an insight into the ‘Asian Diet’ and how these people stay so slim and live till about 300, I am going to (with the help of my local buddies) keep a food diary for a week of what they eat and drink on a day to day basis...I will also include how much of this I manage, and/or any side effects.

Wayfarering Wayfarer

Hockey and his team the Wayfarers, was a pretty big part of Brads life back in the UK, it provided the underpinnings of his social, sporting and drinking and cross dressing life- he was also pretty good. So since we have moved out to Singapore Brad has been asked to play at the Singapore cricket club. Great news, as some of his mates play there too. So as only Brad could, he met some guy on facebook who sells branded kit out of his car boot, arranged to meet him on Sunday afternoon, got fully kitted out and went to his first training session on Tuesday night.

GOOD GOD IT AGED HIM

Since returning from Hockey on Tuesday evening, Brad has not been able to sit, stand, walk and as he tries to claim, feed himself unaided. Mystifying. Brad has been pretty active since we got here utilising our fancy in house gym, but apparently running around in the sweltering heat chasing a ball is all new levels of physical exertion. Hopefully he will acclimatise, if not he may have to take up bridge.

Cautious Colouring

There are many horror stories floating around expatville regarding local hairdressers and blonde highlights. It is not because they are not good it is just that Asian and Caucasian hair are very different (well observed Sian) in every way imaginable, strength, growth rate, durability (if that is a hair term) and pigmentation. Woven highlights as us lighter haired ladies know, are essential to achieve that, “oh my hair just goes light in the sun” look. So I let my roots grow out for 6 weeks, normally not an issue, but as my hair is growing at beastlike rates in the sun overhear, I was well overdue a touch up. I was referred quite a few good hairdressers by fellow blondies but they can be very expensive, seriously, like $700 for a full head (about 350 quid) and unless they are planning on resurrecting Vidal Sasson himself to cut and colour my locks, I am not parting with that kind of cash, for a maybe ok result. So after careful consideration and cost calculation, I threw caution to the wind and booked an appointment at the hairdresser nearest my house. 1) Because I’m a daredevil lazy and 2) Choice confuses me. Last night I took the plunge.

You will look like a div wherever you get your hair done. fact. 

Fortunately it turned out great, Gary from Malaysia was trendier than my right arm and looked like he had been blown over from Brick Lane, got the foils out and everything (I was half expecting the old cap and hook) He did a diligent and professional Job AND did not feel the need to comment on how dry my hair was. Gary got a tip. Also two absolutely cracking ideas that UK hairdressers could do with implementing 1) Ipads to play with at all of the chairs, makes whiling away the hours much more bearable. 2) LIE DOWN HAIR WASHING CHAIRS. This was incredible, instead of those achey neck sado-massacist torture chairs they use in UK hair salons, they have a sort of lie down bed that your legs dangle off and your head lies flat in a sink. Hair washing heaven.

the results. sorry it could do with a wash.

For any Expats reading this, I went to Mode in the Marina Link Mall check out the website here: Mode Hair Gallery

All in all it has been a pretty normal, yet somehow eventful week. Anyway I must run as I need to pack for Indonesia, I couldn’t do it this morning as our cleaner got my wardrobe stuck closed, I wasted enough time having a strop in my pants panicking about what to wear to work to plan ahead. Lots of photos to come!

Aw crap, I haven’t learnt the Chinese for Bye yet, so errr. Bye.

XXX