Basically locals...

Hello world. Sorry its been a while since last post, we have been RIDICULOUSLY busy for the last few days, however as of approx an hour ago we have been here for a whole week- happy one week anniversary Singapore! (as my friends will vouch my interest usually ceases after a week so this bodes well)

So. What have we been upto? I think it is probably best to tackle this in a coherent and organised manner I therefore introduce to you..."subheadings"  (i'm also alone in the hotel tonight so have time on my hands, actually my preference was to go and watch the Asian Shania Twain live tribute act in the hotel bar, but there's no seats left. Shes a corker i'm not surprised. )

The last thing I wrote of any longevity (appart from some hugely embarrasing drunken texts to Brad when they were probably least appropriate) was my dissertation, I shall follow that template accordingly.

Contents

Adapting

Househunting

Adapting

I think its fair to say we took quite a leap of faith. Neither Brad nor I know much about Singapore atall and are both far to arrogant to proclaim ignorance and ask for help or be seen touting a map, so the first morning we scavanged a map in the hotel, hid it inside a newspaper and walked nonchalantly through the lobby to smuggle our contraband up to the room. We wanted to gage our bearings and get to know the city a bit before starting the househunt. Turns out Singapore has 28 districts. We decided in that moment we would cap it at 4. So hotel breakfust buffet done, Brad cleaned up said it would "see him through to the evening", we set off into the suana, sorry, city.

The first thing you will notice about Singapore is it is mentally clean, it had now been about an hour since I had showered and it was making me feel dirty in comparison! This is due to the fining system here, they literally love a fine. I swear when i am back i will never grumble at a 30 quid (cant find a pound sign on this keyboard) parking ticket again. you get fined for EVERYTHING and the police are ninjas. They will catch you.

Crime is also non existant here (quote wikipedia) and on learning about the frequently used corporal punishment i am not surprised, caning is the main form used. I shan't go into details for fear of being arrested, but google it. not nice.

Anyway accurate crime stats aside, we have been loving it, after a weekend of manic house hunting, cramming 15 flats in in 2 days (more on this later) we spent the rest of the weekend walking about and generall taking in Singapore.

As most expats here will tell you there are some amazing bars/bistros/nightlife spots etc along the river, these are 3 'Quays' which roll into one another, Robertson Quay, good for japanese food apparently, Clark Quay, the boozy bit and Boat Quat, the slightly more touristy bit. The whole stretch is perfect for post work drinks, nights out, hungover brunches etc...

T shirt shorts and sunnies. that is all.

Robertson Quay (obviously)

Brunch

taught him how to use a knife and fork

In addition to finding our feet and favourite haunts, we have also been picking up on the odd cultural difference. Firstly singlish. As lovely as the locals are here it is SO difficult to understand them, i have found my self speaking with a silghtly Asian twang back to them, slower, and louder. Rather like 'Franglais' but less endearing, more boarderline insulting. 

The language barrier, currency, MRT underground system and cusine are all things we can adapt to in time. There is however one factor that i am struggling to come to terms with. THEY DO NOT SELL FAKE TAN IN SINGAPORE. ANYWHERE. Infact they are so utterly anti fake tan, they only seem to sell 'whitening lotion' everywhere i go. If i wanted to embrace my inner Scott, I would not have come to Asia to do it. You may think this a trivial woe. You are wrong. Although yes, it is never less then 30 degrees here and i suppose in time i will develop some sort of natual tan, this however is largely hindered by the fact i am in an air conditioned office most of the time. 

I genuinely thought (hoped) this was for teeth

Brad was also worried he wouldnt be able to find things such as his normal hair clay, toothpaste and deoderant. Fortunately for him though his favourite is a big hit with the locals...

Only Five quid!

Our city exploits have been capped as of Monday as we both started work, but based on these findings i cannot wait to see what's to come! 

Househunting

When there are 28 districts on the map and your catalogue of geographical knowledge includes only airport, hotel and bars househunting was always going to be a slight challenge. Until we met Dawn.

Christ knows how, but as Brad does he just "got a name from someone" this someone transpired to be an angel. A heineken drinking, BMW driving, body of an 18 year old, estate agent called Dawn. She picked us up outside Brads office on Friday itinerary in hand and for 2 days drove us around Singapore, this was incredibly useful for getting to grips with where everything is, and meant we crammed in loads of viewings. the places we viewed ranged from large condos which rivalled holiday resorts, perhaps not homely but amazing, to luxuary executive appartments to actualy (excuse the profanity) shit holes... at least the diverse range helped us quickly decide what we wanted.

Durig our househunting escapade there was one stand out performance. We entered this rather indiscript block of flats in a fairly nice area, got to the door with Dawn and waited for the selling agent to answer. Eventually the door swung opern and this cascade of noise flooded the hallway, weird because i couldnt see anyone. Then she appeared this 4 foot skinny Singaporian realator who would be just as enthusiastic selling ice to eskimos. The flat itself was pretty crap but she gave us the hard sell. Even Brad, the dictionary definition of a sales man was blown away. to distract from the building sight next door she demonstrated thoroughly how we could draw the curtains and put on the lights to creat "romance feel" for "special nights" to deter me from noticing there was no microwave or dishwasher she drew our eye to the delightful kitchen wallpaper covered in blue stars like "the night sky at daytime"....her skillset continued to amaze. The woman could not be faulted, her enthusiasm was second to none. Shame the flat was a dump, as we left we felt bad, but nevertheless the search must go on.

WRONG this was not the last we saw of her. By the time we got to the carpark she was WAITING BY THE CAR to give us that one final plug. "This is very good flat for very little money, you find nothing else this good in Singapore trust me" (the valuable opinion) "There is a lot of competition, in fact i think another couple will offer tomorrow, you should secure it by the end of today" (fear of loss). This woman literally wrote the textbook. Sad to say we didnt go with that flat, despite her efforts. We are however a bit scared she'll pop up in the hotel at breakfast.

...

Flats we viewed tended to vary from good sized slightly run down older buildings to a bit pokey beautiful new builds. Then we discovered the Malaga of Singapore. The expat condos...
Dont get me wrong, some of these are really nice, family friendly hotspots, however we could only think of one word to describe the inmates, sorry, residents of one of these said condos, and that was PUNTERS.

LADS

The facilities themselves werent actually that bad there was a pool, tennis courts etc. However if the ratio of 'Kareoke rooms' to actual useful amenities wasn't bad enough, the extras from TOWIE walking round clenching a can of tiger beer in either fist chanting, actually i'm not sure what, unfortunately pushed us over the edge.

Anyway panic not. After 2 long days of trapsing arounf Singapore WE FOUND A FLAT!! we viewed it on Saturday, Brad went back on Monday and they have now accepted out offer and we have signed the contract planning to move in on this coming Saturday, but i shall wait until we are settled to give you the grand tour. I will however say it is BEAUTIFUL and about a 4 minute walk to work. Friends the spare bedroom is already made up, get booking flight tickets now. In the meantime, here's a teaser, its called One Shenton, its the gold building below...

'Lewington's little Lodge'

Right, I think that concludes this evenings ramblings, I would tell you all about work (which is great) but i have been in taining for the past few days so I shall wait until there are more exciting events to report, most likely after thursday night drinks.

On a final, final note. I would just like to thank Mummy Owen for getting her lovely friend Shirley to deliver us some Percy Pigs when we met her for a drink on Saturday- nothing like home comforts...

I'm off to try and catch the end of Shania Twain... have a good day UK. (a bit too Ron Burgendy?) Night Night

XXX

And so the journey begins

Punctuality, as those who know me will vouch, is not one of my strengths (unless you have ever received my cv then I am punctual, systematically organised and highly capable of prioritising) however, on moving day, I surprised even myself. Bags packed, highlights done, haircut for Brad, where they tried to convince him to grow a rats tail because "they like that in Asia" and taxi booked, we were sitting in the living room with half an hour to spare. Deservedly I cracked into my first bloody Mary, our flight wasn't for 5 hours, but I'm a slightly nervous flyer, so I think this was rational.

 In a blur of reminiscing we were suddenly at the airport about to check in. A minor point which I have failed to mention until now is that due to Brad being several runs up the metaphorical "career ladder" he gets to sit on a higher deck. In first class, no biggy. Being the gent (acknowledging the possible consequences) he did offer to a) upgrade me or b) sit in economy with me. Turns out Singapore airlines don't do on the spot upgrades, so being a delightful girlfriend, and highlighting that I would probably just sleep I agreed with Brad that he should enjoy his seat upstairs (LIE I obviously wanted the extra backache allowance that we got with his ticket...crafty) still racking up a commendable 30kg excess baggage (ironically brads not mine) they waved the MASSIVE fee for us. I like to this this was through pity for me aided by my slightly drunken (yet law abiding) check-in banter, Brad is adamant it was his charm and chivalry. To be honest it's probably because there were about 20 people on the flight. ...

Now I am by no means a snob, but I just have this thing about certain chain restaurants. Don't get me wrong I'm never going to say no to a pollo salad down pizza express, can always make time for a ZiZi's and always feel at home, yet still a bit on holiday in cafe rouge, finding myself forever compelled to order in a slightly French accent, so they understand...then there is McDonald's I don't care what the milkshakes are made of, they taste like dreams. But somewhere in limbo, far between the 2 safe camps lay the deceitful, faux Italian establishments that lure people in with their simple branding and low prices, also being unable to eat wheat their menus have about as much to tempt me as the Sahara. SO where better to have our London send of meal than in terminal 3s very own bar AND restaurant, family friendly. STRADA.

Brad played it safe with spag Bol. I ordered salmon, I received a deep fried fish chip, on some leaves. I rest my case...however not to be deterred by the food I spotted prosecco on the menu, this was a celebration after all. Soon all fish chip issues were rendered obsolete, and shortly it would transpire, would my composure.

 On the way to the gate we spotted a little champagne bar, we had time and some notes to get rid off so had a FINAL toast to London. I don't remember getting on the plane.

 ...

I have this weird issue with flying, some may understand. It's not the safety bit, it's the lack of control and if I get scared I can't put my feet on the ground. Explaining this irrational panic to Brad's sister she gave me some tips from an air hostess friend:

 If you hear 1 'bong': someone is asking for service

2 bongs: the staff or pilot need assistance or have a request

3 bongs: Emergency

Every double bong that echoed through the cabin I awaited the third in bated breath, this soon got boring and I relaxed. IMAGINE the terror that floods through my veins when that third bong happened. I was on my second episode of 'come fly with me' and the bong rang through my ears like church bells in a deserted town. As if in slow motion about 16 aeroplane staff scurried to the front of the plane whispering frantically. I felt sick, it was horrible and according to flight tracker, we were somewhere above Afghanistan, brilliant. The seatbelt signs hadn't come on by this point so I thought about making a break for the upper deck to be with Brad, as I was assessing my access routes a wave of relief washed towards me. The cabin crew filtered back to their zones and I reassessed the situation. Turns out someone was stuck in the loo. Still, I'm glad we all made it....thanks for the heads up on the emergency bongs Hayley.

Brad's palace

 The rest of the flight was pretty drama free. Pointer, pins and needles in the sky is not necessarily deep vein thrombosis. The lovely Singapore airlines staff let me go upto first class for the last leg of the flight so we could touch down together, heros. Brad had been down to 'visit' me a few times, but it was nice to see in Singapore, sober, together.

 ...

So hear we are, living in our room in the holiday inn until we have our flat sorted. Day 1 has been productive, despite severe jet lag we managed to open bank accounts, find our offices which are amazingly next door to each other and I got Brad onto the metro, TWICE, this already equals my London success rate. Another day of exploring, sorting and spending shall ensue tomorrow, until then, Goodnight. (that's 'singlish' for goodnight.)

Plenty of room at the Inn

first morning view

XXX

How it all Began...

Today 08/05/2012 my boyfriend (Brad) and I are relocating from London to Singapore. Why? well, I supposed to best place to start is the beginning...

In December 2010 I moved to London to start a new job in the city. I  got on a train with my entire wardrobe in suitcases, moved into a flat share I found online and generally threw myself in at the deep end. It was a new, slightly terrifying yet exciting world. Work was a shock to the system at first (I felt professional just commuting on the tube with the Metro under my arm) but I soon found my feet, and surround by new friends and uni friends slotted into my new "London Life"

Although times were good, they were a little tough initially working long hours, living off a pretty basic salary and trying, yet consistently failing to find a "healthy balance" between work and play. As the months went by memories were made, nights out were forgotten, I started to do well at work and was becoming increasingly more capable of holding 2 glasses of Pinot Grigio and still making it to work on time the next day. 

Another couple of months on and life was ticking along quite nicely. I loved living close to all my best friends and worst influences, and hard work was paying off. It was an intoxicating mix of evening drinks and the buzz of forging our way in the real world, no longer being asked "where do we study?" but now "what do we do?"

This all seems great, but the one thing that appears to be missing from this equation is the boyfriend, well thats where it gets a little complicated, as he was there from the start, in fact, he was essentially the reason I moved to London in the first place. In a poor attempt to dodge a cliche....My boyfriend was my boss...

So fast forward to March this year and after work one evening Brad comes home from work with his serious face on and asks me how I would feel about moving to Singapore as he had an incredible job opportunity? A few weeks, several discussions and a job offer all of my own, later it was official, we would be moving in May.

People keep asking if we're scared, and why we're going when we have everything we need here? So to answer those questions, no we're not scared, yet. However i may be when i see my excess baggage fees at the airport. And when they ask why...well why not?! We have an opportunity to keep working hard, hopefully earn a little more but also to discover Asia, to have new life experiences, to travel to places for long weekends that we could otherwise only hope to visit once a year from the UK. And we can finally be a couple, properly. No sneaking about, no work taboos, no dodging photos, and we can live together- that in itself will be something of an experience.

So on that basis, welcome to my blog. As we embark on this mad Asian experience for the next few years I want to share our journey and our attempt of transition into Expat life, sharing our disasters, discoveries and adventures along the way.

But for now I better go, we leave in 4 hours and I have my 'last minute important things' to do. This includes a last minute appointment for a full head of highlights.... don't know when i'll next see a trusted salon after all...

Speak soon,

Sian. x