Sunshiney Days

In all honesty wherever you are in the world, work is work "Same Sh!t different view" as they say...

This is true. Although I do enjoy my job, once consumed by the stark white walls and strip lighting of the office, getting on with your day to day tasks is much of a much. Yeah ok so there are little perks about being in a country where its never below 30 degrees i.e. no jackets (come winter I will be eating my words when I'm missing out on coats scarfs and boots) always being warm when you walk home etc. However it is the weekends that you have to make it count. 

This weekend my friend from work and I did just that. The sun was shining, her Fiancé was out of town and we were lacking on the tan front. So we hit the beach. That's right, Singapore has a beach. In fact Singapore has an entire holiday-esque resort named Sentosa.

Sentosa, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure is worlds away from the Singapore the rest of the world sees. You can get to it by road, Shuttle train or gondola (as in ski lift type not Venecian boat powered by a man with a stick). It boasts 2 golf courses, 2 five star hotels, Casino, Villas of the mega rich, universal studios and 2 massive man made beaches. If you live on the equator, this is exactly what you're after. 

Anyway, my friend and I spent saturday afternoon at Tanjong beach club, chilling in the pool, lazing on the beach, making our way through strawberry daiquiris like they were going out of fashion and a couple of cheeky Tiger beers concealed in my shoes. 

It was the perfect way to spend a saturday afternoon, experiencing some more of Singapore and also catching some rays. For those of you who know it, Tanjong Beach club is rather like a slightly more laid back, family friendly, budget, version of Nikki Beach, you can hire beds and day time slouching seamlessly transitions into evening sleazing. Perfect. 

They also host events at TBC such as the 'Full Moon Party' and 'Smack my beach up" we will attend all of these and party our very hardest all in the name of good blogging material.

photos courtesy of Yatzer.com 

 I though I would share with you the internets portrayal of TBC (above). It was very nice however think of these pics as the 'show home version'. Below are the few snaps I managed to get, apologies, my focus appears to have been the sand.

Another perk I have been revelling in as a result of the beaming sunshine in Singapore, is the opportunity to wear summery clothes (well at the weekends) I am a big endorser of the 'seasonal wardrobe' so I may start to tire of this soon, however I'm still on a bit of a honeymoon period with my shorts, so long may it continue. Gone is my uniform of Black skinnies and ankle boots, and in its place a rainbow array of hot pants (thanks topshop) bikinis and floaty tops. Have a gander at some of my recent faves below.

Inspired by Joseph 

Sian and her technicoloured dream shorts

I learnt a valuable lesson on week one about bikini lines and office attire. They do not mix. So I have purchased some new detachable strap bikinis to get me through the tough times. This mother, is what I presume you meant by wise investments. 

Blue Toppers Bikini, available in white Here 

Neon Warehouse number, available Here

Classic H&M Combo, availalbe Here

 Hope the weather's not too bad wherever you're reading from, we've always got a spare room my walk in wardrobe where are you are welcome to crash, maybe I should sack in the day job and run an overseas B&B...

Sunshine season's a'comin

XXX

An Education

Another weekend of culinary and cultural delights, but this time I've decided to get deep (ish)

More on this man in a min 

Singapore, as we know it today, is not all that old. Gaining independence in 1965 this world we have emerged ourselves in is pretty shiny and new, to the extent where most high-rises are ripped down and rebuilt after 5 years and cars over 10 years old are banned. However its not all high flyers and trophy wives (or Titis as they are known here), like the residential streets of Clapham you can still find a stark clash of cultures, they just don't show it on the postcards. Behind its pristine glass and marble facade there are still the underpinnings of local traditions, in the form of food (at the Hawker markets) Architecture (streets of listed buildings) and the language often being spoken within earshot. 

This got me thinking, is there much history around us at all that we are actually exposed to every day but are completely ignorant to it? Well my friends over the next few weeks I aim to find out, I will try to google the places I go in a semi-educational exposé of modern Singapore, and in turn you can add these little factoids to your pub quiz arsenal. Deal?

My Mate Jim

After a long week at work, interrupted by the Dr experience, I was very much looking forward to Friday night. About 16 of us were going for a big group meal at a Thai restaurant called Jim Thompson. It was a great group, we didn't all know each other but all had mutual friends so we were all chatting away happily. The cocktail list was thicker than the menu, to the extent where after finally settling on a Lychee Daquiri (Icey alcoholic dreams) I didn't even make it past the Starters page. I did however learn that Goong means prawn, you know your on safe ground (if you like prawns) when the miscellaneous Thai food has 'Goong' in the title. 

This Little lady threw some shapes

By the end of the evening, in proper playground style, we had split into a boys table and a girls table, where we remained until long after the restaurant closed. We discussed gellish, cocktail bars and ladies nights...I wouldn't be surprised if the boys did too. 

The Restaurant itself was beautiful, we sat outside submerged in serene surroundings of linen sashes, human sized birdcages, traditional dancers, and water features. The food was traditional thai munch with a contrast of funky modern glasses distracting from the potency of the cocktails, and food arrived in silverware straight from Aladdin's cave.

(Pictures courtesy of jarofsalt because, well, I forgot)

Curry fishcakes, i didn't have these because they didn't have Goong in the title.

He dead

I want one of these for my cereal

This is how all Curry's should come!

Lychee Martini (not a candle)

So who is Jim?

I asked this very question in the restaurant, in my naivety I though 'Jim Thompson' was a very odd name for a Thai restaurant. Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong. 

In the same boat? You may know the film 'The King and I'? well then you're sort of half way there...

Jim Thompson was an American architect and retired army officer who breathed new life and revitalized Thailand’s silk industry but one day just vanished of the face of the earth. Jim's post-war contributions to Thailand are pretty big time, giving women a chance to weave from home and raising people out of poverty after establishing the Thai Silk Company. His biggest breakthrough came in the form of the musical by Rogers and Hammerstein, “The King And I” where costumes were created out of Jim Thompsons’s jewel-toned hand-woven fabrics.

According to Wikipedia (valued source) Thompson visited friends in Cameron Highlands one day to stay at the Moonlight Bungalow. Then on Easter Sunday in 1967, he heads outdoors to take an afternoon stroll. He never came back. The Mystery has never been solved.


So boys and girls next time you buy a beautiful Thai silk scarf, tie or any other silk garments you sway towards....you know who to thank.

Some of Jimmy T's Fineries 

...

On that Cryptic note, I'm off. We have a proper sunday lined up, Super market, Gym, Cinema. Struggling to get out of bed so time to blare some tunes through our snazzy new internet TV (we have become proper Asian Techno Geeks) here's a tune below to get you out of bed.

Happy Sunday, 5 days till the weekend!

XXX