Lazy Day and Planning

Today was quite a lazy day as Mark and I headed up to the Navy Exchange for some groceries whilst our visitors took the opportunity to laze by the pool and sit in the warmth of our lovely Singapore sunshine and read or relax.
Whilst shopping we spotted Rob and Sarah who were also getting their big-shop in.  We were like 'kids in a sweet shop' picking up all of the items we had gone so long without, didn't think was normally good value or hadn't seen before.  
When we got back we decided to write down everything everyone wanted to do and arrange days to do them on.  I wish i had done this with my Mum and Grama when they came over as its really quite stressful trying to guess what things people will enjoy, and even worse-heartbreaking when they announce things aren't to their liking.
We now have three full weeks of things to do and it looks like the only time we'll be able to sit down is when we go on our holiday to kk!

The MRT

One thing you get told about Singapore is that its transport system is pretty good.  As food and drink isn’t allowed on the trains or the stations (and as, quite frankly, its Singapore) its very clean and feels very safe.

When I arrived a neighbour kindly gave me a spare ez-link card which would have cost me $5 otherwise.  These cards hold whatever sum of money you put on them and can be used instead of paying cash whilst on buses and at MRT stations.  You can get cards at Singpost outlets (but you only pay the $5 as you cant actually top up the card).  7elevens (which will charge you $10 all together-$5 for the card, and $5 of stored credit).  As well as at a ticket office in an MRT station (which will charge you $12 for $7 worth of credit).  The $5 for the card is non refundable so when I buy spares for visitors I will be able to pass them onto new expats when we leave Singapore.

As I don’t work and only use the MRT and buses a couple of times a week it doesn’t work out as good value for me to buy one of ez-link season passes which are sold on a weekly or monthly basis. 

The ez-link cards make it really easy to explore as there is no fear of missing your stop and being told off, or taking time to count out the new coins you’re unsure of whilst everyone is waiting to go.  Although I have been in both of those situations and everyone was actually really kind and patient with me!  When I got to an MRT station I was really pleased that it was easy to navigate too.  It works out cheaper to have one of these cards instead of always paying cash too.  For example it cost me $1.10 to get from Dover Road to Clementi Mall on the bus, but only 87cents with the card.

source

You have to press your card to the barrier to be let through and follow the signs to find out which side of the tracks you have to go to for where you want to go.  I found that in the beginning, when I didn’t really know the lines, that it was best to roughly remember the end stations on your line so you knew which way was home, and which way was ‘out’.  On my line I knew that Joo Koon was home and Pasir Ris was the way to head into the city.

My station is Dover which is only on the green line, however you might have a busier station as the one nearest your home.  If you do, it will invariably be larger, but again really well sign posted for you to get about.  One thing which I didn’t quite understand until I tried to take a short cut is that the stations can be underground caverns and to change line will have you walking quite a distance.  Sometimes it’s easier to stay on the line for a bit longer and only change once, than it is to take three short journeys on three lines as you might waste a lot of time walking between routes in the station.  This is probably really obvious, however it took me quite a long time to figure this out.

One final thing to say is WE’RE ON AN ISLAND, HOW LOST CAN YOU GET?  This is another thing that took me a while to get.  When I was 14 I travelled from Aberdeen to Andover by train…via Wales.  I got lost, but I got there.  I added over 200 miles to my trip in the end, but I got there.  The thing is, you aren’t going to get too lost on the MRT, I normally have more trouble with the escalators that cover two levels at once than I do on the trains, so I urge you to get out and explore as quickly as you can! 

Lists

Whilst Mark has been really busy organising things for the move, i.e. the actual move and how it will be choreographed, I’ve been really busy organising a list of things I want to do in Singapore when we finally get there.  (I’ve got priorities too you know…)  Having went to library school I am an avid reader and a supporter of libraries in general and public ones specifically.  I have ordered up every book in the system on Malaysia, Asia and Singapore.  I want to know about the cultures and religions in Asia, places to visit, the history and pretty much anything else I can find.  I have a list of places I want to visit from local parks and architecture to trips we can seemingly easily make to further away destinations.

I’ve also been reading up on the area we’ll be living in, and trying to find out more about that.  It’s in an area that has lots of educational establishments and which I think might keep me a bit connected with home seeing as from the ages of 4 to 24 I was in education and then worked in public libraries attached to schools afterwards.  I always make resolutions for the New Year in September and not January as I’m so used to new beginnings in autumn.  So being the true geek that I am I have been trying to find out about our new neighbourhood so we can ‘hit the ground running’ and not feel out of place for too long. 

I found out that someone holds a tour in it which is quite exciting and makes me really hope it’s nice, although I don’t think it’s a real ‘black and white’ like they say in the tour.  I kind of get the impression someone has just taken some black paint to a nice house!  However, it is still a really nice house and I love that our new home is connected to nature and I get to have a garden.  I also found a blog that mentioned walking routes in the area and so will try to have a walk when I am more used to the heat.  We don’t have a pool like Marks colleague does, but Mark has been looking up how easy it will be to build one when we’re out there.  For something we will use every single day I don’t think it will be that expensive.

I’m quite glad that we aren’t having to pick a place to live ourselves as we had originally thought.  It seemed to get quite stressful and was a lot of pressure to choose a home for the next two years from the other side of the world.  All decisions are being taken out of our hands and we can focus on getting ourselves (and belongings) over in one piece.            

Time will tell

Hello, Hello, Sheila here I thought I would actually do a post instead of lurking around just reading lots of Singapore blogs and letting Mark do all the writing.  I have been extremely touched by some kind emails I have received whenever I have commented on peoples blogs.  I have been given lots of advice, or more links to help us and offers of trips and tours so that I can start to find my way even though I’m far from family.

I thought I would list out some things I am excited about and worried about in the hope that all of the exciting things don’t disappoint and all of the things that cause concern turn out to be irrational…here goes:

Things I am worried about:

1.    I really hope that I can start to meet people and form friendships, as I have a really good circle of friends here in Scotland.

2.    I’m freaking out in case I ‘get’ culture shock and end up quite irrational.  This post from The Expat Bostonians explains and I don’t want to  look back at this amazing opportunity and remember being cross and unhappy.

3.    Our little dog Daisy who I really hope doesn’t get too upset on the move.

Our little cottage

Things I am excited about:

1.    The opportunity to travel to amazing destinations we would never have visited from Scotland.  I can’t wait to take full advantage of the airport and ferry links.

2.    Living in the biggest house I’ve ever stayed in.

3.    Being in  a big city.

4.    Being able to save more money for wherever we eventually buy a home of our own.

Hop, Skip & Jump......

One of the many things that is exciting us about our move to Singapore is just how easy it is to hop around the world. Being in Aberdeen doesn't offer us the same luxury when selecting holiday locations. It does however mean a 3 or 4 hour drive to another airport but then your choices are still limited.

I've been to Borneo, Australia, Vietnam and Hong Kong with my work. I want to experience all of these locations with Sheila. We can be across in Perth, Australia in 5 hours! Some of the places on our H,S & J (Hop, Skip & Jump) bucket list are :

Borneo

Hong Kong Skyline

Bali

Perth, Australia