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!

A trip to Ghim Mo Market

Sarah and I headed out to Ghim Mo market on Tuesday as we’d heard it was our closest and we really wanted to get in about all of that delicious fresh fruit and vegetables.  Sarah had a couple of hours before she had to pick up her eldest who has just started half days at nursery school so we left around 10am and took the quick drive from my house where Sarah picked me up.

We parked near some HBDs and walked off in the general direction we believed the market to be.  I have no sense of direction and constantly claim never to have been places I could have been sitting in 5 minutes ago so I let Sarah lead the way.  She quickly got us to the wet market and we started to weave in and out of all of the stalls.  There is a section for food, the proper wet market area for all of the freshly prepared fish and the shops area where they sell some pillow cases or towels.  All around the market is little shops selling shoes or bags, or regular grocery shops.  There were several coffee shops as well as chemists and some shops that looked like they had just been set up for Chinese New Year, although they looked like they could hold their own in a beach front in a Mediterranean resort.   

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We walked around the market a couple of times just looking before we actually grabbed a basket and started filling it with fruit and veg.  I got some peaches, nectarines, dragon fruit, plums, peppers and an aubergine which all worked out cheaper than fair price.  While Sarah got hers I played with her youngest daughter who was having great fun putting oranges into my basket whilst I took them out again.

Once we got our supplies we looked at the lime trees for sale which were decorated with ribbons for Chinese New Year.  I also like the look of some ‘cath kidston’ bags and purses, but pulled myself away from them lest Mark never trust me with housekeeping again!

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Unfortunately the market is supposed to be closing this year for refurbishment which puts paid to my plans of cycling down there on a sunny morning to pick up our supplies for the day.  I will definitely be back there and could happily walk, but will endeavour to find a bus which might take me part of the way back.  If going by MRT I think the closest stop is buona vista as its quite close to (but the other side of) the star mall.  The only thing I’d recommend is looking up it’s still open by the time you get round to going!

Food Delivery

We spotted a little while ago that Cold Storage had a Christmas Food Catalogue.  In the UK i'd get stuff from Marks & Spencer, but although they have shops here, they don't offer any sort of Christmas food service.  So we started looking through the CS catalogues and picked a deal that looked good to us.

We were able to pick a package of three meats that we wanted, but you could pick turkey or a ham or beef on its own.  It seemed to us a good idea to pick one of each and put things we didn't want in the freezer.

We could pick a time we wanted the delivery for free and then also pay then too.  With our package we got a cool bag for free too, so with those 'savings' we picked out a yule log too. 

 Let me tell you...it was like Christmas unwrapping that giant chocolate cake, I didn't want to package it all up again.

 Just look at how very cute it is, and I'm surprised it didn't get squished in transit.  It was very good packing. 

 Look at that face, she knows it's going to be a good year when you unwrap a cool box like this. 

A fully cooked turkey that just needs heated up, a fully cooked (not processed) ham and beef with black pepper sauce.

I always over cater...I can't help it.  I'm used to people popping in or having lots of visitors.

It all looks so good, these pictures don't really show how yummy it all looked.  We didn't NEED these things to be cooked, but I think because regular Singaporean kitchens aren't too big it works out really well for the majority of people to have things pre-cooked.  It means that tomorrow we can cut what we like and put it in a shallow dish with lots of gravy and no stress. 

It also means that we can now head out to catch Disneys Frozen.  I am really missing not going to the Pantomime with my family on Christmas Eve this year so Mark is taking me out to a Wintery Disney film to make up for the brave faces I've been putting on.

We should have time to get some pizza first too.  Not quite the full Christmas dinner I would normally have whilst overlooking Union Terrace Gardens, but our new tradition all the same.  We are here.  This is our home and I am so thankful that we've got each other on this adventure.

Daisy says "Merry Christmas to all!"  Whats that Daisy.....?  

"This one is mine....ok?", Ok Daisy, if you say so...

RDA and The Polo Club

The other day I was invited to go along to help out with the Riding for the Disabled Association of Singapore by Amanda ( aka, the hostess with the mostest who held the pot luck dinner). I'm pretty scared of horses and was never a little girl that just loved ponies so deep down I was a bit apprehensive. However, I did think it would be great excuse to get out and see people. With Mark being away from home I also really needed something to speak about when he came back from KL.
Amanda asked that I be there for 8am as she was organising us getting a lift there, so this would be an early start for me. I dragged myself out of bed bright and early then headed off to Amanda's early as we planned to get so coffee in ourselves first. Amanda hadn't been sleeping so well, so when I went round she said that she had rearranged plans so that she'd drive us there herself. She'd also organised for Tcina, another newbie, to come along too. At this my ears pricked up....."someone newer than myself? Why wasn't I told?" Hmmm, long story short, Mark hadn't been taking the new 'phone numbers list' home...grr.
After our shot of coffee we got in the car and headed off up North near the MacRitchie Reservoir just off Thomson Road. It's so pretty and leafy there and it's surprising to see so much space in this little island. When we arrived at the RDA we got to look around and watch the horses as well as volunteers setting up for the riders. Tcina and I got to chat a little and arrange a day out the next day as we obviously weren't allowed to jump into the arena. After filling out some forms we were allowed to shadow the side walkers which was really interesting and gave me a taste for helping out in future.
After such a busy morning Amanda invited us round to The Polo Club where her family has membership. Tcina and I were more than willing to dip into the pool or laze on a lounger and sip cool drinks. I loved the juxtaposition of swimming along, looking over the field to the sky-scrapers beyond.
After a bite to eat (satays....what else?), Amanda showed us Turf City and a really cool looking reclamation yard. Turf City is somewhere I am going to have to go with Mark, I think he will love how quiet the Giant is there and I really need to have a better look around Paserbella, which is like a really pretty market.
All in all this is shaping up to be my busiest week so far. December is certainly looking a whole lot better than November and I love how full my days are getting.

The MRT and a look at Vivo City

On Monday I found out how to use the MRT and overcame a massive fear, I also got to spend the day with Sally who very kindly showed me how to use the MRT and therefore let me overcome such a giant fear.  I’d been spending a quite a bit of time around the house and had started to think this whole move malarkey was pretty boring.  It consisted of me cleaning the house and walking Daisy around Medway.  (Well duh Sheila, those things are boring.  What’s not boring is getting out of the house and exploring).  At the Christmas Party we had the most people come and chat to us since the pot luck dinner.  Along with all of the kind well-wishers was Sally who very sweetly enquired not only how I was doing, but what I had been doing.  (Possibly a very clever trick to make me prove I was doing fine and getting out of the house).  When Sally found out I hadn't been out and about beyond my local Fair Price she immediately set about planning something to keep me busy. 

Well Monday came around and we walked to the local MRT station, which in my case is Dover.  It’s quite a walk away which is why Mark got the car, but it is close enough if I don’t have shopping.  We have to walk through the Singapore Polytechnic which I had checked out on Google maps.  On seeing the path there I thought I wouldn't even dare to venture out, but Sally showed me a really easy way to get into the station.

We’re on the green line and had decided that for our day out we would go to Vivo City so we only had to switch once onto the circle line.  I’d already been given a card to load up from Claire who I had gotten chatting to at the pot luck dinner, so I didn't have to pay the $5 for that.  I only needed to top up my card and get going.  It was really easy and so well signposted I wonder what I had been so afraid of.  I love seeing everything out of the window on my part of the green line and it’s definitely helping me to orientate myself around this place.

When we’d gotten to Vivo City Sally showed me around and explained that it was set out like three interconnecting circles which she assured me would mean it would be more difficult for me to get lost.  We then grabbed a coffee and chatted before having another look around and then lunch at the food court downstairs.  I tried to order chicken rice, but think I got something completely different.  Oh well, I guess I need to do more than point in future!  Whatever I had was really delicious and did have chicken and rice as part of it, so I guess I couldn't go far wrong.  The whole court is amazing and I can’t wait to take Mark there for a very cheap feast.

On the way back Sally said she would show me the Cold Storage at Fusionopolis which isn't too far away from us by car.  We got off at One North and walked round to the shops and as Sally had organised for her husband to pick us up and take us home, I was able to get some heavier things I didn't really want to get without Mark.

I don’t quite know what was so frightening about the MRT, but I assure you it is super easy to use.  It’s so quick, cheap and there are so many signposts around it makes me wish I had gotten out ages ago.  I can’t wait to jump on and see where each stop takes me!

Food Shopping

**I should warn you that this post is for people in the UK unless you want to tell me about some good value places you shop!**

When Mark said we were going to be moving one of the first things I found out was that Singapore is expensive.  Food would be expensive, housing would be expensive and cars are expensive.  Luckily Marks work has taken care of two of those things and in the grand scheme of things paying a little bit more for food shouldn’t really matter, however I didn’t want to just get ripped off.

When we first arrived we were so lost and well….a little bit hungry we headed to Market Place at Tanglin Mall.  It was easy to find as we could easily type Tanglin into Sat Nav and it is quite close to Marks work.  We knew it was probably the most expensive place to head to, but it seemed the easiest at the time.  Well, when we got there we did find it expensive, but knowing that we only needed a few essentials helped and it was nice having that little trip into the city.  Market Place has prices more in line with doing all of your regular grocery shops in Waitrose or M&S.  Actually a lot of the branding on tins was Waitrose, but a lot also seemed to be American as well.

Next time we needed shopping we went to Cold Storage at Centrepoint mall.  This is on Orchard Road so the very middle of the shopping district and it would mean us quite easily tapping into Sat Nav where we wished to go.  This grocery shop is all over the island and is quite popular as it does still have some branding that you’ll be used to from the UK.

Even Cold Storage was quite expensive for us as in the UK we really shopped around quite a bit.  I did keep reminding myself that although Singapore has a massive presence, it really is tiny and isn’t like Scotland and can hand over vast areas of land to farming.  “Of course it’s going to be expensive!” I reminded myself, “but think of everything you are getting in return.” 

OK-this is going a bit like Goldilocks now, but the third grocery shop we did was just right.  Finally we found a NTUC Fairprice which is excellent value for money and is much more comparable to the UK.  It doesn’t really have many brands but I’m more than happy to get what I need from there.  There happens to be one within walking distance from our neighbourhood and I’ve picked up a few things I would say were bargains there.  I got a pack full of 8 bulbs of garlic for $1.65, 5 carrots for 93 cents, 500g of spaghetti was $1.65 and quite a big shoulder of pork for only $3.16 (it was reduced from $7).  We are constantly snacking on grapes which are about $4.40 per kg which is the cheapest I’ve found whilst here.  Cheese seems quite expensive for really plain stuff so I got 250g for $7.15, but that’s without really looking about.  I only needed a bit of it for a pasta bake when I run out of ideas for tea one night! 

I also went along to Fairprice Finest when I needed to post some letters one day at Clementi Mall and found that the prices were relatively all right, for example I got 3 sweet potatoes for $2.32.  It’s a bit more Western and has more food similar to Cold Storage, but is still better value.  I did find myself paying $2.90 for a packet of beef gravy as I couldn’t find any at all.  Oh well, Mark said it was nice and it went with (a much reduced in price) packet of rump steak we bought the other day.

I like shopping around and trying to make more interesting meals than I would have done in the UK.  I am trying to look on  Pinterest for ideas so that we have a variety of different things to eat, and we were always warned that is you try to just eat Western food the prices would be astronomical.  I find that a little bit odd though, as I wouldn’t want haggis, neeps and tatties here anyway!