MacRitchie, Monkeys, Me

It's been a while since my last blog but it must be this "kiasu" culture here that is affecting me :D OK, just shortly, kiasu is a very much money oriented culture. Said in a simple European way ... workoholism; althought not a desired one in my case. It's just crazy working hours which make me wonder why would any European want to live entire life here under these conditions haha. Believe me, no matter your job is, the working hours are probably great comparing to Singapore. Let me elaborate on that some next time since I am preparing one more entry about the cultural shock I am having here.

Back to the title of this one ...

MacRitchie is this beautiful nature reserve that I can see outside my window. Of course, with this weather I am trying to make the best use of it. Going jogging in the jungle at 7am on Saturday mornings is one of the best ways how to recharge your batteries.

You could think this is way too early but I am telling you the park is already full at 7:15. These people here definitely don't sleep in. I have never seen so many people working out even on Sunday morning in Europe (OK, I mostly lived in Spain but I am sure elsewhere is not much difference).

Anyways, if you ever felt alone, be sure you can count on Monkeys that stroll around freely in the park. The nature here is just amazing. Monkeys everywhere! And reptiles ... if you like them as I do you just get distracted so easily ;)

Outdoors is the word for this place ... I already have a place to jog, I make sure to appear at the pool at least once a week and I've just spotted some kayaks at the MacRitchie water reservoir :P What's next? I've been invited to try something called a Dragon boat. Don't google it! Stay tuned and I'll tell you more if I survive my first training ;)

48 hours in Singapore

Keep left!

As a former British colony, Singapore inherited some particularities of this country: driving on the left, walking on the left, queuing left on the escalator. This makes me a bit confused about direction of buses I need to take so I got successfully lost a couple of times already.

MRT (Massive Rapid Transport) = Tube

Hi-tech nation

Yes, it’s true. It is not unusual to see grannies with iPhones and everyone (literally everyone!) watching series, playing games or chatting on the tube when going to/from work. When you see an Indian lady dressed in a traditional sari and she pulls out the most recent model of HTC and starts chatting, it is somehow extraordinary.

Kind People

Everyone is super caring! Lady in the shop showed me a yoghurt with live cultures to stay healthy (haha), public transport officer doing hell lot of work when I got lost at the bus terminal to help me get back home, my roommates being really caring and giving out their dishes to share, feeding me as well as a friend accompanying me to the bus stop with the umbrella when the rain started to pour and writing messages to make sure I didn't get lost again since it became my new hobby here.

Dining with locals, Guorong Chen - the caring friend

Bloody Mosquitoes

Before I decided to come to Singapore I made a serious research on dangerous animals :P but the only thing I could find on different forums and pages was a warning regarding mosquitoes since dengue fever and malaria are common in South East Asia (SEA). However, everyone claimed they have never seen a mosquito in Singapore. I was hoping to have the same experience but since mosquitoes love my “sweet blood” I wanted to buy some repellent right after arriving to the town.

When I first time arrived to my flat the first thing I got to meet in my room was a mosquito …  mosquito 0 : Lucia 1 = mission completed.

Hot Weather

Hot, hot, hot …  but with a cool breeze making this a perfect destination for me. I was scared of humidity but it is nothing as I expected. Moreover, all the malls have AC set to 16 degrees so actually I need to buy long jeans and cardigans to survive when shopping in a store or sitting in the office.

Tropical Nature

Well this is a city but I have a small “jungle” outside of my window. It’s amazing how green it can be and on the first sight you can see these are the rests of what once used to be a rainforest.

Fort Canning Park, just 2 minutes away from my office

Let me get back to you once I start working and get to know a little more about this interesting place. Remember +8GMT means I am waking up for work when you go to bed and I am wearing flip-flops all year round cause its 28 degrees at night J

When life gives you lemons …

16 hour trip is over and I am finally in Singapore. My friends know that Asia has been among the last places on my travel bucket list but when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. To be honest, I love lemonade and it can be pretty refreshing ;) So when the offer from Singapore came I told to myself “screw it, I am leaving”. After all, I had only heard praise on Singapore as being the New York of the East and here I am, starting my new life in the far East.

It’s hard to keep in touch with friends around the world by mailing them and as I know myself I will become so busy it won’t be possible to really maintain my relationships back home so I decided to update my blog often to share experiences and stories with those far away from me.

Read, comment, enjoy and most importantly keep in touch!