Christmas in the Tropics

I know entire hemispheres do it all the time, but I just can't get used to a warm Christmas. I mean, not for Singapore not trying to make it feel like the holidays -- they had these decorations up in early November, under the marketing campaign "Christmas in the Tropics":

(This woman on her cell is obviously not moved by Christmas in the Tropics.)


Though I think it's hysterical that the biggest lights display on Orchard Road (ie Shopping Centre Strip) is the Singapore Visitors Centre:


It's a valiant attempt across the board to Christmas it up, but it just doesn't do it for me. Lots of huge artificial trees are lit around town, but no pine smell. Lots of shopping and sales, but then again, that's what Singapore's like all the time. You hear Christmas music everywhere, although the instrumental version of "12 Days of Christmas" played religiously in the grocery store is not something I recommend you download. ("DA dadadada DA dadadada DA dadadada DA dadadada"...over and over.) The thing that kind of gets me in the spirit is my co-worker Melvin playing Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" every day at 6pm, once we're allowed to access things like YouTube. There's something funny, charming and very Christmasy about watching a Malaysian man sing along to Mariah's holiday concert at his desk.

Christmas plans this year involve a vacation to Thailand -- Greg and I are hitting up Bangkok and Phuket (the beach), get back Xmas Day and then his parents come out to visit on the 26th. Speaking of family, we actually got to do Thanksgiving pretty traditionally this year -- the PiAers organized a full pot luck dinner, down to the stuffing, mashed potatoes, roast chicken (as close as we could get to turkey) and homemade apple pie. It was awesome, felt very homey -- half of us were slumped around the table with food comas by the end of it. Had a second Thanksgiving dinner at the American Club downtown with about 200 alum from various US colleges and their families. Again, the meal and company were great. I missed my family, but at least I had adopted family to celebrate with here.

Plus, I saw these guys play on the street on Thanksgiving Day. How can it get better than this?


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!

Keeping up appearances

Singapore is clean. Very, very clean. Disney World-esque, where the people who clean are friendly and happy and sweep the cracks of the walls at the subway station every day (not joking). It's really interesting architecture -- a mix of mega-skyscrapers, shophouses, British colonial homes w/ tin roofs, HDBs, Buddhist and Hindu temples, etc. Here are a couple pics of the area to give you an idea.

The view from Greg's apartment in a suburban neighborhood


The parliament building downtown, not to be confused with the American Embassy, which I thought was the state prison the first time I went by it.


Boat Quay, an expat/touristy area with a lot of river-side restaurants and bars


Pagoda Street in Chinatown, an outdoor market where I bought everyone's Christmas gifts this year -- surprise!


The Esplanade, another touristy area with a theater, also hosts a lot of water-side concerts. I call it Epcot.


That thing on the right is the Singapore Flyer, set to open in March. When it does, it's supposedly going to be the biggest "observation wheel" in the world, besting Britain's London Eye by about 30 meters. It's 42 stories high, and people ride in these immobile capsules the size of small buses. Just don't call it a Ferris wheel -- big faux pas.


A Hindu temple downtown (Chinatown, I think? can't remember), with a banner noting Deepavali, the Festival of Lights (a public holiday) in early November. Yes, it was also built on its side. (joke!)

The death of Mr. Bunny

Sad day last week -- Mr. Bunny died. I'll explain.

I live in the "heartlands" of Singapore, which, on an island the size of Chicago, means I live 30 minutes from downtown. (Distance is relative.) Most of Singapore is "the heartlands" with small neighborhoods and lots of HDBs -- government-owned apartment buildings that are anywhere from 10-20 stories high, where people hang their clothing to dry on poles out the window and pet bunnies are kept in cages outside the apartment. Since my roommates and I moved in, we've all made it a habit to acknowledge the rabbit outside the apartment downstairs when we're coming and going. Mark's the one who named him and stops to pet him. I give him a "Mornin' Mr. Bunny" head nod and "Hey bunny boy" on my way home from work. Darren takes a different approach -- faking a kick to see if Mr Bunny will flinch. He never does.

The thing with Mr Bunny is he was probably 110 years old. He was missing one eye -- he either lost a fight with a dog or went to 'Nam or something. He never, ever moved, at least not that anyone saw. He would either gnaw on his giant carrot, be hiding behind a flower pot or sit in his cage. Sounds like the most boring thing ever, right? But I kind of got obsessed with him -- he was my good luck charm (all of him, not just his foot). If I didn't see him in the morning, I'd be a little bummed. He symbolised everything about HDBs that I knew -- the personalities on display at the doorstep, whether through pets, plants, shoes, traditional Chinese banners, insence. You can hear your neighbors playing mah jong (a Chinese board game that resembles dominos and checkers) at all hours. Several generations of families live together or next door (kids live with their parents until they're married). It's a true neighborhood, something I didn't quite have in Brooklyn. Imagine someone keeping a bunny outside their door in NYC? People would call the Dept. of Health; they'd probably think it was an especially furry rat.

So one day last week I noticed Mr Bunny wasn't outside. Two days went by -- no bunny. Then there was the day his cage was gone. It felt like my pet rabbit had died.

I mean, I've moved on. I still go to work. :) But part of me hopes that when I come home one day, there'll be a new cage outside their door.

Photo diary

Didn't do so well with that "one blog post a day for a week" commitment. Le sigh. Going to compensate by showing you pictures of me making an ass of myself instead.


Here I am with the roomies, hanging out in our apartment in Serangoon -- which I affectionately call "The Goon" -- getting ready for our first night out together. Going out means clubbing around here: big, glowing, thumping, fog machine- and Kylie Minogue-heavy clubs. Not quite used to that, since I'm more of a pub, beer and peanuts-on-the-floor girl, so I need to be persuaded a bit.


A few drinks and one slightly offensive pose later, I'm ready to go. Did not wear hat out to club.


Princeton in Asia: Chris '03 and I hang out at Mark's bday party at Zouk.


Greg and his roommates/fellow PiAers


Here I am outside my office building in Chinatown -- it's a street of old shophouses with tin roofs, colorful shutters, etc. Really cool area w/ great food.


This is over at East Coast Park, where you can rent rollerblades and go a couple miles up and down the shoreline.


Greg hadn't rollerbladed in a decade or so, so I was impressed that neither or us wiped out or took down any small children on the path (there were a lot -- rollerbladers, joggers, and bikers all on the same route. Kind of Central Park on a Saturday afternoon).


Loosely translated: Don't feed the cats fish in East Coast Park. Or something like that.


And finally, the view a couple miles up the coast: check out the city's skyline. Nice, very nice.

More to come...

UPDATE: All photos of my first few days in Singapore.

First Days in Singa

YouTube delights

These two clips were too good not to share.

First, Chuck Norris endorses Mike Huckabee (it's hysterical cause it's real):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDUQW8LUMs8

Next, something that makes me proud to be involved in Singapore media. It's by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), and it's called the MDA Senior Management Rap. It was actually part of their annual report -- now it's their legacy. Got picked up by international media and YouTube, obviously. Would have loved to sit in on the planning session for this; I bet the interns were mortified.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjLw28UVWEU

Yes yes y'all, we don't stop, get creative, can do, rock on!

UDON stands for...

Ask anyone what there is to do in Singapore, and 99 percent of them will say eat and shop. The other 1 percent is the occasional bitter cabbie who'll say: "Singapore is the most boring city in the world. Same damn shit every day." To be honest, though, when the food's as good (and cheap!) as it is here, it's hard not to focus on its merits. I mean, I know you can find Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Indian food on the same street in New York City, but when a big meal costs SGD$3 ($4 for the expensive variety, or about US $2-$3) NY can sit down and suck its multicultural thumb.

Pineapple rice. Pad thai. Japanese curry. Teriyaki. Yaki udon. The udon!

I love udon -- my love is kind of like this poster at Uma Uma, a Japanese restaurant downtown that has a conveyor belt of sushi. Little disturbed by the "never eat another again" line, though. Another what/who?

I'm also amazed by how little my stomach has hurt since I got to Singapore -- this coming from the girl who had stomach problems or acid reflux for the good part of the last decade. Only thing that's given me trouble was the McDonald's on my second day. It was more a desperation meal -- jetlagged to the point of immobility, starving, and they deliver here! That in itself is a cultural experience. But it felt like I got Montezuma's Revenge...McDonald's Revenge. Something like that.

I eat most of my meals at hawker centres (British spelling alert!) near work or home. They're basically open-air food courts where you can get lunch and dinner, plus fresh fruit juice and fruit all the time. Lime juice is the new water. Dessert can be a slab of ice cream in between two wafers, sold by ice cream vendors along the street. When I crave Western food, I hit the grocery store, which sells everything I miss, plus my favorite Aussie snacks like Shapes (crackers, pizza flavour) and Tim Tams (the kind of cookies that make me yelp out loud when I see them for sale, like a kid who sees Sunny D in the fridge. Got made fun of for that one).

Now I'm actually hungry. Forget this.

Happiness is a well-groomed rat's tail

Good news at my end -- I will not be getting kicked out of the country anytime soon (not if I can help it). Before coming to Singapore, my biggest concern was securing an employment pass. Without it, I'd have a 90-day travel visa window to look for full-time work. No pressure. None at all.

Here's the best part -- not only do I now have a job, but it's one I'm pumped about. I'm the new deputy editor of Time Out Singapore! They had an opening at the same time I came looking for work; even my boss referenced fate. I start on Monday with a commitment through November 2008. You can check out what we're doing with the link in the post below. I also just wrote a story about finding organic food in Singapore, which is kind of tricky since it's easier to find McDonald's than local agriculture on this island, but it's in the January issue.

When I found out I got the job, I rejoiced:



So obviously that's not me, but I was definitely as happy as this awesome Singaporean boy with the best rat's tail I've ever seen -- all the way down his neck. Sadly, I don't have a picture of that, but Greg does -- I'll try to steal it. This is at Sentosa, one of about 63 islands that are part of Singapore. It's just off the south coast. Siloso Beach on Sentosa, where this boy's frolicking, is known for its beach parties and a yearly concert/rave called ZoukOut that draws 20,000 people, going from about 8pm till 8 am. A bunch of us are going this year -- I'm curious to see how a country known for banning chewing gum likes to party.


Caught a glimpse of Singapore's punk scene when Greg and I went to Sentosa for our one-year anniversary. This guy's head tattoo is up there with the rat's tail that you can't see.

Also interesting about Sentosa are its beautiful water, palm trees, white sandy beaches -- and then the looming tankers off the coast. Locals recommend visiting the beach at night to keep up the illusion of a secret paradise. Otherwise, you see this.



Not that I'm complaining. Greg and I had a great time there, hanging out at a bar called Cafe del Mar where you order drinks and food from beds on the beach overlooking the water. Rough life I lead.

I have some time off before I start work, so I'm making a commitment to blog once a day for a week. Then maybe I'll be caught up. Until then, I hope the little Singaporean boy's happiness tides you over.

Oops

Judging by the emails I've gotten, I neglected to mention to some people that I was going to Singapore, and also "why the hell I'm here." So here's a quick fun fact list for anyone who's lost:

1. My boyfriend Greg has a one-year teaching gig in Singapore, which started in October. I decided to come out, too. Here we are, for those who are even further behind and didn't know I was dating anyone (and if you're one of those people, we should probably chat at some point. Just sayin').



I think that's a pic of us at the Bronx Zoo this summer, in between the polar bear and tiger zones, my two favorite animals indigenous to New York. Only complaint was the polar bear was not as cute as Knut:




2. I was at a transition point in my career, left work at Metro in Manhattan and my apartment in Brooklyn and got freelance copy editing work to start out at Time Out Singapore (www.timeoutsingapore.com).

3. I got an apartment with two Princeton alums, Mark '03 and Darren '02 (no last names in this blog, lo siento), who are a local celebrity and owner of a voodoo doll business, respectively. More on that later.

4. Singapore is a city-state just south of Malaysia -- in its lip, more or less (I tell you this because I thought it was part of China before I left. I blame American primary school education). It's about the size of Chicago, English is the language of business/school/government, but there are four main ethnic groups: Chinese, Malaysian, Indian and Eurasian (mix of Europeans and ex-pats). It's known as the Lion City, and has this sick Merlion statue that all tourists take this obligatory picture with:



And I'll be here for about a year. Any other questions? No? Good.

Happy Thanksgiving. Go eat. :)

Day 1...

…was technically 18 days ago. I’m a little behind on the blogging front, but now I can write with some perspective instead of subjecting everyone to thoughts like “There’s so many trees here!” or “It’s hot” or “Chopsticks give me splinters in my mouth.”

I left Newark International at 11 pm on Wed, Oct. 31¬ on a nonstop flight way up and east, over Europe, the Middle East, Russia and China. Eighteen hours and many, many movies later, I landed at Changi Airport in Singapore at 5:45 am Friday, Nov. 2. It always blows my mind when I lose a day – makes me wonder what would have happened that day if I were on the ground.

While I was in the air, I got to enjoy the deluxe accommodations of Singapore Airlines, rated the best airline in the world (I think, according to other people and not just them, although Singapore does market itself very well). Since it was Halloween, I checked my bags with a guy dressed as a pirate -- Capt. Jack Sparrow, apparently, with long polyester dreadlocks that kept getting caught in the sticky on everyone’s baggage tags. A vampire wench with fake teeth checked my passport, and a slew of beautiful flight attendants in batik dresses (normal wear, not costume) walked up and down the aisles turning on overhead lights as soon as they saw anyone take out anything resembling reading material. Nope, you don’t even have to lift your arm on Singapore Air!

I’d read in a magazine before I left that a business class ticket on Singapore Air from Newark to Singa can cost $8,000 and they feed you caviar and pour Dom the whole way. In economy class, they give you personal cups of Ben & Jerry’s. Cookie Dough. Screw caviar. There’s plenty to keep you busy, with 80+ movies to choose from. I learned that “Transformers” is not that good when it’s on an 8”x11” screen at 5 am, and “I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry” is much funnier in Chinese.

Best part of the flight is the end ¬– the first thing you see when disembarking is a giant sign reading:

“WELCOME YOU!”
Welcome indeed.