These Taxi signs are outside of hotel's, business and light up when a taxi is needed.I also updated my "journal" in the entry below this one... And acutally this post is only one picture.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Pictures of Singapore
These Taxi signs are outside of hotel's, business and light up when a taxi is needed.I also updated my "journal" in the entry below this one... And acutally this post is only one picture.
9 September, 2007
Actually I'm going to back up to yesterday, Saturday. In the am we slept in for the first time since arriving here and than spent what was left of our time at IKEA looking at furniture. It's not really my style - pretty modern. Shirley, the realtor, took us around to more places. We have a fairly good idea of what is available here and won't make a final decision until after we move here in January. We found a 4 bedroom by SAS that we really like but it will go fast and won't be available by the time we get here. It sounds like those apartments don't come up very often either. We'll make the decision also when we get here whether we will live closer to the school or closer to Ryan's work. The school is kind of in the middle of nowhere (1/2 hour to shops, bike trails, etc.) and if we live closer to downtown I could walk to most anywhere I'd want to go. One other area we looked in is called Bukit Timah (Boo-ket Teema) which literally stands for "Tin Mountain"...it's a Malay word.
We ended our day yesterday with a visit to the Singapore Botanical Gardens with another one of Ryan's co-workers and his wife. We walked to the inside of the gardens and ate at a restaurant that was enclosed in glass and was surrounded by jungle. I ate a VERY tasty steak and Ryan had some kind of shrimp and pasta. The gardens are gorgeous and we'd like to go back tomorrow and take pictures if we can.
This brings us to today. Today we didn't have anything on our schedule except to be tourists. We went to Vivo City - a new, huge mall - and than from there we took a tram out to Sentosa Island. It's pretty commercial but it will be fun for the twins' to go. We saw a dolphin show while we were there and viewed pink dolphins. They claim that they can't be viewed anywhere else in the world. While there we also went to the southern most tip of Continental Asia. After Sentosa we found a GAP - it's so much more expensive here - about $50 US for a dress in Kait's size. I think that we will be stocking up on clothes in the US. We complain about the prices there but we keep hearing that it's cheaper there than a lot of other area's of the world.
From Sentosa we decided to try the MRT (subway) to get back. We were very impressed as they were the cleanest, brightest, most organized subway either of us has seen. They are also cheap compared to taking a taxi or driving a car. They also go most anywhere on the island. We stopped by a Border's for some books on Singapore before heading back to the hotel to freshen up. For supper we decided to try out Clark Quay (pronounced Clark Key.) WoW!! What an excellent decision. We have heard that it's popular with Westerner's and now we know why. It is located along the Singapore river by the downtown and offers fantastic views and restaurants. We ate at a Mexican restaurant that reminded us a lot of our honeymoon. There were three men playing guitars and singing Spanish songs - the best part was that they were all Asian men:) Only in Singapore!! After supper we took a boat ride of the river on a boat low to the water with Chinese lanterns hanging along it's perimeter. It's a unique way to see Singapore although it was a bit loud!
One thing that I'd like to note that we've seen here that you won't see in the US...around the corner of our hotel is a table set up with a worship area for Buddhists. We had seen several of these before someone explained what they were.
A few words that are different here:
Lift = Elevator
Rubbish = trash
Flat = apartment/condo
Give Way = Yield
Fly Over = Overpass
There are more but I can't think of them at this late hour of 9:35pm:)
Everywhere you go there are "Taxi Queue's". The taxi's here are very organized with lines for people so no one goes out of turn. You can't just hail a taxi from any street corner. You can book a taxi by calling a central number for about US $1.64 and thus avoid the Queue's. Taxi are fairly cheap and the most we've spent on a taxi so far has been US$7.85.
The most we've paid for a coke and snacks was S$27.00 - about US$17.71. I think that we were taken:) There weren't any prices listed at the hotel gift shop so we ended up paying much more than if we had gone down the the 7-11!!
We ended our day yesterday with a visit to the Singapore Botanical Gardens with another one of Ryan's co-workers and his wife. We walked to the inside of the gardens and ate at a restaurant that was enclosed in glass and was surrounded by jungle. I ate a VERY tasty steak and Ryan had some kind of shrimp and pasta. The gardens are gorgeous and we'd like to go back tomorrow and take pictures if we can.
This brings us to today. Today we didn't have anything on our schedule except to be tourists. We went to Vivo City - a new, huge mall - and than from there we took a tram out to Sentosa Island. It's pretty commercial but it will be fun for the twins' to go. We saw a dolphin show while we were there and viewed pink dolphins. They claim that they can't be viewed anywhere else in the world. While there we also went to the southern most tip of Continental Asia. After Sentosa we found a GAP - it's so much more expensive here - about $50 US for a dress in Kait's size. I think that we will be stocking up on clothes in the US. We complain about the prices there but we keep hearing that it's cheaper there than a lot of other area's of the world.
From Sentosa we decided to try the MRT (subway) to get back. We were very impressed as they were the cleanest, brightest, most organized subway either of us has seen. They are also cheap compared to taking a taxi or driving a car. They also go most anywhere on the island. We stopped by a Border's for some books on Singapore before heading back to the hotel to freshen up. For supper we decided to try out Clark Quay (pronounced Clark Key.) WoW!! What an excellent decision. We have heard that it's popular with Westerner's and now we know why. It is located along the Singapore river by the downtown and offers fantastic views and restaurants. We ate at a Mexican restaurant that reminded us a lot of our honeymoon. There were three men playing guitars and singing Spanish songs - the best part was that they were all Asian men:) Only in Singapore!! After supper we took a boat ride of the river on a boat low to the water with Chinese lanterns hanging along it's perimeter. It's a unique way to see Singapore although it was a bit loud!
One thing that I'd like to note that we've seen here that you won't see in the US...around the corner of our hotel is a table set up with a worship area for Buddhists. We had seen several of these before someone explained what they were.
A few words that are different here:
Lift = Elevator
Rubbish = trash
Flat = apartment/condo
Give Way = Yield
Fly Over = Overpass
There are more but I can't think of them at this late hour of 9:35pm:)
Everywhere you go there are "Taxi Queue's". The taxi's here are very organized with lines for people so no one goes out of turn. You can't just hail a taxi from any street corner. You can book a taxi by calling a central number for about US $1.64 and thus avoid the Queue's. Taxi are fairly cheap and the most we've spent on a taxi so far has been US$7.85.
The most we've paid for a coke and snacks was S$27.00 - about US$17.71. I think that we were taken:) There weren't any prices listed at the hotel gift shop so we ended up paying much more than if we had gone down the the 7-11!!
Friday, September 7, 2007
7 September, 2007
This is a wet market. You can buy produce, household goods, fabrics, clothing, electronics cheaper than other places. The quality may not be as good on the clothing.
Here are some of the clothes. It's stall after stall in a unairconditioned area under government housing.
These are the hawker's stalls where you can buy supper cheaply. It's about $2.00 (US) for a meal here.
This is an example of HDB housing. This is government housing which is where 90% of Singaporeans live. The wet markets and hawkers stalls are underneath.
If you look straight out past the dock you will see a house out on the water. This is where someone lives and fishes. You can see Malaysia on the far shore.
Orchard Road view - this is like a tropical Michigan Ave
The following three pictures are of what a typical condo's pools look like. This is where Sim, Ryan's manager lives
Toys R Us on Orchard Road
Outdoor flower shop by our hotel
Examples of cars here - mostly foreign brands
Typical street view in the downtown
Thursday, September 6, 2007
06, September 2007 9:36pm
I'm SO tired of being cold!! I did not come to Singapore expecting to be so cold! Every place we go, every car we ride in has the air conditioning so high that there has to be frost dripping from our noses! I will have to pack more jeans and light sweatshirts and sweaters than I initially thought! Speaking of clothing I've noticed that everyone tends to dress fairly conservative here. The American high school girls would not fit in here. Skirts are not uncommon here and neither are "dressy" clothing.
I wanted to write a little more about our hotel room. When you walk up to the door there is a doorbell and a sign which can be illuminated from within the room to say "Do Not Disturb." Right inside the door is a cardholder into which you insert your room key which turns on the lights. When you leave and take the card with you it shuts everything down - a unique way to conserve energy! Everything else is a normal room except for the outlets.
We visited the Singapore American School today and were very impressed. They have an outstanding program but the downside is over 3000 kids attend there between 3 years old and 12th grade. It's all on one campus so it's a little overwhelming! The primary school (K-2) is housed in one section so they don't interact with the older children. Than there's an intermediate section (3 - 5) with a middle school and a high school. They have spots for the twins' to start in January - this is a miracle as there are currently 300 children on a wait list to get in. Most International schools in the city have the same type of wait list.
Ryan had meetings in the afternoon and I took a nap. We are still messed up with the time changes! It sounds like by the time we are adjusted it will be time to come home:( Ryan's co-worker, Sim, took us out for a Chinese supper in a revolving restaurant with good views of Singapore. We overlooked the shipping yards for part of the time which was very interesting to watch. I was given the opportunity to use silverware since I've never used chopsticks but I decided that I may as well start learning. To eat in the hawkers centers you need to know how to use chopsticks. It wasn't too hard although Sim told me that I wasn't using them properly but than again, neither was he. The food was good - very healthy as everything is steamed, not fried. I wasn't up for it though as my stomach is still adjusting to all the new foods and it thought that it was breakfast time, not time to eat Chinese!!
I haven't had much time to take pictures as they have kept us fairly busy. Ryan and I have decided that a good way to describe Singapore is like Chicago with much more greenery, less cars, and an Asian flavor. We have seen McDonald's, Subway, Burger King, Hard Rock Cafe, and even a Long John Silvers this evening! They have a lot of the same stores we do although it's the higher end shops - no Target or Wal-Mart:( We are going to have to get used to the metric system as that it what's used here.
Tomorrow's another busy day so I'm going to bed! Ryan's already there:) It's so odd to think that everyone back home is just beginning a day that we just ended!!
I wanted to write a little more about our hotel room. When you walk up to the door there is a doorbell and a sign which can be illuminated from within the room to say "Do Not Disturb." Right inside the door is a cardholder into which you insert your room key which turns on the lights. When you leave and take the card with you it shuts everything down - a unique way to conserve energy! Everything else is a normal room except for the outlets.
We visited the Singapore American School today and were very impressed. They have an outstanding program but the downside is over 3000 kids attend there between 3 years old and 12th grade. It's all on one campus so it's a little overwhelming! The primary school (K-2) is housed in one section so they don't interact with the older children. Than there's an intermediate section (3 - 5) with a middle school and a high school. They have spots for the twins' to start in January - this is a miracle as there are currently 300 children on a wait list to get in. Most International schools in the city have the same type of wait list.
Ryan had meetings in the afternoon and I took a nap. We are still messed up with the time changes! It sounds like by the time we are adjusted it will be time to come home:( Ryan's co-worker, Sim, took us out for a Chinese supper in a revolving restaurant with good views of Singapore. We overlooked the shipping yards for part of the time which was very interesting to watch. I was given the opportunity to use silverware since I've never used chopsticks but I decided that I may as well start learning. To eat in the hawkers centers you need to know how to use chopsticks. It wasn't too hard although Sim told me that I wasn't using them properly but than again, neither was he. The food was good - very healthy as everything is steamed, not fried. I wasn't up for it though as my stomach is still adjusting to all the new foods and it thought that it was breakfast time, not time to eat Chinese!!
I haven't had much time to take pictures as they have kept us fairly busy. Ryan and I have decided that a good way to describe Singapore is like Chicago with much more greenery, less cars, and an Asian flavor. We have seen McDonald's, Subway, Burger King, Hard Rock Cafe, and even a Long John Silvers this evening! They have a lot of the same stores we do although it's the higher end shops - no Target or Wal-Mart:( We are going to have to get used to the metric system as that it what's used here.
Tomorrow's another busy day so I'm going to bed! Ryan's already there:) It's so odd to think that everyone back home is just beginning a day that we just ended!!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
05, September 2007 6:15pm
Outside the hotel where we are staying.
View of rooftop garden next to our hotel.So – Singapore – what to say…it’s proven to be a very interesting place so far! It’s an eclectic mix of cultures and people. Everything seems to have both a British and an Asian flavor which is an interesting combination.
We were picked up by Shirley, a Realtor, at 10:00 am to start looking around at housing and schools.
We started off our day with a school visit to the International Community School. This is a private Christian school. They are the only one that we visited so far that doesn’t have a wait list to get in. It’s a small, unassuming school and everyone was very friendly. We met the teacher that the twins’ would have and she seemed very nice.
Next we went to two different condos to see what’s available. The first one is in a small complex and had lots of character, windows, and light! It didn’t have a real good area for the kids to play, though. The second one was in more of a high rise and was more sterile and not as much light as the first one. There was a nice playground though and a bigger kitchen than the first one. We’ll have to make a choice whether we want to live in the city or out in the “suburbs”. Condos here come with a washer but no dryer. It’s not uncommon to see laundry hanging from windows and balconies around the city. Also, they don’t all come with dishwashers as the kitchens are relatively small. Both kitchens we saw had more storage space than I would have imagined but had small ovens. Like European flats they don't have closets - just built in wardrobes. We were asked to take our shoes off before entering the condos – Asian custom!
The next school we visited was the Canadian International School. Now I must admit that walking up to the school I was thinking, “No Way!” But after visiting we were impressed with the friendliness of the staff and the education. They learn World History not Canadian history and they encourage asking questions and figuring out the answer for yourself. This may be perfect for Kenton. I will point out here that all the schools are open air. The individual classrooms are air conditioned but the hallways are all open to the outside. This school has a small wait list so we may add the twins’. All of them also require uniforms and PE uniforms.
After that we visited Tanglin Trust – a British school – and we decided that it’s not what we are looking for. It’s a VERY impressive school but they were ostentatious. It wasn’t a humble school and that’s not what we want to send the kids into. We’ll see what the Singapore American School is like tomorrow.
Apparently the lines on a road way mean next to nothing! It hasn’t been uncommon for our driver to straddle two lanes at the same time! We asked Shirley this morning what the laws are regarding children and car seats and she said that they are very lax. People were complaining that they couldn’t fit 3 car seats, a maid, the grandma, and the parents all in one vehicle so they changed them to say that infants can ride on laps. I can’t imagine doing this as car seats are pretty ingrained into our way of life. It looks like Singapore in big enough and spread out enough that I am going to have to learn how to drive:( ON the wrong side of the car, the wrong side of the road, and know where I'm going all at the same time. They don't make you take a test until you've been here a year. Until than you drive on your home country license - scary!
Shirley also dropped us off at a supermarket to look around. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there is not much that I normally buy in the US that is not available here. Some things are more expensive – a box of Lucky Charms was S$10 – but it’s still available. I will probably try to stock up on diapers and wipes in the US and have them shipped with the rest of our belongings as those were more expensive here too.
The weather was beautiful today! It was cloudy when we first woke up but soon cleared off to become a sunny day. It didn’t get too hot when you compare it to a Kansas scorcher but Shirley did say that this was a cooler day than most. We took a walk around the block this morning and than this afternoon went to a mall that adjoins our hotel and ate supper (Italian). We finally found an ATM that will accept our cards. The flowers here are awesome! I’m really hoping that I get to try my hand at growing orchids and other tropical flowers while we are here:)
We are back in our room trying to stay awake until at least 8pm. Than hopefully we’ll be back on a more normal schedule. Maybe we’ll hit the pool for a little while to cool off:) At some point this week we plan on playing tourist so hopefully I will have more pictures to share than.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Wed, Sept 5th
Tuesday, September 4th Narita Airport, Tokyo, Japan, 4:15pm
We just arrived at Narita Airport after a 13 + hour flight from Chicago. The flight was uneventful even if it was long. There were a few areas of turbulence but I quickly learned to sleep right through themJ We flew north out of Chicago up over Alaska before heading west to Japan. Sitting in Business Class for me was a new experience. After “supper” (it’s only 2 pm Chicago time) they darken the plane and most people went to sleep for a few hours. Thankfully I was tired or I don’t think that I could have done itJ The seats are more comfortable than in coach but still leaves you with sore muscles at the end of the flight!
It was interesting to see a glimpse of Japan from the air. I noticed that the cars were all going the “wrong” way on the roads! The terrain looks like it has tree covered ridges and valleys and I saw a golf course. Very peaceful looking at not as busy as I have heard downtown Tokyo can be.
Upon landing it was interesting to note that Narita Airport looks like any airport in the US – busy, full of trucks going this way and that, all the same runway markings, and airplanes everywhere with the name of the airline in English. I was expecting more Japanese characters on the tarmac but once we were inside the airport they were everywhere. We had to go through security again to get to the gate for Singapore. It hit me again how foreigners in the US must feel who are unable to speak English. Thankfully most of the security employees seemed to know English to some degree. It’s a little overwhelming looking at all the signs and trying to find the English that is buried somewhere between all the Japanese characters. All of the airport workers were well dressed in red uniforms with the women wearing red berets. All wore white gloves. The outside airport workers all wore hard hats.
So, what do you do to keep busy on a 13 hour flight? You read a magazine/book, eat, sleep, watch a movie or two, eat, sleep some more, eat again, and read again and you are there. Sounds like the easy life!
The duty free and snack shops in the airport are full of Japanese items including food. I’m feeling hungry but I’m not sure how adventurous I’ll be! Our flight to Singapore starts boarding at 5:10pm (which is 3:10am US time) and takes off at 5:55pm. Well, we’re heading to the shop – time to become adventurous!
4:50pm
The snack shop was interesting! We saw raw squid stuffed with rice, vacuumed packed and sitting at room temperature on a shelf, assorted dried fish, and in the refrigerated section raw squid guts. I did manage to find Ritz Bits and a coke – at least I THINK that’s what they are! You can buy Kimonos, Hello Kitty paraphernalia, rice paper crafts, wood carvings of Sumo wrestlers, and a huge assortment of Japanese chocolates and candies.
12:00am, Wednesday, September 5, 2007 - Changi Airport, Singapore
This is one of the cleanest, prettiest airports we have ever been in! It lived up to what we had heard about it. Ryan read somewhere that you aren’t allowed to take pictures inside the airport so we didn’t. Before we went through customs we hit an ATM just to find out none of our cards work! Thankfully we had some cash on us and after we exchanged it for Singapore dollars we were on our way. I saw a stand selling Orchids – I would like to find out if I can bring them back to the states as they were GORGEOUS and really not all that expensive. Customs was the easiest I’ve ever been through and than on to our luggage. Once we had that we found the line for the taxis. When we arrived at the front of the line the man who had been directing everyone to a taxi disappeared. After we had stood there a little while waiting for him to come back we headed to a taxi – that’s a mistake! We learned that there are two lines for taxis and you need to wait until you are pointed to one before going. Oh well – we got a taxi and headed to the Traders Hotel where we are staying. We couldn’t see much as it was night but we noticed a lot of lush greenery lining the road ways. Oh – not only do they drive on the other side of the road here but they drive on the other side of the car…and I’m supposed to learn to do that after moving here – the girl who can’t parallel park! We’ll see how that goes!
We checked into the hotel and than around 1am headed down the street to the 7-11 (yep, they have those here) for a soda and some chips. That was about all that was open that time of the night other than very expensive room service. Once back in our room we got ready for bed and I asked Ryan to plug in our small travel fan for noise. OOPSJ We somehow blew the motor even though it was plugged into a converter. It smoked and blew a fuse – there was a moment of concern as we weren’t sure that it wouldn’t set off the fire alarm!
Well, more tomorrow after we can actually see the city a little!
We just arrived at Narita Airport after a 13 + hour flight from Chicago. The flight was uneventful even if it was long. There were a few areas of turbulence but I quickly learned to sleep right through themJ We flew north out of Chicago up over Alaska before heading west to Japan. Sitting in Business Class for me was a new experience. After “supper” (it’s only 2 pm Chicago time) they darken the plane and most people went to sleep for a few hours. Thankfully I was tired or I don’t think that I could have done itJ The seats are more comfortable than in coach but still leaves you with sore muscles at the end of the flight!
It was interesting to see a glimpse of Japan from the air. I noticed that the cars were all going the “wrong” way on the roads! The terrain looks like it has tree covered ridges and valleys and I saw a golf course. Very peaceful looking at not as busy as I have heard downtown Tokyo can be.
Upon landing it was interesting to note that Narita Airport looks like any airport in the US – busy, full of trucks going this way and that, all the same runway markings, and airplanes everywhere with the name of the airline in English. I was expecting more Japanese characters on the tarmac but once we were inside the airport they were everywhere. We had to go through security again to get to the gate for Singapore. It hit me again how foreigners in the US must feel who are unable to speak English. Thankfully most of the security employees seemed to know English to some degree. It’s a little overwhelming looking at all the signs and trying to find the English that is buried somewhere between all the Japanese characters. All of the airport workers were well dressed in red uniforms with the women wearing red berets. All wore white gloves. The outside airport workers all wore hard hats.
So, what do you do to keep busy on a 13 hour flight? You read a magazine/book, eat, sleep, watch a movie or two, eat, sleep some more, eat again, and read again and you are there. Sounds like the easy life!
The duty free and snack shops in the airport are full of Japanese items including food. I’m feeling hungry but I’m not sure how adventurous I’ll be! Our flight to Singapore starts boarding at 5:10pm (which is 3:10am US time) and takes off at 5:55pm. Well, we’re heading to the shop – time to become adventurous!
4:50pm
The snack shop was interesting! We saw raw squid stuffed with rice, vacuumed packed and sitting at room temperature on a shelf, assorted dried fish, and in the refrigerated section raw squid guts. I did manage to find Ritz Bits and a coke – at least I THINK that’s what they are! You can buy Kimonos, Hello Kitty paraphernalia, rice paper crafts, wood carvings of Sumo wrestlers, and a huge assortment of Japanese chocolates and candies.
12:00am, Wednesday, September 5, 2007 - Changi Airport, Singapore
This is one of the cleanest, prettiest airports we have ever been in! It lived up to what we had heard about it. Ryan read somewhere that you aren’t allowed to take pictures inside the airport so we didn’t. Before we went through customs we hit an ATM just to find out none of our cards work! Thankfully we had some cash on us and after we exchanged it for Singapore dollars we were on our way. I saw a stand selling Orchids – I would like to find out if I can bring them back to the states as they were GORGEOUS and really not all that expensive. Customs was the easiest I’ve ever been through and than on to our luggage. Once we had that we found the line for the taxis. When we arrived at the front of the line the man who had been directing everyone to a taxi disappeared. After we had stood there a little while waiting for him to come back we headed to a taxi – that’s a mistake! We learned that there are two lines for taxis and you need to wait until you are pointed to one before going. Oh well – we got a taxi and headed to the Traders Hotel where we are staying. We couldn’t see much as it was night but we noticed a lot of lush greenery lining the road ways. Oh – not only do they drive on the other side of the road here but they drive on the other side of the car…and I’m supposed to learn to do that after moving here – the girl who can’t parallel park! We’ll see how that goes!
We checked into the hotel and than around 1am headed down the street to the 7-11 (yep, they have those here) for a soda and some chips. That was about all that was open that time of the night other than very expensive room service. Once back in our room we got ready for bed and I asked Ryan to plug in our small travel fan for noise. OOPSJ We somehow blew the motor even though it was plugged into a converter. It smoked and blew a fuse – there was a moment of concern as we weren’t sure that it wouldn’t set off the fire alarm!
Well, more tomorrow after we can actually see the city a little!
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