Parking garages and more

This week has just flown by - probably because we've been so busy with meetings - there have been multiple 12 hour days!

It's been great to get out and about in Singapore although I have to admit for a small country, I get totally turned around when we are driving around.  The parking garages are really cool - no attendants to take your money.  Everyone has a card system in their vehicle with a card that you top up with cash and the parking fee is deducted when you leave.  The other really cool idea is that each parking spot in the parkade has a light over it.  If it is red, the spot is taken and if it is green it is available.  There are also signs at the entrance with the number of spots available on it as well as down each aisle on each floor.  That tells you how many open spot there in each area.  We really should have this in Canada!  The exit ramps from the parkades are spirals that seem to go on forever and every time we go down one, I'm very glad I'm not driving!

My husband Terry arrives tonight so that means I will really have a chance to get out exploring.  I'm even going to get to take a couple of days off next week while he's here.

We had dinner last night in a restaurant called "Bosses" that serves Asian cuisine.  The view of Sentosa Island was lovely.  It is from this area of the harbour that the ferries and cruise ships come in and out.

You can take a cable car over to Sentosa Island

View from the restaurant

Thanks for stopping by!
Melva

I seem to have settled in

It was a pretty uneventful weekend here in Singapore.  As I mentioned in a previous posting I've been suffering with some blisters on my feet, so I spent the weekend trying to recover.  Thankfully they seem to be better!  What that meant though is that I didn't get out and about to tour around as I had hoped.  I did meet up with a colleague for dinner on Saturday night and we went back down to Boat Quay and Clarke Quay.  It is such a pretty place along the Singapore River and the breeze is always welcome. I've discovered the Panorama feature on my camera - I think it turned out pretty well.

View from One Raffles Place

Back to work this morning.  The apartment is about a 45 minute ride on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) so the trick is to be on the train before 7:45am and even then you may have to stand the whole way.  We take the train on the East-West Line from Tanah Merah to Outram Park and then change to the North East Line from Outram Park to HarbourFront.  It is definitely a different from the commute I am used to at home where I commute from my bedroom across the hall to my office!

It is a busy week ahead, but Terry (my husband) arrives on Friday night.  Looking forward to exploring Singapore with him.  Stay tuned for pictures!

Melva

Lion Dance and more

Chinese New Year is just over and they are still celebrating in Singapore.  You can see lots of decorations that are still up.  Today a Lion Dance group came into the office and performed - it is the first time that I've actually seen a Lion Dance in person and I have to say I was mesmerized by the performance.  The acrobats were amazing and the movements looked so real.  I tried to take some video and pictures but with all the people I couldn't see it all.  Apologies for the quality of the video, it was my first attempt with the iPhone.
 

At the end of the day we headed to Boat Quay for dinner and to plan our adventures for the weekend. It's a lovely spot along with Singapore River with lots of restaurants and pubs.  Seems to be a place where the expats hangout!  The breeze from the river was very welcome with the heat and humidity of Singapore.  A tip if you are traveling to Singapore - bring along comfortable, loose shoes as your feet will swell in the heat.  I thought I had done this, but clearly the shoes aren't loose enough as I'm now dealing with some blisters :( 

Boat Quay Promenade

You can pick your dinner!

This is the Sands Hotel - pretty amazing!  Apparently there is a swimming pool on the top of the boat structure.

Singapore Sling - you have to try one!

Panorama of the view before dark

After dark

There is a laser show from the top of the Sands Hotel

It's now the weekend in Singapore and we'll do some more exploring today.  Stay tuned!
Melva

Lunch in Chinatown

After sorting out groceries and getting myself settled into the apartment, I headed out on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) to meet my colleagues for lunch.  The MRT is amazingly easy to use with 7 different lines that cover all of Singapore.  Luckily there is a station on the East-West line right outside the apartment - Tanah Merah Station.  Headed in to the Lavender station.
One of my colleagues has been to Singapore before so on his advice we hopped into a cab and headed to Chinatown for lunch.  Singapore has an amazing number of markets and everywhere you look there are places serving food.  We wandered around the Maxwell Food Centre trying to decide on what food looked best.  Each vendor has a "grade" posted for their health rating - we looked for "A's", but didn't see any so bought from a "B" vendor.  It was really good and inexpensive - only $3.50 for a full plate of noodles with seafood.
After lunch wandered around Chinatown and even managed to get myself a Singapore phone number for my stay.  

 The architecture is amazing - a real mix of very modern buildings with some colonial style buildings.  When I posted yesterday, a friend commented that there weren't any people in the pictures despite the population density.  Rest assured there are lots of people and the traffic can be terrible. The are trying to discourage use of cars in the congested areas by charging tolls, but I'm not sure it is really working.

Some of the streets are closed off in Chinatown with vendor stalls lining them. 

The side of the Sri Mariamman Temple - the oldest Hindu place of worship in Singapore.

 This is the facade on the temple.  It is amazing!

















So much to see, so will have to make a second trip to Chinatown!
Thanks for stopping by!
Melva

Day 1...and the adventure begins

It's Day 1 in Singapore. The adventure actually began Monday morning in Vancouver when I left for the airport.  Flights were all good, just a really long journey.  It is a 13 1/2 hour flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong.  Leaving early in the day makes it really hard to sleep, but I did get an upgrade for this leg of the flight so at least I could stretch out :) Arrived in Hong Kong and had almost 4 hours to wait, then onto my flight to Singapore.  It's been a long time since I've been in a 747, but that's what United flies enroute from Chicago to Singapore via Hong Kong!  Didn't have a chance to see what was upstairs, but did get to stretch out across 3 seats as the flight wasn't full.  Finally into Singapore about 1:30am February 20th - that means I pretty much lost all of February 19th!
Managed to get a good sleep.  Up and unpacked and off to the food market to get some groceries for the apartment.  I'm sharing a 2 bedroom apartment with a colleague while in Singapore.  It's a bit of a commute, but is nice to have my own space while here - and the ground are amazing.  Can't wait to try out the infinity pool.
It's 11am here and 30 degrees Celcius - with the humidity it feels like 40 degrees.  It is about a 10 minute walk to the market and it felt like a lot further with the heat.  Will take some getting used to.
I haven't taken too many pictures yet, but had my iPhone handy on the walk (too many groceries to pack home to bring my camera).  Here are a few of the surroundings in my new neighbourhood.
The market is quite nice and lots of stalls and little stores - will have to get adventurous and buy my food from the food stalls, but I think that's another day!

The Optima - my apartment is on the 7th floor

Tanah Merah MRT Station - direct line into work every day

More of the neigbourhood

Not sure what this flower is, but it's very amazing!

Finally cooled down after the walk :)  I'm heading in to meet some colleagues for lunch - first attempt at the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit).  More pictures to come!
Thanks for stopping by!
Melva

4 days and counting...

It's now 4 days before I leave for Singapore.  I think I'm just about ready.  Still not fully packed and a few last minute details, but shouldn't take long to finish up.  This week has been a week of spending time with my husband and puppy and friends! 

I thought I'd share some of the facts I've learned about Singapore as I've prepared for my trip.

• Located in Southeast Asia off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula
• Located 137 km (85 miles) north of the equator
• Approximately 710 square kilometres in size - one of the smallest countries in the world
• An island country made up of 63 islands

• Population is about 5 million people - second only to Monaco as the world's most densely populated country
• Official Languages - English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil
• Tropical Rainforest climate - no distinctive seasons, uniform temperatures, high humidity and rainfall
• temperatures range from 23 to 32 degrees Celsius

Stay tuned for more pictures and information!
Melva

Count down has begun

It's getting closer and closer - I will be in Singapore in two weeks.  I started this blog to share some of my experiences and pictures.  So far no exciting pictures unless you consider this pile of "thing to pack" exciting.

Stay tuned for more as I get closer to leaving and once I get there.

Melva