Singapore Week 1 and 2 Observations

So we've been here a couple of weeks now, and while we've been out quite a lot we've not really done much sightseeing (mostly because it appears to rain at the weekends when we actually have time to go out together - oh the hardships!) we have however made several general observations while out and about:

Firstly there appears to be a strange obsession with tennis, when we were looking at apartments last weekend the courts were one of the first things we were shown. Also we can hear them playing at 7am on a Saturday / Sunday morning.

Secondly Phone-monging, don't know whether this is a city thing in general or Singapore specific. Not only is EVERYONE on the tube using their mobiles/tablets but the majority of people literally walk around with their devices 6 inches from their face ALL the time, which means walking along at a snails pace and directly into other people, I am hoping to see someone walk into a window or something soon. Personally I couldn't manage it, I would fall over uneven pavements, twigs, leaves, other people and/or my own feet.

In other news we move into our new apartment on Wednesday, which we're both looking forward to as it means we can unpack and also our stuff should arrive soon. We are now missing our possessions. Photos will follow eventually.

A New Home.

After a short wait for our bags off of the carrousel we joined the queue for a taxi where a man ushered us towards the waiting cab.  

When on holiday this would be the part where we head to the hotel to freshen up but with there being no hotel and our appointment to take over our accommodation not being for another hour we headed off towards the meeting place with no real idea of how long it would take us to get there.

20 minutes in the taxi saw us arrive at Normanton Park where Ubisoft had arranged a month long lease for us in order to give us a chance to find a place of our own. The taxi dropped us at the entrance to our tower block and sped away. Leaving us on our own in this foreign land.

We took up a seat on a bench outside and waited for the agent to turn up and let us into the apartment. After a short while the agent (what appeared to be a 16 year old boy) came down from the apartment to show us around. After signing some paperwork to say that all the glasses (and other stuff) that I hadn't counted were there the agent left us on our own in our new "temporary" condo.

  

 

We both took a short nap to combat jet lag and set off to meet my friend (and tour guide for the day) Nat.

Nat took us to buy our EZ-Link cards (Like Oyster cards) so that we can easily use public transport. He also showed us round a few malls where we will undoubtedly spend a large portion of our money, including a mall for consumer electronics that is open 24 hours a day for those times at 3am when you need a new printer.

Finally Nat took us out for our first meal at Holland Village, the local expat area. After a large bowl of Ramen Noodles it was time for our bodies to drop so we headed home and collapsed into bed.

Welcome to Singapore

A long day ahead of us we set off at 0630 from Colerne in the UK to our new life in Singapore. A couple of hours drive from my Mum saw us at Heathrow with enough time to say our goodbyes and have the most expensive (but good) breakfast in the world before boarding our plane at 1130.

The 13 hour trip ahead of us meant that there was plenty of time to do absolutely nothing. We watched films, ate airplane food and even got a little sleep to try and ward off the jet lag before landing at 0720 local Singapore time. 

Credit to Singapore Airlines, they have a reputation for providing good service and they did not disappoint. Hot flannels were brought around a couple of times for people to freshen up with and they provided everyone with a pillow and blanket when they boarded the plane. On top of that there was plenty of leg room, even for me.

In all honesty I was a little nervous about going though immigration having never actually moved abroad before but it was easy enough. I chatted to the official whist she checked my visa and eligibility to work, something they only did as I had no return flight booked. She asked how long it had taken to obtain the visa and if it was difficult, no to both of those as my employer organised it all, I simply filled out the forms they sent me and sent them back. After that she waved me through the gate and we were officially in Singapore, no longer residents of the UK.