Shopping Around

This weekend was a long one due to a local holiday, Hari Raya Haji on Friday, Nov. 27. It is called the "Festival of Sacrifice" and it is celebrated by Muslims to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. I, however, worked through Friday, but enjoyed working from home.

On Saturday and Sunday, I went to check out some of the local shopping, trying to support Black Friday from here! Everyone says it is amazing and they aren't kidding - you name it, Singapore has it!

I walked up to Cathay where I caught a movie at a local Cinema (not to be confused with the word "theater" here because that will take you to the local Arts Theater...on the opposite side of town!). I window shopped at Cathay and saw lots of fun things - an alarm clock that rolls off the nightstand after you hit snooze and you have to wake up to chase it around to turn it off! Ha-ha! I saw an Obama burger, looks like most everything American has now been termed Obama. It looked like an ordinary burger, but I guess his name sells over here.

I saw Orchard Road, which is THE shopping place to be (all pics from Orchard Rd). They have contests going on to vote for the best decorated building, so each of the gigantic shopping malls (all 6-8 floors high) have decorated for Christmas. It's just beautiful, if it weren't 100 degrees outside; you could imagine that you're in a wintery wonderland. There are Christmas tunes playing everywhere and just a fun hustle-and-bustle environment. You could actually walk inside a Christmas tree and the inside was lit up with beautiful blue lights (pics of the outside and inside of the tree).

Each of the "malls" are side by side and line the street. Each floor is dedicated to something new: men's, women's, children, food court/grocery store (always in the basement), restaurants scattered throughout, and so much more. The sidewalks from the stores to the streets are huge and decorated with local art. They are also mostly covered due to the sun and rain here. They want people to shop no matter the weather. The boutiques are what I could only imagine the Streets of Buckhead could one day be - Prada, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Dolce and Gabanna, Giorgio Armani, etc. I could live this life! Lots of fun, but very

exhausting... and I was good; I didn't buy a thing, but I made a list a mile long!

As a last stop before home, I went to enjoy my long overdue Turkey! We, of course, had to work through Thanksgiving since it's an American holiday. So, I spoiled myself at P.S. Cafe in the Paragon shopping center. It was a sandwich with turkey, cranberry sauce, mayo, cheese, bacon...deliciousness!

Checking out my new city

Well, after a full week of work, I woke up this Saturday morning and set out to explore Singapore. I took about a four-hour walk (not nearly covering the city). I walked by the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX), Lau Pa Sat Festival Market (pic #1: place where I had lunch yesterday with some co-workers), Merlion Park (pic #2: erected in the 1970s by the Prime Minister to welcome all visitors to Singapore; has the famous lion statue that is the symbol of the city), Esplanade Park (by the Singapore River which had an old boat race going on), Parliament buildings (where the Singapore Cricket Club was in a game out in the front lawn), China Town (pic #3: with fun open markets), and ended with a tour of a Buddhist Temple. Whew!

A few random thoughts: I have never seen a city with so much construction going on all the time (pic #4). My co-workers said if you leave the city for a couple years, then you might not recognize it when you come back and now I believe it! I kind of forgot how close I was to the equator and didn't apply sunscreen when I left the apartment. With all the tall buildings every other step is in the shade, but alas, I still got a little pink. After my big adventure, I stopped to get some yummy noodles and chicken (my staple food for now).

Debunking Singapore myth #1: Everyone says it's so hot, but it feels a lot like a summer day in Atlanta, but there is a breeze...so very doable!

Debunking Singapore myth #2: Everything is super expensive. Things are expensive, don't get me wrong, but if you eat with locals, then it's very affordable. Today's lunch was S$3.50 (which is about $2.50 USD).

Workin' for a Livin'

I've now completed three days at Porter Novelli-Singapore. The group in the office is amazing - they work hard and are all friends, just like in Atlanta.

The round building in the distance is ours (not the blue one). Right across from the office build are lots of great places to eat. I think they are called Hawker centres (no not a typo, they write in the Queen's English) :)

Home Sweet Home in Singapore

I arrived safely in Singapore last night. I left 11:45 am ET on Friday, Nov. 13 and arrived Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1 am local time. Once the sun came up this morning, I unpacked and settled in my new place.

After that, I checked out the city around me and went grocery shopping. I was in need of a few essentials like water, bread and toilet paper. :) There is an open air shopping center right around the corner so I bought some local fruit - delicious - and the essentials.

After looking around, I decided to explore my own building and found the gym. It is located on the 31st floor, so working out was fun and educational. I oriented myself with the surrounding skyscrapers.

A few differences I see from Atlanta to Singapore:

1. Bread in Singapore is about half as big as the U.S.
2. Cars and escalators are opposite sides than in U.S.
3. People on the street are super friendly in Singapore - saying hello as they pass you by
4. Most everything is written in English, but there is a lot of Chinese writing as well
5. Florida OJ is about $8 Singapore dollars

More to come as I explore the city more...

And so it begins...

Jen left yesterday for Singapore and, according to the website for Northwest Airlines, has landed. I haven't heard from her yet, but I'm anticipating that she's traveling from the airport to her apartment. She's got an awesome place located at 10 Gopeng St. that apparently overlooks the pool.


View Larger Map

Once I talk to her, perhaps she can post some pictures of the place... I just want everyone to see where it is we're going to be staying.