First off, they drive on the WRONG side of the road for me and that was very daunting... Who am I kidding, it is still daunting. I just cannot get used to the cars on the wrong side of the road, so glad that I don't have to drive here! So this means that when walking things seem backwards to me too. What I mean is that you pass someone on the left of the sidewalk and when riding an escalator... Watch out! You must stand to the left so that people walking can pass you on the right. So different from when Lucas lived in DC and you had to stay to the right. But they generally walk all over the place down in the MRT and I used to stop because I was afraid that they were going to run into me. Now, I just keep walking straight because they will come within a breath of you without even touching you and go around you, really freaked me out at first.
I now own a bicycle and ride to my pottery class instead of walking, much faster. Mike told me to get a bell for my bike... I told him "no, I won't need it" but boy I was wrong! I rode to my pottery class which is about 2 plus miles and people WILL NOT move over to let you by... Yes I know what you are thinking... Maybe they don't know I am there... WRONG! They just won't move over for an expat(that's what they call us). So I went back to the store and bought a bell and now I use it! It works too! I really think that I am not supposed to be riding on the sidewalk but there are no bike lanes here and I would get hit riding in the street by all of the crazy drivers.
I think the only downer to this place is the weather... It is 75 to 85 degrees with a chance of rain EVERY DAY. I know that it is hot in the states now but you have to realize that it is warm here, always. And since we are an island just south of Malasyia it is very humid too. So when you go outside, be prepared to sweat. The good thing is that once you walk to the MRT, which is less than one block for me, than you are underground until you get to your destination and it is totally air
conditioned so you do cool back down. I just like to be outside and I literally melt every time I spend
any time out there. The good thing is that we have a huge pool that we can cool off in when it gets really hot.
Here I Singapore we have a supermarket called Cold Storage which is like half the size of our grocery stores in the US. Since Singapore is an island, most things come from Malasyia or the US and so everything is very expensive here. So next time you are shopping and pick up crescent rolls in a can, just remember that I can't afford them here! The other grocery chain is called Giant and it is like a mini Super One or Sam's Club. These are considered the "dry market" and I go to the "wet market" to buy fresh fruits and veggies. The wet market is run by locals and it is fun to go there, they know me now because it is so close that I can go there daily. Needless to say, we are eating much healthier meals here. In the wet market they also sell fish and meat... But I just can't stand the smell, yuck! But they are very strict here so it must be clean or they could not sell it. Fortunately for
me there is The Butcher Shop just across the street from me and the meat is very, very good. It is
Australian and they also make their own sausage there, very tasty I must say.
The people here speak English and that is such a plus. But they also speak Mandarin, so there is no telling what they are saying about me! The problem for me is there are so many nationalities here that I am not sure what they are speaking at times! It has been fun exploring the different areas of Singapore and I love Chinatown and little India. It is also very nice that there is a mall at any given MRT station. And I am telling you, these malls are huge! Seven to eight stories with every type of store you can imagine! You can buy anything from dried sea horses to Prada and Gucci merchandise. If you want it, it is probably here somewhere! My favorite store to date is Daiso which is a Japanese version of our Dollar Store and here everything is $2. Since things here are typically three times as much as in the US, it is a good place to shop.
Ok, so for places to eat, you have just about everything here... From local "hawker" food to Italian to
Mexican, to seafood, to German, to Fast food ( McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, Subway, Dairy
Queen...), to Japanese, to anything else you can imagine. The local food is quite cheap but the western food is very expensive! And forget about napkins, unless you want to buy a travel size package of Kleenex from the street lady. And you place that kleenex pack on an empty table to reserve it while you go and get your food. I learned that really quick! And when you give or get money or receipt from the cashier... make sure to receive it with both hands or this is considered rude. Boy was I rude until I figured this little rule out! I am not as adventurous as some because I like to know what I am eating. So my favorite hawker type food is Korean because it is usually what I consider a chicken fried steak, then they cut it in bite sized pieces for you, quite yummy. I am having quite an adventure here daily and I hope you enjoy it with me!
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