It feels like absolute madness that we are celebrating our one year anniversary in Singapore already! But so it is. Looking back a lot of things have happened since we landed on the 16th of June 2011.
Living on an Island, in a City and in a Country
The first picture of our condo on the 4th of July; Happy Independence Day all our American friends btw!
We
have had absolutely 'marvelous' experiences getting furniture and
everything else practical for our apartment and Singaporean kitsch is just
from a different planet
It then continued by me becoming a proper iMac user in our new home, which have had it's moments of despair (I had no idea I was taking photos at this point; I discovered them just now, lol!)
Perspectives on Discoveries
Running around Singapore on all the tourist attractions, made us realize that we detested most of Sentosa..
..while really liked getting new perspectives (this park just had it's grand opening the weekend now passed and is known as Gardens By The Bay)..
..and new possible water holes (Marina Bay Sands infinity pool)..
..like 1-Altitude (we are now on the opposite side of the marina with MBS in the background)..
..along with taking up old/starting new sports, again from a slightly different perspective. Here Jonas (to the right) is playing tennis with his colleague and I'm watching from their apartment, 30 something floors up in the air
Then
we discovered orchids; I normally think looking at plants is the most boring practical exercise you can possibly be exposed
to, but the National Orchid Garden in Singapore is beyond anything I've
seen before
I
then tried growing them at home with catastrophic results, so have now
showed them out on the balcony, been ignoring them for the past six
months and they are super happy. That just feels great; really
The Flavors of Lion City
We also ate like crazy coming here..
..since everything was so cheap compared to Tokyo!
And interesting (ha ha ha!)
I had understood food was a big issue in Singapore, but I never really grasped exactly how important it was. We naturally had to try all kinds of things, like Black Chicken Soup..
..of course the national dish Chicken Rice..
..but in addition squeezing in an oyster revival experience. We've tried having raw oysters before coming to Asia, but have never cared for them; in Singapore however, it's just not an option not eating oysters
Further, we just had to get used to the chili. Singaporeans have chili in everything. I realized the other day that it has taken me a year to be able to order a Tom Yum soup and actually finish it without sweating so I almost loose my contacts, numbing my tongue sounding completely smashed and then breathing fire the following hours
I also realized I really like Indian food; didn't see that one coming at all to be honest ;)
Vikings in Singsing
And we had visitors (friends Nettan and Robin)..
..visitors (Pappa Hans)..
.. and visitors (Mamma Jeanette)..
..oh (basta Anna and Jimmy)..
..so many (Mams Eurenius)..
..visitors (Sis Maija and BF Par)! We must also thank everyone else who was here and wish you all a big welcome to come back again!
Proper Scandinavian Christmas a la Asia
The quite horrendous Christmas decorations in Singapore, made us feel very safe and like we were back on Showa Dori in Tokyo, passing over Nihon Bashi..
..where the number one prize either went to the giant 'Christmas Boob' outside Tang Plaza (again: anyone..?)..
..or the CHRISTMAS HORSES in front of Paragon
Since we wanted to be equally kitschy ourselves, we decided on our first artificial Christmas tree..
..and to get our spirits up, being far from family and friends,..
.. to make all the Christmas candy in the world
On Christmas Day we also attended our first Champagne Brunch at Mandarin Oriental ;)
A Hysterical Year
We saw pretty extraordinary signs..
..which were reinforced by others found by our friends..
..where most of them were related to movies..
..which we have liked more..
..or less
One of the themes made us laugh until all three of us were in tears and someone almost fell off their chair (OK Reinout, it might have had something to do with your excellent whiskey as well)..
..which of course was Star Wars..
..since there seemed to be no limits..
..to the silliness..
..you can create..
..using some of the main characters
Another hot theme was education, teaching us the meaning of opposites..
..modern techniques..
..Math..
..spelling..
..Chemistry..
..and that it's important to take your time on things like your Singaporean driving license test. Therefore Jonas and I did ours in 7-8 minutes and passed with flying colors
A Year of Firsts
It's definitely been a year of firsts, since we went to our first Midwinter Ball..
..first F1 night race..
..were invited to our first Chinese New Years party by our neighbor..
..and had our first BBQ in Asia..
..as well as saw our first Chingay Parade..
..had the first LCHF meal..
..celebrated Jonas' first birthday in Singapore..
..and I trusted a Singaporean hairdresser for the first time
In addition we saw our first swimming 1-meter lizard..
..first monkeys in Singapore..
..and went to our first..
..concert together in Asia (Lady Gaga)
I collected sea shells and corals for the first time in probably 20 years..
..we both did our first beach dive (+ that I did deep/navigation and buoyancy dives for the first time in my life)..
..and lived in a semi-wall-less bungalow in Malaysia for the first time
A few weeks later I acted as a Nobel Prize Winner Groupie ('groupie' in natural science means that you ask if you can take a photo of a Nobel Prize winner because you 'want to frame it and hang it next to my periodic table') for the first time with Sir Harry Kroto (I'm in 8 cm heels btw)..
..had a first encounter with the Paranakan culture..
..and we visited our first snake temple..
..just before viewing the first clay semi-pornographic statues I've ever seen (above our hotel door btw)..
..visiting Koh Tao for the first time..
..and loosing my husband to the bath monster. OK, this may have happened before
It was truly great, closing the circle of firsts, by going to our first Pink Dot event last weekend and it will not be our last
We are now prepping for another highly prosperous year and want to finish off by giving one good advice:
In addition, if we learned anything up until now, it is that lives can change in a few minutes. Hence, seize the opportunities if this happens to you since only you can change things for yourself, never give up and remember how lucky you are to be alive. I didn't really understand any of the latter until after the 11th of March, 2011.
