One year anniversary in Singapore and Happy Independence Day!

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.

Asian women and The Peranakan Museum

People who know me well will laugh about this entry, since I'm not exactly known for being big on museums. I really want to like it, but in most cases I get bored out of my mind. My parents tried a lot with both my sister and me, but the only thing that really stuck was The Museum of Natural History and The Maritime Museum, both situated in Gothenburg. In addition, not that the quality of any of the two is in any way low, but I'm guessing that the reason they became favorites was most likely linked to the quantity of the visits. Sometimes I swear I thought of the aquarium of The Maritime Museum as part of our personal living room. I even remember the rather cunning name of their alligator: Smiley or 'Smilet' as he was called by the locals i. e. 'The Smile'. Hence, if we ever get a pet gator, that's what I'll call her.

Anyways, as a grown up I've really tried educating myself with various exhibitions at The Tate, Musee Du Louvre and Casa Museum Gaudi along with Fundacio Joan Miro, Museu Picasso de Barcelona and Mori Art Museum to mention a few. Most of it is tragically lost on me. The only time I seem to appreciate art is when it's either gritty (stuff like Goya's 'Saturn Devouring His Son' or even Carl Larsson's 'Midvinterblot') or interactive (give me Universeum or Sagrada Familia any day).

In short, I was quite surprised I even agreed going to (I always try to sneak off) and let alone was actually rather fascinated by, The Peranakan Museum in Singapore. The themes were in short marriage, food and how to make it as a woman of mixed origin in a very different Singapore compared to today.

According to Wiki, the Peranakan or Nonya cuisine combines Chinese and Malay influences and Peranakans are descendants of early Chinese migrants inter-marrying local Malays and settling, in amongst others, Singapore. The Malay word 'Nonya' refers to respect and affection for women of prominent social standing

 A Peranakan bride 

 The jewelery are described..

..in this text and are full of symbolism..

 ..as well as these Pagoda Trays, used to bear gifts from the families of the bride and groom

 The museum was a complete explosion of beautiful patterns, colors and sparkles; this is a wedding bed

 Some of the items were extremely delicate and there was definitely a striking presence of strong, female characteristics

 Another beautifully carved mirror frame, maybe not in so many colors, but absolutely exquisite

A wedding process with the female participants closest to the camera..

..where this was a wedding garment of heavy embroidered silk worn by Peranakan Chinese brides decorated with phoenixes and peonies  

A beautiful pattern which looks like it would belong to any modern campaign 2012; butterflies were a sign of the wedded couple getting many children

 

Coming from very interesting as well as both exciting and amazing settings in most of the temples and castles in Japan, where many are displayed just like museums, the difference was huge. Besides the Geisha culture, which in a way is very much under wraps since it's still an ongoing form of art, the Japanese culture scene is in many cases directed towards the Shogun/Emperor eras with predominantly male leading characters. Hence it was very nice to have a historic walk, looking through the eyes and perspective of Asian women for a change

 An altar from a wealthy Peranakan home..

 

..with a few of the male deities which were common

I got the feeling that on one hand it was extremely rough being a woman during these times, but on the other filled with excitement, passion and happiness, just like today. It made me get yet another revelation of how thankful I am to all those women who in the past fought for my present reality. Without you, my life today would not be possible.

Homo-, bi- and transsexual with Pink Dot

Ever since we went to Thailand the first time and I understood what the term 'lady boy' referred to, I've really been wondering about rights for HBT (homo-, bi- and transsexual) individuals in Asia. Here, a lot of the countries have both religion and culture, which in most cases makes living in an relationship which is not heterosexual, impossible.

I have not been able to voice this at all really being in Asia, which of course is disturbing for opinionated individuals being raised in a country like Sweden. However, even in Sweden, which is supposed to be one of the countries where the debates on equality between genders and freedom of speech and marriage has come 'furthest in the world', there are still hate crimes each year. In addition, there have been very strong reactions to for instance gay marriages in church and there are also to this day people who have negative opinions regarding female priests. Hence, the equality debate has obviously quite some distance to go. Still, you can't legally fire someone or refuse them to rent an apartment on there mere basis of them being gay, even though I'm sure this happens frequently. 

To me the whole debate, especially in Asia, is very ambiguous. In Japan it's for instance perfectly alright to have 'man bags' i. e. male handbags, it seems like a law to have pink bling-bling on your phone if you are a salary-man and most TV presenters I have seen so far have been men dressed up like women. But when you ask if that would be considered gay or transsexual, people look at you as if you've lost your mind. You are also only warned about one area when you move to Tokyo: Ni-Chome. When I asked our agent Kato-san about it, since I assumed the crime rate was high there which is the most common reason for others warning you to move to specific neighborhoods, he laughed quietly and said: 'No, no, Colin-san, but many man-bars'. I replied a bit surprised: 'Oh, you mean strip clubs?', which wasn't exactly a shocker, since washeries, love hotels, strip clubs, maid cafes and hostess/host bars (mostly kept rather out of sight unless you were in the heart of Shinjuku) were basically everywhere. He then looked very uncomfortable and more turned to Jonas and said: 'Maybe man-who-likes-man-bars'. It took a few seconds for both Jonas and I to get it and then we replied at the same time: 'Ah, it's a gay district!'. Kato-san then sighed and said: 'Yes, yes, many bad' and that was that. There was absolutely no way he would show us anything even near Ni-Chome.

Another example, was when we now went for diving and one afternoon relaxed having Thai massage. I suddenly noticed that the hands belonging the woman who was assigned to take care of me were the same size as my feet. I didn't think much of it, until she started whispering to me rather than talking. At the same time I noticed her feet being several centimeters longer than mine and I put two and two together. I then turned to Jonas and said: 'Do you think your masseuse is a woman?'. He looked at me as if I just had said 'I think I want to have fresh babies for dinner', then browsed the girl in front of him quickly, raised his eyebrows and sighed:  'What.. what?'. So I continued: 'Well, I mean do you think is it a man in women's clothing or is it a woman like me?'. There was still no verbal response, so I continued: 'Because.. I'm pretty sure my masseuse is a dude'. He looked at me in disbelief, then at my girl, smiled and said: 'Oh, yeah, you're right, it's definitely a dude. She has really big feet'. We were quiet for a bit and then the pink elephant (I thought this saying would fit in marvelously well here) had to be addressed, so I asked: 'Why do you think I get the man and you the woman..?' Afterwards I started thinking we maybe had had that slightly stupid (but never meant to be ignorant) conversation only because we weren't that used to men in women's clothes. Not because we were afraid or felt uncomfortable. 

One of my best friends in Barcelona was a drag queen though, so I have spent quite some time around men in dresses, but that's still very different from a man who seemingly only wants to live as a woman. My friend and his crew were further much more focused on their drag performances being an artistry and were often quite over the top being in their work clothes. However, when they were not performing, most of them dressed like any other guys around. This made me wonder even more, since if we spotted the masseuse most likely being a man quite quickly, there's no way her employer could not have known.  Therefore I assume being openly HBT in Thailand is perfectly legal.

This lead me to really start thinking: what a weird region of the world it'd have been in the Scandinavian corner, if it was OK for for instance a woman to be married to a man in Gothenburg, but they might both have been penalized with imprisonment, fines and caning if they had openly shown their love in Oslo. At least in my reality, that's more or less equivalent to what's going on in the APAC (Asian Pacific) region. In addition, I think I've written this before, but just to make it perfectly clear: caning is a corporal punishment, when you hit people over their backs with thick bamboo sticks, having sharp cuts in them, so they will inflict as much damage as possible. Allegedly you can only take three rounds in one go and most people are sentenced to more than ten strokes. That apparently also means that as soon as you pass out, you are sent away to recover, which normally takes a few months. You are then called back when you are healed and again beaten until you pass out. This is to have the effect of you never repeating your crime. 

There are so many stories about people being treated in discriminating ways on the pure basis of whom they love, and this is why it's so important with events like Pink Dot. I was quite surprised that celebrating/demonstrating for equal rights for HBT people in a country like Singapore would be possible (where amongst others 'sodomy' is illegal, which is another word I actually had no clue what it really meant, until I came to Singapore), but oh how wrong was I. Fortunately.

This was the beginning of the 15 000 people strong group (+ Swedish husband before 'pink transformation')..

..gathered in Hong Lim Park..

..in the middle of town..

..to support the cause of inclusiveness..

..diversity..

..and freedom to love (now Swedish husband after 'pink transformation'). Of course we wanted..

..to be part of it (now also Swedish wife after 'pink transformation')!

The sun started to set and one of the drag queen entertainers made the audience laugh so hard, that at least this participant almost poured an entire glass of pink something over her husband ;)

Then it was time for another marvelous act, with more than ten extremely beautiful men (and I think a couple of women) in sparkly costumes to give us everything from tap to cancan 

Finally came the moment everyone had been waiting for: The Pink Dot..

..which was basically comprised of all the participants gathering as close together as possible, shining..

..pink flashlights (or normal flashlights with pink cellophane over them; needless to say, all pink cellophane was sold out in the entire region) towards the Furama Hotel and its pink heart in one of the windows (can you see it in the far?)

Overall, it was a small group compared to for instance the European Pride Festival or the Gay Parade in Sitges, but it felt like the most important stand I've taken so far coming to Asia. We'll definitely be part of it next year too

 Happy Pink Dot everyone and check us out in action on http://www.youtube.com/pinkdotsg!