Around the world and back

Day 12

For the first part of today I honestly forgot which country I was in. I went to an area called Little India, and was exposed to a whole new side of Singapore. There were endless market stalls selling fruits and vegetables of every colour of the rainbow, people and cars competing for the roads, mouth-watering aromas of spices coming from every house and the most dazzling saris whichever direction I looked in. I strolled through the area in amazement of the vibrancy and buzz of Little India, with everyone buying, selling or shouting something or other. The area was also home to numerous temples and mosques (the names of which I could list, but I’d only be copying out of my book! For example... Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple). They were all so intricately decorated with stunning colours and creatures, and I felt warmly welcomed inside each one.

I then ventured into Kampong Glam, which was once home to the Malayan aristocracy and then became an area for Arab and Malay merchants. Located here is the beautiful Sultan Mosque, the largest mosque in Singapore, which exhibits both elegance and opulence with its cream exterior and perfect golden domes. The area was bustling with activity, music and Middle Eastern delights (mmm J). To better understand the origins and intricacies of this area, I went to the Malay Heritage Centre, in which everyone had to take their shoes off! So my feet enjoyed a good rest while I read all about the sultans who settled here originally, Malay music and the gossip which permeated, and still probably permeates, the local cafes.

On the way home I decided to stop at a place where, according to my map, there was meant to be a park. Only after I’d spent some time in there did I realise that it was actually a private and super exclusive golf course (with signs saying ‘no trespassing under any circumstances!’). I made myself look like I belonged (I clearly didn’t!) until I finally found my way out, and made it home safely. In the evening, I continued on my journey through the world and this time... in German style! They’d drunk all the beer by the time I arrived so I was given water, but it was fun anyway J So, it seems like whoever you are in Singapore, wherever you’re from and whatever your religion, you can surely find your niche.  

Day 13

After a long and lazy morning, I decided that today was the perfect day to reconnect with nature. I chose to get off at an underground station which was relatively close to a huge nature reservoir, but I had no map of the area and hadn’t really figured out the directions (sadly not all geographers have inbuilt GPS systems!) I wondered round a residential area for a while, which was also interesting, before eventually finding the Machritchie Reservoir and nature reserve. Without planning to, I ended up going on a pretty long circular hike around the nature reserve, which was part jungle and part very well maintained park. My route featured an amazing tree top walk in which I could see across the whole canopy and beyond. It also featured numerous wild monkeys who swung through the trees and strolled across the paths freely. The adults looked really wise and judgemental, and the babies looked super sweet (and very mischievous!)

When I was ready to say goodbye to the monkeys, I went to explore a new area called Joo Chiat. This is yet another place where the atmosphere is what counts the most, but there are also things to see. Several of the streets are lined with traditional shop-houses (narrow houses which originally had businesses on the ground floor and living areas above), each of which is a different colour and features its own intricate designs. They looked so quaint and picturesque! There was also a beautiful Buddhist temple and a Hindu temple in which I was very lucky to see an Indian-style wedding. These places take colourfulness to a new extreme, even for me!!

The day seamlessly rolled into a wonderful evening as I met up with my local friends for dinner and chit-chat. We wondered through a market and right onto Arab Street, which featured lots of quirky shops, shisha bars and more. We also saw the most stunning chandelier, made up of many multi-coloured little lanterns. I think it semi-hypnotised us, and I promised the shop keeper that I’d come back and buy it if I ever earn that much money. But for now, I was more than happy to just enjoy yet another Singaporean evening.    

Day 14

The weekend seemed to fly by and before I knew it, it was time to get back to work. For some reason I felt really sleepy at work today. But that’s not a problem - the chairs are really comfy so I managed to have a five minute nap without anyone noticing J I plodded along with my research, looking into ways through which to engage staff and students in environmental issues. It would be so great if they could just engage themselves somehow. Come on people!!

After work I went to the cinema with two of my lovely colleagues to watch White House Down. That certainly woke me up, and I came out feeling like I seriously need to take a self defence class. Who knows what tomorrow might bring? I might need to climb up an elevator shaft or drive a limo across the White House gardens or step up to be the president’s body guard.

But bed time for now I think...

Day 15

Back to more efficient work today! Although the chair was equally comfy and a nap was equally tempting... Today I designed something which (in my mind) was the perfect cycling scheme for NUS. However, over lunch I was told by my very funny (and much more experienced, pragmatic and realistic than me) colleague that my bike scheme would never be accepted because it would be very expensive, it wouldn’t be approved by the safety department, and so on. Well, it’s good to think idealistically sometimes I guess. But I went back to the drawing board after lunch. I also did some online bike shopping and comparing, which was fun, but I think that my choices were a bit too far skewed towards the girly-city bike style. Maybe they need mountain bikes here with all the hills... And a fan attached to each bike to decrease sweating J

After work a friend and I decided that it was time to check out the university swimming pool. It was so great! The water was perfectly refreshing and as it’s an outdoor pool, we could observe the constantly changing sky as the sun set. It also temporarily calmed my hair down! We had a delicious alfresco dinner followed by freshly squeezed kiwi juice, and I went to bed with my muscles feeling wonderfully relaxed.

Day 16

I think I’m slowly developing an addiction to avocado milkshakes... They’re just so scrumptiously smooth. Although I’m still finding it a bit strange that here they hand you your drink (which is in a plastic cup) either in a plastic bag or in something else made of plastic which resembles a harness with a handle. Surely it would be easier to just hold the plastic cup! Anyway, avocado milkshakes are wonderful, and I just say that I’m okay without a cup harness today, thank you.

Today we had a tour of the School of Environment and Design (which is mostly architecture from what I gather). We were shown all the cool machines – the 3D Styrofoam cutters, the laser cutters, the etching machines – and were told about the various processes which architects have to go through in order to design a structure, building or city. It was really interesting and by the sounds of it, the students (and probably real architects) are likely to have several moments of madness before they are able to produce their final models. Back at my own desk, I decided to start putting together some of my research into something more comprehensible and useful. Of course this meant that prior to any writing, I had to get the fonts, borders and colour scheme juuust right J

In the evening it was time for yet another crazy exercise routine. Each week we run past a cool laser show which looks and sounds very dramatic, but I haven’t actually watched it properly! I’m thinking that next week I might go to the area to chill and watch the show instead... Don’t get me wrong, the exercise plan is amazing and pretty entertaining, but chilling is great too, and I’m not sure how much more bunny hopping (or crazy bird-like arm flapping) I can handle... We’ll see though, I wouldn’t want to let my fellow bunny hoppers down!