Turning "bano" as I move to SG

Almost 2 years ago, I visited the expensive Singapore with Taku to celebrate our birthdays. I fell in love with the "convenient" country instantly and wished that I'll have a chance to work and live there.

This year, after keeping my crazy faith in my dream job, I was given a very good opportunity to explore and establish my career and a bonus to move to Singapore. Coming from Manila, moving here is such a treat because of its convenience.

TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Who wouldn't love Singapore's Public Transport System? You can just go around the whole country with its MRT & LRT or if you prefer to do more sightseeing on the way, just hop in one of the many buses to choose from. 

Compared to Manila's MRT, Singapore's MRT has a very comprehensive comprehensive map (photo above), a panel that shows the schedule of train arrivals or the number of minutes left to wait, strict implementation of 'no eating and drinking' rules, and some trains have route info panels that show where you actually at! 

EZ-link makes my life so much easier! With its multiple use especially in transportation, I normally just need it and I'm all set.

LITTLE WORRIES GO AWAY

They say that low crime doesn't mean no crime at all but as a Filipino who had lived in Manila for almost a decade and has developed a good ill-never-be-a-victim-of-crime skill, Singapore is such a place where I could fully breathe (and never worry about my bag being stolen or left open when walking.)

I also do not sweat in small things because:

1. People in this country automatically take the side of escalators so that those who are rushing can pass by.

2. When crossing the small streets without stop lights, pedestrians can just cross the pedestrian lane anytime (but of course still with caution) because cars give priority to pedestrians and automatically stop compared to what I'm used to that I have to wait for the upcoming car to pass by before crossing.

3. And of course, stop lights are perfectly working and generally (some are not), people know how to use them. :)

SINGLISH

The only difficult thing for me might be to fully understand Singlish. Here, words like alight, take away and 1 for 1 are used instead of get off, take out and buy 1 take 1. Definitely, I'll learn more words as time goes by and I'll definitely learn how to appropriately use "lah."

(Image from: Google Images)

Some of my friends like this country so much even if they've visited or  lived in other progressive cities already. But some feel a bit suffocated of its strict rules and fast-paced environment. As for me, I'm still getting to know Singapore but the chaos of Manila will always be missed.

Toss up for a good year!

One of the most interesting celebration of new year for me is the Chinese way. Because of their many different beliefs and rituals, they welcome the new year  full of hope and optimism.

Two weeks after I moved to Singapore, I celebrated CNY for the first time together with my We Are Social family. Here, the Chinese believe that tossing up yu sheng (raw fish salad) symbolises luck, prosperity, good health, and all things good. The practice of mixing it together is called lo hei (also in Malaysia) which means tossing up good fortune in Cantonese. Yu which is "fish" in Mandarin, shares the same pronunciation with another character that stands for "abundance." Each of the ingredients in yu sheng has significance like sesame seeds, which represents flourishing business and green radish for everlasting youth. As everyone partakes in mixing the salad, wishes are uttered to shower blessings to their lives for the year ahead.

For a first-timer, I was not bad in tossing but I don't think I tossed enough for a promising year so I'll back it up with hard work! :)

BEFORE AND AFTER.

We spent half day in the office going around the city to celebrate the new year with lo hei, tea, and childhood games! Plus, I got my first-ever ampaw!

We Are Social family

One of my first good friends in the office, Vera, invited me and Tianyu for a reunion dinner with her family. It was a great pleasure meeting her beautiful family and sharing a hot pot with them.

After the dinner, we visited a few temples and headed to Chinatown for the countdown. The countdown is very nice to experience but you better be prepared to endure the heat because of the crowd and loud noises from fireworks cause they believe that it will shoo away the bad things. 

See you around!

Moving to Singapore was quite a quick decision for me since it was in my diary to explore more possibilities and establish a better foundation in my career but it was very surprising to all my friends and family that I'll be  enduring not to miss.

But the last minute catch ups before I go was one of the most satisfying I've ever experienced- favorite girlfriends and batchmates in ABSCBN, choir mates (Himig Kalinangan), High school friends (since it was also Gale's homecoming!), college friends (and Allan's homecoming! haha), CouchSurfing friends and my best friend Ellese when she told me that I'll be her maid of honor in October! Yey!

Couchsurfing friends, humble and fun as usual.

Taku left for Japan a few days ago and I think I couldn't be away from him too long so I tried sneaking in to his luggage! :)

Just like what Cookie said in her talk in Blogfest Asia 2012, happiness is staying in touch with your friends and family. I'm not sure where this decision will take me but I'm sure they'll hold my hand if I needed to stand up.

Singapore, it's always Sunday.

“There’s no such thing as too much of a good thing”—that’s what I read in one of the under renovation shops in Marina Bay Sands and I think, that’s Singapore for me. Living in Singapore I think is like living only once in a week-- only on a Sunday when everyone’s getting together, happily greeting each other, eat out, unlimited sharing of stories, fast paced but friendly environment and definitely can be a day with books and sharing of stories over a cup of coffee. For someone from Manila like me, Singapore is like a big Fort Bonifacio High Street, a safer one.

Singapore is such a mixture of culture and the diversity makes this small country interesting and fun to visit. First stop, Chinatown.

The Chinatown amazed me for its cleanliness and entertaining atmosphere. Maybe it’s because most of the people in Singapore is Chinese and walking in the stretch with Chinese decorations made me feel that I was actually in China. I got our pairs of chopsticks for S$2 each.

Of course the Chinatown experience won’t be complete without eating frogs which has the taste of “in between fish and chicken.”

Bollywood is the new Hollywood, that’s what they say. Well, watching 3 Idiots, I will definitely agree to that, but Singapore can also be a haven for Bollywood fans. Then we transported to a different culture, The Little India.

India is one of the most colourful cultures for me and we were just so lucky when we visited because they just finished Deepavali (also known as Diwali Dipawali, etc), the “Festival of lights” which is one of the most important festivals in a year for Hindus when the families get together and performs traditional activities together. It was a national holiday in Singapore.

Of course Indian food is one of the most distinct and delicious food ever made by mankind. Haha. And so we tried the famous fish head curry in Singapore and finally met Gulaab Jammun.

                After trying out various dishes, our taste buds craved for the original Singaporean food so we headed to Hawker Centre and had a taste Laksa and taho.

   We also tried the famous Chili Crab in Jumbo Seafood Restaurant near Clark Quay. 

     And definitely, Halloween is awesome in Singapore.

                I can consider Singapore as one of the best places for walking, especially if you want to feel like traveling in different places when you can stop your feet (well depends on the mood). Maybe a few steps from Singapore Art Museum, we’ve reached the Arab Street where I found nice shops and restaurants that will definitely transport you to the Middle East. I think it’s one of my favourite streets there.

                A few more steps then we reached Little Thailand, Little Malaysia and maybe the Lucky Plaza can be Little Philippines. Haha. (I'll surely visit Lucky Plaza on my next trip to Singapore.)

                Every street in this country has different character. Taku and I were so amazed on the architecture of the city.

Look at the water in the ceiling! Woaa!

                We sneaked in the bar of Marina Bay Sands not just for our usual Mojito but to see the beauty of the city from the top. It was breath taking.

                We just moved around the city, tried the bus and MRT, and were wowed with the way of life and amiable nature of the Singaporeans. 

               With Taku’s friendly and nice nature, I believe that he fits in Singapore. I wish I could live there too so that every day is Sunday.

Thanks to Heidi, a couchsurfer from Malaysia for walking around with us! See you soon!