The Search For The Perfect Condo

Searching for a new place to live can be both exciting and extremely frustrating. The real estate company that all of us expats are working with picked us up and took us on a tour of Singapore so that we could get acquainted with the different areas of the city. I was really excited to start looking for a place that I could settle into and I could make my own. Call me crazy but I was getting the feeling that the people at my corporate housing didn't really want to take the time to get to know me. 

"Dear Mr. Amisha Narendra Rathod" Really?! 

We got to explore a lot of the city and it helped give me a really good gauge of what Singapore is mapped out like. Most of the districts are within walking distance of each other, and if you don't care to brave the heat and humidity you can take a short MRT ride to wherever you need to go. I'll be the first to admit I don't frequently use public transportation, but it's completely different here. It's air-conditioned, fast and clean largely due to the fact that people aren't allowed to eat or drink on the MRT. We stopped by Chinatown and walked all through the market place. The streets are all lined with shops and strung with lanterns. 

There are a ton of wet markets where people bring in fresh produce, meats, and fish to sell at a fraction of the price that the local grocery stores sell them for. Look at the building from the outside I would have never guessed that there was a whole market inside.

I double checked with our broker to see if it is safe to buy produce from the market and she assured me that both locals and expats frequent the wet markets because everything is fresh and it helps out the local businesses. 

After the wet market we walked by the biggest and oldest Hindu temple in Singapore. I thought it was odd that the Hindu temple was in the middle of Chinatown and not closer to Little India. However, I was told that when Singapore was originally being developed, Chinatown was not expected to grow and expand as far out as it did. There are big beautiful statues all around the facade of the building and the front is adorned with a massive depiction of a part of the Ramayana. 

After Chinatown, we took a ride to the East Coast and walked around the beaches. It was quite shocking that as clean as Singapore is, the beaches were not tended to and there was trash littered everywhere! Looking out past the shore there were a ton of cargo ships waiting to pull in to harbor. 

We ended the day by quickly visiting Holland Village, Robertson Quay, and Dempsey. Dempsey was a really quaint pocket of restaurants and shops that I think I'll be spending a lot of time in. There aren't any residential buildings in the area, but it's a short taxi ride and really close to the Botanical Gardens. 

I had made an appointment to tour condos on Tuesday and was excited to get the ball rolling. The first couple of units the broker showed me were completely awful. I thought to myself, why would anyone in their right mind want to live in a place that smell like old food and has furniture from the 80's? I finally had to show her pictures of my old place for her to understand that I did not want to waste my time or hers touring places that were not close to my standard. I asked her if any of the places we had left to see looked like my old place and she said that they were not comparable. She started making calls to other brokers and setting appointments up as we drove around. The first building that I saw was in the financial district and was exactly what I wanted. It's a brand new high rise called The Clift and is only 4 months old. The condo that I liked has never been lived in. We went and toured two more buildings and I couldn't stop thinking about the condo I saw at The Clift. I asked to see the unit one more time and ended up making an offer that night and the owner accepted it! Now I just need my work visa to be finalized before I am able to move in to the unit. I am getting a bit worried because I'm not sure how long the owner will hold the unit for me before he puts it back on the market. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my work visa comes through soon and that I can get out of corporate housing and in to my new condo!

My First Week In Singapore

I've done it! I've officially made it through my first week in Singapore and am finally starting to feel settled in. Leaving Portland was probably the hardest thing I've had to do in a long time, and saying good-bye to my family and friends was heartbreaking. We got to the airport early enough for a few last drinks and a round of shots before I had to get on my way. 

I think the TSA agents thought there was something seriously wrong with me because when the agent that checked my ID asked the simple question, "How are you Miss?" I burst into tears. He, like most men, got all awkward and shooed my over to the x-ray screening without any further questions. I looked back to wave to Asit, Bindu, Mookie and Falkor and they had started to walk away. Again, tears started falling when I saw Falkor's fluffy tail disappear around the corner. I wanted to scream, "Itty, come back!" but realized I already looked crazy enough.

The flight over was long! I strongly suggest taking a red-eye flight and a sleeping pill. I connected in Hong Kong and thought that I'd grab a quick Starbucks before boarding my next flight to Singapore. I learned my first valuable lesson in moving to Asia: Check the price on things before you make a purchase. I'm not sure why it's taken 30 years to learn this, but none-the-less I now know. My beloved Skinny Vanilla Latte was not so beloved when I found out I paid $34.00 US for it. Did they fly the cow in from Seattle to help make my latte? I think not. 

When I landed in Singapore the first thing I noticed was that everything was immaculately clean. The airport is so modern and unlike any I've been to before. I'm not sure if anyone else has seen a forrest inside of an airport before, but it was definitely a first for me.

Passing through customs and immigration was almost too easy. They just asked how long I was visiting for, stamped my passport, and waved me through. I'm not saying I look like a felon, but I stated that I was visiting for 30 days and had 4 full suitcases, one carry-on roller bag, and a huge handbag. It was pretty apparent I was going to be staying longer than 30 days. Trying to be a rule abiding resident, I even wheeled all of my luggage over to the CTX scan so they could verify I had nothing to declare. They took one look at me and said, "No need, you're fine. Enjoy your stay Miss." They obviously are not affiliated in any way to the Canadian immigration and customs officials. Following their direction I passed through and was greeted by my driver who was ready to take me to my corporate housing. 

Walking outside I immediately realized that Singapore really is just a few degrees north of the equator. The humidity is UNREAL out here. The only thing that took my mind off of the heat and the fact that my clothes were stuck to my body was that everything is so beautiful. The ride from the airport in to the city is lined with trees and flowers. 

After arriving to corporate housing I quickly showered and grabbed a cab to the office. The first day of work felt long but I made it through and managed to get on to Singapore time with in a day. Training at work was going well and after work on Thursday I checked out a German pub in Clarke Quay. I was hoping to find Singapore's version of Feierabend, but I'm still on the hunt. The pub I went to was called Brewerkz but should have been called This.Place.Sucks. The food is awful, along with the service. I ordered the featured pilsner only to be told it wasn't on tap. How is that possible if it's featured? I decided on a glass of red wine and got a 4 oz. pour for S$23. Needless to say, I will not be returning to This.Place.Sucks. nor will I be bringing any friends or family that visit me there.

Friday after work, one of the other District Managers, Owen, and I decided to go out to Clarke Quay for dinner and a few drinks. Clarke Quay is a popular spot for going out to clubs and bars. We stopped in to an Irish pub called Mulligans for a beer. After that we bounced around and decided to head home around 11pm as we had to work the next morning. On our walk home, we realized that there is a Rolling Stones dive bar called Sticky Fingers around the corner from our corporate housing. We decided to stop in for a drink and quickly realized that the whole bar was a cover for pimping out hookers. The name should have been a dead give away. I don't care how big of a Stones fan you are, naming your bar Sticky Fingers is just not right. One of the bar owners magically appeared and sat down at out table. He kept trying to get Owen and I to separate from one another, and at one point told Owen that he should feel free to check out the bathroom. I'm not sure what that was "code" for, but I took it as we should leave ASAP. So we did. No need to go back there. Ever.

Saturday night Owen wanted to check out a bar called BeerMarket on the back side of Clarke Quay. The concept of the bar is pretty cool; it's just like the stock market where each kind of beer's price is dependent on the demand of it. When I got there a bottle of Bud was trading at $9.80 and by the time I left it was selling at $29.85! The more people that order a certain brand of beer, the higher the price goes up. They have a ticker board just like at the NYSE that tells you the price of all the beers and if they are going up in price or down in value. I met two British guys there, Kelso and Rob. Kelso has lived in Sing for 6 years and Rob has lived in Sing for 3 years. They are both in finance and know each other from back in England. Both of them are such cool guys. When I walked up to them to introduce myself they were super welcoming and made me feel comfortable right away. It reminded me of being back home around good people. They bought me and Owen a bunch of beers and it was fun to keep comparing beer prices on the ticker board. After a few beers Kelso told me that he thought Owen and I were married and he was thinking, "Oh great, here comes a boring married couple that wants to know about Singapore." I started laughing and told him we were not married or together. 

After BeerMarket we all went to Mulligans. We were sitting at a table outside and a girl that they know from work walked by and said that she was going to a place called Le Noir. We finished our pints of beer and walked down to the club. They introduced me to a girl named Liz that they work with and we began chatting. She and I talked for a long time and she introduced me to a bunch of her friends as well. They seem like a good group of girls and were a ton of fun! 

Rob and Kelso kept buying me drinks and just like classic Rathod style I had a new drink in my hand before I was done with the current one. At one point Kelso walked up and said, "Down the hatch love. Go on, here's your new one." After we all left Le Noir, Owen and I went to McDonalds and got some food since we hadn't eaten dinner. I passed out as soon as I got home and was really hungover on Sunday! 

Sunday was my first full day off and I slept in and then took the MTR to another German bar that I walk by everyday on the way to work. Still not on the same level as Feierabend! 

I went to a bar/restaurant called LeVel 33 that night that has AMAZING views of the city! I took pictures at sunset and the entire horizon was glowing purple. I haven't altered or enhanced the photos below at all; it's really what the skyline looks like at sunset when there is a fog hanging in the air.

After leaving LeVel 33, I walked down to Marina Bay and had dinner at a really good pizzeria called Verve. The food and service was great and the waiter even persuaded me to order a bottle of wine instead of just a glass. Both LeVel 33 and Verve are on my list of places to come back to. 

My first week here has been great and I'm excited to start finding my way around the city more than I have already!