I’ve been itching to write here again, unfortunately my dear beloved Mac seems to have died on me and after a LOT of faffing about I’ve managed to log myself onto another computer. In this process I’ve also had to reset all my passwords as I can’t remember a single one, verifications are sent to my uk mobile and I can’t change the sim cause then I loose the connection…let’s just say ugh! Love technology but sometimes I make it very hard for myself.
So, let’s start with today and work ourselves back through the happenings of the past week.
Today was D day, the first day in the new school. I’m not sure who was more nervous, me or the kids. Bea has also just caught the cold so she was a bit sniffly and on the Calpol but didn’t want to miss her first day.
Getting them up at 6:30 was not the easiest, I trust they shall sleep well tonight. Beatrix happily got dressed in her new uniform, poor Ben had to go in his normal clothes as his uniform is delayed (typhoon in HongKong they say…)
Early breakfast here, a 15 minute taxi ride and then we were there, amongst all the other families dropping their little learners off.
The kids happily went in to their respective classes and that was that!
When I came to pick them up in the afternoon I could tell by their happy shining faces it had been a good day, “Awesome!” “Love it!” “I’ve made friends” bubbled out of them. I could feel a lot of tension disappear then and there. So what if Bea only ate a pain au chocolate for lunch (she will have a packed lunch tomorrow)…I think she was overwhelmed by the choice. We can send the kids in with packed lunches, choose from a weekly meny or let the kids choose themselves and pay by tapping their EZ-link cards (bus passes)
Walking to the bus stop for our ride back we bumped into a big lizard, check out my latest Instagram post for a video of the dude (I can’t upload videos here unless I upgrade to the premium version of WordPress, which I won’t cause I’m a cheapskate and living in Singapore is already too expensive!)
During the weekend I was contacted by a lovely lady who has kids in the same years as ours and we were invited over to their condo for a Sunday lunch and chat by the pool. We had a great time (drinking champagne by the pool and eating delicious food) and it was lovely for the kids to meet some kids that would be in the school the next day. I can’t wait for us to move into our condo so that I can return the favour!
On Saturday we ventured out in Tiong Bahru, a neighbourhood about 30 mins walk from here. It’s really cool area, has a famous wet market and food court and a lot of older houses from the 1930’s. I love the architecture there and the atmosphere, it appears I’m not the only one as the area is getting quite hipster with lovely cafés and restaurants. We had an amazing Thai-meal at the Little Elephant.
We spent most of the Friday in Orchard and Singapura Plaza sorting out my phone and mr Dougberg’s bank. Also getting some necessities like the EZ-link cards and pencil cases etc. Orchard Road is the famous busy shopping road where you can walk from mall to mall to mall…without ever going out. It’s got all the obnoxious luxury brands and the clientele who will shop there. Personally, I think once we move to the East Coast, I will spend very little time going to Orchard. The walk between Orchard and Singapura Plaza is lovely though as you walk under majestic trees and see some amazing flowers.
One afternoon as we were leaving the pool, all of a sudden my foot went through those plastic grilles that are around the pool. My foot and leg went down into the hole and I banged and scraped the leg, at first I thought I had really hurt myself as it was quite painful. Luckily I escaped with a scrape, bruise and a bit of swelling. And I got flowers and a bowl of fruit from the hotel…
Now it’s “Hungry Ghost Festival” (also known as Zhong Yuan Jie in Chinese), when the souls of the dead are believed to roam the earth. The Chinese put out offerings for the hungry ghosts and burn paper replicas of things the ghosts may need in the afterlife (if you don’t the ghosts can get up to mischief). We’ve spotted offerings of food placed outside houses and there are bins put out too, where you can burn the paper money and replicas. I think we’ll see a lot more of this in the days to come!
The kids and I tried out the local hawker centre by the river one night when Gareth was working late. Classic chicken and rice from one stall and drink from another, Ben opted for a Dragonfruit/Soursop. It was quite fascinating sitting there watching the sugarcane being squeezed into juice. I like the street food, Ben will try everything but Bea really has to be in the right mood for it.
It’s funny, up until just before we left England, I’d never heard of or seen Bittergourds. Then one day, my lovely Scandi fellow and friend B has two mystery climbing plants that turned out to be these strange looking vegetables. Now I see them everywhere, in the shops, at markets AND made into juice! Check it out B!!
Dougbergs in Singapore 
How funny! Did you try the juice? The plant is huge now… will send you a picture tomorrow! Xx
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