Another goodbye to another country is looming!
Eoin and I are leaving Singapore in exactly 8 days (leaving on October 5th)! I haven't written a great deal in Singapore, for a few reasons - partly just that I haven't had a heap of stuff to write about (lots of lovely tourist attractions to explore, but you can see the same photos I took by looking at the websites), partly because I know that writing some things in Singapore can get you in trouble, and partly because if you have nothing nice to say, sometimes you should say nothing. But the end is near, and the rose coloured glasses are phasing in and out, and I want to reflect on some of the things that I'm going to miss.
Singapore has been an interesting place to live. I have liked many things about it, and disliked a few as well. I've learned a lot, and I've eaten some delicious food. I've definitely had challenging moments, many of them work-related, many of the rest public-transport related :) I've had some wonderful moments as well, and I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to take with me (not you, Mr. Leong, worst lab supervisor in the world. OK, you'll probably be in my head forever as well, but only as a cautionary "do no become this person" memory).
One of the big things is going to be hanging around in my local hawker market, and many of the other "heartland Singapore" experiences outside the shiny tourist attractions. I'm going to miss our juice lady, who sees Eoin coming and starts making our "2 Kalamansi Juice, no sweet". I'm going to miss the old man who spends his days sitting outside the Chinese religious shop (a whole shop of things to burn!) alternatively listening to and pencil-rewinding his casette tape. I'm going to miss the cranky old lady who makes you give her 10c to use the toilet (although she clearly isn't cleaning it). I'm going to miss the uncles who sit around the kopitiam nursing their teh tariks, combing their hair and waiting for the betting shop to open (and then all day after it's open...). I'm going to miss cai peng, kopi, coconut buns, kalamansi juice, even kaya toast! I'm going to miss these real bits of Singapore, my daily life and the people I see going about their daily lives more than I will miss Gardens By the Bay, Marina Bay, the Zoo - these are all lovely, but they are things you see, take a picture of and file away as tourist experiences.
I am going to write a few blog posts for my favourite memories for a few things - the trips we've been on, the visitors we've have, the food we've eaten, and some more of the "Singapore" things I'll miss.
Eoin and I are leaving Singapore in exactly 8 days (leaving on October 5th)! I haven't written a great deal in Singapore, for a few reasons - partly just that I haven't had a heap of stuff to write about (lots of lovely tourist attractions to explore, but you can see the same photos I took by looking at the websites), partly because I know that writing some things in Singapore can get you in trouble, and partly because if you have nothing nice to say, sometimes you should say nothing. But the end is near, and the rose coloured glasses are phasing in and out, and I want to reflect on some of the things that I'm going to miss.
Singapore has been an interesting place to live. I have liked many things about it, and disliked a few as well. I've learned a lot, and I've eaten some delicious food. I've definitely had challenging moments, many of them work-related, many of the rest public-transport related :) I've had some wonderful moments as well, and I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to take with me (not you, Mr. Leong, worst lab supervisor in the world. OK, you'll probably be in my head forever as well, but only as a cautionary "do no become this person" memory).
One of the big things is going to be hanging around in my local hawker market, and many of the other "heartland Singapore" experiences outside the shiny tourist attractions. I'm going to miss our juice lady, who sees Eoin coming and starts making our "2 Kalamansi Juice, no sweet". I'm going to miss the old man who spends his days sitting outside the Chinese religious shop (a whole shop of things to burn!) alternatively listening to and pencil-rewinding his casette tape. I'm going to miss the cranky old lady who makes you give her 10c to use the toilet (although she clearly isn't cleaning it). I'm going to miss the uncles who sit around the kopitiam nursing their teh tariks, combing their hair and waiting for the betting shop to open (and then all day after it's open...). I'm going to miss cai peng, kopi, coconut buns, kalamansi juice, even kaya toast! I'm going to miss these real bits of Singapore, my daily life and the people I see going about their daily lives more than I will miss Gardens By the Bay, Marina Bay, the Zoo - these are all lovely, but they are things you see, take a picture of and file away as tourist experiences.
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| The view from my favourite table at my favourite kopitiam/coffee shop in my local hawker market. I've drunk a lot of kopi/coffee from this spot. |
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