Last Days in Singapore

The first week of December my parents travelled to Singapore and for 5 days I showed them around the city. We then went on a week long trip to Phuket, Thailand. It was a nice relaxing week and we went to Patong beach where I bought a gorgeous sarong. We also went to the Phi Phi Islands (apparently they filmed the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo Dicaprio there) which was very picturesque. I won't have access to the photos until after Christmas, but I will put them up then.

Right now I still have two days left in Singapore, because I fly back to Amsterdam on Wednesday at 23:50 with Singapore Airlines. I can't wait to go home for Christmas, but it's also strange to say goodbye to the place I've come to consider as my second home. Tomorrow I will be saying goodbye to some of the friends I've made on this exchange and though I will miss them, I know that I will see them again sometime in the future. We shared a unique experience on this exchange in Singapore and will never forget it.

Today my grades were released. Yes, remember, I was here doing university courses, too! SMU uses a curve to grade.

From Wikipedia: "For example, if there are three grades, A, B and C, where A is reserved for the top 10% of students, B for the next 20%, and C for the remaining 70%, then scores in the percentile interval from 0% to 70% get grade C, scores from 71% to 90% get grade B, and scores from 91% to 100% get grade A." So, if you got an A you were definitely in the top 10% of the course at SMU. My grades:

Shipping Business A -
Enterprise Development A -
Singapore Society A
Intercultural Communication A -
Intro to Psychology B +

I am really happy and find this a great way to end my stay in Singapore - knowing that I worked hard at SMU and got the grades to show for it AND that at the same time I enjoyed my free time to the max; going out, travelling, and having a great time with new friends.

Infinity Pool

Last week I went to the infinity pool on top of the Marina Bay Sands which is located on the 57th floor. Gorgeous views and a nice pool.

BOB's "High Life" video filmed at the pool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZUnP_pBdN0

Candid Camera

In Indonesia, people wanted to take pictures with me. Why? Probably because I was the first white person they had ever encountered. Groups of people would come up to me and ask if they could join me for a picture. Sure, ok. Then a group of 40 men who went to Jogja for the first time came along and ALL wanted a picture. Maybe not. My friend had told me that her tall blond male friend was asked for pictures in India all the time. I had laughed at the time, but now I know what it's like!

Jogjakarta Part II

The Hindu complex called the Prambanan temples consists of 204 temples. During the "big flash" most of the temples were destroyed and the ones that exist today have been rebuilt using the original volcanic stones that were used in the 9th century when the Hindus peacefully coexisted next to the Buddhists on Java.

The Hindu temple has many carvings. What looks like a stupa is actually an upside down lotus flower which symbolizes purity.

A panel with an image of one of the many Hindu gods. These three large temples were dedicated to; Brahma the creator, Vishnu the protector, and Shiva the destroyer (the most important god). The temple of Shiva is the largest one and the middle one.

One of the other Hindu temples on the grounds of the Prambanan temples.

Me in front of the "evil" statue protecting the grounds (on the opposite side was its "good" twin). This statue is more than a 1000 years old, but the stone looks brand new!

Beef redang dish. Indonesian food sure is yummy!

Some chocolate cake for dessert.

The Sultan's Palace (Kraton) where the 10th Sultan currently resides. He is of age and has 5 daughters so his brother will most likely be next in line. The 9th Sultan actually signed the Indonesian declaration of independence.

Women in the palace creating batik fabric.

To finish my trip, I took a blissful massage and had a rose bath. Wonderful!

Jogjakarta Part I

I just went on a 3 day trip to the city of Jogjakarta, located on the Indonesian island Java, to visit some temples and experience Indonesian culture. This first blog post will be dedicated mostly to the Borobudur temple!

The Phoenix Hotel where I stayed at was an old Dutch colonial mansion. The building was gorgeous; colonial, antique, and very rich.

I saw the Ramayana ballet which is a Javanese story about Rama fighting for his true love Sita.

Our first stop on my private tour of the temples. This is just a small temple and the huge tree next to it is thousands of years old.

Next to the little temple and gorgeous tree, was a Buddhist monastery. A tranquil garden was open for visitors and provided the perfect meditating atmosphere.

This is the Eastern entrance of the Borobudur temple. When monks visit the monument, they have to go up all the 10 layers and walk clockwise on each tier to read the stories that have been carved into the panels on the side of the building. The Borobudur has no chambers and only has its exterior to showcase Buddhist lessons. The temple was built in the 9th century, but no one knows how long it took to build. In 1006 there was a "big flash" (the eruption of Mount Mepai) and the Borobudur was covered completely in ash. The ash protected the building for centuries until a Dutchman discovered it once again in 1812 and excavations began. The Buddhists had left Java after the big flash and many had gone to neigboring Bali.

The first two levels of the building are still hidden behind stone. They are hidden, because they reveal the evils that mankind faces and must overcome; dance, drink, fornication, war, etc. As you can see, many of the Buddhist statues have no heads. This is because 60% of the heads have been stolen over time.

At the highest level is the large stupa (a stupa contains four elements: the priest's robes, a lotus flower, an upside down rice bowl, and a walking stick) which is surrounded by smaller stupa.

Me in front of a stupa. Inside these stupa are Buddhist statues and if you touch them it will give you luck. Of course you are not allowed to touch them, but with the promise of luck, how could I resist?

My tour guide and I in front of the Northern side of the temple. (Note: each of the four sides are exactly alike!)

Living the Life

Ann-Katrin and I went to a photo booth and took some Japanese inspired pictures!

I went to the Titanic exhibition at a museum. They had remade the grande staircase, state rooms, and there were actual artefacts which came from the bottom of the ocean where the Titanic vessel is slowly decaying. They actually predict that in 80 years there will be nothing left of the cruise liner, because the fungi/bacteria at the sea bottom are slowly de-constructing the ship.

At Orchard Road the shopping is amazing and the Christmas decorations make it even more exciting to be there!

Today was my last High Tea with Ann-Katrin; this time it took place at the St. Regents.

Quote

I just finished "London: the Novel" by Edward Rutherford and at the end of this comprehensive history of a dynamic city, the following quote presented itself. Because I found it so moving I thought I would share it here, in the hopes that you may understand and gain something from its historic significance.

"Imagine, a summer. At the end of it the leaves fall. They lie on the ground. They almost dissolve, you might say, but not quite. The next year the same thing happens again. And again. Thinned out, compressed, those leaves and all the other vegetation build up in layers, year after year. It's the natural process. It's organic.

Something similar happens with man, and especially in a city. Each year, each age, leaves something. It gets compressed, of course, it disappears under the surface, but just a little of all that human life remains. A Roman tile, a coin, a clay pipe from Shakespeare's time. All left in place. When we dig down, we find it and we may put it on show. But don't think of it just as an object. Because that coin, that pipe belonged to a someone: a person who lived, and loved, and looked out at the river and the sky each day just you and me.

So when we dig down into the earth under our feet, and find all that is left of that man or woman, I try to remember that what I am seeing and handling is a huge and endless compression of lives. And sometimes in our work here, I feel as if we've somehow entered into that layer of compressed time, prised open that life, a single day even, with its morning, and evening, and its blue sky and its horizon.

We've opened just one of the millions and millions of windows, hidden in the ground."

Christmas Lighting

Last night, on Saturday the 19th, the official Orchard Road Christmas Lighting Ceremony took place. The PM, Mr. Tony Tang, pushed the button and the whole of Orchard lit up. Hitachi was the sponsor and chose the color blue for the lighting this year, because blue is the color for "harmony".

At Orchard Central all the decorations are pink/purple.

The Tangs department store is decorated with blinding gold and red.

Decorations over the road.

The huge tree at the ION Orchard mall - a huge mall that is above and below ground.

Bright blue lights. It's really fun to walk to the streets now with all the pretty lights!! :)

Marina Bay Gardens

The Marina Bay Sands Gardens are still under construction and mostly closed. However, due to an orchard exhibition this week we were able to see the finished parts and witness some gorgeous flowers/fauna!

Colorful flowers that reminded me a bit of Keukenhof. Yes, because all Dutch citizens should have visited that natural Dutch heritage site once.

Inside a huge dome there were dry, cold climate trees and flowers. Most notable were the bulbous trees you see in this picture. They are from Australia and are bulging at the bottom, narrow at the top.

Me in front of an olive tree. This tree, transported to Singapore from Spain, is more than a thousand years old!!!

Singapore's national emblem is the orchard and there was an orchard garden present in the flower dome. I went to the park with Kirsty (Canadian) and Christopher (American).

Chocolate Buffet #2

Last Friday night I frequented yet another chocolate buffet. In my honest opinion, this one wasn't as great as the other one - but still had some delicious treats and I really enjoyed it!

The milk chocolate fountain.

Various cakes, tortes, and other chocolate goodies. One of my favourites was the salted caramel chocolate cake.

My plate was full and let me tell you; it was delicious!

There was also a large assortment of yummy macaroons.

Study + Food

A quick update. Lately I've been studying, eating, and going out a lot. Basically just enjoying my last month in Singapore.

Somehow we ended up in this really nice Swiss chalet styled restaurant in a basement on Orchard Road. Lovely ambiance and great fresh food!

Rosti with sour cream and salmon - Swiss food at the Marche.

Brown rice and green vegetable curry (vegetables and tofu).

The Medzs buffet; kind of like Vapiano in Holland where you order all types of great Mediterranean food and pay at the end for the balance that was charged onto a card.

Our farewell party for the exchange took place last Wednesday. We all dressed up in cocktail dresses and danced the night away!

I bought the burgundy dress for the dance. It's the colour of the season and is very Asian; it covers the chest and is not too short.

Christmas is Here!

Christmas has come to Singapore. It started the 1st of November when malls were decorated and the favourite coffee houses put up their Christmas offers.

In the malls, the Christmas decorations signal the start of the Christmas shopping craze that occurs every year in South East Asia's shopping capital.

Starbucks offers its Christmas specials. The toffee nut latte is a very nice drink.

Orchard Road is the main shopping street in Singapore and there are a few huge Christmas trees decorating the avenue.

Vent

The people in Singapore can be VERY strange. Some rather annoying aspects:

1. Eating. It is unappetizing to sit next to someone who is not just making loud sounds while chewing with their mouth open, but also provides you with a lovely view of their processed food. Don't ever sit next to someone with noodles, because the slurping sound is terrible. Worst still is the burger; imagine cheese bits flying out of someone's mouth while they are eating. *shivers*

2. Public transport. Public transport, such as the metro and bus, is used by everyone. There are some weird people on my bus (probably b/c it passes through Chinatown where most get on or off) who make creepy noises, look scary, cough (with phlegm = spuug) in their hands and then touch every imaginable surface. I sat behind this woman the other day who kept making kissing noises.

Also, when seated on the isle seat and someone wants to sit at the empty window spot, you normally get up to let that person pass. Not so here. Instead,they just move their legs onto the isle so that you have to press your butt into their face to get into the cramped seat.

Because people here are smaller, so are the seats (in terms of height, leg space, and width).

3. The elderly. Sadly most of those strange people mentioned above are older. I don't think there are special homes for the elderly; this means that disabled and sick elders are sitting around outside in the city. There is not a very good pension system in place here and 70 or 80 year olds are still working at food courts (cleaning up plates) and as cleaning ladies of public toilets.

4. The side walk. This one is the weirdest. Imagine a side walk (stoep) where two people can walk next to each other. On one side is the road. On the other grass and bushes. You are walking alone and two people are walking towards you. In Holland (and the rest of the Western world) one of the two oncoming people will walk in front or behind so that the two have to walk behind, rather than beside, one another for a few seconds. Not the case here. The two people will just keep walking side by side, attempting to force you either onto the street with oncoming traffic or into the bushes. Sadly, most exchange students have learned that you have to be assertive and just walk straight ahead, forcing them to alter their behaviour, or violently bump into them in the hopes that they will get how rude they are.

Chocolate Buffet

Singapore is the city that never stops eating. This is definitely a mouth-watering post that will make you a little bit jealous. Best part: I go again next Friday!

There were two chocolate fountains; dark and milk chocolate. You could dip fruits, marshmallows, profiteroles, and madeleines (my favourite!) into the thick layers of chocolate.

A chef prepared hot chocolate for you. You could choose from ivory, 30%, 70% to 99% cocoa and all kinds of levels in between.

Chocolate mouses in unexpected flavours; the white chocolate salted caramel was titillating. They also provided various macaroons.

Bread and chocolate pudding with warm vanilla sauce, a cup of white hot chocolate,and an assortment of goodies.

Me. Quite happy. :)