Sentosa Sunset

Last night I went to the Sentosa beach and was once again reminded as to why I LOVE Singapore.

Gorgeous Sunset.

Universal Studios Sentosa

On Sentosa, a man-made pleasure island south of Singapore, is Universal Studios Sentosa. Together with my friend Ann-Katrin, I spent the day there enjoying movie-inspired rides and shows.

A person dressed as the main character from the movie "The Mummy" poses with us. Behind him is the coolest attraction of the park; a Mummy themed rollercoaster where you journey through the pyramid to find the Book of the Dead.

There was also a Shrek castle and here I am posing with Gingy, the cute gingerbread man from the movie.

"If there's no candy in Heaven, I'm not going." :)

Crazy Foods

So far, I have been exposed to some crazy foods here in Asia. I shall list them below:

Crickets
Sashimi horse meat
Pig blood cubes
Elephant fish
Durian
Octopus tail

Some were good, some were...special.

Vietnam Part II

The French occupied Vietnam, or French Indochine, between 1887 and 1954. There is a definite French mark left on the city. In the morning, you can buy baguettes at street stalls and the boulevards in the centre are broad and French-styled. There is even a French opera house. In this picture I managed to capture the Cathedral and a couple taking their wedding pictures.

Me and Daniel in front of the city hall.

Vietnamese food is delicious and healthy. I hadn't seen this many green food items since I left Holland. In the picture you see a crunchy pancake and watermelon juicy. I had the best juice EVER that weekend; strawberry apply juicy! Maybe I'll try making that when I'm back in Holland. :)

On our way to the Mekong Delta rivers, we stopped at a temple complex. Interestingly enough, the temple is Buddhist, Confucianist, and Taoist. All these elements are combined to form some stunning temples.

A HUGE statue of Buddha stood next to the temple.

We went to turtle and coconut island by boat, and then we took a traditional fisher's boat to traverse across the island. Only 6 people fit on the long boat and 2 people steer the fleet through the narrow passageways.

During lunch, we were served "elephant fish".

And before we left Vietnam, I got a manicure. The manicurist was able to create the nail art within 15 min. on all my 10 fingernails and the cost was 7 EUR in total.

If you want to travel to SE Asia, skip Thailand and head to Vietnam instead.

Vietnam Part I

Vietnam far exceeded my expectations. The people were nice, I felt safe on the streets, the culture is charming, and the food is delicious!

This image is shocking. I definitely learned a lot about the Vietnam War and its lasting consequences. We went to the War Remnants Museum and there was an area dedicated to the harmful effects of Agent Orange that can still be seen 3 generations later. Note: though the museum rightfully depicted the horrors of the war on the Vietnamese people, there were also obvious signs of propaganda by this Socialist Nation. After all, Vietnam "won the war and the communists were victorious".

Myself and my Swiss travel partner, Daniel Dudler, in front of one of the American fighter jets lefts behind in Saigon.

We visited the Cu Chi tunnels which were used extensively during the war. These tunnels are located in the jungle (though the jungle had been severely bombed during the war) and extend some 200 km. Whole villages lived in the tunnels and guerillas fought the Americans by placing traps with bamboo arrows throughout the region and popping up out of unexpected hatches. "The Americans never saw the Viet Cong while fighting", because they strategically remained underground. After this visit, it was obvious as to why the Americans would never have won. Those of the Viet Cong who killed an American (for instance, by piercing his body with bamboo sticks as those in the picture) were proclaimed "American Killer Hero".

In the jungle. It was VERY hot!

Guess what this is? Poison? Nope. It is snake-scorpion wine. Perfectly safe to drink. Illegal to export to Singapore. I wonder why.

Fullerton High Tea

Last week I went to the Fullerton Hotel, a 5 star establishment located in the city's old British colonial post office. Together with my friend Ann-Katrin I enjoyed a fabulous high tea with Twinnings tea and an unlimited number of savory and sweet treats. Yes, I mean unlimited, because you could re-order your favourite treats! :)

Singapore Facts

Singapore Population Ethnic Composition

74% Chinese
13% Malay
9.2% Indian

Singapore Housing

80% live in HDB (House and Development Board) flats. HDBs are state-built housing and place all ethnicities together in tall buildings throughout the city. These buildings are not pretty, but property is so expensive that HDBs, which are offered at half the price of condominiums, are a much better option for residents. If you are a non-Singaporean citizen then you will have to settle for a pricey condominium. Between 1960 and 1965 (when Singapore was established as the Republic of Singapore, 1965) the government built 54,430 HDB units. As of 2001 there has been a "built to order HDB" for which you have to wait 4 years. Since 2006 you can design your own HDB, but don't start picturing large flats. Square meters are golden in this city.

1.15 million Resident households

Singapore Population

5,183,700 People live in Singapore
38 years The median age of a Singaporean
24,363 Total marriages in Singapore
35,129 Resident live-births
0.8% Population growth between 2010 and 2011

I've been told that for the fee of around 1-2 million Singapore Dollars you can become a Singapore resident. Not sure if this is true, but it would showcase that in Singapore you can buy anything with money.

Tokyo Part II

Tokyo is a huge metropolis with 13 million people. We stayed in Shinjuku where on a daily basis 3.67 million people pass through the train/metro station. The station has 200 exits and was also our main mode of transportation (Tokyo is notorious for its traffic jams).

The Asakusa temple is located on the NE side of the city and is a traditional Buddhist temple. In Japan, the two main religions are Buddhish and Shinto. Some people even practice both. There are a lot of lanterns, they burn incense, and actively practice the religion (even in this "tourist" temple).

To get to a more authentic Japanese setting, we traveled 3 hrs N to Nikko. In Nikko there is a Tosho-gu (temple in the picture) which was originally built in 1617 during the Edo period. In the main temple there is an area where only samurai and their descendants may enter. Though this World Heritage temple site is mainly Shinto, there are also some Buddhist temples. We were there when it was pouring rain, but that didn't distract us from enjoying the gorgeous nature of this mountain region.

At the park in the middle of Tokyo where the Imperial Palace resides, together with my Swedish class and travel mate Sofie. Japan still has an Emperor and he is the highest authority in the Shinto religion. Interestingly enough, Japan has the oldest Imperial lineage with the same family reigning since Japan's establishment in 660 BC.

Conveyor belt sushi! Watch the sushi pass by and pick any plate that will whet your appetite.

In Shibuya during the night. Blinding lights and flashy signs make this the place to be!








Tokyo was really amazing. It was even better than I would have imagined. If you come to Asia, I would certainly recommend spending your money on a trip to Tokyo rather than to Bangkok or Hong Kong. However, I would not want to live in Tokyo due to the tiny living spaces available. Singapore is definitely a great place to live and you can easily explore the rest of Asia from here.

Tokyo Part I

Pop Culture. Tokyo is a crowded city with blazing lights in the areas we visited at night; Shinjuku and Shibuya, the going out parts of the city. Our hotel was conveniently located in Shinjuku and we were close to the action at all times.

Shinjuku street at night.

Advertisement on the side of a truck driving through the city.

Beauty = big eyes. They sell a lot of color contacts and fake eyelashes. Make-up is such a big thing that even in fitting rooms they have face covers so that the make-up won't stain the clothes. You are not allowed to try on white clothes; only colored ones, because otherwise the make-up will be too obvious if it ruins the shirt.

Rimmel London advertisement targeting the Japanese consumer.

Even during the day bright lights and blaring images are the norm. In these areas loud music is also played on the streets as part of advertising. At one intersection they were playing Ladya Gaga's Poker Face video on a big screen and the music accompanied it.

Even manga characters appear on billboards. You are constantly confronted by advertisements. There are also huge gambling halls with slot machines covered by bright anime characters making loud noises. I don't see how anyone could spend 10 min. in one of those halls and not go crazy.

Going Asian with Hello Kitty.

There was a Barbie store and a life size Barbie doll was displayed.

Sofie with a saleslady in Harajukuh. The salesladies wear the clothing the store sells and this story sold hoodies with kitty ears.