The weather

   For many years I have been a weather watcher (like a lot of Brits) and have noticed the seasons come and go and the daily differences, whether it's sunny, cloudy, raining, foggy, snowy, hot or cold etc.... it can vary every day whichever month we're in.

Even before moving to Singapore NT and I agreed that one of
the many things that we would probably miss about England would be it's changing seasons and this has proved to be correct. Being only 1 degree north of the equator, Singapore is classified as having a tropical rainforest climate with no true distinct seasons. Apparently thanks to it's geographical location and maritime exposure it has uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity and abundant rainfall-so it is always warm and wet.    
                     















  I have heard a few people say that Singapore does actually have 4 seasons-'hot' and 'very hot', 'wet and 'very wet'!



It has taken me a long time to get used to living in the tropics with temperatures generally between 28-36c and humidity between 70-98% and I'm not sure that I will ever really acclimatise but there are some things that I have got used to;


1)always carrying an umbrella as you never know when it will rain, also useful as a sun parasol
2)wearing the lightest clothes that I can find and have my hair tied up
3)being constantly hot and sweaty, which means you generally have a 'shiny face' in photos and..
4)are showering 2-3 times a day and changing clothes as frequently,
5)keeping a jug of water in the fridge as water straight from the tap is too warm and does not feel as refreshing
6)getting up early to exercise before it gets too hot
7)sleeping with the buzz of the air con unit in the bedroom
8)not leaving food out of the fridge for long, especially butter which will melt within minutes. And keep wine and chocolate in the newly purchased wine fridge as a normal fridge is too cold and the cupboards too warm.
9)walking more slowly than I would in the UK, although I've not yet mastered the painfully slow pace known as the "Singapore Shuffle" that lots of people use- especially it seems when walking in front of me!
10)that it's not just the temperature that matters, in fact the important factor is the level of humidity. If the humidity is less than about 75% it can be 34c and still feel quite comfortable

A few months ago when asked how I was coping with the climate I jokingly replied "OK but I'm really looking forward to Winter!" A few people said that December and January are the most pleasant months in Singapore but many disagreed stating there is little difference so I prepared myself to always be hot and sweaty.

Well I'm delighted to report that Winter is here! Ok not real Winter like we have in the UK but the last few weeks it has been noticeably cooler from late afternoon until mid morning and more significantly the humidity has dropped. We experienced our lowest temperature so far the other morning, it was 23.6c and it was marvellous. I have even been able to wear jeans a few times in the evening and once or twice have needed to put on a cardigan!

This was this morning's weather forecast- a blissful 25c with a humidity reading of 61% and best of all for the last 3 weeks there has been a constant breeze so if we open both the balcony doors and the door to the laundry area we get a lovely 'through breeze'. Sometimes it can be really windy and we have to be careful that papers etc don't get blown out of the window and we haven't needed to use the air con in the main room which will help with our energy bills.  The only downside is that some of my plants now have wind burnt tips to their leaves but hey ho they'll have to lump it whilst we enjoy it.
  I'm not sure how long this lovely weather will last, many people say until Chinese New Year which is on 19th February so with a bit of luck we've got a little longer to enjoy the cool before returning to the normal sweltering, sticky heat.

Michael Buble

  When I saw that Michael Buble was coming to Singapore I pleaded with NT that we get tickets, actually he didn't need much persuading, if I'm honest. So last Saturday night we made our way to Marina Bay Sands with plenty of time to spare for a pre show supper.

 When I started looking for a restaurant to book the day before lots were fully booked but there was space at Carnivore- a Brazilian Churrasco restaurant.  Here you help yourself to the salads and vegetables on the buffet table and then you take as much meat as you like from the huge roasted meat skewers that are brought around by the waiters. I lost count of how many skewers came round, there was chicken, lamb, pork, sausages, rare and medium cooked beef and others I can't remember. It was delicious and of course despite saying we would not overeat- we did!

Then off to the main event. The concert was being held at the Sands Grand ballroom, the tickets were v.expensive ( which caused some people to complain to the press locally) so we were in the "cheap seats" but thanks to an excellent sound system and big screen we did not feel hard done-by.

Needless to say the concert was huge fun and Michael Buble was excellent, he really is a great entertainer. At one point he came down into the middle of the audience to sing-unfortunately not right by us but there were lots of very excited people thrilled to be a little bit closer.

 I just want to add that in spite of NT being worried that he might be the only man in an audience full of women he needed have worried as there were loads of other men there and they appeared to be loving it too.

Another surprisingly nature filled weekend!

Two of N's work colleagues invited us to join them in walking the Southern Ridges walk from start to end. This is a 9km route that starts not so far from where we live and finishes at Harbourfront close to the edge of the city. 

          It wasn't actually misty but my camera had been next to my ice cold water bottle and fogged up when taken out of my backpack 

                               Memorial to the battle of Pasir Panjing Hill, 12th February 1942

                                                          Fabulous bark formations

        View towards the coast and the port  

 Myself and MB, starting to feel the heat

 View of the CBD from Alkaff terraces

 Alkaff garden terraces, recently restored and being replanted

 View of Reflections at Keppel Bay Condos

 These workmen were repainting the Henderson's Wave Bridge, wearing climbing harnesses and suspended above the main road below- not an easy job in the searing heat and on a Saturday!

              MB ringing the Bell of Happiness at Mount Faber, I think it's supposed to bring good luck if you ring the bell and this place is a popular spot for weddings

                                   View to the middle cable car station and Sentosa beyond, we stopped at the Spuds and Apron cafe, not sure why it's called this but it serves yummy snacks and a good selection of cold drinks and has amazing views.

                                                                                   





This has got to be on of the best views from a loo that I've ever seen. There was also a large fish tank in the washrooms.

                                     _______________________________

The following day; Sunday, N and I cycled from our condo to have brunch at Robertson Quay. Our route started alongside a busy road but then we met the Alexandra Canal linear park and Park Connector which was much quieter and tree lined with flower beds and water features at intervals.

 I spotted a large bird fly into a nearby tree and as we got closer saw that it was an oriental pied hornbill, I was so excited to see him. We followed for a while as it flew from tree to tree on our route and got within a few feet of it. I was so surprised to see it as on the other side of the PCN is a huge construction site and the whole area is surrounded by tall buildings and busy roads. It looks like Singapore's hornbill breeding programme is proving to be very successful. 

Damp, rot and mould

It's common knowledge that the climate in Singapore is pretty hard on many materials. Food goes off, wine evaporates (or maybe that's us drinking it quickly) leather grows mould, fabrics seem to disintegrate at an astonishing speed, books get damp and even the building materials deteriorate rapidly (see Repairs post). All foods such as cereals, flour, biscuits etc have to be kept inside storage jars or tupperware boxes to keep the ants and moisture out.
  In order to combat the humid conditions inside the apartment I try and keep clothes etc aired and  have reusable dehumidifying sachets and "Hungry Hippos" in every cupboard.



..good so far





                                           pretty useless...



Hungry Hippos are disposable containers with dehumidifying substances that soak up the moisture. Every few weeks they will have become full of water and need replacing. It doesn't feel very environmentally friendly chucking them out and putting new ones in place but the reusable sachets don't seem to work very well. Air con also helps keep air circulating and dries the air but it's too expensive to have this on all the time and again is not environmentally friendly.
Earlier this week I discovered that despite these measures 2 pillows that had been in a storage bag were very musty smelling and stained with damp and had to throw them out. Now I'm worried about the sleeping bags and clothes that we don't use regularly and are packed away.
 

I've also just discovered a hole in one of the wooden planks on the balcony, it also has a very soft rotten area. Now I need to find someone to fix this, anyone know a good carpenter?






We were told that if you live in an old Black and White House you need to be prepared to spend a lot of time doing repairs and battling the effects of insects and other wildlife, well living in a 3 year old apartment is proving not to be completely trouble free either!

Repairs

The condo that we live in is only 3 years old and already showing signs of wear and tear. Recently 2 handles from the aluminium framed windows have fallen off and 3 catches from the sliding balcony doors have pulled out. I don't think the two of us are particularly rough with the apartment it's the climate I've been told-everything wears out quickly.

                                                        However trying to find a

 good and reliable repairman is proving almost impossible! The first chap that came a few weeks ago repaired 1 window handle and 2 of the catches, within 2 weeks they all broke again.
I asked many friends for recommendations and not one person said they could whole heartedly recommend the handy-man that they know of, which I found quite telling, surely there must be some good and reliable handy-men in Singapore?
I asked the people in the condo management office and they gave me the details of their contractor. He agreed to come at 10 am, by 11.30 he hadn't come, I text him and phoned him but got no reply. He arrived 3 hours later and said I would have the quote that evening. I received the quote 10 days later and only after chasing him up, twice. He quoted $450. Don't think we will be using him.

 So we googled "aluminium door repairs' and found a company. The man agreed to come to quote between 12-1pm yesterday. At 10am he phoned to check the address and then said that he knew the condo and from experience of previous jobs he had looked at in the condo he probably wouldn't be able to get any parts as the fittings had been imported from China! However he agreed to take a look but said he couldn't come till 3-4pm, I thanked him and agreed to wait in-desperate for anyone to help. He arrived at 1.30pm! Never mind he was here, he looked at the jobs and thinks he can do them, he took one of the handles to try and find a good match; with my permission and his promise to return it if he can't do the job, and said he would send me a quote later. Surprise, surprise I've still not heard so that's my job this morning-chasing him up and if he can't do it carry on the search for someone who can.
 

Trip to East Coast Park and Evening Concert at SBG

Following the New Years celebrations N and I felt in need of a "walk in the park". We had not yet visited East Coast Park which lots of people have recommended as a great place to cycle, sunbathe, get sea views, eat sea food and relax although we had been warned that it can be very busy at weekends.

           Friends were in Singapore for the Christmas/New Year break and their beautiful daughters joined us in our mini adventure.

It was a lovely sunny day with a cooling breeze, the beach looked pretty clean and inviting although with all the ships near by goodness only knows what lurks in he water!

 

                                                     NT with J J's x3 ready for cycling!
Although we have our own bikes in Singapore they are not folding bikes and therefore not allowed on the MRT or in taxi's so we rented 2 single bikes and a 3 person 'bike' in a lovely candy pink

 N and 2 of the girls were keen to take their wagon for a spin but quickly discovered it was a 'beast', not very manouverable and really hard work. The two outside passengers had to pedal hard whilst the middle person could sit back and relax-this became known as the princess seat and whoever sat there was the princess, we were all quite keen to take our turn at being the princess, including N!

 

                                                      A very welcome ice cream stop

 We took our bikes almost to the East end of the park, past the lagoon and xtreme skate park and then on to Bedok Jetty much to the amusement of the people fishing off the jetty.

 View from the jetty of MBS (Marina Bay Sands) and CBD (Central Business District) and hundreds of ships looking the other way...

By now it was early afternoon and pretty hot. We had seen some people swimming and decided to 'risk it' ourselves. With all the shipping activity just offshore I have my doubts as to how clean the water is so advised everyone to keep their heads above water and mouths closed.

It was very refreshing and to date we have all survived the experience

After 3 hours of happy cycling we returned the bikes and now really hungry looked for food. Not everyone in our group liked seafood and the 2 nearest eateries were Burger King and a Korean Charcoal Barbecue Restaurant- Ju Shin Jung. Burger King did not appeal so we chose the BBQ place and had an amazing meal. This picture is of the accompanements comprising (we thought) top row-some sort of bean curd with spicy sauce, sprouting beans (much bigger than mung beans), pancakes, fish flavoured strips of something. Bottom row; Kimchi (pickled cabbage), kang kong with garlic and sesame, spiced chunks of ? marrow, sliced pickled eggs with pickled olives. (if anyone has better knowledge of what these dishes were please let me know)

 Added to this we shared a griddled beef hot plate, griddled pork hot plate and mixed veg in hot stone. It was all very tasty and to finish we had water melon that had been carved into heart shapes-very sweet.
  So well exercised, relaxed and well fed we headed back to our respective residences for a shower (to wash off after our swim in the sea!) and nap.

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Later that evening we all met up again at the Singapore Botanic Gardens for a concert. These free 1 hour open air concerts are held regularly and N and I have been to a few already, they have all been good fun. There is usually a large crowd of families and friends who take a waterproof rug (the ground is often damp even if it hasn't rained for a while) and a picnic.

Papa J had very cleverly found a rather special bottle of wine!

The concert entirely of percussion music was really enjoyable with a very impressive troupe of drummers opening the show. Free balloons, stickers, snacks and chocolate bars were being given out all with SG50 printed on them-something I think we will see a lot of over the next year as Singapore celebrates it's 50th anniversary of independence.  

All in all a fun day and lovely to have good company - hopefully the J family will come to 

Singapore many more times in the future