|
Diary August 1997 |
 |
| 13th
August |
Wednesday: Arrived in Singapore at
11:05am and went directly to the hotel. It was a bright sunny day and the
city looked particularly beautiful. A combination of modern buildings,
palm trees and colourful flowers.
Evening meal at 6th Av. hawker
centre. Five of us chose dishes from different countries cooked at some of
the many stalls around the outdoor tables. |
|
| 14th
August |
Thursday: Explored Orchard road.
Discovered how to use the ultra efficient public transport using the
plastic fare cards. The MRT (Underground) is so squeaky clean and new
looking. There are doors between the platform and the track which only
open when the train pulls into the station. |
|
| 15th
August |
Friday: Found "Little India"...
wow, just like the real thing without the dirt, smells and poverty. Lots
of great eating places serving authentic curries at a fraction of UK
prices.
Bought a kettle for £7.20 and "The Sahotas" Decade CD for
£7. |
|
| 16th
August |
Saturday: Bought the "Straits
Times" and found an advert for cheap bikes. Got myself a brand new 18 gear
mountain bike for £60. Rode it back through the centre of town to the
hotel. |
|
| 17th
August |
Sunday: Saw more apartments than I
could remember. Tried to make notes about each one but after a while they
all merged into one. They were either too small, too big, too noisy, too
remote or too pricey. |
|
| 18th
August |
Monday: First day in school,
induction day for new staff. Everyone very friendly and helpful. |
|
| 19th August |
Tuesday: Finally found a suitable place to
live, ground floor of a very old building, 3 large bedrooms and two
bathrooms. |
|
| 20th August |
Wednesday: Staff meetings for all school
staff, met rest of maths department for the first time.
Discovered
Newton Circus hawker centre, huge, so many stalls to choose from...had a
Tamil chicken and vegetable pancake! |
|
| 21th August |
Thursday: Found an Irish pub. Beer was £5 a
pint. Only drank one pint.
Had dinner in an Indonesian restaurant, very
cheap and very good. |
|
| 22nd
August |
Friday: Staff night out in the
City. A three hour "happy hour" then we ate Turkish food! |
|
| 23rd August |
Saturday: Sorted out contracts for my new
accommodation, electricity, gas, telephone etc.
Bought a pillow and
sheets etc. Found the "Cold storage" supermarket, just like
Sainsbury's.
Chop Suey for dinner. |
|
| 24th August |
Sunday: Eat my Sunday lunch off a banana leaf
today in little India. I was the only westerner in the restaurant so they
bought me a spoon and fork but I impressed them by using my right
hand. |
|
| 25th August |
Monday: Met the pupils for the first time
today. I'm teaching pupils from Japan, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, UK,
Russia, India, Bangladesh, Australia, Korea, Norway, Finland and more.
Interesting names when I call the register |
|
| 26th August |
Tuesday: A snake was found in the staff room
today. This initiated staff telling snake stories, occasions when they had
come across snakes in their own homes, including the story of the snake
that got into the baby's bed and went to sleep with the
baby....Aaaagh!!! |
|
| 27th August |
Wednesday: Tried my first mooncake today, a
Chinese festive treat! A bit like a pork pie without the pork. |
|
| 28th August |
Thursday: All the locals do strange slow
motion dances in the parks early in the mornings....strange but
true!
Late afternoon I moved into my apartment at last. They're still
painting most of the rooms but at least there is one bedroom
finished. |
|
| 29th August |
Friday: Went out and bought a pillow and quilt
for the bed. Couldn't remember the size of the bed so guessed at king
size. I was wrong, it was a Queen. |
|
| 30th August |
Saturday: Bought cleaning stuff and spent the
day scrubbing the kitchen and bathrooms.
Went to two garage scales. One
was ultra posh, the other very scruffy. Bought nothing! |
|
|
|
31st
August |
Sunday: Tried out the Chinese washing machine
and washed my clothes. All was going well till I got to the ironing part.
Had to go out and buy an ironing board. Ironing wasn't much fun!
Also
bought a set of scales; I'm not loosing weight despite the heat.
Found
an excellent Indian restaurant....buffet style... eat all you want .... 3
courses ... posh surroundings ... all for a fiver ... fantastic.
Had a
bottle of beer in the local on the way home... over £2 per bottle ... only
had one. |
|
|