A most interesting thing just happened to me. Whilst lazily walking from library to library, spending my Friday evening checking out books on the Vietnam War for an essay, I was suddenly approached by a stranger. Not five minutes sooner had I just past this man walking the opposite direction and I was quite surprised by how quickly he was able to catch back up to me. Anyways I stopped, thinking he may be lost and, as usual, thinking that I am the worst person to ask directions from on this campus, he said, a bit shyly, "You want be me friend?"
Before I could reply he went on, in sputtery English with a heavy Chinese accent, that he was a grad student from Taiwan and was very new to the area thus had no friends outside of his work. He was very nice and we talked for a short while before exchanging emails and parting ways. I'd like to meet more non-exchange students and this was a perfect opportunity. Perhaps we can talk about Taiwan a bit, as I'm hoping to stay there a few days while traveling through China in May.
It's really amazing how social everyone here is. I thought it was just the Singaporeans but I'm beginning to think that it's most of Asia. I met some girls both in my Aircraft Design and Aerodynamics classes, but unfortunately I dropped both and haven't seen them since. From the moment they sat next to me they were all smiles and very chatty, not even stopping the conversation when the lecture began! Yet more evidence to support why Singapore is dubbed the happiest country in Asia.
Friday, February 15, 2008
A True Wisconsin Girl
You can take the girl out of Wisconsin, but you can't take Wisconsin out of the girl. I really like some of the food here, although it's a bit difficult to find because it's usually hiding behind the chicken feet or the pig organ soup. There are some (well, several) home dishes that I love love love and regardless of whether or not the Western Food place in the canteens serves them I refuse to eat them because it's just not the same. And most of the "Western" food they make here is really gross. And after eating either rice or noodles for 95% of my meals, I have come to realize a greater appreciation for the signature foods of Wisconsin.
The first is obvious: Milk. The milk here is usually soy, sometimes evaporated, and every once in a while you can find decent stuff at the supermarkets that is imported from Australia. Still, it doesn't compare to that delicious gallon of Land-O-Lakes that I can down in a few days if I'm up for it. I miss drinking a cup of milk when I'm hungover and putting some in my cereal for breakfast. Man, I could really go for a bowl of Cheerios right now.
And, of course, cheese. There is no cheese here. And if there is it takes like crap. I can count on one hand the number of times I've eaten cheese here, and not once has it been on its own. I want to go to Woodman's and get a bag of Bucky Badger cheesecurds or pick up a brick of jalepeno cheese and slice it up and eat it with some Keebler's Club Crackers, or maybe Townhouse. They're both tasty. Oh, and sausage would be a tasty addition as well. And I want to mix it in with my scrambled eggs in the morning.
More specifically, Macaroni and Cheese!! YUMMMMMMM I will probably eat this for lunch every day for a week when I come home. Either that or a grilled cheese sandwich.
Also when I was living in Rhinelander I found these really really yummy Fig Newmans, like Fig Newtons but organic and SO MUCH BETTER. I had to go to Walmart (cringe) every second day to get a new box.
And I would be doing Wisconsin a terrible disservice if I didn't mention the beer. Now I throughly enjoy a cold mug of Tiger Beer, but in no way does it compare to Honeyweiss, straight from the Chippewa Valley of Good Old Wisconsin. Or Capital Amber. Or Spotted Cow!! Yum.
The first is obvious: Milk. The milk here is usually soy, sometimes evaporated, and every once in a while you can find decent stuff at the supermarkets that is imported from Australia. Still, it doesn't compare to that delicious gallon of Land-O-Lakes that I can down in a few days if I'm up for it. I miss drinking a cup of milk when I'm hungover and putting some in my cereal for breakfast. Man, I could really go for a bowl of Cheerios right now.
And, of course, cheese. There is no cheese here. And if there is it takes like crap. I can count on one hand the number of times I've eaten cheese here, and not once has it been on its own. I want to go to Woodman's and get a bag of Bucky Badger cheesecurds or pick up a brick of jalepeno cheese and slice it up and eat it with some Keebler's Club Crackers, or maybe Townhouse. They're both tasty. Oh, and sausage would be a tasty addition as well. And I want to mix it in with my scrambled eggs in the morning.
More specifically, Macaroni and Cheese!! YUMMMMMMM I will probably eat this for lunch every day for a week when I come home. Either that or a grilled cheese sandwich.
Also when I was living in Rhinelander I found these really really yummy Fig Newmans, like Fig Newtons but organic and SO MUCH BETTER. I had to go to Walmart (cringe) every second day to get a new box.
And I would be doing Wisconsin a terrible disservice if I didn't mention the beer. Now I throughly enjoy a cold mug of Tiger Beer, but in no way does it compare to Honeyweiss, straight from the Chippewa Valley of Good Old Wisconsin. Or Capital Amber. Or Spotted Cow!! Yum.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Countdown to Thailand!
In one week, that is 7 days, that is 168 hours, 10,080 minutes, I will be basking in the sun on Koh Samui, and island off the east coast of Thailand. Wednesday night I'll actually be flying out of Singapore and into Bangkok with Nani, then spending some quality time at the airport before meeting more exchange students to catch our flight to Koh Samui. We've got an itinerary up until 24 February and after that it's up in the air -- where the wind blows, I go. The first day in Thailand we'll hang out on Koh Samui, then take a ferry to Koh Phan Ngan Friday night for the Full Moon Party, which should be an adventure all its own. I hear they have delicious shakes ...
Early Sunday morning will be a flight back to Bangkok, but instead of just seeing the airport we'll spend a few days exploring the city. Afterwards who knows, but my guess is that we'll end up in Phuket and Koh Pi Pi before finally flying back to Singapore. Koh Pi Pi is where The Beach (that movie from a few years back with Leonardo DiCaprio) was filmed and it looks just gorgeous!! I will most definitely spend some quality time with my camera while there. Should be a fun trip!!
Early Sunday morning will be a flight back to Bangkok, but instead of just seeing the airport we'll spend a few days exploring the city. Afterwards who knows, but my guess is that we'll end up in Phuket and Koh Pi Pi before finally flying back to Singapore. Koh Pi Pi is where The Beach (that movie from a few years back with Leonardo DiCaprio) was filmed and it looks just gorgeous!! I will most definitely spend some quality time with my camera while there. Should be a fun trip!!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Bintan Expenses
Exchange Rates: US$1.00 = Singapore Dollar S$1.418 = Indonesian Rupiah IDR9,226
Travel + Accomodation. From campus Quinn and I took the MRT and a bus to Tanah Meras ferry terminal, then bought round-trip tickets to Tanjung Pinang for S$47. On the way back we had to pay about S$5 for the resort to book our return ferry and then IDR13,000 for a seaport tax. Our bungalow cost a total of IDR165,000 between the two of us for one night. We also took a taxi to and from Bintan Agro Beach for IDR90,000 each time. Total = US$70
Entertainment. My massage cost me IDR290,000, not too bad for 90 minutes of awesomeness and complete rejuvenation of my skin. Other than that all we did was pay S$15 each for a boat to take us to the beach for a while. Total = US$42
Food. Super cheap! Although my second meal cost me twice as much as the menu said, and I didn't realize it until I got back to Singapore, it only amounted to US$1.30 difference. We ate two meals and got a few snacks for the ride home. Total = US$5
Gifts and Souvenirs. I bought a really cool photo frame and a few bracelets, one for myself and one for a gift. Total = US$7
Many of these figures are estimates since the exchange rate wasn't quite the same there. They accepted both the Singapore Dollar and the Indonesian Rupiah and I'm not sure what rate they used between the two. We didn't know what the rate was supposed to be and as a result probably got ripped off a few time, but all in all I don't think it amounted to much difference. So, the totals for the trip are:
Travel + Accomodation ... US$70
Entertainment ... US$40
Food ... US$5
Gifts and Souvenirs ... US$7
Grand Total = US$124
Not terrible, but still more than I would have liked to spend on a 24 hour trip, half of which was spent in the rain.
Travel + Accomodation. From campus Quinn and I took the MRT and a bus to Tanah Meras ferry terminal, then bought round-trip tickets to Tanjung Pinang for S$47. On the way back we had to pay about S$5 for the resort to book our return ferry and then IDR13,000 for a seaport tax. Our bungalow cost a total of IDR165,000 between the two of us for one night. We also took a taxi to and from Bintan Agro Beach for IDR90,000 each time. Total = US$70
Entertainment. My massage cost me IDR290,000, not too bad for 90 minutes of awesomeness and complete rejuvenation of my skin. Other than that all we did was pay S$15 each for a boat to take us to the beach for a while. Total = US$42
Food. Super cheap! Although my second meal cost me twice as much as the menu said, and I didn't realize it until I got back to Singapore, it only amounted to US$1.30 difference. We ate two meals and got a few snacks for the ride home. Total = US$5
Gifts and Souvenirs. I bought a really cool photo frame and a few bracelets, one for myself and one for a gift. Total = US$7
Many of these figures are estimates since the exchange rate wasn't quite the same there. They accepted both the Singapore Dollar and the Indonesian Rupiah and I'm not sure what rate they used between the two. We didn't know what the rate was supposed to be and as a result probably got ripped off a few time, but all in all I don't think it amounted to much difference. So, the totals for the trip are:
Travel + Accomodation ... US$70
Entertainment ... US$40
Food ... US$5
Gifts and Souvenirs ... US$7
Grand Total = US$124
Not terrible, but still more than I would have liked to spend on a 24 hour trip, half of which was spent in the rain.
Adventure in Bintan
See my Best of Bintan Photos here
Quinn and I spent 24 hours in both the rain and the sun in Bintan, Indonesia. It was a difficult but exciting trip, made all the more so because we were two young caucasian females travelling alone in a country that speaks almost no english. As soon as we were on our way out of the ferry terminal -- before we were even on the streets of Tanjung Pinang -- we were swarmed by people asking us where we were going, how they could help, and if we needed a ride. Quinn had been told that many of the "taxi" services aren't legitimate, and that to find a real taxi you need to find a stand somewhere. We saw only one and decided to keep looking around. As we walked the streets all we heard was "Hello Miss! Where you going? You need taxi?" At first I would smile and say no thanks, and after a while I realized that it would be much easier to say no thanks in Malay. Just saying so in english didn't do much to discourage the people. Eventually we came to just ignore them, and when that didn't do much good either, I began saying that we already had a ride. I found out that if we told them we knew where we were going and that we already had plans they backed off pretty quickly. Also, if anyone asked if we had ever been to Indonesia before I responded that we had. There was no way I was going to tell them that I really had no clue where I was or where I was trying to go.
That was the other thing -- we had no idea where we were supposed to go or where we could stay once we got there. A few others from NTU had left Friday or earlier Saturday morning so we figured we could just find them and go from there. We had to ask lots of questions when we got to the island, and I think that's a mistake also. Asking too many questions gives the impression that you don't know what you are doing and makes you very vulnerable to the locals. A few questions is fine and if often neccessary, but there is certainly a limit as to how many and what kinds of questions you should ask.
The language barrier reared its ugly head once again when our taxi driver dropped us off at the wrong place. He took us to Bintan Agro Resort which is different than Bintan Agro Beach Resort, our desired location. It took about 30 minutes at Bintan Agro Resort for him to communicate to a woman in the office and her to communicate back to us what the confusion was. We ended up having to give him an extra 10,000 rupiahs to take us to where we wanted to go in the first place.
Upon arriving at Bintan Agro Beach we were greeted by lots and lots of rain. We grabbed some dinner and since there wasn't much else to do I got an Oceanic Massage. It was just what I needed -- 90 minutes of a full body exfoliating massage. I got pretty sunburned in Tioman and my skin was still peeling so this did wonders to rejuvenate my skin and get rid of all those dead cells.
Sunday morning we wanted to get up to see the sunrise, but didn't have an alarm clock. I was hoping my internal clock would work, and it worked almost too well -- I woke up at 2:00, 4:00, and finally at 6:00, just after the sunrise had begun. It was a very cloudy morning so we didn't have such a nice view.
Sunday morning was very sunny so we chose to spend the time at the beach. The beach where our bungalow was on the main island wasn't so great for swimming -- lots of mud and muddy water -- so we had to take a boat to White Sands Island which took us less than 10 minutes to get there. Quinn and I were the only ones on the beach and it was gorgeous! White sands, clear blue waters, and not a thing in the water to step on when swimming. Sure beats -35F weather in Wisconsin right now ...
We left the beach just as it started to rain. We took a taxi back to Tanjung Pinang to shop for a while. I spent IDR900 (less than US$0.10) on some stationary that says "I beliave in you and me. I belive that we will be and love eternally well as fat as I can see." Typos and all. I gave her a IDR1000 bill and instead of giving me a coin worth 100 she gave me a mentos for change. I was actually quite happy because I had been wanting a mint of some sort.
Getting our ferry tickets home was a huge pain -- again because of the language barrier. We were told by the resort that our tickets would be waiting for us at the ferry terminal, but when we asked people there nobody knew where to get them. The resort had taken our departure tickets and our embarkation cards, so the only proof I had of the ticket was my receipt from back in Singapore. We asked everyone we could find there if they knew anything, and finally after about an hour they called the resort to find out. We were told someone would come at 6:00 and we had to wait until then. We didn't have much of a choice so we waited at the terminal while one of the "guards" stood next to us and bascially stared at us the whole time. Thank god a bus from the resort came full of people we recognized, and also with a woman who got our tickets for us! I really wasn't ready to spend a night stranded in Indonesia.
So the trip was quite an interesting one, and I learned a lot of important lessons. First and foremost, my idea of flying to China and backpacking to Singapore all by myself probably isn't the greatest and certainly not the safest idea. If Quinn and I had that much trouble travelling as two females I can't imagine how much I would run into if I was all alone. And while many people in touristy places speak english it's much more difficult to communicate in rural areas. If I were to backpack I would be spending quite a bit of time in those places and would have no way to communicate with anybody. So right now it's looking like India with Cory and Nani!
Quinn and I spent 24 hours in both the rain and the sun in Bintan, Indonesia. It was a difficult but exciting trip, made all the more so because we were two young caucasian females travelling alone in a country that speaks almost no english. As soon as we were on our way out of the ferry terminal -- before we were even on the streets of Tanjung Pinang -- we were swarmed by people asking us where we were going, how they could help, and if we needed a ride. Quinn had been told that many of the "taxi" services aren't legitimate, and that to find a real taxi you need to find a stand somewhere. We saw only one and decided to keep looking around. As we walked the streets all we heard was "Hello Miss! Where you going? You need taxi?" At first I would smile and say no thanks, and after a while I realized that it would be much easier to say no thanks in Malay. Just saying so in english didn't do much to discourage the people. Eventually we came to just ignore them, and when that didn't do much good either, I began saying that we already had a ride. I found out that if we told them we knew where we were going and that we already had plans they backed off pretty quickly. Also, if anyone asked if we had ever been to Indonesia before I responded that we had. There was no way I was going to tell them that I really had no clue where I was or where I was trying to go.
That was the other thing -- we had no idea where we were supposed to go or where we could stay once we got there. A few others from NTU had left Friday or earlier Saturday morning so we figured we could just find them and go from there. We had to ask lots of questions when we got to the island, and I think that's a mistake also. Asking too many questions gives the impression that you don't know what you are doing and makes you very vulnerable to the locals. A few questions is fine and if often neccessary, but there is certainly a limit as to how many and what kinds of questions you should ask.
The language barrier reared its ugly head once again when our taxi driver dropped us off at the wrong place. He took us to Bintan Agro Resort which is different than Bintan Agro Beach Resort, our desired location. It took about 30 minutes at Bintan Agro Resort for him to communicate to a woman in the office and her to communicate back to us what the confusion was. We ended up having to give him an extra 10,000 rupiahs to take us to where we wanted to go in the first place.
Upon arriving at Bintan Agro Beach we were greeted by lots and lots of rain. We grabbed some dinner and since there wasn't much else to do I got an Oceanic Massage. It was just what I needed -- 90 minutes of a full body exfoliating massage. I got pretty sunburned in Tioman and my skin was still peeling so this did wonders to rejuvenate my skin and get rid of all those dead cells.
Sunday morning we wanted to get up to see the sunrise, but didn't have an alarm clock. I was hoping my internal clock would work, and it worked almost too well -- I woke up at 2:00, 4:00, and finally at 6:00, just after the sunrise had begun. It was a very cloudy morning so we didn't have such a nice view.
Sunday morning was very sunny so we chose to spend the time at the beach. The beach where our bungalow was on the main island wasn't so great for swimming -- lots of mud and muddy water -- so we had to take a boat to White Sands Island which took us less than 10 minutes to get there. Quinn and I were the only ones on the beach and it was gorgeous! White sands, clear blue waters, and not a thing in the water to step on when swimming. Sure beats -35F weather in Wisconsin right now ...
We left the beach just as it started to rain. We took a taxi back to Tanjung Pinang to shop for a while. I spent IDR900 (less than US$0.10) on some stationary that says "I beliave in you and me. I belive that we will be and love eternally well as fat as I can see." Typos and all. I gave her a IDR1000 bill and instead of giving me a coin worth 100 she gave me a mentos for change. I was actually quite happy because I had been wanting a mint of some sort.
Getting our ferry tickets home was a huge pain -- again because of the language barrier. We were told by the resort that our tickets would be waiting for us at the ferry terminal, but when we asked people there nobody knew where to get them. The resort had taken our departure tickets and our embarkation cards, so the only proof I had of the ticket was my receipt from back in Singapore. We asked everyone we could find there if they knew anything, and finally after about an hour they called the resort to find out. We were told someone would come at 6:00 and we had to wait until then. We didn't have much of a choice so we waited at the terminal while one of the "guards" stood next to us and bascially stared at us the whole time. Thank god a bus from the resort came full of people we recognized, and also with a woman who got our tickets for us! I really wasn't ready to spend a night stranded in Indonesia.
So the trip was quite an interesting one, and I learned a lot of important lessons. First and foremost, my idea of flying to China and backpacking to Singapore all by myself probably isn't the greatest and certainly not the safest idea. If Quinn and I had that much trouble travelling as two females I can't imagine how much I would run into if I was all alone. And while many people in touristy places speak english it's much more difficult to communicate in rural areas. If I were to backpack I would be spending quite a bit of time in those places and would have no way to communicate with anybody. So right now it's looking like India with Cory and Nani!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Things I Love About Singapore
Eating with chopsticks
Mandarin Oranges
Ladies' Night
Cheap travel
"Singlish-lah"
The Esplanade
Night Safari
Fresh fruit all day, every day
Wearing skirts and shorts every day
Being outside *all* the time
Friendly people!
Weekend trips to other countries
Tiger Beer
Pure Yoga Center
Living 3 minutes from the pool
Studying at the pool
Tanning at the pool
Clarke Quay
... and the list goes on ...
Mandarin Oranges
Ladies' Night
Cheap travel
"Singlish-lah"
The Esplanade
Night Safari
Fresh fruit all day, every day
Wearing skirts and shorts every day
Being outside *all* the time
Friendly people!
Weekend trips to other countries
Tiger Beer
Pure Yoga Center
Living 3 minutes from the pool
Studying at the pool
Tanning at the pool
Clarke Quay
... and the list goes on ...
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