Another confession time - these are almost coming weekly - I am a massive, massive sports fan. Back at home, I'd be watching at least one live game of something every week, followed by hours and hours of sport of the course of the week. Football, rugby, athletics, cricket - you name it, I watch it. I've always had a big love for Formula 1. My Dad brought all of us up on it - to the point where if I heard the Italian national anthem in any other context, I'd ask why they were playing the "Ferrari song". Living far from Silverstone, I've never got the chance to watch F1 live, but since moving to Singapore, that dream has become a reality. We were lucky enough to be able to get Bay Grandstand tickets over the whole weekend (we went with a friend's dad who preferred to have a seat). The Bay Grandstand is situated pretty much inside the track and faces out onto amazing views of the Art & Science Museum and Marina Bay Sands hotel.
Included in our ticket price was access to both Zones 3 & 4, where the majority of the entertainment was taking place. It also meant we could walk right up to the barriers to see and hear the cars going past at such close range. If you do ever go to an F1 event - one word of warning - take earplugs. The noise is incredibly deafening. One member of our party was adamant he wouldn't wear earplugs, but the noise managed to persuade him otherwise. Avoid trying to have any form of conversation too while the races are taking place!
The Singapore GP takes place over a 3 day weekend in September and is F1's only night-time street circuit - making it such an incredible event. There are several different races held over the weekend, from practice and qualifying to the Porsche Carrera Cup and GP2. There was pretty much a race on every couple of hours or so, giving us enough time to explore the circuit without missing out.
We were also in a pretty good spot for the drivers' parade before the main race. Managed to snap some decent photos of Hamilton and Schumacher - but I was too busy girly-screaming for Webber and Button to get a picture. The entertainment was also fantastic and pretty cheap for the price of a normal gig in Singapore. On Saturday night, we managed to get pretty near the front for Maroon 5 and Sunday night was Katy Perry. James was pretty disappointed that he didn't manage to catch Bananarama - for some reason, he developed a weird obsession with them over the weekend.
Overall, an exhaustingly fast-paced and eventful weekend! Over the weekend, it was announced that Singapore has been awarded the race until 2017 - so definitely looking forward to seeing more years. Next year, we're already talking about booking out a hotel room to watch it in style. In other news, I've managed to get myself a job, so I'm really looking forward to starting that & doing something productive. We also have tentative plans to head to Bali this weekend - aiming to become a surfer extraordinaire in 3 days. Nade x
I have a confession to make. I'm a secret lover of the Daily Mail column of shame. You know, the column down the right hand side of the website that is completely full of unnecessary stories about TOWIE's Lauren Goodger and baby Harper Beckham. It is shamefully addictive and fuels my love for the Duchess of Cambridge aka Kate Middleton. Click on the Daily Mail's website at any given time and it is full of pictures of her - cheering on Olympians at the Velodrome, walking her dog in Kensington Gardens and, most recently, on her Royal Visit to Singapore. I knew I couldn't pass up this opportunity to sneak a peek of her (mainly to see what she was wearing and to see if she actually was that skinny in real life) so bright and early, we headed down to Gardens by the Bay, along with a few thousand other fans.
The Gardens by the Bay is a fascinating concept - it's a park built on reclaimed land right next to Marina Bay, created to turn Singapore into a "city in a garden". Recently opened, it consists of 3 gardens and conservatories which you can walk in, with further plans for shops, galleries and restaurants to open in the future. The giant Avatar-esque structures that you can see above are known as Supertrees. They range from 25-50 ft in height and are used to mimic the key functions of real trees - they collect solar energy and rainfall to use as irrigation. There is also an incredible walkway with a restaurant planned at the top of the tallest.
As expected, the Duchess looked absolutely stunning and not as crazy-skinny as people claim (well, as the Daily Mail claims). Judging by the thousands that turned out, the amount of photographers and the screams/cheers that went up, the younger Royals are pretty popular over here. It brought a little bit of the UK into Singapore and I'm glad that I was a part of it. Nade x
Sundays are most definitely made for lazing about. Especially after an awesome & unexpected Saturday night out. After a morning at work, we'd planned to have a chilled Saturday & to meet up with some new people that we've met here. We started off with some lunch at Octapas on Clarke Quay. Great views over the river & we were sat outside in the perfect position to people/boat watch. We got a couple of dishes - I highly recommend the chorizo and the tenderloin of beef. The garlic prawns were meaty, but slightly too spicy - next time I'd probably not get the "hot" version. The patatas bravas were a bit disappointing, slightly soggy & the bread basket did it's job! Completely full, we had a wander up to Orchard Road for a browse before heading to a new bar at Clarke Quay, called Fern & Kiwi. Although it's just opened this week, you would never have guessed - the service was quick and friendly, with staff coming to take your orders and clear glasses quickly and discreetly - you never felt pestered, but you could also sit at the bar & chat with them too. We met with a few Kiwis to watch the rugby - despite James wearing the Argentinian colours & me wearing my TOMS with an Argentinian style flag on the back - we were cheering for the All Blacks (kind of had to as the place was packed with Kiwis!) The boys tried a variety of the different beers that were on tap, while I had my first taste of vodka L&P - I'm informed that it stands for Lemon & Paeroa and it's quite a famous New Zealand mixer.
Despite some really good bar nibbles, after two rugby games, we were more than a little hungry - so we headed to my other new favourite place, Senor Taco. This is just a small stall with a handful of tables serving quesadillas, tacos and more alcohol than is possible to drink. The night passed in a blur of margarita jugs & several tacos, before we decided to create our own entertainment...in the form of dancing to this....
Expecting to be popping up on Youtube any day soon - we were being filmed by several passing people! The Gangnam Style craze has most definitely hit Singapore. Nade x
Apologies avid readers - I have been slightly MIA this week. A combination of feeling run down (air con drama), job hunting & interview-researching has left me neglecting the blog slightly. Plus I've not actually been doing THAT much blog-worthy (you definitely don't want to hear about me lying in bed watching hours of Breaking Bad and Pretty Little Liars). So my new hobby for this week has been exercise. Now those who know me, do not faint, call me in concern or double check that this post has actually been written by me - it is me, Singapore has just given me a new lease of life in terms of exercise. There's so many opportunities here to keep active - from bike rides to various parks to jog/walk round and abundance of clubs. I have a big hockey fanatic as a boyfriend, so avidly began looking for hockey clubs for him to play for, before he informs me that it is far too hot & humid for him to be running around outside...good point. Most of our exercise has come from in & around our condo. We're lucky that we have a decent pool, squash courts, tennis courts and an ok gym. James has been pumping out far more length s in the pool than me & also at a much faster pace than me, but we've been tending to do a casual hour or so in the pool each night. I'm quite limited to the exercise that I can do due to a dodgy & chronically painful ankle - to the point where I can barely run for the bus without it hurting. I've found that swimming and general physio exercises have been helping - so much so, that I've just got back from the gym after having run for 5 minutes on the treadmill for the first time in 11 years.
The world is not QUITE ready for me in lycra yet - but if I carry on this way, I'm going to end up living out my childhood fantasy of being Jet from Gladiators. Maybe. Next week is looking fun - not only is one of my favourites heading over from Sydney, but so is Will & Kate. Expect a week of royal hunting, job interview waiting & general fun. Nade x
In between all the job hunting this week, I've actually found the time to do something a little bit more cultural. The weather this week has been bizarre - it started raining on Monday morning and pretty much didn't stop until Friday afternoon & I was getting a little bit of cabin fever. A friend let me know about The Wedding Dress exhibition being held at the National Museum of Singapore, so after confusing James a bit ("you're off to look at other people's wedding dresses...ok, THAT'S normal") Lisa and I headed off, accompanied by massive golf umbrellas. The Wedding Dress: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion (to give it it's official title) is a travelling exhibition organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum. The exhibition has various dresses from different periods of time and has a detailed history for each. We were lucky enough to get there just as a guided tour was starting & the guide was hilarious - she totally knew her stuff and made the group feel comfortable.
The dresses ranged from Victorian-era to modern day and gave a detailed history of the economic and social conditions at the time. My absolute favourite was either the Vera Wang (absolute dream dress) or Gwen Stefani's, which included a velcro train that she could rip off for dancing!
Totally worth the S$11 entrance fee and it was nice to get out of the rain and do something cultural. I believe once the exhibition finishes in Singapore at the end of October, it's moving onto Perth, so I may get a chance to catch up with it again. The rest of the week has been a blur of rain, broken umbrellas, interviews and endless job hunting. We've managed to fit in a couple of nights out with some great people - don't think I will ever get bored of sitting with a glass of wine by Clarke Quay! Luckily the weather has been gorgeous this afternoon, so I've managed to catch up on some reading by the pool. Hoping to head to some more exhibitions and events next week - we have a work's party on the beach tomorrow. It's a really hard life at the moment. Nade x
Contrary to the beliefs of some expats I've spoken to, there is life this far out West - ironically at Jurong East. J Cube mall, situated opposite Jurong East MRT, has become one of our favourite places to go when bored, as there is a ridiculous amount to do. It only opened a few months ago and is home to Singapore's first Olympic-sized ice skating rink, as well as a Shaw Theatres cinema with several screens and an IMAX. Although we've not experienced the normal screens, we absolutely loved watching the Dark Knight Rises at the IMAX, mainly raving about how cheap things were in comparison to the UK, unusually for here (a large popcorn and drink was £4, bargain).
Dotted around the ice rink are various shops, boutiques, Cold Storage and a million restaurants, including Chilis, Nandos, The Old Manhattan Fish Market amongst others. We didn't particularly enjoy the Fish Market and felt really rushed out of there, although Nandos wasn't too bad - good to go to when you fancy something a bit different to rice or anything from the hawkers.
Word of warning - mainly due to the ice rink, J Cube is a LOT colder than a "normal" mall, so a couple of extra layers might be needed. So there we go, proof that there is actually something to do out in the sticks! Nade x
The One With the Birthday. Week 3 in Singapore was marked with everybody's highlight of the year....my birthday. After the most incredible 21st two years ago, I just assumed that any birthdays since would be a little underwhelming. But this one has been a LOT of fun. Thursday night, I met some of the girls for drinks at Overeasy at One Fullerton - Happy Hour 1+1 on all beers, wines and spirits meant that we ended up pretty drunk. Having not eaten, I call James on the MRT home & ask if he can get me McDonalds delivery (yes, they deliver here. Best. Ever.) So I ended up seeing in my 23rd with a double cheeseburger, several cards & a very cute little cake!
My actual birthday was spent generally lazing around, sunbathing & being a bum, before getting ready to go to the surprise restaurant that J had booked. Which turned out to be Sky on 57 at Marina Bay Sands hotel - possibly the best all-round restaurant I've ever been to.
Very photo heavy post, I do apologise! But the food was incredible - I highly recommend the scallops - and the view speaks for itself. We were lucky enough to see the light show, that they put on at Marina Bay Sands every night, from a completely different perspective. I'm one lucky girl & have been well and truly spoilt this weekend. Other not-so-bright highlights of the week have included copious amounts of job hunting and holiday planning - I've enjoyed the latter far more than the former! Nade x
