ZzzZzz

I'm looking forward to go home...although I don't really feel like a have a proper home in Singapore yet. Crossing my fingers that the money will be transferred to the landlord by the time I'm back in Singapore on Wednesday night, and that I can settle in soon. Although it's been nice to be able to go to Manila,,I gotta say, I haven't been able to see much other than what I get to see in between the cab rides from the hotel to the destination where the meetings are.

This evening we had drinks with an agency, and all I could think about was a shower and a nice and fluffy pillow to rest my head on. It's been such a long day....there's so much to say, I don't even know where to start. But, the emerging markets is definitely interesting to work with. The issues that come up, the manner of doing business...the need for a relationship..and the fact that they actually hand out their business card with two hands...it's like taken out of a text book about international business.

Every where I've gone, I've been recognized as "a local". People keep speaking Tagalog to me here, and then look at me while waiting for a reply...maybe it's the bit of the tan I got from our weekend in Borocay. While the other girls were hiding from the heat and sun, I was out grilling my pale-yellow-ish body, desperately trying to get what I perceive to be a "healthy glow"....they'll be no "healthy white" here people, lol =P

Tired. Another day of attending meetings with the other guys tomorrow. Less intense than today,,or at least that's how the schedule looks for now; )

Some pics from Borocay

Green belt 4, Makati - Manila 

Nite party people!

No Longer Homeless

So,,, after befriending the agent, I've managed to find a completely new apartment to a very good price. ..Good in Singaporean terms, that is. The real estate market is ridiculously expensive. The demand is high..so high, that the government has recently added rules stating that foreigners who wishes to buy real estate must pay way much more tax (cant remember how much) than what they had to a year, or two ago.

Anyhow..when I say that I've befriended the agent..I really have. I'm supposed to check out of the hotel that I'm staying at on Saturday, but since we're going on a business trip to Manila tomorrow, I have to check out tomorrow morning. We won't be back until next wednesday, and my flight lands around midnight...which means that I would have to book into a hotel when I'm back in SG (The apartment I signed a contract to  apartment is unfurnished -no bed). However, the agent - whose name is Irene- took me to IKEA after I signed the contract. I bought what I needed, and she helped me get a bed (not from IKEA) for a good price. So, by the time I'm back from the Philippines, everything should be in order...*crossing my fingers*

IKEA sells chopsticks...

I took Irene out for dinner after the IKEA trip.,,or, technically, she took us..as she was the one driving. We went somewhere along the eastside by the beach, and ate delicious and spicy food..ahh,,so good! =)

Stuff I ate yesterday =P Hello fruitylicious stuff!!

Google Singapore shares a building with Citibank. In fact, only two of the floors belong to Google. The elevators are so high tech, it's annoying. First you have to scan your badge to get to the elevators..then you scan your badge (instead of clicking on a elevator button)--then the elevator beeps, and a letter and number is shown on a screen, which indicates which elevator you need to take...I don't even remember how many elevators there are, but if "D1" pops up,,you can be sure I'm running in circles, jumping from one elevator to another to find out which elevator is D1 ....then..by the time I find D1, the doors might close (cause they're so damn quick and efficient)...and then I need to scan my badge again. You're probably thinking "why not just jump into a random one?"...You CAN'T, you see...'cause there are no buttons INSIDE the elevator...you scan your badge, and it sends you to the floor you have access to...if you want to go to another floor (which you have access to) you have to choose this from the outside BEFORE scanning your badge,,if not,,it just sends you to where you're supposed to go...luckily,,there are elevator dudes there---I call them dudes,,but they're actually nice and uniformed gentlemen whose job basically is to get you into an elevator....lol...ahh,, technology..what can I say..

Singapore: First Impression

Before landing in Singapore, there was a 4 hour-stopover at London Heathrow airport.....a couple of years ago, on my way home from Grenoble to Oslo, I had a stop-over at Heathrow..and I found a really beautiful diary..I've been thinking about the diary for years (yes, Im weird. But, I love stuff like that..pens, notebooks, diaries...). So, as soon as I got out of the plane, I was on a mission to look for that store..I found the store, but the Diary wasn't there anymore (of course). At least now I know the name of the store: Smythson. 

Singapore Airlines definitely lives up to its name, and reputation. Nice people...and also ...nice-looking..I wonder if that's a rule..that you have to look good in order to work for Singapore airlines. 

Free magazines! Among them: Time & the Economist..at this point, I was already impressed by the Airline. I guess sometimes it doesn't really take much to impress me =P 

I always walk pass the business class thinking: ONe day.....one day, Mi..

it's one thing when it's a 2 hour trip..then I don't really care. But, on a 13-hours plane ride, then business class makes a bit of a difference. However, there weren't many on the plane, so I actually got 3 seats all by my self. I slept lying down..with 3 pillows and all..Ah! the luxury..=) 

Menu...

For those of you who are tall, or just average really (=P), you won't understand how important this is...but for those who are short, then having a foot rest is such a big deal! It makes it so much  more comfortable =) You short people out there, you know what  mean! lol

With a list of entertainment like this, I was sure I would be OK for 13 hours ;-) 

"Welcome to Singapore, ladies and gentlemen. And to all Singaporeans, a warm welcome home" 

A warm welcome to Singapore, indeed. I was met by 31c, and it was humid...Like stepping in to a sauna.. One of the guys from the cabin crew asked me whether I was going home, since my luggage was so heavy.,I told him that I'm sure it doesn't look like it, but that home was actually in Norway, so this was pretty much far from home.....

Taxi ride from the airport...the cab driver was telling me stuff I had a hard time understanding,,,but after saying "pardon?", "Im, sorry, could you repeat that?"..."what?" two-three times, I kinda just let him talk..nodded, and smiled politely. 

Had to grab some shampoo, and saw this at the lotion-section...Healthy WHITE? Whatever happened to that "healthy glow" that the white people were talking about on TV in countries like Norway, Ireland, and the States? Here, looking white is the healthy look.. 

HELlloooooo FRuits!!! :-D Definitely one of the greatest things - for me - here :-D YUuumm!

My first dinner in Singapore. I'm staying at a hotel in the middle of China town..what else do you expect me to eat? lol

Two of the apartments I've been viewing. I think I'm going for the last one: Airstream...we'll see. The building just finished this year. It's a bit far from the office (or, far compared to my 7 minutes walk when I lived in Dublin) ..I think its 30 min by mrt, which is fine, but I do need to take a bus to the mrt, then switch over to another line to get to work.... As my boyfriend said, if I'm high maintenance, I need to maintain my own highness...it's gettin' expensive, folks..I'm over budget.. But, I'd rather live in a nice apartment, then having to come home to a dark and crappy place.

The Modules

Airstream 

Chinatown

Today has pretty much just been an apartment-viewing day. I've seen three..even taken the MRT instead of taxi just to learn how to get around. At one point, while looking at the MRT map, som lady started speaking Chinese to me..I ignored her, cause I thought she was talking to someone else..but then I felt someone staring at me, and then she repeated, and started to point at areas on the map. I told her that I was sorry, but I didn't understand. Then she repeated it all..and I just shrugged my shoulders, indicated that I didn't know.... I tend to ignore it when people talk to me here, cause I think they're talking to someone else..but, of course, they assume that I'm a "local" and speak Mandarin.

One of the taxi drivers asked where I was from, and when I said that my ethnicity was Vietnamese, he was surprised and said: "really? You don  look Vietnamese...you look like local"...lol...what does that even mean?! lol...I mean, we all kinda look the same!..Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai...I compare us to the Scandinavians...I mean, the Swedish guys may dress up more and are a bit more metrosexual than the Norwegians, and the Danish guys are a bit more rough around the edges, and sometimes a bit more obnoxious than the Swedes and the Norwegians...but physically, they all kinda look the same-ish...so yeah,,the fact that I look like a "local" and not Vietnamese was a bit hard to understand. Maybe it's the way I dress..that I dress more Western,,and most Vietnamese people from Vietnam have a way of dressing that is a bit particular I guess...

Heading out to meet a friend of a friend now. It's such a small world..6 degrees of seperation,,.. =)

Over-and-out.