Singapore Suitcases: Week 2 - Of filter kaapi's, daycares and The MD House - Singapore!

1. One of the most famous hotels in the world - The Raffles Hotel, is located right across the street from The Fairmont Hotel, where we stayed for most of Week 2, as we still await our apartment keys.

The Raffles Hotel, is a beautifully designed, colonial style structure, rewound in time and very reminiscent of Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa's work. With it's open tropical courtyard filled with bars and cafes and meandering paths that stroll you through a man-made jungle of sorts, this hotel had the pleasure of an afternoon spent with the daughter and me. Coming from the West, I realise we are spoilt silly with parks at our disposal, everywhere we go. Not as much the case in Singapore, I am told. There are parks and public recreational green areas, but not sprinkled all over the island, as one would find in NYC. So for now, when the daughter and I find a green hotel with benches and fountains in it, we make it our afternoon hangout. The Singapore Botanical Gardens are next on our to-be-explored list. We are told, they are huge sprawls of never-ending beautiful greens that will require more than one visit.

2. In a classic case of Asian-gone-to-America-and-now-returned situation, Hubster still doesn't get with the program and spells 'centre' as 'center'. Thanks America, for teaching us to live with typos for the last ten years of our lives. After his emails to the business 'centre' at the hotel, kept bouncing back, he learnt it the hard way, through the attendant "Sir, Centre is spelt C-E-N-T-R-E Sir" My laugh-out-loud moment of the week, that was!

2. Food will most probably deserve a mention, in every week's travelogue, as we eat our way through Singapore. This week's yummy discovery was at The Murugan Idli Shop.

My love for South Indian food is a fact known to many. It can be traced back to when I was a 6 month old baby, thanks to our good ol' South Indian neighbor. Having been co-raised by her, when Mommy went to work, I grew up eating idli's and tayeer-chaadham (dahi-rice) as a second lunch every day, after I was done devouring the Mommy-made tiffin box. A love for authentic home-cooked South Indian food was thus inculcated. Being best friend's with a 'Tam-Brahm', naturally had it's perks as this childhood habit of second breakfasts and lunches continued at her place. So when we were moving to Singapore, the Southie in me (referred to as Swetha) jumped up and down, excited at the prospect of delicious home-cooked South Indian fare.

Our debut visit to the Murugan Idli Shop, had the staff presuming I am a Tamilian and my broken, somewhat limited knowledge of the language, helped us get the 'insider' status. To say the food was beyond authentic and touched our souls, would be an understatement. Dear Tam-Brahm connections - each one of you was sorely missed, especially at the end of my meal, as I sipped on my 'filter kaapi', thinking of you! Someday I hope you will join me in this experience here.

3. The daughter has been entertaining locals and expats in public places, for free. Sometimes I feel like I am accompanying a performing monkey. I've been asked which dance class she's being sent to, by several Mom-petitors! Since she starts dancing at the drop of any musical note, we've had embarrassingly large audiences accumulate around her in shopping malls. It's like a performance, except the 'Tips' jar is missing. Contrary to my initial impression, there seem to be enough baby-friendly people (locals and expats) to make up for the stiff, no-time-for-anyone Singaporean that I often come across.

4. Daycare/ Babycare/ Infantcare/ Pre-PreSchool, whatever you call it, have been on my mind all week long. I started the search by taking a tour of one of them, called The Sunflower Baby House. Highly impressed by their staff, sanitation efforts, attention to detail & personal involvement with every baby, this one easily makes it to my list of potential contenders for the daughter's first school-to-be.

My general research reveals that daycare centers in Singapore, are a superb package deal. From oil massages to baths to feeding, napping, potty-training and recreational activities all of which are part of the timetable, these nurse-equipped baby schools are a dream come true for any working Singaporean mother, who doesn't mind delegating the job to professionals. In addition, the fee structure offers an enormous subsidy to Singaporean children of both working or non-working mothers, making this an easier decision versus hiring a nanny at home. To me, the added value comes in their bilingual curriculum, to be conducted in both Mandarin and English.

5. The principal of the Baby House was surprised to hear that Zoe is only 15 months old. "She looks chubby for her age" she wondered out loud. A little later in our conversation, I discovered that the feeding routine at the school, was short by one meal when compared to Zoe's daily diet. That realization, funnily enough seemed to bring down her raised brows alright.

4. Three nights in a row this week were spent playing catch-up over dinner, with various friends, old and new. Some who are ex-NYC, others who've moved here from India. Conversations have been filled with plenty of questions on my end; garnering opinions and sharing impressions with all of them, on their and our lives here, this far. Unanimously speaking, Singapore is a transition town for many; not one to make a permanent home out of, but to stay and stop for a while, en route to the next destination.

5. Lastly, but never the least, making it just in time to fit this week's events - "The MD House - Singapore" is finally here! We got the keys mid-week and officially moved in on the weekend.

It's our home away from homes, considering we have a few places we call home, at the moment. As is the case with us MD's, high floors and vast views are a necessity, thanks to both our high-density-low-square-footage upbringings in Mumbai. So naturally The MD House - Singapore is a tres-modern 4 bedroom apartment that finds itself perched nicely atop the 27th floor of a  high-end luxury condominium building called Scots Square. We are above a shopping mall of the same name (Yes, Welcome to our new home, which has one entrance through the mall as well, with several security fobs, if you will. Typically Asia, I am told). In keeping with The MD House (original), it also has a weather-proof access to a supermarket (Another must, considering we are the go-in-your-pj's-and-buy-it-last-minute kinda people, what with my random cooking/ baking whims). However, unlike it's original namesake, this MD House sits bang in the middle of the city, in the Orchard Area. The closest parallel I can draw is of living on Fifth Ave in Manhattan, i.e living among stores you can't shop in, everyday.

Among other amenities, the apartment building offers the usual gazillion swimming pools/ plunge pools/ pool on the roof deck blah blah, that are essential features of most Singaporean luxury condos. The daughter is sure to have a ball here; the tadpole that she is.

As we are gradually learning to live with such never-before upgrades, the one that stole the show for us was having our very own private elevator! Hubster and I collectively gulped when we first saw it. He, for the private elevator I think, me more so for the hi-tech kitchen with the slick Miele wine cellar in it. Hic! I was sold! Going by our short stint here, we figured this is it. Us adult MD's agreed and with a little "I-care-two-hoots" kinda nod from the little MD in the house, this home made it to being the second MD House, there ever will be!

Excitedly, we now await random visitors, friends and family to share our cheap thrills and our new found space with us, over the course of the next few months.

Until next week, it's a wrap on my end for this one. Also, I smell something. Oh wait, the daughter probably needs a diaper change. Got to go!

Much love,

Shweyta

Singapore Suitcases: Week 1 - Of first impressions & second thoughts

Prologue:
The Hubster and I have been wanting to delve into multi-city living for a while now. The seed was planted in my head in 2009, when I took up a 6 month long professional assignment with L&T in Mumbai, where I moved, for the latter half of the year. In those 6 months, Hubster and I frequently met; in the States, in India and in Europe. I had two homes, in two cities and life was full of travel. Needless to say, I loved it.
Last New Year's Eve in San Diego, California as we discussed what lay in store for each one of us in 2012, I told the best friend I was hoping to go back to multi-city living this year, only this time with Hubster and baby in tow. Talk about, being careful what you wish for!
Hubster's work presented us with the opportunity and of course it was love at first sight. Only this time it was going to be 'quatro-city' versus 'dual-city' living. The four different cities we would call home over the course of the next couple of years would be Singapore, Mumbai, Delhi & NYC/ Jersey City.
Thus began the pre-move phase, when we air-freighted some basic essentials to Singapore (our first base-to-be), moved some collectible furniture pieces to storage, rented our Jersey City home to two gorgeous European male models and said "Be Right Back" to our friends and to NYC/ Jersey City. After procrastinating just enough, so we could get the entire NY Summer in, we flew off. After a month-long stopover in India, we are now here in Singapore. It has been a week and we are still living out of suitcases, at the very fancy Fairmont Hotel, as we await the keys to our uber-swanky apartment, here in Singapore. As much as I'd like to dwell on that now, it's best spoken of once we've moved in. For now; I'd like to oblige requests made by a few friends to re-start a weekly series about our lives here (similar to the one I wrote in 2009 called 'Mumbai Diaries').
So here goes - presenting to you, the first of a weekly series to be called 'Singapore Suitcases'. (The name stems from our current base here in Singapore, yet a suitcase-d nomadic life which entails a lot of travel, in and around)

1. Everyone said many things about Singapore, to us, before we left.
"Its so clean and antiseptic, it will annoy you"
I stared at the roads on my cab-ride from Changi to the Hotel to see if I could find a single piece of trash that could tarnish this remark. I found a few. Besides, the fallen leaves everywhere indicate there is Fall here too. Half as beautiful, but it's there. Singapore is not THAT spotless either. Thankfully.

"It will be a great transition between NYC & Mumbai"
Not really. At least not for me, since I know both those cities enough, to know what to expect from each. This city does not offer that in-between. Instead, it comes across as even more backward than Mumbai in a lot of cases (pre-paid phone cards are not available everywhere, iphone unlocking is hardly prevalent etc...The Mumbai 'jugaadu' sense is amiss, among other aspects) and hardly more forward than NYC in any aspect. ( NYC is a true global city which does EVERYTHING better or up to a reasonably high standard, than any other city in the world, as we all know. There is hardly any room for discussion there) 

"Z will love it, it's very child-friendly"
Zoe, our 15 month old toddler was spoilt in the country of her birth. Strangers stopped in their tracks to chat, hi-fives and marvel at her dance moves, often joining in themselves. She is used to the idea of striking up conversations with strangers, with her trademark "Hiiii" to them, wherever she goes. In this past week that she's been in Singapore, she must often wonder why most people here don't respond to her emphatic greeting and walk past her without joining her in her splendid shimmy. I, her determined Mommy, first found this unwelcome behavior unexplicable, then realised maybe Singaporeans are not used to friendly toddlers reaching out to them. My analytical mind could not help but link this response to the declining birth rate in this country. I guess they just have no time for children, theirs or others, period.
My tactful solution, to make sure Zoe does'nt care about this either, is to respond out loud to her greetings and indulge in some jig-ma-shoulder kinda dance moves myself, each time she shimmies, regardless of where we are. Together, we must come across as the "comedic mother-daughter pair" to Singaporeans busily whizzing past us. That said, I must however confess that the only people thus far, that interact or play with Zoe sometimes, are expats, Tamilian bell boys/ cleaning staff and young sales girls in stores. On more than one occasion, she has almost walked off with each one of these, possibly overwhelmed by their love and regard for her.

2. Maid interviews that I have conducted through various agencies last week, remind of a subtle modern-day "slave" scenario. For a few hundred Singaporean Dollars a month, one can have a full-time live-in legal maid, who makes everyday life a breeze. The catch of course is, that the employer takes complete responsibility of the maid (health/ visa/ accomodation/ food etc) and pays a hefty sum to the government as "levy" on her behalf, each month.
During my interviews, while I was busy marvelling at my future state of domestic bliss (what with being called 'Madam' and all in my own house), Hubster annoyingly, yet correctly pointed out that all the maids, looked highly malnourished. One of them even told us that she has not been paid for the past 3 years by her Chinese 'Master' (Read employer). Yet, she stuck with him for fear of losing her visa and having to return back to her country. I can already see loopholes in what I thought was a well-designed pro-maid system. This one is going to be an ongoing bone of contention; between my practical head and my principled heart.

3. Asia spoils you. In a not-so-good kind of way. I still get weird looks from people when I pick up my tray after a meal at eateries here. When you re used to cleaning up after yourself, it's a little strange that somebody else's job depends on you not doing that. Blame it on my domestic staff-less upbringing. Made a mental note, to not make a habit out of this, for fear of weirder looks in other parts of the world we may chose to live in.

4. Construction workers resemble their fellow 'macchas' in India; lean, dark South Indian men, wearing bell bottom pants/ jeans and short cropped shirts. My South Indian colleagues at L&T would feel at home here.

5. God forbid the toddler starts picking up the Singaporean accent, in her next few months here. The "aa" drawl at the end of every sentence spoken with a Chinese slang, seems to be a Tamil legacy. I somehow prefer the drawl in Tamil than in a Chinese accented English. And lets not get started on the grammar here. Being a grammar Nazi myself, its safe to say I need to learn to shut up more often.

6. As is a known fact to most, the daughter's hair adapts easily. Otherwise partially wavy in most countries, in humid Singapore, of course it chooses to be one big curly mop. Together; we garner quite a few praises for our thick natural curls among the usual, omnipresent poker-straight, thin-crop of manes.

7. "If you're Indian, you must be vegetarian"; goes the belief among the common man Singaporean. Two prospective Filipino maids turned down interviews with me, presuming we wont eat or let them eat non-vegetarian food in our house. Oh well!

8. The weather's been kinda monsoon-y since we arrived. Thunderstorms, rain and wet winds welcomed us, in our first week here. I knew clogs for the family was always a good idea. Funnily enough though, even when caught in the rain, it's quite easy to find one's way, keeping dry, towards the nearby MRT (train station) stop, ducking through a network of weather-proofed shopping malls, one after the other.

9. There's only so much a girl can shop. Well at least that's what this girl thinks. So naturally most Singapore destinations (Read malls, malls and more malls) do not appeal to me. Art on the other hand, is a different story altogether. 'Ode to Art' ( http://www.odetoart.com/) is my newest hangout. Conveniently located underneath our hotel, this is a lovely contemporary art space which I frequent daily. (Yes, it is located in a shopping mall too) The daughter and I are known on a first name basis here, as we spend a big chunk of our afternoons gawking at the works on display. In my mind, I am already the owner of a few breath-taking pieces that I have yet to figure how to pay for.

10. The Idiot Box kinda makes me feel idiotic in a way, given it's multilingualism. Except for the US Presidential debates on CNN, British funnies on BBC and Australian news channels, I am on a self-imposed language lesson binge; only watching channels in Mandarin, Tamil, Bahasa, Japanese, French, German & Malay. Subtitles, now more than ever, are my best friends.

11. I miss wine! I miss the accessibility of a broad range of good, simple, purchasable-in-single-digits yet delightful reds, that I grew to love, living in the States. I miss wine bars. Their exposed brick walls, the soulful music, the dim candle-lit ambiance and the company of fellow-oenophiles (you know who you are!). A fellow expat oenophile, browsing around next to me, in the local wine shop, looked sincerely sad. She joked that she has learnt to shop by price versus grape/ taste. Mental note to self: That will not be me! Also, remember to ship that crate the next time we go back to NY! 

12. The Asian food here is remarkable. Be it the Hawker Center's/ street side shacks and even in the high-end restaurants. But it ends at that, I think. So far, I have been disappointed in my search for a basic, reasonably 'fresh' western salad for lunch; the kind that abound in the States/ Europe and even in Indian cities now. I have found good bread & good cheese; but a good salad and I have not met yet, in this city.

12. My world's collide and shrink by the second. It's a happy realization that dawned upon me years ago, when I figured I've met people from all stages of my life, in NY. In a similar impromptu scheme of things, an old college friend was in town for work this week. Post-dinner drinks and catch-up session with her on my third night here, is perhaps a sign of many such reunions to come, in the near future.

That in a nutshell sums up Week 1 here, in Singapore. Week 2 is already halfway through, so expect that write-up soon too!
Until then, signing off with much love and slurp, over a soulful bowl of ramen,
Shweyta