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
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