European Trip of a Lifetime 2011

The Great Singapore Sale


Okay, so it seems that i've found myself in the middle of what is called "The Great Singapore Sale". this means that every store is on mad sale and it is hard to resist the call of the cheap clothes. now, im not a big clothing buyer (no, really, i'm not), but i went a little mad in TopShop since 1) you get 7% tax back at the airport and 2) everything was $9. Topshop Man is also really huge and good WB. lots of man scarfs and manly clothes (not boy).

And mum, before you ask:
Blue and white striped pencil skirt
Yellow singlet
Bikini
White skirt

And WB before you ask, they were all $9 each


I dream of iPhone


I also researched the iphone, did some price comparisons and its $888 here (with the 7% tax back). in NZ it's just under a grand (yikes) but you're locked into a contract paying $40 a month for a couple of years. Granted, i would probably use $40 per month (unlike Easy Off Bam) but i'm going to do a bit more research before i bite. I wish i had my entourage (aka Stewart Ian Turner, CORP WB, Easy Off & Mervacris) to back me up here in SNG. Having one (an iphone, not an entourage--although come to think of it an entourage would be kinda cool) would be most useful for travelling -maps, banking, messaging people, finding out about interesting places). i'm convincing myself here even though i used to be the first person to call someone a wanker if they had one! If i return with one, i hearby grant you permission to take the piss as much as you like. but then you will end up wanting one so the joke will be on you.


2nd Leftenant Keefe & Dancer Terrence


I hung out with keefe again today and his friend Terence and they took me shopping on orchard road. it was lovely and terrence bought me lunch and carried all my bags!! i kept protesting but they're so nice! i like singapore hehe they're coming to NZ in dec so we have to show them around wb they've been so good to me here, and they want to hire a caravan and go roadtripping! maybe we should do that for new years? do a simultaneous trip around nz! terrence is a big dance fan and he's taking me to a massive dance show on sunday which will be cool. lots of international acts.


I've got a pocket full of sunshine (I've got a love and I know that it's all mine)..


hannah and james, you'll be happy to know that today in a store i heard the funniest thing and it made me laugh out loud in the changing room. the song "I've got a pocket full of sunshine" was playing, except it wasn't the Easy A version, it was a bad french version sounding french but actually sung in english. the whole song. in it's entirety. hilarious. AND to top it off, they were also selling GLOW IN THE DARK lingerie. holy christ.


Excessive service - maids and whatnot

Singapore is very service orientated. ie you go to a changing room and there are 4 people involved in getting you and your clothes into a room. one to take your clothes off the hanger, antoher one to lead you to your stall, one to show you your stall, and another to hang the clothes on the hook in the changing room and close the door. this is weird and unneccessary but it's how they roll in singapore. The place where i'm staying has a maid, even though it is kind of run like a student flat. I could get down with this maid business. Maybe we should get one for the house with the horse on the door? (kidding, she would get too tired of cleaning up all of the food hannah and i drop on the floor while cooking, and of trying to fix all the pirouette marks left by warren -true story).


Aspirations

Like the Phillipines i've noticed that SNG would be a good place to do what I do. There's a huge population, all with not much to do but work and shop, who aspire to the money culture. They like television, technology, gaming and seem to see fitness and entertainment as luxurious & exciting. They have casinos and bars and clubs with money to burn, mostly paying $30 at the door with queues to Africa. It's interesting to note that most of the people here seemingly would aspire to that facade of success & money, as opposed to NZ'rs who would poo-poo the whole thing with that Tall Poppy Syndrome malarky seeing people up on stage hoping for them to fail. Might be a good place to tour, or approach the tourism board..

Oh and speaking of shows, book Sunday 11th December as we've just confirmed the date for this year's RISE!!! excite!


Great News

Speaking of aspirations, before I left I applied for an extension of time to finally finish my degree at AUT. To put things in perspective, i've been studying on and off since 1998 & usually dance/work takes over, hindering my ability to complete all the papers! I have one paper left, just hanging there...waiting. I was unsure whether i was even going to be allowed to finish. after all, all these young tykes (actually younger than me, not older or the same age WB), have got uptodate study knowledge. much more uptodate then i do. i mean, i barely know how to use an ipod.

anyway, i decided to give it a go anyway, and, with a very well-written letter from myself to the AUT Board, and glowing references from CanTeen, I have been accepted and will be able to graduate with a Bachelor of Communications with the Class of 2012 once i finish this last paper starting in March next year. I promise to get an A on this final paper. Which will make it 5 or 6 A's within the degree, spanning almost 10 years! Mom and Dad, you'll finally get to see your little girl with one of those funny flat hats on! :D Wicked.


Other SNG stuff

Back to SING. Public transport is great, food is cheap, but fruit and fresh flowers are crazy expensive as SNG doesnt grow anything of it's own, it's mostly imported from Malaysia. A peach costs $5. no thankyou.


i'm going looking for some kind of sushi shaped like a dragon again tomorrow. night safari with keefe and his friends too, as it ends at midnight and i didnt want to do it alone! There are people who breathe fire, and rhinoceros' roam about (no chimps though). really, how can you go wrong?


love you all, send me some updates!

xoxo

DAY ONE - Singapore

• Long flight, got upgraded to business class so was much better other poor jetstar experiences! little tubs of kapiti icecream, actually nice meals, entertainment system with poor movies (i was hoping for XMEN again - mum and dad you really missed out, transformers is a poor comparison to XMEN! and chairs, a poor comparison to bean bags) but instead i got a japanese movie about snowdogs (even though i like them & will call mine "snowdog"). The upgrade also included snacks, unlimited refreshments, big leather seats, footrest, power for my laptop & blankets/toothbrush etc. Well worth the extra $100 on what was only a $199 flight to begin with! Go Jetstar, i may be changing my mind about you...

• was sitting next to a nice guy from sky sport. We talked about Mac's (he'd bought an ipad duty free), travelling& editing software & he might be getting us a job dancing for the Mystics (netball team) at half time. not bad networking! he knows Ross Karl - 3 News (ross has told me he's actually changed his name by deed poll to "Ross Karl - 3 News). i name-dropped it a lot.

• bought a canon camera G12 duty free (kylie check it out online). EXCITE! it better be good! come on canon, i know you can do it!!

• Flight was delayed an hour and keefe (awesome ex-student/ lawyer/ 2nd leftenant in the singapore army) met me there, we had the best sushi i've ever had in the shape of a dragon (true story, thanks keefe!) at the airport and then i taxi'd to my accomodation $15 from the airport. not bad.

• Singapore dollar is 1 to 1 to the NZ$ which is good for my poor maths skills, but i'm armed with a calculator anyway, just in case

• ITS SO HOT HERE. Sunny and 30 degrees. Sweat weather. I am unprepared for this amazingness. i'm glad i brought my look-alike-lover jandals. Let's hope they dont fail with all the walking around i'm going to be doing!

• i just had roast duck on rice for NZ$2.50. It is smaller, not as filling, and has no veges (does sour cucumber count? No.) , but i'm re-thinking the bargain of $9.50 Hansan in newmarket. TWO DOLLARS FIFTY. how does this happen??!

• going to go and do a yoga class today if i can find one, as the 10 straight hours of dance i was doing before i left, plus that long flight has made me ACHE. I'm hoping massages are also $2.50.

• then meeting keefe again, we're going to check out the tech mall to get some cheap mac accessories and then i'm going to go on a night safari.WICKED.

• keefes friend bought a ticket for me to a dance show and we're going on Sunday. looking forward to seeing what SNG has to offer on that front!

Miss you all, will update you when there is more news. SINGAPORE here i come.
xox