I had some errands to run today and in between I allowed myself to get a little lost in the city to do some spontaneous exploring. (Okay, so maybe those of you who know me when will figure out that I wasn’t exactly “voluntarily lost.”) I started off my day with a 6:30am jog through Fort Canning Park, which is a pleasant little jungle retreat on a steep hill in the heart of the city, complete with a spice garden & tasting bins, shrines, memorials, and lots of old folks doing Tai Chi before the sun becomes unbearable. Here’s a shot from my sweaty jog:
Then later in the morning I made my way down the river to the Ministry of Manpower to get my employment pass. Success! Well, not quite – I still have to go back on Friday to pick up the actual card. But technically I can start working (don’t tell my boss). Then I headed out to open in a bank account in, where else?, a mall. I spent about 25 minutes going up & down a ridiculous maze of escalators before I finally found the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS). 10 minutes into my walk back to the MRT I discovered I was walking in the wrong direction. Fortunately I bumped into the Singapore Art Museum, and saw this cool little exhibit of Li Chen sculptures:
and I also happened upon a Singaporean food court for lunch. Everyone eats at food courts here – you can get some of the best food in the country at these unpretentious little places. I tried the Chicken Vermicelli Soup (above) from the Vietnamese stall, primarily because I was too afraid to try anything from the neighboring stall, “Wang Ji Pig Organ Soup.” Ewww. Now I’m off to meet some potential new roomies. We’ll see how it goes…
10 comments
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November 9, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Paula
Isn’t it lovely how there is no such thing as lost in a brand new place? Love the pics, your thoughts, and living vicariously through you! Much success and keep exploring.
November 10, 2009 at 4:21 pm
kierstens
It IS lovely! Miss you more!
November 9, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Alexandra
Yey! I am finally hooked up to your adventures, tried googling the name of the blog but it didn’t work!! I love seeing the pictures and hearing all about your explorations…Oh and so good to see you via skype, that little girl (Leah? is it spelled like that?) was soo adorable! Look forward to many more video calls!
Lots of love!
November 10, 2009 at 4:21 pm
kierstens
Hooray! You will have to send me the address for your blog as well :)
November 10, 2009 at 12:08 am
Nicole
Whoa! While I’m outa town for a weekend you’re on a posting spree, way to go girl ;)
Your exploration of the city sounds like a lot of fun— after all getting lost is the best way to get to know a new place. How was the run? With all buildings and streets looking so clean in your pics, would I be going out on a limb to assume the air is clean too? ciao bella! p.s. I want your lunch!
November 10, 2009 at 4:22 pm
kierstens
I KNOW! I keep checking for Jade and the Shade updates, but you give me nothing!
November 10, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Nana
I’m enchanted with you, with your wanderlust, and with the verbal and pictorial narration of your experiences.
Loving hugs.
November 10, 2009 at 4:22 pm
kierstens
I’m glad you’re enjoying! I miss you guys!
November 12, 2009 at 6:15 am
Alexandra
I have to keep myself from peeping in here every hour or so, i just realized that you are sleeping right now! I am just so curious to hear how the first days at the job have been! Had lunch with Paula today and we talked about how fun it would be for us all to meet in Europe next year! Miss you! xo
June 30, 2010 at 10:11 pm
365days2play
I think Li Chen is something you either love immediately, or hate like hell and wonder who can ever like those monstrocities. I belong to the latter, and I have a friend who loves Li Chen so much he has several in his house.