Squint and you can see the outline of Marina Bay Sands

Welcome to the Mist!...I mean the Haze!

So there is a unique phenomenon here in Singapore called the Haze (capitalized for dramatic effect).  As you can see from the pictures, Singapore is basically enveloped by a pretty shitty haze around this time of the year for a few weeks.  The Haze is cause by fires from illegal land clearing in Indonesia, Singapore's neighbor.  That's like, Ned Flanders level of uncool.  In Singapore is also the first time I learned about PSI (quick note: it's the measure of air quality).  Needless to say, it isn't looking great over here right now. 

That's not bad camera quality, it's...the Haze!

Notice the faint glow under the lights, it's almost eerily pretty if it wasn't a health hazard

So anyways, it's been almost a month since I dug a tunnel with my spoon and escaped the suffocating, soul-crushing prison cell that is San Francisco (joking...).  It paradoxically feels both like a long time and like no time has passed at all.  Unfortunately, I have not made any amazing self-discoveries about myself that I can write about.  And even if I had, I don't think I have enough hubris to just lay it all out here on this blog.  Catch up with me and I will word vomit all my introspection for you.  At the end of the day, I'm still an introvert after all. :)

But what I will say is that overall I'm enjoying this time to myself more than I thought I would.  Sure, there are moments of being homesick or missing friends & family back home.  But on the other hand, it does feel quite liberating to be carving out my own life here with no expectations or social obligations.  Everyday and every week, I have to build up my own new routine and that's kinda cool.  There are moments when I'm riding the subway, dancing with my headphones on, and I think to myself, "I'm in Asia! By myself!"

Okay, this is way too much positivity from me in one sitting.  Tune in next week when my feelings have a complete 180 turn and I bitch & moan about how much I hate it here!

Song of the week: Keeping with the hazy/foggy/unclear motif, here's some new CHVRCHES for you!  Love me some new CHVRCHES (chicken)! Hehe, I'm funny. (PS Get ready to dance.)

Remote Beach in Lombok

Last Friday was a national holiday in Singapore.  It was the general elections and the Singaporean government made a holiday out of it.  For us expats who don't need to vote, it was a free long weekend.  Yippee!  So with little hesitation, I packed my bags and headed off to my first traveling adventure in Asia!! Destination: Lombok & the Gili Islands!  

So a little bit about Lombok, it's kinda like the Gretchen Weiner of Indonesia islands next her Regina George - Bali. Okay, that was a terrible analogy. I apologize. Just stop reading now.

Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice) - Best thing we ate!

Oh still here? Okay, fine, I'll finish the blog post. Anyways, Lombok is known to be the less touristy version of Bali. And nestled right near Lombok is the Gili Islands. These 3 islands (Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air) are famous for providing a remote island experience: they're tiny, they're only accessible by boat, and they don't allow motorized vehicles.

That scary man allowed the girls to ride on the boat...wings?  iono, I'm not a sailor

Well, I can't really give too many insights on this trip as this was pretty much a beach-y, relaxing type trip. We mainly snorkeled and ate and relaxed at our awesome resort.

The beachside infinity pool!!!

View from our hotel room deck

We also had some great discussions about what it means to live a purposeful life, to explore a different path, to grow by pushing your boundaries. Basically, we figured out the meaning to life, but you just had to be there to understand. Instead, here's a video I threw together. I know, I still need to work on my videography skills!

Singapore skyline from rooftop bar

Helloooooo!!  Okay, so I was all like, "I'm going to start blogging once I move abroad!" Unfortunately, I might have said this out loud, so now I'm held accountable.  Ugh, dumb.

Well, if you came here expecting beautiful, poetic prose and creative, thoughtful insights about living abroad, you definitely came to the wrong place.  What you'll get is lots of bitching, pent-up emo angst, and a hint of erotic thriller.  Oh, and terrible grammar (you've been warned).

I was trying to think what I could write for my inaugural post, and decided to give my top 5 observations of Singapore so far (after a week).  Here goes:

1. Hot & Moist - Oh the weather.  I'll try not to harp on this too much but it's hot, it's humid, it's never-ending.  People say you'll never get use to it either.  I guess that's why Singapore loves malls.
2. Clean, Efficient, Boring? - The stereotypes you've heard of Singapore are pretty true.  It's so clean (where are the homeless people?), it's super efficient (went to get some government paperworks done expecting American DMV-status but was out of there in 10 minutes), and some would say boring.  Since I came to Singapore with no expectations, I can't say that I've been disappointed yet.  Besides, even if Singapore is too sterile, it's solved by the next item.
3. Travel Hub Wooo!!! - One of the big draws of living in Singapore is that it's a hop, skip, and a jump to another country! People here travel like it's nothing.  Weekend getaways are expected.  Speaking of which, I've already have my first weekend trip lined up next week.  Stay tuned! :)
4. International yet Transient - Someone told me that Singapore is 40% expats (I'm not gonna fact-check this because..um I'm lazy, so let's just take this as fact.)  This makes Singapore a very international city.  The people you meet here can also be super posh and international themselves.  I met a guy that grew up in Thailand, educated in Australia, works in Indonesia, travels often to Singapore, and is ethnically Japanese.... mind blown.  Yet, it's also a very transient city.  People aren't expected to stay here for too long and that seems to be the norm. 
5. Yummy in my Tummy - If you love Asian food, if you love street food, if you love cheap food, Singapore is the place for you.  I mean look at these pics!

Roasted duck over noodles

Salted egg spare ribs

Hainanese chicken rice

Feasting with the co-workers

That's it for now!  I actually have several other observations but I'll save them for another time.  Until then, um...here's my song of the week!

So sexy!   Don't know why she/this song didn't get more popular.