Today marks my DH's Birthday and my 75th post, and I wanted to make it a little special. Instead of writing about what’s happening right now, I found myself thinking back to the moments that truly meant something.
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| Merlion Icon of Singapore |
Even after 15 years, those days are still fresh in my mind, so I’ve decided to record them now.
✨ January 2007-Our First trip to Singapore ✨
Our travel plans were confirmed just two weeks before our departure. We began packing everything we needed. There was one large suitcase - the same one my husband had used on his previous trip and we decided to use it as our check-in luggage. But there was a small hiccup my husband had forgotten the lock code! After trying several combinations, we finally cracked the code and packed the suitcase for our journey.
On 26th January 2007, we boarded our flight to Singapore. It was my first time flying, and I felt incredibly excited. For my husband, it was his fourth trip to Singapore.I listened carefully to all the flight instructions, as everything was new to me. But I admit, I felt a little scared when the flight took off!
We landed at Changi Airport that evening.The very first thing that surprised me is the cleanliness and greenary everwhere i looked. Trees were very huge and well maintained still those are fresh in my mind.
[Note I have attached pictures that we took when we were there, it may not be in the correct timeline but i have used our own pictures wherever needed. Special thanks to my DH for taking time to find the hard disk from Loft and helping me to download old pictures]
Since one of our relatives was living in Pasir Ris, we stayed at their home. Ramachandran anna picked us up from the airport, and Banu akka welcomed us warmly with some delicious rice upma. The next morning,Both of them had to leave for work, so they handed us a set of house keys and left food ready for us. We ate and took some rest. A heartfelt mention to Ramachandran Anna and Banu Akka--their boundless hospitality touched my soul in ways words can hardly express. No one has ever shown me such kindness. Even as I write this, tears flow, for they will forever hold a special place in my life.
We stayed with them for 4 months, later we shifted to Bukit Purmei and lived there for years. Also my Younger sister suba got to stay with us for her on-site job opportunity.My parents and DH’s parents came to visit us too, which made our time abroad even more special. Those were truly golden days in our lives, and I still cherish them deeply.
🌟Our New Journey 🌟
My husband reported to his office soon after. To our surprise, a new 5A bus service had just started that same week, running from Pasir Ris to BukitMerah, where his office was located.Later, we visited the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to get our EP (Employment Pass) and DP (Dependent Pass). We underwent medical tests and eventually received our cards.
🌷Settling into Life in Singapore🌷
The first few weeks in Singapore were a mix of excitement and adjustment. Everything felt new from public transport to the clean streets and polite people. I was amazed by how efficiently things worked. It felt like we had entered a whole new world.
We slowly started to explore our neighborhood in Pasir Ris. I loved walking through the nearby parks and visiting the PasirRis MRT station, which became a familiar spot for me. The malls, the local shops, and the food courts everything was so different from what we were used to, but in a good way. We used to buy freshly grated coconut from a vendor there.
My husband settled into his work routine quickly. The 5A bus from Pasir Ris to Bukit Merah made his commute convenient. Every evening, he would come home and share stories about his new office, colleagues, and the work culture, which was both professional and friendly.
For me, each day was a new experience. I spent time learning about the local lifestyle, understanding how to navigate the MRT system, and slowly becoming confident to step out alone. I still remember my first solo trip to the supermarket nearby it might seem like a small thing, but it gave me a sense of independence.
Weekends were the most exciting part. We visited places like East Coast Park, Little India, and Ram temple. I especially enjoyed visiting temples, trying new food (limited options for vegans only chapathi n parota with veg gravy), and watching the city lights at night. Changi Airport itself became a frequent visit spot, not just for travel, but because of its beautiful surroundings and shopping areas.
Looking back, those early days in Singapore were filled with learning, wonder, and small victories. It was the beginning of a beautiful chapter in our lives ,one filled with challenges, joy, and memories that we still hold close to our hearts.
😨Overcoming Small Fears😰
In those early days, even the simplest things felt unfamiliar to me. I still remember how scared I was to use the escalator. Back home, I had never really needed to use one, so I would always look for stairs whenever we visited malls or MRT stations. If there weren’t any nearby, I would wait or walk a longer route just to avoid it. It might sound small, but for me, it was a real fear. Everything in Singapore was so modern and fast-paced that, at first, I felt a little lost.
Thankfully, Banu akka was there to guide me. She was patient and encouraging. She held my hand and gently helped me face my fears one by one. She didn’t laugh or rush me, and that gave me the confidence I needed. The first time I stepped on an escalator with her beside me, I was so nervous , but I did it. From then on my travel was bit easier.
Over time, I got used to it. Slowly , I started using escalators without hesitation. Looking back, I feel proud of those small victories. They may seem minor to others, but for me, they were big steps in adapting to a new environment.
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Mail box:
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| My DH and Son collecting Mail from Mail box |
Cloth drying:
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| take a closer look to see how clothes are dried |
All apartments will be in 14 to 16 Storey buildings here, so we need to dry our clothes on our balconies by putting our clothes on a wooden rod, then we need to lift up and insert in the holes provided for that. There will be four to five holes. Lifting and positioning the rod takes a bit of practice, as it requires care and balance without leaning out too far. I managed to get the hang of it after several tries.There will be separate covers for covering those holes to avoid waterlogging during rainy days.
Trash collection:
Water usage:
Here water usage has a separate meter, so we need to be careful in using water. Be it doing dishes or washing clothes, you need a perfect plan to consume water efficiently.Mostly we could see most people living there they barely cook at home,they will eat at food courts or they will have simple menus and use porcelain or glass dishes for easy wash.
Milk cartons:
This was quite new to me, as we bought milk cartons in advance and used them. A monthly trip to Mustafa in Little India would make it easier for grocery and milk purchases. Later we found Meiji milk in NTUC and started using that.
Transportation:-
Travelling by bus and MRT is quite cheaper compared to cabs. We used single EZ-Link cards for our travel. We need to swipe cards while boarding and getting off.If we don't have enough balance in our cards we can put coins in drop box kept near driver. If we forget to tap while get down we get penalty charges when we board next time.
Initially, as the route was not familiar, I used bus stop pamphlets, and with the help of that, I used to get down, or my DH would wait in the bus stop to get down correctly.
As Tamil is one of the official language in SG, travel announcements will be made in tamil while we commute in MRT.
Needless to say,even when we don't have apps smart phones we got cabs (comfort) taxis in many place near bus stops they stop we should join a queue and get it. During late nights also the same practice, plenty will come with a light in top green or red.
Signals:-
We have separate signal for pedestrian crossing we can press that switch on and cross the road relaxly.
If they notice pedestrian especially old people or children on zebra crossing any vehicle approaching will stop until they cross the road.
Some important practices we noticed:-
I should share one important marital arts and exercise type is practiced by elders old people in those play area which is called Tai chi beautiful to watch as well they value their health and movement at even those age.
We also see during their prayer they keep our brahma like statue and keep mandarin orange and our incense sticks bunch many places even in our apartment floor in walls and offer prayers
We can see above in many places we also visited Chinese temple 3 major god like ours kept and lot of incense sticks (oothu Pathi) is kept while they pray.
In every block they also do rituals after death for several days with food also served in a shamiyana.
We knew few chinese neighbours though we don't interact much (language problem)we exchange friendly gesture especially many old grannies.
Library:-
One of our favorite places. I loved that place very much; we can quietly sit there and enjoy reading books there.Habit of reading books inculcated from my husband he used to read lot of books, he had a NLB card so we renewed his membership and started to take books from library.
We have almost visited all branches of NLB. My husband was selected as the second most frequent library user for the Tamil books category. We were given a voucher as a gift from NLB.
Weather:
The climate is very lovely; we can see more trees all around, which inspired my 👉greeny Singapore👈 blog. It rains almost anytime, and one can walk without getting wet from the bus stop to their home, as walkways have roofs for unexpected weather changes. We could see no waterlogging on roads even after heavy rains.
Temples:-
Shiva temple in Payalebar and Mariamman temple in China town are my favorites. Poojas and utsavams are celebrated like we do in Indian temples. Many devotees visit there, especially on weekends, which are a heavy rush. We bought some golu doll collections from Chinatown. It is good to see decorations of lanterns around.
Gym and Play area-
Almost every two blocks has one designated open gym area and children play area for public use. We can see many people and kids enjoying out time during mornings and evenings. Those areas have protected mat flooring.
Shopping:-
NTUC, Minimart, 7-Eleven, Carrefour, Mustafa etc.....
Each place has NTUC Fairprice shops to buy our daily needs such as milk,vegetables and some indian grocery items. I love to do shopping there, we save the coupons given after purchase and claim for any small gifts during christmas , new year and chinese New year. Initially we used to convert singapore dollar to indian money and spend later we got used to that. Mini Mart will be there almost below every block to get emergency needs of our food items,vegetables and flowers. Also they sell calling cards for 10$, which we used to call India.
Food Courts-
There will be food courts in common for particular area. We get chinese food items there and for indians we get rice and parota with veg and non veg gravy. We can TEH(black tea), Teh o(with sugar) and Teh c (with sugar and milk). We used to have teh c always. A common language use is "La " no la means no. Typically our stay will make us use those language tone.
We've been to several destinations such as Jurong BirdsPark,Sunteccity,Sentosa, Underwater World, Snow City, the Science Centre, the Singapore Zoo, Duck tour and all the surrounding malls. However, I am choosing to share only a few memories.
Jurong Birds Park
Fountain of Wealth_Suntec City:-
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| Largest fountain ring shaped |
Every day Music show happens along with laser light show. In the above pic we can see people praying by going around touching water. There is a chinese belief by doing so we get all our wishes fulfilled.
Balloon Twisting:-
https://anuradharajaraman.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-post.html
This is one of the creative art that I learned
In one of my post i have shared about balloon twisting. Below are few samples of Balloon sculptures that i did. Dog, Teddy bear, Tweety Bird.
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