Vietnam, Here I Come!

We're heading off now for our first tour of 'Nam, so I shall be off the air until Monday. Unless I find myself bored and in an Internet cafe over there, that is!

I hope to provide a full debriefing on our return from the historic and noble land which has added important cultural phrases like "Me love you long time" to the lexicon of Western civilisation!!

The Guy Down the Polytechnic Swears he's Elvis!

Yes folks, the king is indeed alive. I just got interviewed by a guy called Elvis! He thankfully didn't do any pelvic thrusts or appear to have a penchant for peanut butter and banana sandwiches though! Elvis had two of the Jordanaires with him, one of whom was the point man. While the point man was probably the nicest guy I've ever got interviewed by, I don't think I'm a great fit for this particular job.

It's for a position in the Design School, whereas I'm more of a techie. Despite the job advert seeming suitable, the reality on the ground appears somewhat different. The hours you can expect to work out here are "8.30am - 6pm, plus some evenings and weekends". Sounds like you have to earn those, err, exorbitant salaries out here! Part-time work has to be declared, although I'm not sure how you'd fit it in!

Evil Yoga

Islam is a tolerant religion, unless you're a writer, cartoonist, woman, homosexual, infidel or now yoga practitioner. It was on the news the other day that a fatwa has been issued by Muslim clerics in Malaysia against yoga. Apparently, the Hindu influences in it were deemed to be corrupting on Muslims. Their position on Pilates or the Anderson Method is not clear at this juncture.

I would like to make it clear at this point that I have great respect for all religions, especially ones based on the teachings of prophets such as Muhammad.

Allahu Akbar.

Bombs Away!

The last thing you need to see on the TV on the eve of your visit to the most bombed country on earth (Vietnam) is a piece on schoolkids getting maimed by stepping on unexploded ordinance from the conflict in the 60s/70s. I shall definitely be sticking to the beaten track when I get there! There was also a tropical storm there last week, so portents not exactly positive.

The TV report also showed the locals making fences and so on out of old bomb casings. That reminded me of my grandparents' place in deepest, darkest Mayo! There was an old bomb casing from world war 2 there that I used to play with as a child until I heard it ticking!!!

Job Latest

Well, I've been applying for a steady stream of jobs and I've been receiving a steady stream of no responses! As I said before, this is par for the course out here. You never know if you will hear about any of them again until an email or letter appears out of the blue.

My best chance vis-a-vis visa (apologies for all the vises!!) sponsorship is the lecturing post by all accounts. I'm not expecting to hear from the one interview I had for that for at least another week or so. In the meantime, I shall be sending more CVs into the black hole of cyberspace!

STOP PRESS: Since drafting this post, I have received word of another interview. It's in the same place as before, but for a lecturing job in a different department. I'm determined to get in there! This time it is for a multimedia post, which is what I got my Masters in. It's on Friday morning, so I'll have time to nip up there before heading off to the airport in the afternoon (to go to Vietnam). One worrying thing is I was asked to "bring any work I have to we can talk about it". Err, what work?! I guess I'll print off a few web pages!

Wish me luck!

Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word

I'm no expert on Mandarin (Chinese), but I'm fairly sure that "Excuse me", "I'm sorry" and "after you, old chap" are among the least used phrases in it! I went on about this on my last trip (see here), and it has to be said that manners here are still appalling by our standards!

I know it's a different culture and everything, but really, why should common courtesy become a cropper? It really is every man, woman or beast for him/herself out here. Whether it's on public transport, at doorways or in crowded areas, you just put the head down and mow down all in your path until you reach your destination. Step on someone's (size 11!) foot? Don't bother apologising! Indeed, why not try again and get the toes you missed the first time?! The library has young kids running amok, constant mobile phone interaction and unmuted laptops. Sometimes, you think it would be quieter in a nightclub!

In mitigation, I did see a guy give his seat to an old timer on the bus the other day. Then someone had to give me one as I fainted from the shock!!!

Metrosexual Revolution!

Unfortunately, you can't keep a good woman down! She's at it again. You can take the text of this old post (particularly item 2) verbatim!!! The only slight difference is that even more heinous suggestions are being mooted! Once again, dear readers, be assured that I will stand steadfast against the female tyranny!

Funnily enough, I thought I coined the term "androforming" for my other blog, but apparently not!

Come Back RTE, All is Forgiven!

I remember giving out about the TV here before on my previous expedition, but it really is terrible! There is no public service broadcaster as such, just a commercial operator that spends most of its air time advertising its crappy programmes (either on the current channel or one of its other crappy channels!) or just recycling the same adverts!

They have a free to air channel for each of the official languages (English, Malay, Mandarin & Tamil) and an Asian news channel in English. Each are bad, but the Malay & Tamil ones look especially chronic! The TV shows on the English channel are worse than before. You get the odd decent show (usually a season behind as it's cheaper to buy) and the odd decent movie, but the ads would drive you insane trying to watch them. Thank God for the Internet!

While in Harvey Norman (the feicker is here too, but thankfully without the annoying ads!) the other day, I asked herself why would you want a fancy flat screen TV when there's nothing to watch on it?! She assures me that you have to have cable here, which is the cat's pyjamas apparently. I'll believe that when I see it!

Incidentally, they had a 103 inch plasma TV going in Harvey Norman for about €50,000. I asked herself did she think we should get it for the home cinema room. She was not amused!

HIV Paranoid

While on the subject of health matters, I thought I detected a certain paranoia here about AIDS. There are a lot of ads on the telly about it and all foreigners looking to stay here must have a HIV test (including me!). There is even an AIDS plot line in a Chinese soap opera (subtitled and it has cute chicks in it!!).

However, herself told me that world AIDS day is December 1st and that was why there were so many ads about it. She also told me that pregnant women are also tested here for AIDS (true) and "encouraged" to have abortions if positive. I don't know if that's true, as it would be pretty shocking if it was. Official sources say treatment reduces the chances of passing on the virus from 25% to 2%. I wonder what is really happening on the ground though.

In Sickness and in Health....

...it's probably cheaper to be in Singapore! Well, for the sick part anyway! Came down with a nasty sore throat, headache and fever yesterday so headed to a doctor today. While waiting, a woman came in with a plastic bag, into which she puked every third step. Must remember to stay away from the seafood around there!

Got into the doctor who told me it was a viral infection and I should drink plenty water and rest. No problem - I've been doing that most days anyway! She came me a load of medication to take and the whole bill came to about €19! At home, you'd be looking at €50 for the doctor and about €200 for the pharmacist!!!!!

Like most services in Singapore, the doctor speaks English and Chinese. Imagine having to know all those medical terms and ailments in 2 languages? I would have thought it was bad enough in one!

Mystery Island!

If you think it was hard to figure out how people were affording houses in Dublin (or Galway for that matter) during the good old boom years, you'd be doubly perplexed over here.

In Singapore, the average salary for a well qualified, middle class, non-managerial position seems to be of the order of 24000 Euro per annum, well below the Irish average industrial wage. Yet, the cost of housing has skyrocketed here in the last few years. You basically have 2 choices; a private condo/apartment or public housing.

The condos are very expensive (even more so than Dublin in its hey day) with the cheapest 2 bedroom unit in the less salubrious neighbourhoods starting at about 400,000 Euro and heading sharply north after that. If you want to rent one, it can cost anything from 1200-4000 Euro/month. Mathematicians reading this will note that this would be a fair whack out of the average monthly salary!

The other option is public housing, which by all accounts, what the ordinary locals have to go for. These high rise flats, called HDB (Housing Development Board) flats, are roughly the equivalent of a council estate at house (like the old Ballymun, but without the horses and the gougers!!!) are considerably cheaper, but even these have become very expensive in recent times.

Now while tax and interest rates are very low here and the market has softened a little, I still can't understand who's filling the condos! There are only so many expats on packages (and not nearly as many as you'd think apparently), high earning managers and successful business people in the place. I don't think they pack 'em ten to a room either, so it beats me!

Given the meagre salary I can expect here, you don't have to be a genius to work out the long term inviability of the situation! And God help you if you have sprogs. Private schooling is expensive and a must over here, unless you want your kid spreaking the incomprehensible gibberish commonly known as Singlish!

Me Hearties!

This post is especially for any Somali pirates who may happen across this blog! A lot of the above ships will be heading your way in the next few days, so take your pick! Just kidding, Big Brother - this is an old photo!

I went for my first walk (this visit!) on the beach side promenade yesterday evening. It was a nice evening for it as the temperature was just about perfect. I had forgotten about the number of ships that are always anchored off the south of the island. It really is like the picture every day as Singapore is a major port on a major shipping route.

Funnily enough, I met one of the guys who interviewed me last Friday while out walking. He was only about 1 of 3 people that I had chatted with (excluding house mates) since I arrived and I bumped into him in a city/country of almost 5 million on a prom miles away from where he works. I guess it really is a small world!

Apple Bread

I'm working my way through the different types of bread they have here! In addition to mushroom, custard and kaya bread (all nice!), I happened across apple bread today.

Looking at the individual spherical entities, it wouldnt have surprised me if they had wrapped some dough around a full apple. However, after I bought one, I found that there the inside was mostly air with some apple (like you get in a pie) and, shock horror, gooey cream of some description. While it contravened several of my dietary laws, I ate it anyway and very nice it was too!

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Since everyone is getting in the mood for it already over here, I thought I'd join the club! Last week, all the decorations went up and now every shopping centre is piping Christmas carols non-stop to all its patrons.

It's a bit odd as it's only mid November, but if they want to extend the jolly season, that's fine by me!

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

After leaving the embassy, my next port of call was the home of an Irish contact who had thoughtfully invited me round to dispense some advice. This was one half of a married couple who are friends of a brother of a guy I worked with in Dublin! We had swapped emails and I got an invite to a face to face.

It wasn't too far from the embassy and when the taxi dropped me at the door, I'm sure she thought I came via the swimming pool! However, I got some great tips on the social and work scene here. On the former, I got the names of some organisations to join and on the latter, I got confirmation on the grim prospects for someone coming here looking for a decent job. The only way to get a decent paying job here really is to be sent here on an ex-pat package, which usually has accommodation and kids' schooling built in.

Anyway, I headed back across the island again after that and was finally delighted to get back to chez moi. And yes mum, I changed immediately!

When it Rains, it Pours!

Myself and herself have decided to go to Vietnam for the weekend of the 28th. She has the Friday off and hell, I have the whole week off! It will be nice to add another country to the visited list and see how different it is from the movies. I don't expect to engage Charlie or inhale any napalm, but Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) should be interesting nonetheless!

I had booked the ticket when I realised I hadn't checked the visa situation. Sure enough, I need one, although herself doesn't. This morning I had to go across the island to the Vietnamese embassy and boy did I get drenched?! It started lashing (and I mean lashing!) as I started the short walk from the bus stop. Despite having an umbrella, I got soaked down to and including the kacks! I also got lost and was beginning to worry about holding a metallic rod in a thunder storm when I finally found the place. To make matters worse, the new Nike Air trainers that I had worn for comfort were busy de-skinning my heels!

It was there that I discovered I had destroyed an important document that was soaked inside my bag. Herself suggested I bring it, although I didn't need it. Luckily my passport had a protective cover, so damage to that was minimal. I was mad with myself for forgetting to protect them more. Then I had to fork out about €40 for a visa for a 2 day trip and to cap it all, I had to wait ages in soggy clothes on the embassy porch (technically I was in Vietnam!) for a taxi. The fact that my phone was low on juice or I didn't know any taxi numbers didn't help the anxiety level!

I have to go back to the embassy again next week to collect my passport and visa. I will check the forecast carefully beforehand!

First Interview Over

Well, it went fine, but it was more of an informal chat. I dazzled them with my, err, dazzling personality! I bought some fancy new duds this morning and for a change, I was looking well and not a bit of blue in sight!

I have to wait for a few weeks to see if I have passed the first hurdle and qualify for the formal inquisition. It's going to drag out a bit, then! I was interviewed for two different jobs at the same time - a first for me. When they saw my CV, they brought in a lecturing guy to quiz me (as well as the person who was interrogating me for the development job!). I had to be somewhat diplomatic when asked which job I would prefer!

I figure I have a better shot at the lecturing gig, but come what may, I'll just have to resign myself to the low pay over here. They were somewhat amused when they heard about the contact hours I had in NUI, Galway. Unfortunately, if I get the gig, the workload will triple/quadruple and the remuneration will halve (at least). Pity it wasn't the other way around!

She says tomato, I say tomayto!

In looking up how to get to my interview destination using the public transport system, I caused some consternation with herself when I pronounced "Tampines" as tam-pines. I guess 99% of Ang Mohs (Caucasians) would do the same, but they'd be wrong!

The actual pronunciation is tamp-in-ees and when I enquired how the hell I was supposed to know that, it didn't cut much ice with herself. I must point out Drogheda or Graiguenamanagh on a map and get her to pronounce them to gain revenge!!!!

Singapore Open 2008

The Singapore Open Golf tournament is on this week (good timing!), so I headed down to Sentosa Island to see it. Sentosa is a small resort Island just off the south of Singapore and it took about 80 minutes by bus and subway from chez moi.

It was great to see some big names in action, including Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington (naturally!). They make it look so easy! The course looked great, but unfortunately the weather was more like Belmullet than anywhere else, with persistent rain and wind!

I followed Harrington (picture above shows him splashing out at the 4th) until play was suspended due to thunder and lightning. I waited around for a while but it didn't look good, so I reluctantly decided to hit for home. Still, it was an enjoyable day, even if it came to a premature end.

First Interview

Fingers crossed everyone - my first interview is on Friday! I hope to get confirmation of another interview for the same organisation on the same day. It's a Polytechnic and I have applied for a lecturing position and a programming job. The latter is the confirmed interview.

I continue to apply for other positions, but the outlook for a job a salary to keep me out of the poorhouse is bleak!

Price Watch 1

I've posted on some of these items before on my previous expedition, but for those of you mildly interested, this is a price comparison of the things I've noticed already:

1. By the large, food in the supermarket is much of a muchness. Some things more expensive (e.g. milk, cereal) and some things cheaper (fruit, soya products) with most other food stuffs about the same.
2. Interestingly, eating out is way cheaper here. Of course they have the fancy restaurants here too, but everyday lunch can be had for about €2-€2.50. Compare that to what you pay for a carvery lunch at home! Granted the fodder is different and you have to like rice and/or noodles, but you get a great choice and a good feed! Given that, it's obviously not worth cooking yourself.
3. Pharmacies are cheaper (surprise, surprise!).
4. Doctors are cheaper (surprise, surprise again!).
5. Toiletries tend to be cheaper. How they can ship out shaving balm from Europe and sell it at half the price the do at home, I don't know!
6. Taxis are cheaper here (surprise, surprise) as is public transport.
7. Cars are astronomically priced as a disincentive to buy them. There's only so much space on the island after all. It's about 85% the size of Co. Louth with the population of Ireland stuck in it, so it's a wee bit cramped here! I saw an add for a Mazda 2 for about €27,000. It's under €15,000 in Ireland and we're bad for car prices!
8. Funnily enough, petrol seems to be cheaper, at about 80 cent a litre.
9. That's probably because tax on everything is so much less here. Max. income tax is only about 20% (and 8.5% for the average Irish industrial wage), for example. Oh, the advantages of not being a welfare state!
10. Computer games are cheaper too (no great surprise there either!)
11. Electronics such as flat screen TVs seem to be a little cheaper also.
12. Treatments for just about anything are cheaper here. This includes alternative medicine, laser eye surgery, skin treatments and the like.
13. Clothes and shoes are cheaper here. I just bought a pair of Nike Air runners for about 75% of the price back home.

Eddie Hobbs would be proud of me!

Job Situation

Well, I had a few possibilities lined up before I left Ireland and I followed up on them once I got settled in here. As a result, I'll hopefully have a couple of interviews coming up in the next week or so.

Besides that, it's the usual story with programming jobs; they look for Singaporeans or people with permanent residence (PR - like the green card in the US) status. Even then, you can expect to be worked like a dog for the princely wage of a bout €1500-€1700 per month. Err, no thanks!

The good news is that they do pay Ang Mohs (Caucasians) more here then other races. That's the kind of racism I like, but it's probably why the local companies don't like hiring us, I'd wager! If my interviews don't bear fruit, I'll probably target the multinational companies next, for obvious reasons.

Thank God for rain!

Yes, you read that right! It came down in buckets most of yesterday and boy, I was delighted! It kept the temperature down to a bearable level and resulted in the coldest day I've ever experienced in Singapore. It was only about 23C - practically freezing here! It was so cold, I barely sweated at all during the day! Well, not until herself came home and I hadn't done my alloted tasks!!!!!

Winter Wonderland!

I was surprised to see a winter goods shop in the local mall here the other day. Considering there is no winter here (just rainy season), it was a bit incongruous to see woolly hats and heavy jackets on sale in a country where the temperature never falls below the low 20s Celsius.

This would be akin to a shop selling summer clothes in Ireland!!!! The rationale behind it, according to herself, is that it's for people passing through or going to colder destinations. I wouldn't have expected enough traffic for it to be sustainable, but obviously there is. I suppose it's akin to a ski shop in Ireland, although I'm not aware of any shop totally devoted to skiing in Dublin.

The same but different 1

Welcome to the first of probably many riveting reports on stuff that's not quite the same here as it is back home!

The first thing that I have noticed that's a bit different is breakfast food. First up, porridge, or oatmeal as it is here (porridge is a broth like rice dish with meat/fish here!) is nicer and is actually edible without copious amounts of sugar or additional fruit. There are no extra ingredients so I assume the oat flakes Quakers use are nicer than Irish ones! All-Bran, on the other hand, is even harder to eat here! It looks and tastes much blander than the Irish recipe for some reason.

Milk tends to taste differently depending on the country you're in, but it tastes pretty similar to home here. Singapore imports all its milk from Malaysia and Australia as there's no room for cows here! That does make it pretty expensive and there is a bewildering choice on offer in the supermarket between real, reconstituted, long life and flavoured milk. That's not to mention the soya milk which, unlike Ireland, is cheaper than its dairy counterpart here.

Great Balls of Fire!

I'm not that much of a wuss (honestly!), but last night's thunder and lightning display here was far beyond anything ever seen in the auld sod! It's rainy season here now, so there are lots of clouds around. Put that together with the humid atmosphere and boom (literally!) - thunder and lightning heaven (or hell, depending on how you look at it!). The explosive sonic display certainly scared the bejesus out of me last night - I almost cried out for my mammy at one stage!! Hopefully, I will get used to it and be able to reduce the whimpering in future!!

That aside, thankfully the weather here isn't as repressive as it can be - it's 'only' about 25 degrees Celsius during the day and a bit cooler again at night. Now if they could only invent a massive de-humidifier, it would be perfect!

Mushroom bread

I wasn't here long before the unusual food made its reappearance!

This morning I had "mushroom bread" for breakfast! I've had custard bread and kaya bread out here before (both very nice!), bust this was a first for me. Essentially it's a small round roll with cooked mushrooms on the top.

Surprisingly enough, it is quite tasty also!

The eagle has relanded!

Well, I made it here in one piece!

It was another long, long day without sleep, but I finally touched down here in steamy Singapore at about 9.45pm local time last night. By the time I had got through immigration, got my luggage and arrived back to my old stomping ground, it was bed time so that meant no jet lag at all. I had to endure over 30 hours without sleep for that bonus though!

I flew out using a different tack this time. Instead of a short hop to Europe and a 12-13 hour flight from there, I decided to split the journey in half this time and go via Abu Dhabi. It was exactly half way (7.5 hours each leg) and Ethiad (UAE national carrier) fly from Dublin so I gave it a shot. The planes were great and had an excellent on-board entertainment system with a host of on-demand films, TV shows, CDs and games available via a touch screen. The service and food were top drawer too. The salmon I got on the first leg was easily the best airline meal I've ever had. The attendant told me she swiped it from business class (I had a special meal as I don't eat meat), so I got lucky there! The only downsides to the trip was the short gap between the seats and Abu Dhabi airport isn't the most pleasant place I've ever been. In summary, if you're vertically challenged, and don't have a long layover in Abu Dhabi, Etihad are a great option!

The first leg was a piece of cake, but the second was a lot tougher. I was really tired and could not enjoy the in-flight entertainment system or all the anti-boredom things that I had brought on board with me. However, it was all worth it when I finally got there and was met by herself at the airport!

Stay tuned for further dispatches from the Eastern front!!

Aidan in Asia (again!)

I'm back - a mere 32 months after my last post!

Yes folks, it's take two. Tomorrow, I head off to Singapore for another Asian adventure. And yes, it's for the same reason. Some might say that I'm romantic, some might say that I'm foolish, but most will say that I'm a romantic fool!

I'm better prepared this time and more serious on the romance front, so hopefully things will pan out differently this time. I couldn't sell my car because of the R word at home, so that's a major concern. I leave it in the, err, capable hands of T.D. for the moment.

Stage 1 of the journey is over. I've left Galway and am spending my last night in the auld sod in Dublin. I'm flying out via Abu Dhabi tomorrow night and will post on my arrival, jet lag permitting!

Wish me luck!