formula 1 in singapore

the day of formula 1 - history ... the first night race ever. i have to admit that i am not quite a big fan of that sport. but being here you can really feel the excitement - and it's hard to resist. i would bet that most singaporeans were not big racing fans before, too. however, this great event is just another chance to do some shopping. but more about that later.

in a few hours, i will be at the race track watching this spectacular event. and i hope my ears will survive it. the noise is just incredible and swarming through the whole city. here, in my room, about 1.5km away from the track, all windows closed, and with my crappy air conditioning on, the cars were still louder and audible.

singaporeans are apparently very proud that this event takes place. and they prepared it for years. the area around the start - finish line for example, was ocean before. the organization officers simply decided to create more land by filling up huge masses of material. this alone shows what is possible in this small but highly potential state. crazy ....

and, as mentioned, the race gives all the potential for firms to do some business. there are promotions everywhere ... win this with xxx, buy xxx and "race up your life", get your ferrari shirt and benefit from a free trial of xxx - and, obviously, singaporeans LOVE that! as they love to shop and consume, generally. i have been on orchard road on friday, the number one shopping mile here in sp. and what i saw was truly amazing. not that the shops itself were so breathtaking - but the amount of choices are stunning. it is said that you would need three days to walk through all of these huge malls. well, maybe, if you consider that you have at least 15 malls that stretch over 5 floors, with a kind of labyrinth of corridors, filed with shops that offer EVERYTHING. some of them are specialized in a specific product or product group. at suntec city, for example, there is one section in this huge complex that offers all kinds of stuff for little kids - 40+ stores full of clothes and toys and clothes and toys and ....

and beside that you find more and more stores for the rich ... and wanna-be rich. the question just always is: HOW DOES THAT ALL WORK? where do the people get all that money from to become part of this consumption circle? or do they just do window shopping? how, then, do all these over dimensional malls survive? whatever it is, one thing is for sure: these malls are always packed with people, no matter if you go there at noon or - even worse - after 6 or 7 in the evening. and since most of them are at least open until 10pm, there is muuuuch time to spend all your money - by the way, prices are not considerably cheaper than back home, at least in these huge and modern malls.

yesterday, i firstly had a "hangover" - breakfast with my flatmates. not that i was drunk the night before - but they were (how surprising when you are invited to an "free champagne" - party where your company pays for everything). so, we went to mc donalds, had a BIG ball of ice cream and a freshly made juice (for about 1.50€ ... amazing).

later, i walked around the arab quarter which is just a stone's throw away. the (malay) muslims are celebrating the hari raya light-up right now. the festival aims to bring people from different ethnic groups together to have a better understanding of the (malay) muslim culture. different shows with traditional dances were held, and of course the streets were full of food stalls offering all sorts of typical food - shouldn't have had that big mac - stuff before, DAMN! however, it was beautiful and very enjoyable!

later the day, i walked to little india - only a 15min walk from my place. and this was a truly great experience. it is definitely not at all as real india is - too organized, to laid-back, to clean. however, compared to singaporean standards, it's light-years away from how i experienced the city so far. it's a little, lovely chaos, hundreds of shops selling all kinds of things - some vulnerable and important, some others ... less crucial. people were very friendly, open for a chat, smiling. and i had to try a lot of different kinds of snacks, just for the experience. the hindus are celebrating their "deepavali" right now - the festival of light, fireworks and sweets with the main day end of october - the streets therefore were full of chain of lights ... and all this added to magnificent moments. after all, i had spend 4 hours in the area, happy about the experience.

well, that's it for the moment. have to get prepared for the big race. weather doesn't look too good but that just makes it more interesting. tomorrow then is my first day at work. but till then, i will catch some great food for little money. and more pictures will follow later that week on my picasa- page ...

singapore - a lifetime experience

singapore ... a mix of asian cultures, spotted in a clean and organized environment, and only a stone's throw away from the equator. asias's biggest hub, world's 2nd largest port, a financial centre ... and my new home for the next 5 month.

and since there is a huge tropical thunder storm with heavy rain outside (well, locals and those who know better might say it's just a common phenomena), which stopped me from sleeping two hours ago (especially if you sleep in the 26th floor having the city at my feet), and an internet connection that suddenly works (apparently), i decided to open this blog so that all of you get the news from my singapore experience.

for the next 5 month, i'll be doing my internship at daimler southeast asia - the headquater for the whole region. and since it fits so perfectly to my studies, i got my job in the marketing department - or the "external affairs and communication" department, to be precise. organizing elaborating corporate events that charge the brand with emotion ... and i guess a lot of other stuff that interns usually do, will be part of my daily work. however, whatever it might be - in a place like this, it is not the MOST important point in the end, i guess.

i don't wanna bore you with any details about the flight ... but by the way, i had three red wine, chicken and pasta pesto (pesto pasta?), something that was supposed to be fish, two sandwiches, a chocolate bar, a muffin, another cheese cake, one more wine ... wine ... and stuff on my entertainment system like ... english premier league, two episodes of friends, one movie that i forgot (also because i've watched only 1/10th of it), more comedy stuff ... comedy ... and did i mention that i had wine? red wine, actually - from chile ... lovely - even though it was refrigerated.

evyerything worked fine. the saudis (well, these guys in qatar) did not make any trouble. same here in singapore when i was entering the country. everything worked smoothly even though i had two packages of chewing gum with me. they didn't even check that ... guys, there is a great dealing potential!! (chewing gum is regarded as a oral hygiene product and therefore only available in pharmacies ... for high prices, i guess). beside a huge bunch of toyota taxi available, i was the lucky one to get a mercedes (OF COURSE!!) - and when telling the driver that i was from germany and start work for daimler, he started a 5 minute monologue about the enjoying advantages of this car - it goes without saying that i agreed to ALL points.

and finally, i made it to the appartment complex, got the key, entered my room, faced this view from the 26th floor - and already lost about 1,46 litres ... going outside is always like hitting a wall - having 30 degrees and 90% humidity outside is everything but fun!

luckily, i have air conditioning. unfortunately, it is noisy ... tremendously noisy. however, there is this view ... good one!

the appartment as such is nothing special, but nice. i live together with two guys, both called alex - and both from germany. i met one this morning (remember, the rain ... got up, went down for a coffee, came back - and he met him) - nice dude. he's working at sap, while the other one is a medicine student and supposed to be nice, too.

even though this place costs a fortune, i think i'll stay here at least a few days and check later what is available on the market. because the good thing is that it is very central and not far from work. well ... shouldn't be the issue at the moment.

rather, i have to use my spare time to discover the city - which is, in fact, a hard hard thing. walking around in this heat, in the middle of the day feels like a contest. and now i know why they start the singapore marathon at 5 in the morning. BOY OH BOY! it's impossible (for me) to stay outside for longer than one hour - whenever i can, i try to catch a airconditioned building (or at least the shade), knowing that the next cold is just a few days away. how do people manage to live under such conditions? all these locals do not sweat at all - while me ... well ... try to imagine it!!



beside that there is a lot to discover and experience in this fascinating place. it's all that great food, WOW! it's shopping malls that won't end. a central business district with impressive architecture. chinatown, little india and the arab quater. singapore sling and tiger beer. all these things will keep me busy for the next days .... rubbish ... MONTH! but read more next time ... for now, it's time for another day in singapore .... man, it's weird to say that!!!