Wah Lau Blog by Maik

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2010-04-24T09:51:00.002+08:00

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Counting up and down for Xmas

2008-12-13T19:07:00.003+08:00

(Something that cannot be seen in Singapore: a chocolate filled Christmas- or Advent Calender)

SANTA IS BACK IN SUPERMARKET

Exactly 1 month ago something changed. A familiar taste of lifestyle was back, at first not fully noticeable, but that blurry moment passed quickly. The music was self-explanatory and the red hats with bells marked the familiar decoration that can only come with Christmas, which usually starts now beginning of November (here in Singapore the wide agreement seems to be that decoration before 8th Nov is not prudent). Santa seems to be in good agreement with the local stores to brand public life around that time now with his distinguishable colors, artifacts and (especially) the ubiquitous Christmas songs.

ABOUT COUNTING UP AND DOWN

This is the third time I actually spend Christmas in this tropical metropolis. There are two particular things I'd like to highlight. Counting down: It is common to do a countdown in pubs even on midnight to Christmas Day (24th to 25th December), a practice that caught me totally by surprise 2 years ago when I shared drinks with a German friend at Chijmes when the croud suddeny got loud shortly before midnight; who would imagine that a venerable, supposedly rather quiet family event gets the people to celebrate it in the same way as New Year's Eve or Chinese New Year? The normal answer: 'Well, Singaporeans like to count down on everything'. Fair enough then.

(Cool? Only because of AirCon. Green? Always! Stating the obvious here..)

The second and much more important 'counting issue' is that the concept of Advent Calenders is unheard of here. While kids all around Germany anxiously open a new door on their Christmas calender each day from 1st to 24th of December to find some piece of yummy chocolate or toy (it supposedly makes the waiting period before opening presents more bearable), most of the Singaporeans I met are not even aware of their existence.

Why is this so? Christmas as an event has conquered Singapore almost fully...if it was economically and scientifically possible the country's leaders would surely try to let it snow a few times to give its people also some taste of White Christmas. But we are limited to hearing 'Rudolph the Rednose Raindeer' all around Orchard Road and enjoy the endless buying spree plus one public holiday on the 25th of December. If every possible economic niche has already been exploited, why then are there no Advent Calenders around to be sold kids?

(A Closeup. Santa's face is number one, the chocolate house next to it was in number 8. The order of numbers on the calendar is random to add some additional fun for kids of all ages. Those basic calendars are rather cheap and can range from 1-2Eur/2-4SG$)

AT THE MELTING POINT

Well, after finally receiving 2 Xmas calendars from my family in Germany via post I found out quickly why it is a hopeless venture to find any in Singapore...Letting a chocolate filled calendar hang on the wall for more than 3 weeks is simply no fun because:

1) the chocolate remains in a constant, but semi-melted physical state, where it is impossible to dig it out of the seperate 'windows' without causing a sweet little mess. No way to retrieve every last nugget of chocolate without forcefully working into the plastic form with the available and (supposedly) clean and hungry fingers

2) Due to 1) it is understood that it is virtually impossible to clean out a window completely from chocolate. What will inevitably happen to the gracefully hanged calendar? An army of well-trained Singaporean ants is going to spot an incredible feast, attacks the new target by quickly laying out a perfect supply chain between calendar-chocolate and wherever-the-nest-may-be. Singaporean ants are of course as efficient as the rest of the country and sniff such a 'free lunch' opportunity (gracefully provided by an ignorant German) in an instant, to be mercilessly exploited.

Especially fact 2) is not really desirable and should be avoided, as the ensuing ant party would spread the word quite quickly within the ant kingdom and the small guests are not likely to wait before the 24th of December to penetrate the door with the same number and the biggest piece of all.

The bitter but for Singaporeans self-explanatory solution? Off you go, to the fridge or freezer. Which takes all the fun away for me who just wanted to have a little piece of childhood back. No big red Santa hanging around in the home giving away a piece of sweetness everyday. What is obvious to the locals, is of course painful to me. Somewhat gone the previous naive feeling of excitement, replaced by one thought: Can it be that I just looked in the wrong places previously? Maybe I should go back to the stores and look in the frozen-food areas of the supermarkets...?

Wishing an enjoyable 3rd Advent!

-Maik

(Xmas Card by your friendly Investment-Banker)

A completely uncritical pledge to my new home

2008-07-10T06:50:00.002+08:00

(The Singapore flag - Red color standing for universal brotherhood and equality of man whereas white signifies pervading and everlasting purity and virtue. The crescent moon represents a young nation on the ascendant. The five stars stand for the nation's ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality. - Shame on me, but when I first saw it in high number during the advent of National Day 2006, I thought there was an 'invasion' of Turkish people in Singapore...no comment)

IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A BETTER WORLD?

"We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation."

This is the pledge every Singaporean knows and (according to what a friend told me a few days ago) is used to perform on every single day during school career. As I am about to move permanently from Munich to go back to the place I grew so fond of, I take the chance to revive this blog, which was always meant to illustrate the small, little anecdotes and facts I found worth mentioning from my Caucasian point of view in this 'Asian Switzerland' (as read on FT recently).

Let me therefore start by dissecting the pledge above a bit and looking at every line from a very subjective German pair of glasses.

(The pictures in this post all belong to one huge, beautiful wall painting which is open to the public at Raffles MRT station; this part depicts nicely how unity is lived in Singapore among different culture groups...Malay in the background, Chinese Singaporeans and an Indian Lady can be seen)

"We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,

It is still very interesting for me to see that a heterogeneous society such as Singapore, where the citizenry has every skin color imaginable, can work out without clashing into some sort of violence. It can be regarded as one (maybe the most) important achievement of this tiny place that it manages to integrate most culture groups and races without producing hatred and racism. My simple guess is that a society that is based on racial variety (such as Singapore or the United States) has to enforce strict rules in law and public culture to enable a spirit of tolerance; in comparison, the mostly homogeneous society of Germany with a lived so-called 'Leitkultur' (leading culture of the majority) of Christian-Caucasian-Western heritage has a hard time integrating a good number of immigrants (for example from Turkey) and struggles finding a way for many years.

to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality

Obviously, Singapore found its very own way of leading its people into at least economic prosperity. Some things such as the defacto rule of the People's Action Party (PAP) and certain aspects such as freedom of assembly (missing) or freedom of the press (well under control) do not match Western understanding of how things 'should' be run and draw regular attention and criticism in the Western press. Certainly, Singapore built a society that is based on justice (one very stable piece of infrastructure that contributes to the steady growth of Singapore) and equality especially across the culture groups and races. Would Germans or other 'Western' societies call it a democracy though? Most likely not, but it can be easily overlooked that in this grown-up, but young society people don't want to be educated by the West to become like them, but instead actively seek their own way to establish 'order, stability and security'...things Singaporeans clearly value much more than living with more 'freedom' to self-express or facing the higher uncertainty of very liberal societies. The classic trade-off between freedom and security has found a different, stable equilibrium in Singapore, I would say.

(clearly this picture depicts the sides of progress, [military] strength and solidarity...all intended pillars of society in Singapore)

One thing I found out by talking to many Singaporeans over the past years is that people in this country often see it rather as the place where they live...without necessarily having the deepest emotional bonding to it. From my perspective there is quite a 'utility view' present towards state and government...'Dear PAP: Give me a good place to live in, a safe environment, my yearly tax payouts then I will not bother you and you can live in peace with me'.

This means in essence that Singaporeans are quite a pragmatic people who expect from their government mostly to 'deliver'. However, if this kind of unspoken arrangement works quite effectively using a 1-party-rule which can provide economic prosperity without the nastiest corruption affairs, why the hell not? 'Never change a running system' is probably what many people think and live...and which gives them no serious reason of ever supporting the opposition which would only add an unstable (unknown?) component/variable to daily life.

so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation."

Singaporeans clearly achieved more prosperity and experienced progress in many ways during the past years. Does this have an effect on happiness though? This is the troublesome part...as we all now, having 'something' finally will only induce happiness itself for a short time and then will leave you back wanting more. As anywhere else, prosperity and progress can provide for a foundation of happiness, but it's up the people to make the best out of it within the framework they live in. It's those same old values of friendship and family...well-placed in a modern society which can round up the package and turn it into something 'whole'...

Thomas Jefferson once said: "The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government." From that perspective, Singapore is doing a good job and I am HAPPY to come back!

Enough of politics today ;)

Cheers,

Maik

(Singapore's MRT....Mass Rapid Transport)

Crazy Hong Kong

2007-12-21T16:54:00.000+08:00

(HelloKitty and the Olympic Games...what could be a better joint venture? The craziness of China's biggest ever event is spreading. So if you don't see a problem in spending a mere 2000€ on the golden kitty above that heralds the Olympic fire in nice fashion..)

ASIA'S WORLD CITY

HongKong branded itself as 'Asia's World City'...designated to strengthen the already good name it has grown into a very powerful financial hub in Asia and found its place in the big world out there. Using the bus to go into Kowloon (which is north of Hong Kong Island, but is itself integral part of this so-called special administrative region in China) I was astonished by the never-ending, quite run-down skyscrapers that were placed into the rugged landscape of Hong Kong merely to house all the people. The better part of Hong Kong's surface is hard to cultivate as it represents hilly and rugged landscape, so one can see big houses all along the way into the city, apparently built everywhere the land was flat enough to allow housing. This keeps me wondering where this enormous city plans to expand into. Also, a few years ago Hong Kong and Shanghai outstripped Singapore as the world's biggest ports, giving it even more clout than it already has. We spent a few days just stretching our legs in this city and in nearby Shenzhen...Let me lose a few words on some things that passed on the way.

(a normal day in busy Kowloon..this jungle of signs is very characteristic and gives Kowloon a very distinct, buzzing outlook. The north of Hong Kong Island in comparison is much more like glitzy Singapore, just with the added spice of being placed into a wonderful, hilly landscape in which you can climb up or even use the famous 'longest outdoor covered escalator in the world' to carry all those tourists up the hill; it is about 800m long with about 130m of vertical climb)

VIP PLEASE

After arrival in our hotel, we were upgraded right away to VIP class without even asking..giving ourselves the splendor of a much better room than in Singapore (who would have thought...supposedly, Hong Kong rooms are smaller most of the times than anything you would get in Singapore) and even wireless Internet (although nothing to use it with). Was this another instance of Ang Moh ('Red hair people' widely used Singaporean expression for caucasians) superiority that can be so often observed in Asia? I do not know, as I did not dare to confront anyone. A good contrast and good start indeed. Next important item on the list is of course the food, whereas Hong Kong has a cuisine that quite differs from what you would get in Singapore. Some things appear outright wrong to me in the first place...such as mixing coffee and tee together with lemon into one drink, or boiling coke with ginger. There are however numerous desserts everywhere in town that have to be tried, as well as such wonderful things as 'hairy crab' (not this time) or a kind of humongous prawns that take some mastery to open and cannot be found in Singapore in most places. My favorite dish became a simple fish soup whereas the noodles where made of fish themselves...therefore the easy name of the dish..'noodles made of fish' :-)

(very important details on the public train...please don't accidentally lose saliva, especially not in a noisy fashion. Also, previously famous things such as Ghetto blasters have also been replaced by phones that are frequently used by very young people to let everyone on the train participate in their music adventures. Of course, everybody MUST like your music and the people who play it loudly always seem to be under the immense illusion that they are the only one's who are listening to it...according to their glassy looks. I am sure this is just a new expression of altruism that I am too stupid to get..)

EXPENSIVE OR CHEAP?

I tried to buy a gadget ...a hand phone that is sold widely in the world, brand SonyEricsson. Not wanting to endeavor in something like a Chinese 'Sang Ericsson' (no joke), I wanted to have something I can even use back in Germany. Hong Kong's prices are competitive, but why oh why does their warranty only apply locally to HongKong and China through their only distributor of choice? This smacks very bitterly and strangely..and gives me reason enough to mention an article that I have read on German news a while ago. Feelings aside, China is very well-versed at copying things and not caring much about copyright infringements. Cases documented earlier that whole factories have been copied by Chinese which produced for example Canon cameras at the same quality as the originals, but were not supported by the original vendor's warranty as they were never licensed to be produced. I don't want to say here right away that most of the products in Hong Kong are counterfeit. Maybe there is even a law that the local dealers have to follow, so not to harm more expensive markets around. Will try to search further..

(here Western and Eastern cultures collide a bit...at least for me. The more China you go, the more the people seem to love food that is as fatty as possible. Ordering some pork stew will give you 3/4 of deep fried fat with some meat as bonus)

WINTER, I ADORE YOU

One very noticeable thing about Hong Kong people: Fashion and outlook. Especially the fancy female population craves to be individualistic, which shows itself in daring hairstyle and actually incompatible clothing combinations (miniskirts, winter coat and flipflops worn on the same person). Summers tend to be very hot and winters only mild. Still, one can perfectly distinguish locals from tourists as the tourists will go around in December wearing t-shirts and shorts, while the locals must feel determined to show off their fancy winter clothes...coats, nice cardigans to snuggle into, branded jackets and so on. This is quite funny to see as there really seem to be two worlds existing side by side and one can easily see people in shortest summer look (dressed according to weather) standing besides arctic-dressed and bundled up people (dressed according to calender) waiting on one traffic light to be shooed over. This is apparently perfectly fine and expected behavior..also in Singapore I see that sometimes young people pack out their cardigans as soon as the temperature drops noticeably below 30 degrees to fight any possibly upcoming goosebumps.

(When we were there, Hong Kong experienced quite a high pollution index of way above 100 , which is already going into the hazardous range. The city was under a thick haze comparable to what Singapore experienced end of 2006 after rain forest burns in Sumatra. Many locals ran around wearing mouth protections and the general taste was not nice...but after taking a ride with a tuktuk through the streets of Bangkok one can take ANY kind pollution!)

Singapore Dreaming Again

2007-12-14T09:08:00.000+08:00

(yes, there was coffee-on-the-house for 2 hours at one afternoon in all Starbucks' coffee houses around the city; the usually rushing crowd suddenly seems to have the time to spend for waiting in a long queue; but wait...don't forget that 'EXTREME QUEUING' is an unofficial national sport)

Faster Faster! More Singapore Sling!

Finally back! Now that is the third hot december I experience in a row in this lovely part of the world. It is nice to get the chance to spend a whole month at the place of choice. This town has me back for a little while and i am amazed by the buzzing development of this tiny Asian corner. What has been going on?

A famous news was to hear that the city will get the chance to host the first and only Formula 1 night race in September 2008. Fancy lighting in a metropolitan area will allow the race to take place without any compromise. Not surprisingly, hotel prices have rocketed around the track and can reach many thousand Singapore Dollars (roughly 2 Singapore Dollars = 1 Euro) per night, while the Singapore government takes the liberty to eat a considerable part of it as a special tax at the same time..

(welcome to the city of elevators and escalators. no way you should ever encounter the need to walk too much. MRT...coming your way!)

The city now really is covered with free wireless lan ('wireless@sg') almost all around the city. This comes together with the announcement to start the rollout of highspeed internet around the city from 2010 on...which will be about 10 times faster than todays fastest available DSL. Of course the rich city is subsidizing this to a good extent (700m SG dollars of a total estimated cost of ~2billion)....after all, here one really can see the advantages of being a small city, which has a lot of cash and lives a metropolitan monopoly in the region.

Also, one huge casino will be built just along the nice view of the Singapore river as the city clearly cannot see all that gambling revenue going away to cities like Macau. At the same time Singapore copies the famous london eye and places a huge skyline-changing ferris wheel (the 'Singapore Flyer') also near the river. Last but not least the proudness of the people here should be noted when the A380 took off for its maiden flight to Sidney this October, bearing the symbols of the national icon of Singapore Airlines. Singapore economy is of course also buzzing as usual (~8-10% growth a year)....so is there a catch in all that beauty?

(the waving cat...brings luck in every biz environment)

FREE LOVE IN EXPENSIVE HOUSES

All the buzzing goes along with a steep increase in anything that has to do with property. Offices space rents increased by 80% only during the year 2007. Private housing also sees steady increase of at least 20% per year...This does of course not entirely apply to state subsidized housing such as HDB (Housing Development Board), but means that living in this city becomes more and more expensive and many locals cannot keep up just like that. The official inflation rates (1.0% for 2007 and 0.4%) are a joke and must be based on a basket of goods from the year 1980, which can be a reason why they not increase. Everything gets more and more expensive and the people generally get very snuffy when that happens (despite contrary announcements by government).

So what do the people do to counteract? They conduct another national sport besides 'extreme queuing', which would be 'Extreme Job-hopping'. Generally, salaries in Singapore seem to increase by more than 10% per year, but this is rarely payed out when you stay with a company. What do the people of course do? Constantly observe the market and own value, then run off to the the next best offer as soon as the current year bonus is paid out. That's understandable human behavior I think, but this makes the local job market for professionals unpredictable and volatile. Companies seem to find it increasingly difficult to establish a continuous and stable environment where their company can flourish. Can this be negative? Singapore experiences quite a remarkable buyer's market regarding labor and some foreign companies might think twice before investing in a place where infrastructure prices are doing quantum leaps every year and your employees can jump off the boat at every second just to not miss another one which runs even faster.

Last thing I want to mention here is that despite a lot of worth-mentioning uproar against section 377 of Singapore's Penal Code, this not-so-shiny part of traditional society has not yet been abandoned. What does it say? 377 states "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" which includes even consensual, private, adult homosexual acts (377A). The penalties are either life imprisonment or imprisonment for up to 10 years with or without a fine. Interestingly enough, 377 itself has been repealed in October 2007, so that now consensual anal and oral sex is not been seen as mere bestiality by law anymore and not treated as such. It has been replaced by a law criminalizing sex with dead bodies, which was apparently not punishable before.

377A however still remains, which means that homosexuality in Singapore still happens outside the law. Facing the modern world, Singapore has announced to not follow through with criminal prosecution in these cases, so the law shall not be actively enforced. However, this still does shine an odd light on this city as the law has apparently be kept due to widespread discontent with its impending abandonment (heard a number of 70% on the news). Therefore, I personally think it's a step in the right direction with respect to public sentiment in this Asian society. This is again typical Kaizen...gradual improvement using small steps. Let's see how this progresses further...

-Maik

(the Singapore dream....your own home in a condo. Just please be prepared to dig dig much deeper in your pockets so you can afford the downpayment...)

Crossroads

2007-11-15T04:50:00.000+08:00

(where should you go?)

Lost in Bavaria's metropolis

Munich's slogan to greet people has apparently recently changed from 'world city with a heart' to 'München mag Dich' (Munich likes you). Does that mean you have to like it back right away? I guess it's like with every relationship: some click right away, some do after a while and with some you just have to realize where your limits are.

One can think what he or she wants...Munich, as beautiful and livable as it is, remains strange to me, even after more than 8 months in this Bavarian island of good food, best beer in the world and unheard-of life quality. Salaries are high here, so comparatively high that whole convoys of cars and weekly commuters travel from their distant homes in the rest of the country (predominantly the East, I guess) to work in Munich for the week and then head back to their homes on the weekend. Indeed, according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the best salaries are paid in Frankfurt, Munich and Wiesbaden (all deep in the West), the worst in Zwickau, Cottbus and Schwerin (all 'famous' East German cities). Even my wider family and countless people in my home village live this odd ritual...leaving family on Sunday night to go on your weekly journey into the golden cities of West Germany, especially Bavaria's capital to earn a decent living.

Let's talk about the weather

Why strange? why odd? It could be that you have to be Bavarian and grow up here to really fall in love with this city. Or do I lack the attitude? Maybe I just don't take the time to look around and see the wonders around, maybe work keeps me too busy. Why did I not fill these pages continuously in the last year? Because the one thing happened that was almost expected and is quite typical to Germans to I guess: Going back home from a long time abroad, it all is so familiar that there does not seem to be much noteworthy. Although there would be...

Life in Germany does to great deal take place behind doors, anyway. Weather makes it impossible to have all-year open restaurants, food stalls etc. on the street, to sit around outside all the night as in Singapore. Germans only have that experience for a few precious months in the year, usually from around June to August, when people seem to suck in life, sun, especially the gorgeous beergardens and the blue sky...everything to make up for freezing months earlier in the year and to prepare for the terrible moments (my personal view of course) when you have to take the big jackets out of the wardrobe and the season of cold feet starts again. Mood generally swings a bit around in October and November when days get shorter and colder and night seems to follow you throughout the whole day the shorter the days get.

The famous German cosiness just cannot have a place outside, but has to be lived inside. Maybe that's also why privacy and the holiness of your own homes are so very sacred here. One has to be protected against the odds out there...

(cold beauty of a different kind)

The Undiscovered Land

What comes next then? After a crazy, almost finished first year of work in a new job, it seems to be finally time to start breathing and to look around in this city of quite homogeneous beauty and attractiveness. This all sounds stupidly melancholic? Welcome to the German soul...no wonder, the word 'Weltschmerz' has been invented here. It describes perfectly the state of mood of many people in autumn and winter, but also lays the foundation to the eventual and (my view) most beautiful time of the year..spring.

So this post was very much only about weather, a topic one could say is not worth intelligent talk. But coming back from Singapore, it showed me that the mere fact of changing seasons and unreliable weather does not only provide for constant source of smalltalk-babble, it is much more: constant complaining about the weather is part of the German soul, mood swings, desires (give me palm trees and a beach and I am happy) and even enough reason to move away.

To answer Wilhelm Busch's famous question whether the educated cannot talk about the weather anymore without any inhibitons?...yes, in Germany they can! Everyone can!

-MS

Time for prescribed FUN! It's Carnival...

2007-02-27T02:39:00.000+08:00

(A very mediocre looking pseudo-Mexican punishing his air-filled-guitar)

CARNIVAL?

I've always been suspicious of Carnival, or any event that tries to produce happiness just by setting a date for it to happen. Fair enough, it works with parties in general and therefore is merely a function of relaxation, present people and mood (possibly certain narcotic beverages as well). But Carnival was a closed book for me and actually still is. But one after another.

Carnial (or 'Fasching') has a long traidion in Germany, but luckily enough it was not contagious enough to spread into every little corner (I could grow up relatively undisturbed in my home village in Saxony). It is most widespread in North Germany and refers to the days before the 'Fastenzeit', a time of fasting and penitence by the church (indeed: the word 'carnelevare' is Italian for 'take away meat', an imperative for catholics to renounce meat for 40 days). It is mostly a catholic fest and celebrated with exuberant parties, processions with decorated wagons that proceed through villages and cities. Carnival usually begins on Nov 11th, 11.11am and ends on Ash Wednesday (this year 21st Feb 07). The Monday and the Weekend before that last day usually feature the biggest parties and processions. My friend Nantha decided to go visit a friend in the small village of Königsbrück (near Dresden), I decided to join him for the weekend and especially a supposedly great party on Sat night. You hear me saying 'supposedly'...

BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

Of course, the weekend had to start with Nantha's luggage getting lost on a ridiculously short flight from Munich to Dresden with FLYDBA (yes! you deserve to be negatively highlighted here!!) Unbelievable..After we had arrived on the airport only 30min before departure and did make it on the plane still on time (puh), we were foolish enough to feel safe. But of course, Nantha's great just-bought-for-110€ Admiral-of-the-sea costume waited patiently in a neat little suitcase that somehow had been forgotten in Munich (as the ONLY piece of luggage on the plane, of course!). Well, blessing in disguise: Nantha's friend Marco could provide him with an even better solution...a fantastic black/white nun costume that just looked gorgeous. Time to move on!

(isn't she/he/it gorgeous?)

On Saturday then we had the 'luck' to board one of the open-top, decorated procession wagons, enjoy free-flow booze (of course just only sipped ;-) and throw kilos of confetti on the grimmest looking grannies that we passed on our way to the market. Of course, the V-belt of our traction engine had snap only after a few minutes, so a dozen weirdly dressed people had to push the heavy thing right to the village market, where we were then surrounded by the wagons which boasted loud thumping techno, folk and pop music. However, the 'Finale' was still to come..

LOOKING FOR BAD PARTY IN SMALL VILLAGE

I guess everyone of us knows the feeling of being at a party where one suddenly realizes that there is total and absolute incompatibility between the humble self and almost all the rest of the present people. I could have hardly felt more displaced than during this night at the official carnival-party in the town hall of the village Königsbrück. Me, who is fond of clubbing in the great venues in Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong, who has had the luck to experience nasty, loud, smelly and pitch black three storey clubs in Jakarta, was suddenly stuck in a surreal German country village party picture without the ability to interface with the people. Weird games, even weirder carnival-committee rituals were only interrupted by the most undancable music that I personally can imagine: Discofox (a social dance that evolved in Europe seventies according to Wikipedia and is widely popular in Germany and Switzerland)! AAAAHHHHH.... Nantha observed the scene as 'interesting', since as a Singaporean, it was the first time he saw something like this in his life and still could take some pleasure in it. But I felt lost, had to give in and admit that I had to get away as soon as possible to remain sane. Of course, it is not fair to even start comparing an Asian metropolis' club with this, but I simply could not stop. And it made me mad.

Isn't it weird that some gatherings of people just disgust us and trigger our instincts to sit alone in the corner or just run away? Guess, that is human nature and I have been away for too long to appreciate something like this (have I ever..?) Luckily enough parties and clubs in Munich are way more international..usually there is less chance of an unfortunate encounter with an evil discofox ;-)

Thanks God this Carnival is OVER!
...
see you next year..

Maik

(The drunk Singaporean nun...a very special custom-made costume ;-))

Back To Life

2007-02-12T17:21:00.000+08:00

(Figure 1: Reality shock, shows the disparity between aimed workload and bitter reality when writing a graduation thesis..everybody who as ever done a thesis should know exactly what I am referring to..)

Why?

Some time in November my diploma thesis opened up in Word 2003. She (of course female) was angry: 'Listen Maik, you want me to evolve in a beautiful way, see me flourish, thrive and prosper? Now, get DOWN AND DO IT!' The problem is (as laid out in Figure 1) there's always less time than work (same as there is always more month than money). And even IF there is enough time to conduct something as a thesis in 6 months, the typical student's brain seems to be conditioned to auto-compensate this overabundance of time by finding ever more elaborate ways to procrastinate. What happens? Acting busy and the unavoidable consequence of riding the angry blue curve above, whatever best intentions one might have had in the beginning (same as in the beginning of every semester anyways..).

Long story short: Made it, sent the final softcopy from Melbourne while I was already on leave, handed the Diplomarbeit in on time (thanks to the kind help Ronny and Sandy, who printed and handed it in for me in Dresden!!) and was awarded with 'Very Good' :-). A good end at last...but that's WHY I did not have the free brain capacity in November and December to produce anything on this page that would have made much sense..

When?

This first period of time in Singapore ended after a fantastic 14 months on Jan 3rd. Thesis finished (at least almost), future job in Munich mainly secured, I headed to a four week vacation in Asia and Oceania to finally touch down on Munich soil at the beginning of February...my new home for probably the next years. This week should see my first day at work and hopefully the signing of a rental contract for my own flat..

Where?

Time passes by more quickly than one can imagine...This is just a short roundup of what happened..There are many things to tell about places such as
- Jakarta (quite Indonesian..clubbing in the craziest, darkest, drug-infested places I have seen in my life, quite before the current devastating flood of course..)
- Krabi and Koh Phi Phi Island (Thailand..Krabi as an authentic Thai village, where one can have fun dancing with the locals and Koh Phi Phi as an outpost of the well-known looking English booze-machos and countless similar-and-sorry-but-boooring-looking blond Finnish girls..'The Beach' with Leo DiCaprio was shot there, by the way..)
- Macau and Hong Kong (where the Winter fashion somewhat seems to be to wear thick coats and flip-flops at the same time in the subway..a colorful combination that left my mouth wide-open when I saw it..)
- Melbourne (Australia, where we found out that there is a crossing between Kangaroos and Wallabies, called a Wallaroo!!)
- New Zealand (where the 2nd most favorite food in the world comes from ;-) See pic at the end!)
- Dubai (United Arab Emirates, where according to some friend's information 70% of all cranes in the world do their work right now...apparently a dubious number spread by the German Infotainment show 'Galilio', but the visual impression came close..)
- Paris (obviously France, where everything is so ridiculously expensive that you wonder how the normal Jacques-Le-Francais can afford his daily breakfast wine-shot..at least I did not suffer from the Paris-Syndrome!)
- Munich (where the public escalators in subway etc. are running at about 50% of Singaporean speed..and the request for spicy Chili sauce in a Burger King is greeted with the most repulsive look one can imagine..)

The blogs name has to change as well, I guess...

Maik

(Chili mussels with cheese crackers and edam cheese, freshly squeezed Feijoa and Orange juice, plus my favorite assorted nuts..could not be happier!)

About living in a picture

2006-10-30T11:29:00.000+08:00

(Rawa island impression...wooden chair, coconuts and ferns...I should just have just stayed there)

WHAT THE... IS GOING ON?

Long time ago in a galaxy far far away there was a blog to be written. It seems like eternity when I last managed to continuously write for a few consecutive weeks. Too many things have been happening simultaneously and successfully kept me away from doing anything but writing emails or blog entries. Mainly, I started to realize that a graduation thesis does not write itself, especially when you are situated in an exciting area like South East-Asia and that it indeed involves plenty of work (I might not be the first one to have this grand and unique realization, nevertheless the treatise haunts me now). Some visa hassles that I will not detail any further needed attention to be resolved, which took away much time and increased my heartbeat. Additionally (and unpreventable of course) the weekends were busy with lots of really exciting trips that I have not yet come down to talk about. Stay tuned for more in the upcoming days :-)

(Where are we? Located at the East Coast of West Malaysia, Rawa island is a tiny piece of land)

TURN THE AIRCON ON!

I am just now writing this from Munich, where I am for Business for a few days. Chrissi was so incredibly kind to let me stay in her flat. Thanks a lot, IOU! Maybe the evenings this week do give me time (what a gentle wish) to process all the photos and experiences. Munich is in deep autumn now...streets are filled with colorful leafs, the air is wonderfully fresh and cold (like somebody switched on the AirCon outside...how great would that be in Singapore? ah..few more years down the road the Asian buzybees will find a solution for the heat. unfortunately, one cannot order the temperature down). And it is a great pleasure to finally get into a pullover and a jacket again and not to transpire heavily after only a 300m quick walk. Naturally, Caucasians are suddenly everywhere (I miss the Asian faces) and I was devastated to find out that I arrived on a Sunday when ALL shops are closed. One cannot even get some bread...

(Rawa island on a Saturday morning...never been to a model island like this, Mom you would have loved it ;-)

RALA? RAVA?

Well, I will shortly go back to a few highlights of the last months. Rawa was certainly one..my new friend and Qimonda-colleague Herbie and me went there for just the typical intern-weekend (means Friday afternoon to Sunday). It is a tiny island located somewhere between the city of Mersing and the bigger island of Tioman. Strangely enough, 99% of Singaporeans would not know Rawa and were questioning my sanity when I told about the upcoming trip then ('Rara? Rala? huh? are you SURE you know where you're going?'). I was close to thinking that it was an 'intern-only' island to be inhabited by semi-poor Germans, Dutch and Englishmen only. Luckily, I was proved otherwise. However, our resort was mainly occupied with a large Singaporean (female, but not our style) Tai Chi common interest group, some couples and elderly people. Yes, very exciting. We had a lot of -fun- with them playing bingo.

(peacocks were everywhere...exercising roof-hopping, giving short screams and running around the beach area. beautiful, colorful creatures...)

The island could only be reached via a ferry and was so small that the accessible beach could be walked from one end to the other in less then 5 minutes. Two hotels (Safari and Club Rawa) exercise perfect price discrimination in that they jointly offer rooms from one end of the price spectrum to the other (although it's still not cheap in Club Rawa, which was supposed to be the budget place). So what to do here? Drink the beer and wine that we had brought with us (too expensive on the island; staff was pretty angry at us after two days of continuously requesting ice cubes ;-)), trying out all the different hammocks that were available; becoming wanna-be experts at pool billiard and of course letting the white sand play with the skin while practicing the sport of extreme idling on the beach.

Some more pictures can be accessed via the the Rawa-Foto-badge on the right side pane. Not an exciting trip, but a fantastic chillout place that could have been taken from the catalogue.

Bummer that this small, very romantic island could hardly offer us any female company to clink the glasses while sunset. It is definitely a place to remember and should be revisited with the romantic partner of choice (sorry Herbie, but it did not quite work out with us ;-))

Maik

(me at Mersing harbor while waiting for the ferry to Rawa)

Anniversary Thoughts

2006-10-02T21:12:00.000+08:00

(am back, yes! graduation thesis and other things eat up plenty of time..future posts will be shorter but more frequent, I hope ;-)) (children's physical education cannot begin early enough...not a niche market in Singapore)

SINGAPORE FLING...

Singapore has seen quite some events during the past weeks of my not-writing. The IMF meeting that took place here a few weeks ago let the world see what can happen in a country where the assembly or procession of 5 or more people in a public area is considered an offence under the so-called Miscellaneous Offences Rules. Some organisations were not let in at all, which made Singapore face a lot of criticism..Sometimes Singaporeans who I tried to ask about their opinion here just decided not to answer at all...maybe that's safer than blabbing out something that could eventually fire back. At least the bright side was that the country flourished in all possible ways to give a nice picture. Little India's Deepavali festival preparations were brought forward because of the event..therefore that part of the city is already now an ocean of lights and colors.

Also, the city is under a thick haze these days, which is due to large-scale rain forest clearings in the close Indonesian island of Sumatra. Reports say that some people are already experiencing small health problems...I only realized the slight smell of smoke after a friend told me today and I had a very deep breath around lunch time ;-) Not so bad...Singapore's still the cleanest spot around in Asia...also, one more reason to sit it a safe AirCon'ed office all day..

(yes, this does exist. Not so often, but to a certain degree tolerated by the officials)

...IS OVER? NOPE

I find it quite remarkable that I have been in Singapore for one year now (except of course all the trips that I did including the one break in Germany). But on paper it does say one year...and I do feel a change happening. I am currently passing the honeymoon time...the initial Singapore fling is over and I feel that I gradually see this place more from the eyes of a resident. This includes that I begin to take formerly odd things for granted and that I have to really convince myself to go to the tourist attractions that I have not yet seen. And then one tries to distinguish from the 'normal' caucasian tourist (which is a nutty and stupid behavior, but it does happen). Even the 8 months that I spent studying and travelling in New Zealand in 2003/04 look like a distant tourist trip in comparison to how I feel adjusted to this city now. I start thinking that one has to go beyond a certain threshold of time to feel this...a growing intuition to know a place but never being able to really be part of it.

Do I want to stay here? Maybe...as time passes, the growing social net of friends and colleagues makes it more and more difficult to finally turn away...China and especially Beijing do still look very appealing for my first real employment next year, but have I really seen all of Singapore? Or have settled down and got infected by the standard sickness of not exploring the place where you live but always travel somewhere else?

(A chinese shrine just outside an open clothes shop...goods to be offered to the gods)

THE SMALL THINGS...

These days two friends from Germany (Ronny and his girlfriend Nicole) are visiting me here...and just by realising how they see Singapore for the first time do I understand how I got accustomed to so many details. The eternal fight to find cabs at rush hour, the crazy mugginess and heat every day, the hot spices and chili that I don't care about anymore, the Mandarin chitchat everwhere that is so funny and enlightning, the incomprehensible bus system that stands out in crass difference to the flashy MRT trains, the latest bluetooth headsets Ipods slimphones pdas that everyone seems to have, the nature of singapore as being one big wifi city hotspot, the crazily overprized starbucks-cafés that became my second home, the endless range of gleaming flashy shopping malls, the street cafes and hawker centres that are overcrowded almost the whole day, the cleanliness and rule-obedience that easily meets German standards (if this is now good or bad..), the escalators that can be found everywhere even in dance clubs, the big German limousines that one can see on the highway just next to a load of Indian workers who sit on a truck's loading space, the always slim Asians despite a diet that sees so much unhealthy fried food, the friendly looks of some people who automatically think one has to be important to live and work here as a Caucasian...

to be continued ;-)

Maik

(Singapore...land of escalators, pic taken in a MRT station)

Fine Feathers and Tibetan skin boiler

2006-09-04T22:55:00.000+08:00

(no, I will not abandon this blog...no worries :-) my recent -and only recent- infrequency here merely marks my growing understanding of truly busying Singaporeans..do I turn into one?)(a very late Football world cup addon: two originals...one from Bangkok, bought by my friend Christoph for the incredible amount of 5 Eur and the one from Germany, where you can add another 55 there *sigh*. There are slight differences recognisable though...but one can see that they spent some effort on making it look right...but to differentiate enough to prevent ANY copyright discussions, of course..)

FINE FEATHERS MAKE FINE BIRDS

I feel quite blessed to work in the IT department of my company. It enables me to show up in a very casual look most of the times...which means t-shirts (mostly Infineon or Qimonda-branded of course) and Jeans. Only yesterday I decided to wear my best combination again...finest Bangkok custom made trousers and shirt with cuff-links to impress some HR Ladies I was supposed to meet for lunch :-)

(what a nice way to hang out during the day...just take an armchair, place it somewhere in the landscape and enjoy slow Malaysian lifestyle; Pictures in this post are still mostly impressions from Malacca, MY)

Well, my tired brain already noticed a change in the morning when I was on my way to office (tired because with shirt one has to leave a bit earlier than normal...arriving only at 9 in office would mean to show considerable sweat marks because of the omnipresent heat). People suddenly look different and even longer than normal and I can almost see the question in their eyes 'What position might he have?'.

Entering the MRT at 8.15 in the morning is like being among Managers only..all men are in nice shirts and trousers...90% of the women still have wet hair from their morning showers and keep checking themselves so eagerly as if this was the first day in a new job. It was only in Singapore that I became aware of how wonderful and sexy Business look can be. Fierce competition indeed produces incredible outcome. (ok, but this is still nothing against a typical Singapore mall on Sat afternoon, some of which often act as public stage and catwalk at the same time).

(well...I am sure something would definitely come up on a brainstorming about what a HOT BLAST therapy might be..I definitely do NOT know..)

It was crazier in the evening when I decided to have a little walk after work to a food stall, still in my finest combination. I have not felt so scrutinised in a long while (ok, it is flattering..but considering my real position as a student and intern it is ridiculous at the same time). This amplifies and suddenly I catch myself walking down a pedestrian crossing in a played statesmenlike stride just to see what happens. And yes, women's looks are suddenly like glue and I wonder how more superficial this can ever be...it felt simultaniously hilarious and sad..

INHALING THE EXPERIENCE

Still back in Malacca (Malaysia) about two weeks ago I decided to go for a foot massage on one evening (I do have knee problems while running since then..maybe it was not soo conducive after all). It was already 8.30pm that night and I caught the 40ish year old Chinese heritage guy just leaving the place. Good Business man as he was, he quickly decided to reopen and ushered me in.

(a signboard found inside a foot massage place -YES, only foot massage-; the left and right character means 'careful', the upper and lower 'cheater'...so it says: 'BE CAREFUL, CHEATER'!..The owner told that once a nicely dressed Arabic guy came in to book massages for 6 wealthy customers who where waiting down the street. They wanted to go for dinner first though and could not pay because the restaurant would not accept any credit card. So the owner 'borrowed' him 100 Ringit..about 20Eur and the guy never came back..)

The place had enough space to serve 5-6 customer simultaniously, but I was the only one then. It felt a bit weird in the beginning but I decided to follow my still positive belly sensor. He did not even want me to clean my feet before (was he into smelly odour?), but I insisted. It was still a relaxing thing...and the fact that he was a guy and only doing a foot massage minimised the danger of inappropriate offers (minimise, but not avoid..I have to add. Of course, he wanted me -as a fine and of course happy customer- to come back the next day and receive a special full massage skillfully conducted by one of his female associates).

A special add-on for the massage provided my final approval on using a miraculous, green tibetan powder on my feet and legs. He was so excited about it that I finally had to try..However, I was not so sure if they were from Tibet though..for a price of approx 2 Euro this could still be, but I guess that's just what I paid for the little Placebo. What it finally caused was to heat up my skin after he wrapped my feet and legs in seperate towels...felt like my outer skin was boiling and made me wonder whether there would be any skin left below my knee to massage the next day.

(We are in Muslim Malaysia after all...prayer rooms can be found in many places. Please mind that there is strict gender seperation)

Finally, I really had to insist on my NO (with an easy heart) regarding his repeated offer to provide me with pure oxygen during the foot massage..I already had to bite on my lips when he tried to persuade me by telling about Michael Jackson's habit of sleeping with pure oxygen all the time (yes, this guy is indeed a positive example!). But I could not believe my eyes when I turned around in my seat and looked at what he pointed with his finger so encouragingly: a McGyver like 1.8m high gas cylinder...badly overpainted with beige color and saying in thick, blue handwriting 'O2, REAL PURE OXYGENE'. Would ANY sane person put on the oxygen mask that leads to this tank? Good Lord, I wonder whether I would have discovered a black/yellow skull, if I only had scratched a bit on the bottle where the paint looked extra thick...

Funniest thing though was that he always claimed that his BOSS was watching all the time (via numerous cameras in the room...which I thought were all fake). That was probably to make his customers feel safer, but even more to give himself a good excuse why he could not do any price negotiations himself. After my request to see his boss he only replied that he was very shy and did not want to see customers tonight...haha...I limped home then with my pulsing, boiled legs.

Maik

(the door to a tiny tatoo studio in Jonker Street, Malacca)

Malaysia vs. Singapore

2006-08-24T20:02:00.002+08:00

My blog has moved.

lease access this post from here:

http://www.maikschroeer.de/bl/?p=45

Cheers!!

Where are all the Nationalist Turks?

2006-08-18T17:34:00.000+08:00

Well, a few days have past since my last post. I am honest: mood was in the way. That's it. No white lies anymore..

(When I really noticed this flag for the first time a few months ago, I thought that the family owning it must have been a Turkish one. Big mistake..It was only a few weeks ago that the amount of flags suddenly mushroomed in town and I started to wonder where all those Turkish people came from all at once ;-))

Turkish Invasion

Singapore's most important day passed just 9 days ago..on August 9th this small young country became 41 years old. Not an incredibly long time that has passed since the independence from Malaysia in 1965, but quite a considerable and visible change that this place must have gone through in the meantime..(for example a street called Beach Road, which used to be located somewhere close to the water according to what I heard...but now is quite in town..all due to massive landscaping since then..). I wonder what it must have been like to walk around Raffles Place or Orchard Road in the 60s..(did they even exist then? Or are they just an invention by the tourist board to please mall and glitter-hungry tourists/locals?)

(as one can see, Singapore does not have a problem showing the national colors. The density and completeness on outside walls increased considerably the closer one gets to the National Day and the nearer to the National Stadium, where the big parade was held..)

Shops in town filled with red 'Singapore' shirts and I was told that on National Day most schools let their students show up in red shirts to respect the importance of the day. Also, the streets were marked by big election-like billboards announcing the NDP..which (as as German) I always but only for one second mistook as an ad for the German Far Right National Democratic Party (which definitely does not deserve any further commentary due to the mere stupidity and backwardness of their neonazi-agenda). According to firsthand information, I was not the only German who had to face this little psycho-effect. We are apparently pretty conditioned in this respect and that is also the reason why I always associated something ugly with the billboards. It is something one cannot influence..like upmarket shops that influence the mood and stay time of customer with special music and smells. And by the way, NDP of course stands for National Day Parade.

(Laksa...the wonderful dinner I had while watching a few minutes of the parade on Wednesday evening. This particular Laksa has been consumed by me in Katong in the supposedly oldest and most genuine Laksa stall in town. Thanks for showing me, Mabelline! The coconut-sauce is extra-thick and the meal is served with a Chinese spoon only..the noodes are cut in such a way that there is no need for chopsticks. Also, the color is brighter than the EastCoast Laksa, since it is not 'preloaded' with lots of Chili...absolutely YUMMY and certainly remains my favorite dish here in Singapore!)

The biggest and most important event on that day was a parade that took place in the National Stadium. Unfortunately, I only lerned about its existence when all tickets were already given away, so I could not even attempt to find a way in there (would have been odd anyway for an Ang Mo to be inside, I guess.). The ticket issueing process was basically a lottery with not much chance to get in except you're lucky or have the right connections, of course. The usual Singaporean is used to watch it on TV at home anyway.

The event itself (I had a glimpse at a few minutes while I ate my Laksa at a street stall) felt like a proud combination of the presentation of all army branches in finest service dress (plus a multitude of tanks, etc..) and the opening of the Football World Cup. Colorful lightshows and the presentation of Very Important VIPs were accompanied by a uniform mass of red-clothed spectators at the grandstands who fervently waved flags and pennants and even had the flag painted on the cheeks (as I said, like World Cup)..I found the effort taken quite impressive, but I still cannot understand why there is no way to let this parade use the streets of Singapore.

Fortunately enough, this has been a public holiday as well. :-)

Maik

(The picture above is somewhat a probable sneak preview to my next post..I will head off to Malacca in Malaysia for a few days which is a centre of rich peranakan-culture. What you see on the left is a typical Nyonya (= peranakan expression for female) Baju Kebaya dress, which actually gave inspiration to the current uniforms of the Always-Pretty-Always-Smiling Singapore Airlines cabin crew)

Plans For The Future

2006-08-05T00:42:00.000+08:00

(Finally, Ronald McD offers a new and yummy Mc Cockroach…to be fair, I have to add that this is not a familiar sight in Singapore McDs though. And no, I will not the reveal the location of the branch..no need to ruin the lives of the employees yet…as long as my ‘Oreo McFlurry’ is still of tolerable quality and does not come with insect leg flavor)

WHERE ARE THE BABIES?

Just a few weeks ago, I attended a friend’s housewarming party. He and his girlfriend had recently moved in to a new apartment, a so-called HDB flat, which stands for Housing Development Board. These are usually flats in apartment blocks, provided by the state which are then sold or rented. As opposed to the more sought after Condominium apartments, they don’t come with any facilities, like gym or pool. ‘Government provided’ does not necessarily mean here that they are of bad quality though...it is not synonymous for poor people's housing. The standard ranges from low standard to Condo-like apartments..it is just a matter of price which can reach mind-blowing ranges (they ususally start at about 300.000SGD)

It is widely popular here in Singapore to buy apartments right away and not rent them. However, young people are only allowed to purchase an HDB flat if they are married. As a single this permission to purchase is dependent on the age..one has to be at least 35 years old. I guess this rule is to some extend an example of basic government family planning, which from my point of view fails quite miserably. The current total fertility rate in this country is tremendously low with about 1.05 children born / woman (in 2005), which is even lower than Germany with its current 1.38.

COLLATERAL DAMAGE OF MODERN LIFESTYLE

Apparently, this is an attribute of a society where the usual 'carrot and stick'-approach (as mentioned in the last post with regard to the army) does not quite work. The Singapore government introduced tax reliefs and for example a range of educational subsidies, but as one can see with only little effect. A female friend told me that the working environment in Singapore is still not quite family-friendy. Maternity leave is very limited (if accepted at all) and most companies seem to have a 'Gentlemen's agreement' to sustain a highly inflexible working environment (no way for different working hours).

Then there's the yuppy concept, which of course lets young people pursue their personal goals (including career) first...usually kids come last here and to be honest..I am not even remotely an exception, since it is exactly the same case in Germany. Last but not least, it is also a contributing factor that single mothers are not entitled to the same tax incentives as married couples and still scorned upon by many..a social stigma as my Singaporean friend put it.

(Dengue fever [or breakbone fever, dandy fever] is a disease caused by a virus carried by a certain kind of mosquitoes. Symptoms are mainly joint pain, stiffness, pain behind the eyes and a characteristic rash. Patients also should be isolated in the first three days, when the mosquitoes can pick up the disease from them. Usually, it can be ‘only’ lethal to young, elderly and sick people. Mosquito prevention measures are widespread in

Singapore

, mainly focusing on the removal of any stagnant water. Well, most ‘stagnant water’ in this concrete town stems from condensation puddles of the beer glass in your hand..and I did not get one mosquito bite in my whole time in

Singapore

….just for the record...)

Ok, I can guess it is an eternal truth that the wealthier a nation and the more business and career-focused its citizens are, the less children there are around (‘because there’s never the right time for children anyway’). However, my friend told me that many Singaporeans don’t know if there will be a bright future in their country. Some fear that the low number of children, the non-existence of raw materials and the uprising of China / India etc. will eventually put an end on Singapore’s economic thriving. Personally, I am more concerned about the political side…especially what is going to happen after Singapore's holy mentor Lee Kuan Yew (currently 83 years old) will eventually not be here anymore and somebody else will have to take the helm and use the admittedly very concentrated power in an equally informed and hopefully sane way. Good luck on your further way, Singapore!

LONG-TERM STRATEGY

One thing that strikes me most about buying any apartment in Singapore is the fact that most of the time one does not really BUY it, in the sense of obtaining in exchange for payment. Basically, when one ‘buys’ a flat, it actually means the purchase of the right to use it for the next 99 years (there are also contracts available that go for lower amounts of years, but it is usually ‘Double 9’ for apartments). When this near-century is over, the place will go back to the state automatically and one has the right to rebuy it.

The starting point of thinking here is, that the state in fact ‘owns’ the whole country and therefore all premises. Space is very limited here on these 683sq km (Denmark for example is about 60 times its size), which was the main reason for the decision to remain in control. The state then decides (depending on region and importance) if an apartment / house can be rented for 99 years (‘double 9’), 999 years (‘triple 9’), or if one can even purchase a ‘free-hold’ license, which never expires. Of course, the prices differ from scheme to scheme. If a flat costs you 400.000 Singapore Dollars (~200.000Euros) for the 99 years, it will easily go into a high 7 digit value for 999 years.

Even 'free-hold' does not automatically mean that you can build your own castle including trench and live totally on your own. If the state thinks that a new highway has to be built right through your living room they have the right to take it back (of course compensated).

(A styled-up car with an impressive rear spoiler that is surely of very good use for the sprint to the next traffic light)

I don’t think I would feel very comfortable, knowing that I am actually gratefully allowed to use the place for a long, but limited period. This might come from my German point of view that property rights and the ‘holiness’ of the own home should be secured in a basic law. Although I can absolutely not imagine to buy an apartment or house (feels like dropping the anchor, or should I say putting on shackles?) I would not want to miss the feeling to really OWN my place…usually, when Germans build a house they build it for eternity, hoping that their children would take it over years later. I think this is just different here, with the common acceptance that the state is the only big real estate manager.

THINKING AHEAD

Hmm.. I don’t know when the scheme was introduced in the first place. The generation that bought the apartments will most probably not be on this earth anymore. Will this lead to a clash between their descendants and the state? After all, one could get the impression that this is just another way to collect a death duty, whose introduction would be unthinkable in a still family oriented society as Singapore's...

I just guess that some 50 years down the road there will be a massive and steady new inflow of cash into the treasurer’s casket as this source of income finally opens up. I call this insidious future planning on the true assumption that people in these fast-paced times just are not able to think even years ahead in the future, let alone a century.

Maik

(Auntie sells home made Hakka food on the streets..The social system in

Singapore

does not really provide the elderly for any stable flow of income from the state (edit: wrong, see end of post), so one will see many working around the city..selling small things or working in street stalls)

Edit (2006-08-08): I was wrong with last picture's capture: According to Mabelline (thx!) each Singaporean aged 60 years+ is entitled to receive money from the Central Provident Fund, a comprehensive social security savings plan for citizens.

How to effectively prevent household mishaps

2006-07-29T15:15:00.000+08:00

(This Wednesday, the so-called Chinese ghost month started...a traditional Chinese festival that is usually celebrated on the first and the last nights of the 7th lunar months. The offerings that can be seen on the picture as well as the burnt 'hell money' are supposed to help pleasing the ghosts and spirits that come out of the lower world to visit earth that very day...)

DO YOU BELIEVE?

Last week, I met the owner of the condo apartment I currently live in for the first time. He moved to Shanghai only recently to join his girfriend there and just rented out the place to my flatmate and me. I was already told earlier that some of the items in the apartment are basically off limits and should not be touched, let alone moved. Hmm...why, you ask? They are at the same time carefully placed items according to Feng Shui laws, which I already outlined to some degree at the last post. At least I'd like to portray the more visibile results of the 800$ worth consultation that has been conducted by a local Singaporean Feng Shui Master in my apartment.

Well, I do not quite believe in superstition and directing the flow of chi with coins, bricks, flutes, vases and plants is really not the first thing that would come up my mind while moving into a new place. However, I generally try to understand motivations for certain actions here in Asia and although many people shake their heads when they hear about Feng Shui, it is apparently still an integral part of a good number of building projects not only in China, but also in Singapore. The application of Feng Shui (which means the careful placing of artifacts and application of certain 'rules' regarding the architecture and the alignment of buildings) follows more of a practical wisdom: If I cannot be absolutely sure that it is total nonsense, why don't I just pay the little money and arrange a few things in my flat in a certain way and thereby eliminate the residual risk and enjoy a good night sleep?

INFLOW OR OUTFLOW?

Unfortunately, the depicted door above is not a very supportive one for the successful and healthy wallet development. Actually, one should stay away from this one, because as a 'TIGER'-door it lets money flow out of the flat. How lucky the family must be just opposite our flat, since their 'DRAGON'-door enables them to collect just the money that flows out of our apartment. How to differentiate? It is dependent on the way the door opens from the outside. If it does to the left, you are facing the purring felidae. Luckily, the Feng Shui Master found a countermeasure by suggesting to place a red brick in a box just behind the door (within the red marked circle). Good. I am not sure what a superstitious insurance would have said if we missed out on placing that brick and were subsequently robbed ("So sorry Sir...but isn't it obvious that your little Tiger has been toasted by a greedy Dragon...?")

THE EVIL KITCHEN

According to Feng Shui, every apartment is divided into 9 equally sized squares and each of them does stand for a different meaning. The Feng Shui Master would have been really horrified by my uninformed decision to place the fruits I bought just at the marked corner next to the sink. Why? The architect of the flat must have a had pretty bad taste of placing the kitchen in square 5, which is the one to avoid, because it means bad luck. The Master apparently even had some kind of gauge which enabled him to easily identify not the cause (it is unpreventable) but the centre of the evil kitchen spirit. Of course, the place where I used to store my fruits happened to be the very spot that radiates the most bad luck and should therefore not be used for anything (except for some countermeasure of course...some small vase filled with grains I could not identify...not to be seen on the pic)

A HOME FOR MY WALLET

Where there's darkness, there also has to be some light. So despite the actual fate of coping with a TIGER-door and an evil kitchen, there is still hope, especially to be found in the Wealth-spot just between window and TV. Some Chinese are quite superstitious with numbers and even pay horrendous amounts of money to purchase mobile phone numbers that contain as money 6s and 8s as possible (the literally deadliest choice would be 4, since the chinese expression 'si' for four resembles the word for death). So there is no wonder that there are exactly 6 flowers with 8 leafs on the upper level, which is also placed exactly 68 inches above the ground. The flowers have therefore no specific meaning, they just stand for luck. The ship below is directed to the inside of the apartment; it carries wealth back from the sea into the home port (and is therefore very welcome). Why not place the ship on top? No clue...one might have to ask the Master. I wonder if it helps to place the piggy bank on the glass table just below..

WATCH OUT!

According to the Feng Shui Master, the placement of AirCons just above doorways all over the aparment is a complete failure. Everytime one walks through, one has to expect that the own soul is sucked directly into the device. Atrocious imagination, but at least my soul won't have to sweat in hell then..:-) It is also quite relieving that one can remedy this threat easily by placing a specially blessed coin inside the Aircon. If all things in life were just that easy..

DON'T LET THEM SLICE YOU UP

The picture above partly shows the not-so-pretty view from my master bedroom. Just try to guess for a minute what the attached stripes could be there for before reading on..
Well, one can see that other building's corner apparently points directly into my room. The obvious effect is that it slices me up, splits me in two parts which of course cannot be too healthy...When and how this could happen I don't know, but the remedy is already in place and therefore guarantees my undisturbed good night sleep. The three stripes do not stand for 'san' (which means the number 3 in Mandarin), but are a Chinese symbol for wood. Hence, both my windows have been fortified with thick wood and block the vicious corner that tries to find it's way into my home and castle. No chance! I just forgot to ask what would happen if I opened the windows...do I have to wear a helmet?

Ok..enough with Feng Shui for time being. I will try and see if it has some effect on me on one way or another. But how could I know anyway? I have no way to compare..maybe it does at least limit household accidents, but then it is a very bad sign that the kitchen had to reveal its evil nature...

A confused Maik

(Please note that it is not allowed to carry any Durians on the MRT-Trains, but there is no fine for doing so..Isn't that weird? Looks like the Singaporean officials have to conduct some Realpolitik here. And last but not least: Think twice before letting yourself being seen peeing in a lake. The fine may involve 5000$ (~2500Eur), as well as 1 year of prison and 3 canings)

Edit (06.08.2006): The fine for peeing in a lake is not just 5.000$ but 10.000$. And no, I did not commit it to find out ;-)

With a carrot and a stick

2006-07-20T18:58:00.000+08:00

(Chili-Crab...one of the most delicious and very Singaporean dishes...hmmm...)

WELCOME AGAIN TO THE ARMY!

Every male Singaporean has to do either military or police service or join the civil defense for 2 years soon after becoming 18 years old. The difference in the drawing-in process is profound compared with the so-called compulsory military service in Germany. Equality is not a big word anymore in my home country, where less then one third of all young men have to face any service because of the army downsizing in the past decade. It is simply not fair when some young men ‘accidentally’ are being drawn in to the army and therefore have a disadvantage compared to those who are lucky enough not to face any service, because there are simply not enough positions.

(What you see here is the Infineon / Qimonda Asia Pacific headquarter in Singapore..I like this stylish building, whose 2 wings are connected via sky bridges..also for the reason that its design has partly been based on some simple Feng Shui rules, that I will outline further down. Feng Shui (which literally translates 'Wind Water') follows ancient Chinese rules and teachings about the correct placement of artifacts in space. To be sure many houses and buildings are constructed according to Feng Shui rules even in Singapore...)

ABOUT SLIM SINGAPOREANS

Well, at least this kind of justice is still present in Singapore, but another regulation marks an interesting difference. Every man is automatically part of the reserve after he leaves and therefore faces the obligation to join the forces for up to 40 total days in a year. My current flatmate, who has done his service with the Singaporean police, had to show up for a shooting exercise just yesterday while he happened to be in S’pore as part of his job with Singapore Airlines.

I was wondering whether this practice meant any danger for the current job, but apparently the Singaporean state fully compensates the respective company with the full salary of the person in question, no matter what enormously paid position he currently has. Understandably, this can be extremely expensive and leads to one simple equation: The better you are paid and the higher your position in your company, the fewer amounts of days you eventually will have to serve a year. This is just a nice, unofficial incentive for the many career-oriented Singaporeans to move up the career ladder even more quickly. Yeahh…

(picture taken from one of the sky bridges of the Infineon headquarter building. The little artificial hill that you can see is supposed to be a mountain...it even smokes from time to time, but this is only design and no function :-) According to Feng Shui, buildings have to be built in a way that ghosts and spirits who live in the mountain and want to reach the sea have to be able to do so without being obstructed by some artifact. If the spirits happen to bump into a building with living beings, this is believed not to be very beneficial to their genereal health...:-)

CARROT AND A STICK

Well, even more interesting is the fact that every man has to undergo a physical fitness test every single year up to an age of 40. If you don’t pass the test right away (which involves for example running the 2.4 km in 14 minutes for a 36 year old man) you will have to take part in 6 weeks of training with two 4 hour-sessions a week to MAKE you pass. Nobody really wants to spend 4 hours after a long working day doing exercises and then again 4 hours during the precious weekend for this.

(a look at the other end of the building. What you see is the water...for a reason that I don't quite understand the evil spirits always seem to be keen travel straight to the water. To support the intention and to win several design awards the building was designed in a way that allowed the spirits to travel from the artificial mountain through the wings to the artificial water. The only thing missing now are artificial evil spirits...where would we get those from...IKEA?)

On the other hand, one can earn from $100 (ca. 50€) to $400 for outstanding performance and is therefore rewarded. For the above example, $400 would mean to run the 2.4km in less then 10.45Min., to do at least 31 sit-ups, 6 chin-ups, do a 4x10m shuttle run in not more than 10.7s and a standing broad jump of more than 215cm. Now, is this one of the main reasons why the number of obese, male Singaporeans is so low? It is striking to see how slim the people here are in general..or is this just another outcome of the ever-prevalent peer pressure and fast lifestyle that penetrates all parts of daily life? I would like to know, how much this system of punishment and reward influences the personal decision of living a healthier life…

(Malaysian Coffee, called Kopi and some hot/cold dessert with soybean skin, barley and gingko nuts. The Kopi tastes way different from Starbucks coffee or any Americano..It is made by running water several times trough something that resembles a sock, but is filled with coffee powder. The final resulting liquid tastes of very fine coffee powder and will be blended with that kind of thick, sugared condense milk that so much reminds me of my childhood...my granny always used to get this for me from the Czech Republic and I feasted on it until nausea..)

Why is something like this not possible in Germany? I mean, not necessarily as part of a follow up to military training, but as a general incentive to live a healthier and therefore at little better life? Government and health insurances could jointly conduct a scheme to pay a certain amount of money for good sportive performance in an optional yearly test (Germans would go nuts if there would be a requirement for this…doesn’t go so well with Bratwursts and beerbellies) This might result in a more motivated society and drive down the costs for the ever-complaining health insurances…huh, am I dreaming here?

And, above all, with some monetary incentive Germany would within no time have the fittest students in the world ;-)

Maik

I never liked Pizza. Really.

2006-07-11T19:41:00.001+08:00

(Pictures say more than words. Please try to derive which team I was cheering for on Monday morning...mon dieu...First picture shows a Singaporean French (or was it French Singaporean? I think that night, she wasn't really sure herself. Unfortunately she rejected my offer for a jersey swap..Second pic shows the Lady who provided my face painting in the tricolore)

PARTY OVER?

Well, Germany lost against the Mafia (sorry, but I'm still cranky), my favorite French team lost against them as well ('MON DIEU'), Klinsmann decides to head back to California (high praise for him to decide against a whole people just like that)....if it wasn't for the fabulous victory against Portugal, it would have been really depressing right now. My voice is still throaty from all the 'ALLEZ LES BLEUS' screams Monday morning (the match went live here from 2am-4.30am). How nice it was to 'celebrate' with all the French at Chijmes that night..

So what are we doing now? Falling in a Football deprivation depression? Do we really have to switch over to the Tour de France? Naaah. It's only 2 years to the European Championship. In the meantime, we can rediscover Football a la Zizou. You know, whatever HE does MUST be cool and have a reason. I like the way a journalist interpreted the incident in the way that Zidane probably planned this all time long to escape his godlike appreciation after the World Cup...so he can live as a normal person. Yes. Sure...

Find out here and become Anti-Champion as well (thx for the link, Sandy!!)

(We are in a Chinese supermarket. What is different for example on the checkout counter? Well, look closer to find out what is sold here as a lastminute good...no...no sweets for kids, it's more or less for pleasing adults. Yes, right. They sell condoms, lubricants and other helpful utilities just next to the checkout for the rushing customer. Gosh, how often I forgot to put them in my trolley. But thanks to this procedure it will luckily never have to happen again...)

UNIQUELY SINGAPORE

It is nice to be back in this lively, clean and small city state close to the equator. Of course, considering the (I confess unexpected) success of the German team, I would have loved to stay longer and inhale the wonderful atmosphere in Munich. It was not difficult to realise soon that even here, in this remote corner of the world, my home country has made quite an impression. Although the matches were broadcast at the most unconvenient time possible (always around 3am...one basically loses a whole night of sleep, if you don't go to bed at 9, which I can't), some Singaporeans jumped over their shadow and swapped their Business clothes with Football jerseys.

I heard that Singapore even has its own Football League (the S League, S=S'pore). I will not start talking about their performance, since I have no clue and never heard or read ANYTHING about Football in this city. However, 100% of the locals I asked describe their style as 'miserable', which speaks for itself. I'll put it that way: There's probably quite some room for development.

(Asians love to eat chicken! That is one fact. By the way, Singaporeans generally don't seem to like the big chunks of meat like Westerners, but more the thighs and small pieces. That way we will never collide and there's one reason less for war ;-) Well, since chicken meat is widely considered healthy, this company 'New World' here sells a product which supposedly provides you with the best essence of chicken. Whatever that is. It's not meat, but a concentrated liquid that somehow resembles chicken soup..a cocktail of predigested protein, that's already disassembled into amino-acids, I was told. Sounds yummy? It seems to be one of the many 'miracle makers' one can buy here to better the health. No, I did not try it and I have no intention to ;-))

Unbelievable also, how many 'Deutschland'-jerseys, hats and t-shirts could be seen on the days around our matches. And isn't it good for the German soul when my Malaysian friend Yong sends me an sms that reads 'Wow! What a game! Germany above all! So glad you guys won!' Go, go, Germany! Head forward! See you in 2008!

(Another example of the already mentioned 'miracle makers'. According to an article I read, these probiotic drinks (like Yakult or Nestles LC1 in Germany) only have a measurable effect if the digestive system...let's put it mildly...is really not working properly anymore. However, Singaporeans never ever even think about changing their diet. "Let's mix some Chicken Essence and Vitagen instead and pour it over the steak, lah" ;-) Well, at least the advertiser admits that the beautiful healty-looking Lady is a 'MediaCorp Artist'. We all know what THAT means...)

This might after all be the last Football post for a while. The jersey will be carefully washed (why on earth does the original cost 50% more in Germany than in Singapore?) and put away until the next big patriotic occasion comes up. Shame on Adidas who rip off the Germans so badly. Ok, it works. I bought it. But this was the last time. Really. Really...

Maik

Bangkok Football Nights

2006-07-03T00:36:00.000+08:00

(Important rule: ALWAYS talk nice about the Thai Royal Family. It is not just deeply insulting to talk in a bad way about their Monarchs, but it can also mean a direct way into prison. Thai people take their monarchy very seriously. Also, people usually kiss (KISS!) banknotes that accidentaly touched the ground, since all of them depict the Royals...)

YOU NO GO

The relationship between foreigners (especially people from Western countries) and Thai females is often subject to discussion...

It is Sunday afternoon. I am already at Bangkok airport to catch my flight with Tiger Airways to Singapore, approaching the security check right before my gate. Two female Thai securities are waiting on my side of the barrier, already smiling at me as I walk down the alley towards them.

Me: ‘Hello!’
Thai female security: ‘Hello Sir! How are you?’
Me: ‘I’m very fine, khorb koon kab (-Thanks-)! And you?’
Thai (brighter smile): ‘Very good! You like Bangkok? Come back soon?’
Me: ‘Sure! Your country is very beautiful.’
Thai: ‘What you like about Thailand? You also like Thai Ladies? Very beautiful?’

(Please keep in mind here that there are two guards with guns standing not too far away. It takes me a second to comprehend…big smile and look directed at me, her colleague starts to giggle while concealing her mouth with her right hand)

Me: ‘Well, you’re right! Thai Ladies are really nice! Very good-looking!’
Thai female security: ‘Have nice body, nice face, right? You have Thai girlfriend?’

(Very direct...hm.I take off my belt and German army boots and put them on the conveyer belt together with my backpack and cell phone. The Lady stops my backpack before it reaches the scanner and pushes it back to me. Her look is serious now, no smile. I ignore the last question for the time being.)

Thai (suddenly): ‘YOU NO GO!’
Me: ‘Pardon?’

(I am a tad confused. Usually, Thai Ladies ALWAYS smile during a conversation. Did they think they found a bomb in my boots? Bummer. )

Thai (still serious): ‘You like Thai Lady. You no go! You must stay! No go to Singapore’

(The three also female securities on the other side of the security gate look at me as if I am a crook, apparently not understanding what’s going on. I smile at the surreal scene, delighted to have this VERY typical conversation at a high security checkpoint at the airport with about 10 people behind me.)

Me: ‘Hey, I’d love to stay! But no choice for me here. Thailand is great, but I NEED to work tomorrow. Do you understand? I can come back though..’
Thai (having my backpack firmly in her hands): ‘You promise come back! Next week?’

(I look at her. She seems more serious than I thought. The way she tries is reminiscent to uncountable, similar and unpreventable occasions during the last two days in Bangkok.)

Me: ‘I might be back soon, but not next week! Is that still OK for you?’

(She does not seem to be satisfied, but has to give way to me. I grab my backpack and put it on the conveyer belt, while she does not move away one inch. I smile at her a last time and go through the barrier…apparently disappointing them. I grab my stuff and smile back a last time. The Thai Lady still watches me from the other side with a look that I just could not interpret.)

The weird thing here was not that the conversation happened in the first place (that is almost standard small-talk-lingo), but the mere fact I was facing guns and Thai Ladies at the same time did not really make me feel comfortable...;-)

(This is not a specific Thai way of drinking. I was deeply surprised in Singapore 8 months ago, when someone handed me a coffee in a plastic bag (and straw!) for the first time. But well, one gets used to everything. It is useful however, to be more inventive in finding ways of 'placing' the bag somewhere, especially in an office environment!)

GERMANY IN SEMI-FINAL!!

One of the best purchasing decisions recently was to buy a DFB Jersey (see TWO pictures below). A total ripoff of course for the price of 64,50€ (as this is what you pay for a full custom tailored suite in Bangkok) and not much surplus value in Germany, but it payed off fabulously in the Thai capital. As soon as I set my foot in an Irish pub on Friday night to watch Argentina lose, I was loudly acclaimed as the only German present and given a premium seat in front of the TV...That's how it ALWAYS should be ;-) Well, the broadcast was with Thai commentary...at least I could distinguish the German names by hearing.

And having a beer for roughly 2 Euros and a meal for about the same price lets even my student wallet stop crying in agony.

(It's FOOTBALL time! The 'World Trade Center' in Bangkok hosted one of the biggest public viewings..England vs. Portugal was about to begin here. What you see above is the comedy warmup for the masses. As you can see, this is done quite explicitly in an appetising way. What a bummer that I could not understand ONE joke. Not sure if they would get a PG-rating in Europe though..)

Going home to my hostel around 1am turned into a triumphal walk...somehow every street stall owner, cook, clothe seller seemed to now about the result, smiled and screamed 'GERRRMANY WIIN!' in my direction (of course also as a way to approach me for a possible sale). One Thai Lady even showed me her 'Deutschland'-armband and tried eagerly to trade it against my Jersey. Nice try. All in all, the Thai people are surprisingly Football-crazy, considering they don't really have a big history in this sport!

(Toilet paper as a tissue in a normal restaurant...nothing unusual)

And by the way, I found it also VERY interesting that a particular Thai Lady always cheered 'GEEEERMAAANYY' during the game France vs. Brazil (2-4am on Sunday!) and she wouldn't listen to anybody who tried to correct her. Apparently, she did not get the fact that 'Les bleu' where in white jerseys that night..or she just loved my home country ;-)

Maik

(Pineapple rice...absolutely YUMMY! Boiled rice, pineapple pieces, some meat, cashew nuts and spices. Got hungry??)

Nothing but the round thingy

2006-06-23T21:47:00.000+08:00

(one peculiar thing about local pedestrian traffic lights in Dresden: As long as I can think back, East German ‘Ampelmännchen’ (traffic light figures) wore a hat; even female ones were possible. The typical German sense of order tried to harmonize the outlook of these figures everywhere in Germany just after the reunification in 1990, which of course meant to apply the non-hat west figures also to the East and abandon our beloved ‘special version’. As one can imagine this highly important issue was cause of a big discussion. To prevent civil war, it was finally agreed that traffic law allowed both versions. Still, you will only be able to find the prettier figures if you travel towards the East :-))

ASIA AND FOOTBALL?

[yes…another post about Football. It’s not over yet..]

You might wonder why there are no Football pictures in this post. Well, I could say that I try to contradict the content and the pictures in an artistic way, that it's all on purpose. But I could also tell the truth that there is not enough crazy Football stuff going on in Dresden...After all, it is not a World Cup city and therefore does not host any matches. The atmosphere is crazy though, especially during the Germany games...but who wants to see pictures of boozing German students going nuts? However, I just arrived in Munich today. Expect something soon....:-)

Well, the moment of my departure back to Asia is closing in. I did not believe that it could annoy me so badly to leave just DURING the World Cup. Well, I am wondering about the atmosphere in Singapore towards the end of the tournament. What team are Singaporeans generally cheering for? Asian teams? Also, might there be a concealed compassion for Ghana because of the compatible climate? I have no clue but will investigate first-hand soon..

(Why do I bore you with traffic lights? Just for completeness: double red lights on some spots in Dresden can be taken as an indicator that someone has died / been run over by a tram at that precise location; might help you some time in the future..)

Frankly said, there are not much of Asia left in the World Cup…Japan is already out and according to what I read the other day on a Singapore newsletter, their brutal occupation of the city state of Singapore from 1942-45 still clouds the mutual relationship and considerably sets a limit to respective smiling efforts. Btw, have you noticed that in the match Brazil vs. Japan, the Japanese fans were cheering for BOTH teams? That is one really polite and disturbing thing…almost too magnanimous for me :-). I guess the term ‘Japanese Hooligan’ will not make it into the news soon (this sad title might to some otherwise tea-drinking nation that does not really want to belong to Europe)

PRODUCTIVITY KILLER

It is generally perceived here that if the German team does well on the tournament, it will boost overall morale or even increase some productivity (and yes, improve all our lifes). By the way, at the Campeon Infineon headquarter in Munich, one should not schedule an appointment at the time of a Germany game, since everybody might watch in on the big public viewing in the cafeteria ('This does not count as working time!' runs through the lower part of the screen though :-))

However, I am wondering about Germany's possible sobering up IF we gracefully allow Argentina to move on without us later this week (Of course, this is just a mind play that WILL NOT COME TRUE). This might especially be followed by the late realisation that the whole class of German politicians currently seems to use these weeks of total media non-presence to rush through with unloved reforms. There could be a ‘rude awaking’ ahead!

(something totally unrelated, but nonetheless possibly interesting: a Dresden student's typical cafeteria food example. What you see are some baked spinach-thingies..(don't ask me how to translate)..with some pasta and cabbage; all in all worth about 3-4Euros...quite affordable and not too bad for a mass production product like that!)

I'm off to the match Spain vs. France now..Will hopefully report soon!

Maik-In-Crazy-FOOTBALL-Country!

-Victory Is Ours-

2006-06-15T16:58:00.000+08:00

(Well, that's it for our neighbors in the East...Sorry, but that's how it goes! ...No, actually I am NOT sorry ;-) --what you see is an electronic display for bus/tram in Dresden)

YEEEHHAAA

Now, Football really takes over daily life here, especially after this grand victory over Poland 14 hours ago. We watched the match in a beer tent on the university campus (yes, right!), full of Football-crazy students. As you can imagine, the atmosphere was awesome, especially after the much-deserved 1:0 in the 91st (!) minute...

Get your audio impression of the atmosphere!

(the place where we watched and celebrated...a big beer tent featuring cheap food and beverages right behind the 'Hörsaalzentrum' (lecture hall centre) of the University of Technology Dresden...now, THAT is what deserves to be called motivational support!)

THE EFFECT ON DAILY LIFE

A few observations:

- Smalltalk about weather has been replaced by Football lingo. Everyone is expert and trainer again for the better part of the next weeks

- A steady increase of DFB-Fans ('Deutscher Fussball Bund = German Football Association) can be seen on the street...following my last post it is finally allowed to be proud of your team (and Germany) which includes the wearing of T-Shirts, flags, face-coloring...

- Even in this country of rules ('Ordnung muss sein' = Order Must Be) there are exceptions :-) As an example, during the days of the World Cup it is not an offence to sound your horn. It would have been impossible anyway to enforce this law, so I guess it is just common sense to lift the ban.

- Suddenly, the share of good news tremendously rose in the evening news. Killings, bombings, invasions, terrorist attacks don't dominate as they usually do and are at least partly replaced by celebrating fans and however-trivial stories about Football. What a blessing...I am starting to wonder whether there is/will be a measurable impact on some crisis or even the so far unimpressed German economic growth..

Short one this time! Just wanted to mark the occasion ;-)

Maik

(Me, Björn and Andi before the start; the match was a first-class fingernail-biter, which turned the present people into a crazy, screaming and of course cursing bunch)

'A time to make friends' with FIFA

2006-06-12T14:34:00.000+08:00

(Hermann posing for his home country in his Costa Rican bar 'Pura Vida' in the Dresden Neustadt...one great place to celebrate this World Cup's opening match. Sorry guys..you played well, but...)

DEAR FIFA,

please don't sue me for using your slogan ('Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden') in the headline of this post. We all know that it is one of the thousands of carefully staged trademarks surrounding this worldcup. However, I am still delighted by the mere fact that only American beer (what a fantastic choice!) is allowed to be poured out in all the World Cup Stadiums and in a 'safe zone' of a few kilometers around them...wonderful idea that paves the way into the very German heart..and protects all guests from the ridiculous idea that Germans have beer themselves. Please make sure with the appropriate measures that no non-German leaves the safe-zones and encounter German pubs!

Also, I am very sorry to hear that your serious attempt to trademark every possible word, saying, pun or picture related to the worldcup turned out to be unsuccessful. Protecting the term 'World Champion' ('Weltmeister') in German was certainly a great idea and should have proven successful. However, I REALLY have to admit that I am shocked to see how inventive many companies are in circumventing your well thought-through rules. One example..Emirates is the official airline sponsor of the cup, but due to the fact this airline has only landing rights on 5 airports in Germany they are simply not capable of shipping all the participating teams around the country. Which brings our Lufthansa in the game, who (how dare they) painted a better part of their fleet with a football-nose WITHOUT PAYING!

And, well...it is a shame for my country that a High German Court finally decided that a word like 'Weltmeister' is too common to be protected and therefore voids many of your expensive contracts with some advertisers. I certainly do hope that you and your fine lawyers find a quick way to prevent hazardous developments like 'Weltmeisterbrötchen' ('World Champion's Buns') that are produced in some bakeries I've seen recently. Evil usually shows itself in small things first.

Please stay on the alert!

Your sincere supporter Maik

(hopefully, we will have a colorful festival here in summery Germany. It's not gonna be a stage for the mindless, brown people...why mindless? A scientific explanation can be seen above (has proven true countless times)! - picture found in a male toilet in the university canteen 'Mensa Bergstrasse' in Dresden)

HOW TO REMEDY BALL-INDUCED FEVER

Yes! Germany is in Football fever. And we managed to WIN OUR FIRST MATCH. Wow..That day, Sandy, Ronny (my two best friends and flatmates here in Dresden) and me turned the fact that we had no TV in our new flat into a tangible advantage by watching the opening game in a Costa Rican pub in town. The place was packed, the atmosphere awesome..'unfortunately' the owner and staff of the pub had to watch their own boys lose. Well, many say that our 11 performed worse than they could and should, but (reciting the common cliché) the Germans do best in tournaments and always adapt beautifully to the opponent's capabilities, be it good or bad. Ok, enough of this warm beer..

World Cups turn even me, a non-beer-liking person (Ok, that changed a bit in my time in Singapore thanks to YOU LEIF!) who is usually not even remotely touched by ANY development in the football world into someone who screams upon missed chances and waves around with the second beer of the evening (Yes, that IS a lot for me). Even plenty of women seem to be drawn to the TV sets (Hey, whatever you might say...it IS a fact that it is somewhat unusual..I have plenty of first-hand experience!). However, it is widely perceived that a female 'Wow, that looked good!' was not in fact related to a clever move in the game but to the awesome hairstyle of one of the players ;-)

Maik

(try to walk a German city wearing a T-Shirt with this picture..you will be delighted from the warm reactions you will get. Germans are nowadays extremely conditioned to linking any feeling of proud to nationalism. World Cups and big sport events are truly the only times when it is 'permitted' by society to be officially proud of the own country. This is when you can walk with a flag in your hand without being automatically associated to rightists and looked down upon. Sad, but true. Our sense of patriotism is a bit distorted as a side effect to all the badly needed campaigning against rightist stupidity.)

About Living in a Go-Area…

2006-06-02T22:11:00.000+08:00

(Die Dresdner Frauenkirche, ‚The Church of our Lady’)

RETURN COMFIRMED!!

Hello everyone! I finally and happily announce that I circumvented all the remaining obstacles regarding my return to Singapore and especially the realization of my diploma thesis. Yippieeehhh…Singapore, I am soon coming back! Flight is booked and I can start complaining about the endless heat again on July 2nd. In the meantime, I will try to follow some positive response and have a closer look at my home, Germany. Which is not easy, because one does not necessarily see the things which would appear odd to foreigners. I will try my best :-) Or just tell me, what you are interested in..

IS IT A PAINTING OR IS IT REAL?

Well, the picture above is indeed real and provides you with a stunning view of last-years finished reconstruction of the Frauenkirche, or ‘Church Of Our Lady’. The original version finally due to intensive heat a few days after the disastrous British-American air ambush on Dresden Feb 13th, 1945. Until the reunification of Germany, it has been decided by the then Communist/Socialist leaders to keep it as a field of debris..serving as a very visible war monument in the heart of the city. The fascinating fact is that as many pieces of debris as possible were reused as material for the 'new' church; computer capabilities in the 90s even enabled the cataloguing and reusing of the old stones where possible. Nonetheless, among local people here the opinions still differ on the very fact of the reconstruction. Some say, the old church can never come back and it should have remained as it was.

However, since its completion, the church has gained a lot of ground in the people's heart and ok, I LOVE this building. To having seen it grow every day from inside the tram on my way to university was fascinating. Now, this specimen of one of the most ambitious projects in Germany after World War Two has changed the appearance of the old city, gave it grace and old grandeur. Negative thing? Too many tourists. I thought I could run away from the Singaporean sport of ‘EXTREME QUEUEING’ and have therefore not managed to get inside yet. What a shame.

(THE people’s car in the former Communist German Democratic Republic, a ‘Trabant’)

DO NOT GO TO NO-GO

These days right just before the beginning of the World Cup in Germany, the media is once again covering a nasty and sadly familiar topic. One former member of the chancellor’s office under Gerhard Schroeder has claimed that some regions in Germany, esp. in the East should not be visited by foreign-looking people, ‘since it may be that they would not leave the place alive’. This surely must be an exaggeration, but racism and the rise of neo-nazism went a long way since the reunification in 1990, and even established on grassroots level in many ‘strongholds’ in East Germany.

From my perspective, the picture is a bit distorted though. It might be a disgusting fact that neo-nazis and esp. the way too national party of the NPD (National Democratic Party of Germany) work on fertile grounds in some economically disastrous regions in East Germany, because of their ability to use the fear and agony of some people there. Two negative outcomes of this debate come up my mind: The rightists already started to use this campaign for their own purposes (e.g. issuing leaflets, where they would even like to establish and define No-Go areas themselves to keep away foreigners who supposedly are the fault of everything bad). Also, it will probably scare foreigners so badly that some will not even think of going to the East of Germany as a consequence. Exaggeration and generalization in the media always causes this kind of collateral damage; and this one in particular acknowledges a status that these stupid people simply do not deserve.

(a cooler version of the Trabant, as seen on a German Autobahn)

GO TRABBI, GO

I grew up in the former German Democratic Republic. One distinct feature of a lack of planning economy in this Communist/Socialist state was of course the very limited range of available products. This boiled down to the exemplary fact that there were only a couple of car models available. The normal people’s personal means of transportation was the Trabant, or ‘Trabbi’, which featured a cardboard-made frame, ginormous 25 horsepowers and the trademarke-like, memorably smelly white exhaust fumes. After signing the contract for sale, one had to wait for approx. 18-20 years to get the car delivered. That is why most young parents ordered their offspring’s future car only shortly after the child breathed East German air for the first time, so it would be there right on time.

One thing many people forget is that this car (which most people just smile at nowadays; it can still be seen in the streets every now and then) was top of the line in the 1960s. The design and engineering was outstanding, so that even big car manufacturers from West Germany queued up to have a coser look at it. Unfortunately, the car has not evolved since then and basically remained the same until the 1990s, which made it unsellable when all the new, flashy, western cars flooded the market after the opening of the economy.

It must have been a funny sight then, when a huge crowd of East Germans used their Trabbis to explore the West for the first time after the Wall was torn down. Never in the history again were our origins more visible and audible :-)

Maik

(I had one myself...this is Schwalbe ('swallow'), famous specimen of East German bike tradition, about 50ccm...enough to get to school :-))

The Land of Poets, Thinkers and Affordable Wine..

2006-05-25T06:51:00.000+08:00

(wanna go for some wine? Tastes like the price: impressively cheap)

NOTHING CHANGED…

…but my own attitude. Weird, I am back in my home village Geyer after 8 long months. Remembering my last return from a long trip (it was my 8 month study period in New Zealand then), it felt vastly different this time. After my return from Middle Earth in early 2004, I felt compelled to embrace my home village and Dresden in a special way…absorbing the long-missed smells and view as best as I can. This time, it is as if I have been away for a few weeks only. I expecting this ‘old friend’...the slight melancholy or ‘weltschmerz’ (‘Hach, ist das wieder schön hier…’), when you see places you love again after a long while. Nothing. Could be that this feeling wears off after the first time.

Don’t get me wrong…it’s wonderful to be back, see family (esp. my almost 4 year old sister) and to get proof that in some regions of this planet, the world seems to spin a lot slower and things are steady and reliable. ‘Home is where you understand and can interpret everything’. Quite true.

(here we are this time…somewhat remote to S’pore, Malaysia and Thailand…but beautiful nonetheless)

WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE???

Like two years ago, I went around with my camera to take some pics…This is one thing that you only do when you begin to start seeing your home place through the eyes of a common tourist. And to be honest, there are not many here…despite the fact that so much structural help money has been pumped into this region since the reunification of Germany in 1990. Many villages have wonderful town centres, hiking trails have been repaired and monuments restored.

(Klinger Max and his horse..one thing you don’t see very often. He’s an institution and living, local monument)

However, an interested guy roaming around the outskirts of Geyer, taking photos of houses, views and signs seems to arouse some suspicion. I was asked twice by passing peasants what I was doing (not in a very unfriendly way though). Must be fishy and somewhat dubious..and beyond the normal understanding that someone could waste his time photographing a very normal village.

PRICE HAMMER!

One remarkable development can be seen during the last decade in Germany: the uncompromisingly positive attitude to ever-cheaper prices. I guess all this manifested itself years ago when a big electronics chain came up with the famous slogan ‘Geiz ist geil’ (Stinginess is exciting). Since Germans are famous for taking orders, we collectively took this as our main objective, abandoning any sense for quality for the mere sake of price. As you can see on the first wine picture, normal supermarkets (esp. in the east of Germany..where purchasing power is at a record low due to economic depression and high unemployment of more than 20%) will offer you a fantastic variety of finest wines for ONLY 1,99€. Many Germans seem to think that they buy a good wine when they pick a 4,99€ bottle once in a while.

('kompromisslos billig' = relentlessly cheap; my granny used to say ‘Buy cheap, buy twice’...I think this is still true)

This is nonsense. Germany is a No-man’s-land in Europe regarding quality wines in supermarkets. Any producer only gives us the cheapest and therefore a bit different 'quality' wine; anything higher than 6 Euro is considered high quality (this is the starting price level for the cheapest table wine in most other countries from my point of view...). It is a bit of a shame, but has nothing do with the fact that Germany itself is producer of tasty quality wine, e.g. in the Rhineland Palatinate.

Moreover, many consumers start being so-called hybrid consumers…those who buy big cars, expensive mobile phones and ipods, but tend to go to Aldi, Lidl & Co. to buy the cheapest possible food (give a heck on the conditions they were produced). There is a reason for the fact that Germany has by far the cheapest foodstuff in Europe…so low in price that even people from the Czech Republic (who are really not blessed with high wages) cross the border to do their groceries in a German supermarket…

I stop whining here (also typical German ;-) I really feel like I’m finally back mentally)

Maik

(a field of dandelion flowers..very typical in the German countryside…will turn into a ‘blow-flower’ a few weeks later, because the whole head will consist of an array of little parachute-like seeds that can be blown into the wind..preferably by children of ANY age :-))

Back to New Zealand Nature..

2006-05-10T11:40:00.000+08:00

(not really indispensible in the wild, but funny nonetheless..found in K-Mart in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Can you think of a better way to be prepared for Mother Nature?)

SINGAPORE VS. NEW ZEALAND - PART 2

Not really part two, but a continuation. I have been to beautiful Wellington for a couple of days in the meantime and just got back to Palmerston North, to continue my stay with Amelie and Sascha for one last day before I take the overlander train back to Auckland tomorrow. Thanks a lot for all the hospitality, also to you Matt and your flatmates! I will try to make this visit to New Zealand a regular thing. Asia is not too far away, and that is where I am currently drawn to..

5) Supermarket: Surprisingly, New Zealand is more digitised here than Singapore. Price tags in many supermarkets are LEDs and customers can use a self-checkout by scanning the products in the trolley with a small battery-powered reader. How convenient for the store to outsource all the more parts of this value adding chain to the customers. Not suprisingly, New Zealand and Singapore seem to compete in the insanity of using as many plastic bags as possible to pack up the goods. At least in both countries the people have not forgotten how to be served, so there are always people who pack your purchase into dozens and dozens of bags. By the way, wine is a LOT cheaper here..

(New Zealand countryside; have a closer look at the picture...what can be perceived as little, bright maggots are acutally grazing, strolling sheep...this kind of mammal is one of its most important commodities)

6) Money: In the last couple of years, New Zealand seems to have turned into a cashless society. Fascinating. Everything, from the smallest breakfast roll is being paid via EFTPOS (like EC/Maestro). People with big piles of 'real' money are therefore sure to be mostly tourists. I also heard that the 5 Cent coin is supposed to be abolished soon, mainly to make payment even easier. Singapore is not chashless yet, but since the difference between rich and poor in Singapore is way more distinct, many people do not even have a bank account. Cash is more important here and a visible sign of wealth.

(The last weekend, Matt, Rob and me continued tradition by going for an overnight tramping trip in the Ruahines..a mountain range close to Palmerston North. Finally there was a reason to drag around my MUAC [Massey University Alpine Club] polypro-shirt in Singapore during the last 8 months. The rather short trip lead us along the riverbed of a small river, which we had to cross every couple of meters. It was fun and in the end not too cold to walk in completely soaked and dripping hiking boots. The best moment is the one when you have to get in your still wet boots the next freezing morning with hardly dried socks..yummy)

7) Sports: New Zealand is the only country I know where Skateboarding is still widely accepted as being a cool thing. The capital Wellington for example has many young teens and twens who use them as a means of transportation or simply to show off. This feels like a jump into the early 90s in Europe. Besides, Kiwis are naturally crazy for Rugby. No new information here. The belief in the performance of the allmighty ALL-BLACKS (the national team) has more or less a religious character. Singapore? When I think back now..I cannot really remember ANY specific sport that was present in the public and had wide support. I have to check on that again..there must be something..

(a real Kiwi meal: A Burger with Salami, Cheese and Potato Chips [makes it more crunchy]. This tasty appetiser was followed by genuine New Zealand sausages [no comment here...I have to say that these really belong to another world, in a negative sense] and Spaghetti Carbonara. All this with lots of chocolate and a crackling fire in the background turned it into a quiet cosy evening)

8) FOOD: Singapore has all sorts of funny dried fish (sweeted and salted), as well as dried seaweed that can be eaten like potato chips while watching a movie. Disgusting. Sorry. But true. Anyway, I think I do not need to mention that food is one of the many aces Singapore can draw. Its street hawkers alone provide a fantastic blend of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Western food. New Zealand on the other hand can score with fantastic dishes like Mince Pies (not Mint Pies..I had that mixed up in the beginning and therefore got something I did not quite expect) and Marmite (a yeast extract that they put on bread like Nutella...disgusting. Sorry. But true. Zero tolerance here from my side. You have to grow up with this to like it.)

(well..I'm not the big beer drinker. But, 'In Rome do like the Romans do', so there was no way of getting around the Kiwi's irrevocable duty of carrying beer and wine up to the hut and playing cards)

9) Clothing: What do they have in common? Singaporeans and Kiwis love to run around with shorts, flipflops and t-shirts. And, they both don't care about the weather. The difference? Singaporeans do not have to care about the weather, since it's always the same at this location only a few inches away from the equator. New Zealanders do have to face seasons, but they kindly ignore that fact. It is a quite common picture on the street to see a stocky Kiwi with only shorts and t-shirt, walking barefoot on his way to do some groceries, while the woman next to him looks like she's on to a trip to an Antartic glacier.

(Picture of me getting some new wood. It was indeed quite freezing outside..winter is looming around this time of the year. By the way, we were the only ones on the hut that night, but we had to share it with some mice...according to the familiar sound :-))

This was only a very short exploration of Kiwi lifestyle...a glimpse...the tip of the iceberg...an appetizer to make anyone hungry for both places. Get your bite!

Time for bed now...the next post will probably reach you from Germany then...

Good night!

Maik

Kiwis Everywhere

2006-05-08T12:37:00.000+08:00

(this sounds like a good business plan. Anyway, according to what I heard, one of their drivers was caught completely drunk while driving. Risk of losing the license is therefore shifted, but not risk of losing a healthy bone structure…)

SINGAPORE VS. NEW ZEALAND

Hello everyone!

Unbelievable, but I am back in Middle Earth after almost 2.5 years…I was quite shaky when I set my foot back on New Zealand soil after such a long time again..
You want to know about the differences between Singapore and New Zealand? Ok, besides the fact that one basically enters another world in cultural and meteorological terms this is like comparing apples and oranges. Well, here are the most important points from my point of view ;-)

1) Starbucks Coffee sizes: Surprisingly, one has to order a ‘Venti’ not a ‘Grande’ to get the biggest size. Extremely disturbing.

(little Bach-concert in Verandahs-Backpackers in Auckland)

2) People: As soon as I left the shuttle bus in Auckland central (the biggest NZ city with about 1.2 million inhabitants in this 4 million people country), I felt that two essential things were different. First, the presence of people. I found myself looking over my shoulder several times when I stood virtually alone on pedestrian traffic lights. There’s hardly anyone here! I had to ask a waitress in a local (almost empty) bar, to realise that this is indeed normal on a late Monday afternoon in the cbd! No EXTREME QUEUING (THE National Sport in Singapore) anymore. Going from an overcrowded Asian city like Singapore to New Zealand therefore means to go from one extreme to another. In addition, I always expected to look in Asian faces. Being suddenly among mainly Caucasian and Maori and accepting to belong to the racial majority again took a few hours.

(I took the overlander on Tuesday from Auckland down to Palmerston North...including nice scenic views on the way. This pic is taken on a stop..)

3) Temperature: First time in 8 months (leaving aside the trip to Mt. Kinabalu) that there was constant need for long sleeve. AND, the unpleasant feeling of cold feet found its way back into my shoes. Great. I had only one cardigan with me, not even a pullover. No wonder that I felt like catching a cold for the whole first week here. The most positive thing though: Absolutely no need to sweat! T-Shirts can be worn for more than 1 day (Incredible! Absolutely revolutionises my washing rhythm!) and condensation now happens on the inside of building and car windows, not on the outside!

(One thing I do not understand: It is standard in New Zealand to have separated taps for hot and cold water, so it is virtually impossible to wash your hands with warm water..you either freeze or scald your hands. I must be too narrow-minded from my European point of view to understand this. Help?)

4) Asking for Chili Sauce in Burger King only returns a questioning look. Also, although there supposedly is Asian food available, this is more or less westernized like in Europe. Kiwis are best on their own food, like mince pies (yummy!)

Make up your mind

2006-05-02T17:13:00.000+08:00

(finally, there is some campaigning going on in town; here you see an open truck of the oppositional workers party..the main vehicle for campaigning as it seems)

THERE IS AN ELECTION? WHERE?

It has been a long way since the first rumors about an upcoming election in Singapore. On May 6, the first election since 2001 will be take place to decide who is going to be a member in the 84-person strong parliament. Currently, the ruling PAP (People Action Party) holds 82 of the seats, the remaining two belong to the opposition parties (two supposedly defiant constituencies are spearheading the oppostion…Putong Pasir and another one I forgot). By the way, voting is compulsory in Singapore. It is a civil duty and non-compliance is usually subject to punishment and fines..Therefore, an impressive voting turnout is guaranteed.

Singapore is nominally a multiparty nation. However, the PAP has been dominant since the country’s independence from Malaysia in 1965. During most of the time since then, Lee Kuan Yew has been the ‘father’ (Prime Minister) of this small country, shaping it and turning this former swampy village into a high-tech beacon in Asia.

A FEW WORDS ON OPPOSING...

Opposition Parties do not really stand a chance here. A few facts to support this (don’t sue me, I’m just a student ;-))

- Campaigning is only allowed during the last week before the election. Since the PAP has announced the election only a few weeks ago, there was probably not that much time to prepare an elaborate campaign anyway.

- Many constituencies do not even have an opposition candidate, which means that the seat goes to the PAP in an uncontested way. One reason is that most Singaporeans seem to live pretty well with the current situation. Since everybody knows the strength, power and influence of the ruling PAP, nobody really wants to cause trouble in the own constituency by electing a member of opposition. This might eventually fire back, because opposition will of course not get the same support. This could interfere with lifestyle or even financial budget..therefore, the normal Singaporan would probably not take any risk and sees no reason to vote for anything else but the PAP (if nothing really serious goes wrong). This 'vicious circle' will not break in the near future.

(The Workers Party, opposion party bulletin close to my place)

- Singaporeans are understandably quite happy with the current arrangement. The country’s economy is booming; it is a safe, beautiful and clean place. The educational system and infrastructure is exceptional in Asia and Singapore ranks second only to the USA when it comes to the question where big high-tech companies want to spend their investment. Most people do not really see need for change, since their lives continue to improve so rapidly.

Well, punishment practices (canings and death penalty….Singapore has way more executed capital punishments per capita than the State of Texas in the US) are still highly questionable for me. I certainly would not agree on the government basically owning all the media (Singapore’s ranking is even worse then Russia on the United Nations Freedom of the Press Index). You will not find criticism on the government in any available magazine or newspaper in town, which is not really conducive to achieving a lively and controversial debate during the election campaign. Currently, I would like to use an expression I learned during my studies to voice my impression: ‘Benevolent Dictatorship’ ...a society where a determined and undefeatable rulership indeed does what it considers best for its people. I leave it at that and hope that this will not stir something up. This is by no means a derogative article about Singapore...just an observation from a European point of view!

Greetings from New Zealand!

Maik

Yu So Like That!

2006-04-25T21:14:00.000+08:00

(This writing is so very Singaporean..found as an advertisment to a little coffee place at Pulau Ubin)

*SNIP*

Hard to believe! I have indeed only a few days left before my internship is over. The project has been successfully accomplished (of course :-)) and I begin to realize that there is indeed some change ahead. Weird..how fast these 7.5 months went past. I still remember the one moment in September a few days after my arrival and still before my first day at work. I swam totally alone in the condo swimming pool that night, nothing but the moon and a few stars above me. 'What the hell is it gonna be like in 5 months?' In that kind of moment, you feel like this is as far away as the next solar system...But suddenly and faster as you think daily life kicks in. You get new friends, work is catching up speed and *snip*, suddenly its almost May...

I also see that I indeed wrote 28 posts on this blog during these 7 months. No idea if that's good or bad. Be sure that I will continue even in my time in New Zealand and Germany during the next to months, before my final return to Singapore in the beginning of July. There's still a lot to tell and I'm slowly catching up with my material. Stay tuned :-)

PULAU UBIN

(Pulau Ubin is another island quite close to the Malaysian border)

Ahem...well, as still part of an internship, funds are always more than just limited (As fast as the Self Service Public Transport Machines pull in the bank notes, so fast the money finds its way out of your wallet in Singapore..believe me). The upcoming New Zealand holiday and my long leave in Germany (bummer; unpaid!) ahead, I joined my flatmates Leif and Thuzar for a more affordable trip to Pulau Ubin (Pulau = Island). This little island which belongs to Singapore can be reached via Ferry and is probably the most natural island that you can find here.

(Thu Zar, Scarecrow and Leif on rental bikes; as told by the Lady who owns the rental shop, the bikes were supposedly 'brand new' while pointing in a determined manner at the wrapping that was in place on many parts of the frame. Well, they should renew the wrapping every now and then..it itself looked a tad worn down ;-))

(Maik and Leif; on the far end of the island we found a signpost telling us that there was a 'Shrine of the German Girls' somewhere ahead; so what the heck..we tried to find it, but it was supposedly only a try to lure us into the woods..)

THE BACK DOOR OF SINGAPORE

When one compares this island with Sentosa (the totally landscaped, very made up and quite beutiful island in the south of Singapore) you will see that the differences are staggering. The only real infrastructre seems to be a net of paved roads all around the island...which is a casual cyclists dream (there are no challenging hills around..). One is inclined to think that Singapore deliberately neglects this small outpost, to offer its inhabitants a taste of poorer lifestyle without the need to cross the border (how convenient). Almost all houses and huts are worn down and dilapidated, power is mostly provided by noisy generators. Some locals even live on houses that are built on the water.

(a visitor on the back side of our lunch place at Pulau Ubin..leave quickly or you will be deep fried soon ;-))

The Island has its own numberplate (PU) and local inhabitants, but it seems to me that the most people who work there must be commuters. The whole place somewhat felt like a show window and closely resembled what I have seen earlier in the rural countryside of Malaysia and Indonesia, where the normal people still have a long way to climb on the ladder of development and prosperity.

Is this a deliberate decision by Singapore to keep that island poor? They could easily turn this thing into a wonderful and more developed place. But maybe this is what the people want as well...having Pulau Ubin right at the back door as a reminder where they all came from only a few decades ago...when Singapore still was a town, built on the swampy side of a river. 'See, how we changed and evolved' is what it might read, sadly implying a glass ceiling for the people of Pulau Ubin with regard to their way up the already mentioned ladder..

Maik

Intelligent Horses in Your Gym...

2006-04-14T20:13:00.000+08:00

(the iGallop Core and Abs Exerciser...amazing invention, will give you "flat abs, firm behind and toned thighs")

iGallop away..

Watch these 2 short commercials..Thats an order! AD1 AD2

One can only guess that the guys from OSIM had spiked drinks or smoked something that night when they came up with this incredibly hilarious brainchild. The mere imagination that someone would think of doing a daily exercise on this thing to get in shape cannot be meant seriously. Well, OSIM seems to be quite sure about the future success..the device and its imitations (yes, right) are virtually mushrooming around the city's countless shopping malls..Until recently, it was only available in Singapore and Hong Kong. I wonder what the special quality of this local target group might be, since they are supposed to really buy these things (only 599$ at amazon)...but IF this inventive kind of workout equipment will finally be accepted in gyms around town and sportif females start to perform their exercises this way, I am quite sure that it will have a rather nocturnal workout effect than a shapelier figure..

By the way, why must every fancy product name show off with an 'i' recently? Are the iInventors just iLazy? Don't they think that it is more or less iStupidity to chase after iPods, iMode and what is out there? What kind of intelligence can we expect from this funny, gamboling saddle? Will it simply know from my riding position and pulse how to shake me around appropriately to change my iMood to the better? Well, I am quite suspicous here..anybody who already tried this proud specimen of mankinds achievements, please share your experience..

Maik

(well...people with Chinese heritage love tea..no surprise here. Anyway, it was new to me to get this in a cinema with Popcorn. I had this nice 'Green Tea Combo' when we watched Ice Age 2 last week..one more thing that would probably not be available in many countries)

Awas, Awas...

2006-04-05T12:02:00.000+08:00

('Awas' means 'Be careful' or 'Caution' in Malaysian...you can imagine what would be waiting to jump on you just behind the next corner..)

GIMME A BREAK!!

find some more Desaru pictures right here

I already mentioned a while ago that one important feature of Singapore lifestyle seems to be that there's no need to look out for a hobby if you are employed in certain companies. You won't have much time to enjoy it anyways. I try not to generalize, but it is quite visible that many local employers squeeze the most out of their employees. Many companies only extend contracts on 1 year basis, therefore there's no need to fire anyone... Peer pressure and funny corporate cultural rules are quite prevalent...e.g. don't leave earlier than your boss (nobody will admit that, of course..). You'll have a GREAT time then, if your boss is a nutty workaholic..

On the other hand, this goes nicely along with the fact that job volatility is enormously high. Employees are very quick in quitting as soon as better package pops up and leave scorched earth behind them...Many departments face quite a difficult challenge in the constant need to find replacements.

(Leif after a normal week)

I am quite lucky then to enjoy a piece of German corporate culture here, including some more regular working hours. By contrast, my flatmates Thu Zar and Leif (both employed under local contracts) share the same fate by spending most of the day at work (Leif even told me that his office with KPMG is usually crowded with employees and clients at midnight (!) as if it is just time for lunch..and one still has to resist to feeling guilty for leaving early then..). In 9 out of 10 cases I reach home earlier than them, even after extending my office hours into Starbucks Coffee quite extensively..

(the girls: Thu Zar and Serene; the boys: Leif and me)

DESARU..

..is a lovely holiday region in Malaysia (but also a tad exciting as you will read below) only a few hours East of Singapore..packed with resorts on the coastline to satisfy mostly Singaporean weekend relaxation needs (which are quite obviously existent). We decided to go there just for 2 days, to have a change of scene.
The presence of only Sipo numberplates and the well-known singsang of typical spoken Singlish can be heard everywhere. Funny thing was that for us it felt a bit stupid like swapping one resort for another. Our condo pool in Singapore was even bigger than the one in this dedicated upper class resort. The main difference was that it took only 30s here to get to the beach and not the usual endless 5 minutes like at home in Sipo :-p

INTRUDERS!!

I guess most of you know that I love running more than any other sport..I am still of the opinion that one will be able to run a marathon anywhere in the world as soon as you manage to do it here in this tropical climate. Well, I am not that far yet. But according to Kaizen, the intention is to improve slowly, but steadily..

Well, my second and last run that weekend on the beach almost got me to the next bay. Many Malaysians were there on the way..families playing, having lunch, young female Malaysians who had to start giggling and tried to run with me for a few meters ;-). It must have been a bit more than 7 kilometers, before I decided to stop and head back.

However, when I slowed down I heard some loud noise coming out of the jungle. I thought it might have been some Malaysian working on lumber, so I wanted to briefly say hello. I reached the trees, stopped, but to my surprise there was nothing...not even a sign that someone could have worked there. That very moment a loud scream came up to my right, letting me flinch. I turned my head and looked right at an angry monkey, snarling and showing his teeth, while slowly closing in on me from about 3 meters distance. Two slightly smaller versions were behind the first bigger monkey..guess I must have set a step into their living room or something...

No need to start a discussion here, so I slowly stepped back (I was not really protected with my adams costume...meaning naked except a trunk), never letting them out of sight. They jumped down from the trees and followed me on the sand, leaving a distance of maybe 5 meters between me and them. So what to do? Still hearing their constant, growling snarl, I thought it might be only polite to return the favor and yelled at them with full force (must have been a good view seeing a caucasian in his trunk on a Malaysian beach shouting at a few monkeys..). The two smaller ones withdrew a few meters, but their leader was only slightly impressed...just changed to a suprised look and did not advance into my direction any further, when I finally turned my back on them and started to slowly run back..Seems like Papa monkey won this time.

Maik

Magic FORMULA in Sepang, Malaysia

2006-03-25T15:03:00.000+08:00

(bummer. Nico Rosbergs Williams engine blew up...well, tht happened at least right in front of us)

(To provide a suitable background for this post, play this short mp3 and set your stereo and speakers to max volume ;-) More pictures can be found here.)

DON'T FORGET YOUR EARPLUGS

A Canadian told me around New Year's Eve that the Formula 1 would be in Malaysia this March. It is weird that I had not realized that earlier. There was a not too distant time when I had all facts and dates always ready...I have been a big fan of the F1 in midst 90s, but my interest faded after 2000, maybe because of my studies then, maybe because all the new regulations made it just less interesting. The F1 had changed or me, probably either. However, the outcome was that Formula 1 races began to be medium-interesting events, that did not deserve full attention anymore..:-)

(all Malaysian beauty - the big city of Kuala Lumpur was just 1 hour away anyway - accumulated in Sepang that weekend...the picture shows you grid girl 'Umi' who made the BMW Formula 1 car she was supposed to present even more sparkling...)

HOT IN EVERY SENSE

But still...this opportunity of seeing that kind of event live was so tempting that there was not really a second thought. Just imagine, we paid 50 Malaysian Ringit (roughly 12 Euro) for the whole weekend ticket, including qualifying, race, Porsche Cup and anything else that took place there. (Moto GP later this year is even cheaper...I heard that the best grandstand ticket will cost 10 Euro for the whole weekend...the cheaper ones around 2 Euro!...That really leaves not much of a choice, don't you think?).

(the Malaysian Formula 1 circuit..we had our place just next to C1)

(we experienced the race like the local Malaysians..no grandstand, but openair meadows with palm trees that gave at least some shade...this is 'F', according to map above)

So how to characterize the experience? INCREDIBLE heat (38°C = 100°F) + humidity of course. None of us (we were 5 friends /colleagues, all from Infineon) had ever been to a F1 race. The most stunning characteristic was the noise and generally the first few minutes of the race, which basically made quite an impression. Everyone stood up when the cars where on the track and screamed their way past us. The power and force seems to vibrate through the body when the engines go as high as 19.000rpm (=revolutions per minute, a normal car usually will hardly go higher than 6000rpm and this is already noisy enough!)

Our experience was a bit spoiled by the fact we had no TV-screen to trace what was really going on down there. After a few laps it is just not possible anymore. Luckily, some Malaysians next to us were well-equipped with tent, diesel-generator and TV (!), so we could at least get the ranking from time to time. All in all, very impressive to see this, won't be the last time. It was a bummer that my favorite Rosberg had to face an exploding engine so early in the race, but we'll see later this year!

(not this time, Schumi. Fisichella won here in Sepang...one thing I realized though is that M. Schumacher really seems to personify the sport to some degree. everyone knows him...red car, red helmet..that's the common denominator. I might be a bit biased here because of my origin, but I'm not his biggest fan. Still, the feeling of respect for this driving talent was prevalent here..)

WHAT IS A PROTON?

This post is all about engines and cars. I cannot leave out to tell that I was very happy to finally drive a rental Proton Waja that weekend. Proton?! Huh? Never heard? It is basically an abbreviation for Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional, which can be roughly translated into 'National Automobile Project'. It is mainly a Malaysian symbol of patriotism to buy and drive a Proton (however the percentage of Proton cars declined from the usual 60% to 30% in 2005..but they still seem to own the streets..). This state company came into existence only in 1983. The one who knows Mitsubishi and Citroen car models will quickly recognise some remarkable 'similarities' which are not quite coincidental.

Well, driving in Kuala Lumpur was 'fun'. One really has to develop some 'bad boy'-behavior to survive there. However, it was a good idea to get a Malaysian car nonetheless, not just because of the price (50 Euros for 2 days!). Singaporean cars are very visible in MY, since all the numberplates begin with an 'S'. Other drivers and especially police (I'm not kidding) love to pick out Singaporean cars on roadblocks for any conceivable offence. It's just not a good idea to take out your Singaporean BMW or Mercedes in the Malaysian countryside, if you don't want someone to try his keys on the polish overnight...

One last, but important thing. Please mind that Malaysians do not turn on a rear fog light in case of bad visibility on the highway (we happened to drive into a typical tropical rain storm on our way back to Singapore on Sunday night). Suddenly, you will see all cars around you with switched on hazard warning lights. This caused some confusion with me, because they would of course not slow down...

Maik

Singapore - Extended Version

2006-03-20T22:17:00.000+08:00

(in the meantime, Singapore became somehow synonymous to coffee. I never drank so much of this delicious beverage. And I herewith DEMAND that Starbucks eventually settles down in Germany!)

6 MONTHS LATER...

It's been a few days since my last post. Work has climaxed last week in a project workshop that had to be prepared and conducted. Not much time left for anything else. However, I do have to say that I find myself pretty much at home here in Singapore (has it really been half a year already...?). Returning from any kind of excursion and passing the border and customs now usually amounts into this well-known cosy feeling of 'coming back'. No cab driver will try to rip you off (it's all meter here), the temperatures seem to be a bit more moderate, and the nice skyline says hello again on the way to EastCoast.

Usually, 'home' is where you understand and are able to interpret everything. However, according to this definition, Singapore can never be home. For me, this English word is really not specific enough to distinguish between the German 'Heimat' (more or less 'home country', the place where your roots are and where you have no difficulty in understanding and interpreting all the little facets of daily life) and 'zu Hause' (which for me signifies the place where you are resident). Singapore might be a tad sterile (some say it's just too clean to be Asian), but all the friends that I made here, the convenient way of living, the lovely climate and the gorgeous food will not make it easy for me to leave nonetheless..

TO COMBINE THE 'BITTER' AND THE SWEET

(Singapore impression...more on this further down)

Which brings me to the point. The originial plan really was to stay with Infineon until March 15th 'only' (which obviously passed) and then head back to Germany for my thesis. Well, plans are there to be changed :-) I am so lucky now that I finally got my stay here extended to at least September 15th, basically to write my university thesis here about a SAP-related topic in Computer Intergrated Business! YIIPPIIIEHHH...It's like one of the heaviest burdens was taken from my shoulders just a few days ago, when my visa extension was erventually approved (additionally, I know for sure that my heart has the right size thanks to x-ray and that I am totally HIV-clean. well, at least something :-)).

SINGAPORE MIX

The idea is now to be in Germany to see my family and a lot of you guys for 1.5 months in May and June and then to come back to Sipo until my thesis is finished in December...What next? Well, my look goes further north in the same timezone..

I want to have a quick look at Singapore itself once more in this post. The picture above is a non-faked impression of Singapore (my fav), taken by me in Chinatown. The big monument in the middle and the cows one the roof belong to a fascinating Hindu temple, which is situated just there. I will probably go there next weekend with an Indian colleague..so stay tuned for an inside report here ;-) The highly diverse range of new and traditional buildings like you can see on the picture can be found on many spots in Singapore...This is the mixed picture the city presents very often. This is even more visible on the streets..A highly sophisticated road toll system extists here and flashy Mercedes S-Class cars drive right next to trucks with open loading space and 30 Indian construction workers on it..

I guess I already mentioned that this city is quite multilingual. Big announcements, signs and labels are usually displayed in English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay and Hindi (btw, the exclamation mark seems to be absolutely universal..where does that come from??). This can sometimes be seen as public dictionaries for people who are willing to learn :-)

Enough for now. I will post some more later this week. You can look forward to a report on bloody hot Sepang FORMULA 1 Grand Prix.. Time to go to bed..frickin' tired..

Cheers,

Maik

The higher, the better..

2006-03-07T19:33:00.000+08:00

(potp: no toys, but colorful trains at a Malaysian train station on Borneo..)

-All the pictures-

WE ARE GOING WHERE?

Christoph, Andreas and Maik already on an AirAsia plane to Kota Kinabalu.
Maik: ‘How long is that flight gonna take, Christoph?’
Christoph: ‘I guess about 3hours’
Maik: ‘What? That’s quite long, considering the fact that we stay inside Malaysia?’
Christoph: ‘Well, we fly to Borneo, after all’
Maik (thinking quietly): ‘Borneo…Borneo? Damn it, right. This country has an island in the EAST! Bummer, just keep pretending that you knew all the time..'

That was the very moment when I finally realised that we were actually flying to another island, much farther than I was originally prepared for. Embarrassing, true, but it did not really matter in the end. I should have spent the 5 minutes to look into a map to find out where Kota Kinabalu and Mount Kinabalu actually where. But, you know…everyone’s busy nowadays. And flying is sometimes so cheap here that you really just choose a location that’s a bargain, only to find out later where you are actually heading.

So, Borneo. More specifically 'Sabah', the Eastern Borneo Part of beautiful Malaysia was waiting for us on this incredibly long (what do you think? 3 days of course) trip. We wanted to do some rafting and climb Mount Kinabalu, which is actually (original advertisement!) Southeast Asia's highest mountain.

THE MEANS IS AN END WITHIN ITSELF...

'Please mind the gap'

The rafting was due on Saturday. Including the trip to the venue, it was supposed to take the whole day. Well, the rafting lasted for only 50 minutes, due to heavy current and a flooded riverbank, which made the usual break on the way impossible. I also tried (involuntarily) Body-rafting, which is mainly a euphemism for being swept out of the boat by a monster wave and the following moment of adrenalin-floating (‘FEET FIRST; ENJOY!’), before you are being dragged in again. Also, surprising to me was that the present Malay girls (who were of course mostly Muslim) just wore the helmets ON their headscarfs during the ride..I am quite impressed by this commitment.

(one typical train stop)

Well, much more interesting was the ride to the rafting starting point itself. Our at least 40 years old train was packed with local Malaysians while passing through small villages in the Malaysian jungle for hours and hours. Some compartments were just a plain metal surface with no way to hold onto anything...which produced an awkward moment every time the train started again. The rails were in such an ‘interesting’ condition that the whole train had to free itself with a loud jolt after each stop, since some wheels were always stuck.

We were sitting next to local families, whose job of day it was to bring back their groceries…an act of buying some eggs, fruits and veggies, which takes the whole day because of the long ride. Unfortunately, there was no truly effective way to communicate, besides from body language and smiling (which worked nicely in general, but still could not get me the address of the lovely Malay girl who sat just next to me...)

MOUNT KINABALU!

(Mosque in Kota Kinabalu..the sky opens..)

As professional Singaporean pen pushers, we were of course perfectly in shape for Malaysians highest mountain :-) The first task on Sunday was to carry all our luggage to the hut, located around an altitude of approx. 3600m. Quite a good walk for one day, which was a bit spoiled for me by the non-presence of spaghetti there (I heard that there would be Spaghetti, and I was willing to pay HEAPS..but no convincing winking could persuade the pretty Malay employee to open the secret vault...)

(our guide..yes, we had to take one, although there was absolutely no need..We liked his outfit though..)

One interesting fact is that the big hut is mainly supplied by female porters who carry up and down the heaviest items. Usually they will carry more than 30kg (with a weight of maybe 60kg!). No need to highlight their most impressive calfs...They even have to carry big metal gas tanks...a sight that brings a European tourist easily back to earth.

Our late afternoon that Sunday on the hut was marked by drowsiness, lots and lots of mountain tea and the first time to feel the need to wear a sweatshirt after more than 6 months in tropical heat. We finally went to bed around 7pm (really!), only to get up at 2.30am for the final climb to the peak the next day.

(Me and Christoph..over the clouds..)

ANY STARBUCKS ON THE TOP?

We heard that the temperatures would propbably be around 5-10 degrees Celsius on the top, plus some considerable wind. During the breakfast at 2.30am, I was a bit amused to see many Tropic-proof Asians preparing as if they were up to a trip into artic climates...so many layers, skiing masks, thick gloves, as if there were -30°C outside.

(at the top! we did it; just a few minutes before sunrise..)

It took us about 3 hours to reach the final peak, mostly due to the fact that we were actually not the only ones who had the idea to do this on Monday morning. What a surprise :-) Nonetheless, it was an interesting bunch of people who made their way up there that morning. The final climb to the top was a tad exhausting indeed, but rewarded with astonishing views on the way back. I won't start to whine, whine, whine, whine about the long knee-destroying way down (I would have PAID a lot for someone to carry me down..)

The morale of the tale? This time there is none. 'Mountains are there to be climbed', might be one. And I learned that it is not a good idea to run the last meters before 4100, only because I feel I have too much energy left. I deserved the terrible sore muscles during the following week, but it was fun to run past the other puffing and panting climbers ;-)

Maik

Bangkok - MadeToMeasure

2006-02-25T22:05:00.000+08:00

(the one of you who can tell me the name and whereabouts of this woman will get a decent bottle of wine..:-) this non-posed picture was taken by Christoph on the streets of Bangkok, no idea who she is. most probably non-thai, remarkable nonetheless)

THAILAND REACTION

mind the pictures

A cheap flight with Tiger Airways to Bangkok took us (Andreas, Christoph and me) just a mere 2 hours. As usual, we German interns only had the weekend at our disposal. So what to do with such a splendid amount of time in a vivid city of almost 9 million people?

Well, we soon and first of all realised that Bangkok triggered some kind of reaction with us. Despite the fact that the most local females could not talk more than 3 words with us due to a considerable lack of English capabilities, we were generally amazed by the stunning beauty of their nature. One simply has to walk the streets of Bangkok at night and will realise what I mean..I leave the rest to your blossoming fantasy ;-)

BANGKOK BEAUTY

Of course, everyone knows what it means with regard to Thailand when fantastic female beauty and substantial poverty go together. The constant smell of prostitution lies in the air virtually everywhere. There are spots (especially certain bars and dance clubs) in this city where you will probably have a hard time finding a Thai Lady who is not employed in this oldest of all professions. Sunset also seems to be a starting signal for the local cab drivers. They usually cannot speak any English (let alone read a map, for God's sake! Drives me NUTS), but start offering catalogues of 'special Thai massage' places right after you take a seat. key word: commission..

This characteristic of Bangkok might be part of the general 'package' the city offers to Western male tourists. It is shameful and repulsive to know that so many foreigners just go to Thailand to get their very special kick and it is a weird and often funny feeling of being lumped together with those guys, especially when you travel as a group of three young caucasian men...All this goes nicely together with the fact that our backpacker apartment had an extra room ('You can use it, if you want. It's free tonight' 'Ahh..really?'), which could well be taken as a po.n location. You can find a few pics of this totally mirrored little playground in my fotki gallery, if you really want ;-)

(a Bangkok streetfighter..Just came out of the store, looked around for a moment, spotted some bird, aimed and shot several times...it must have really got on his nerves..)

FRESH AIR

I find it interesting that most locals seem to have very good and non-irritated skin despite of the constant and overwhelming pollution in this city. A colleague who spent 4 weeks in this city before he came to Singapore told me that he had to recover for 2 weeks with bad coughs after the inhalation of all the dirt. I also saw some tourist groups whose members collectively decided to use white mouth covers, which made them look very odd and alien. I guess that is not a good strategy to make contact with the locals when they have to think you're primarily scared of the place and want to get back to the a save haven..

OUR TOURIST ATTRACTION

It was not my primary goal, but as soon as I realised how cheap it was to get custom-tailored clothes in Bangkok, I had to join Christoph and Andreas and get my very first made-to-measure suit. During the fitting we even got free coke, coffee and some nice snacks..

(of course, tastes like crispy chicken ;-) And yes, I really ate it. Crack it and suck the little innards out. Please mind not to eat the head and the legs..)

The timeline for our suits: Saturday noon: Taking measures; same day 6 hours later: first fitting; Sunday afternoon: pickup and pay. How much, you ask? Well, for two suits, 2 shirts, two ties and the welcome presence of the shop-owners daughter, it was just about 6000 Baht, or 120 Euro.

The Result:

(Christoph and me in our brandnew suits..)

Have to admit that I like it a lot! And the general attitude of the people around change significantly..makes everyone think you're VERY important. So, if you need at least 3 suits or the purchase of a wedding dress looms distantly, it is without doubt time to check out the fares for a weekend trip to Bangkok...

Maik

Singapore Idol

2006-02-16T09:56:00.000+08:00

(wanna join?)

SINGAPORE IDOL

I am not quite sure whether there are many countries left in the world which have not already been overrun by this show and its local spin-offs. I watched a few episodes of the first season (and I suppose there will be many more in the future) in Germany as part of the general hype about the show. Of course, everyone here in Singapore (yes, my friends are well-informed in this matter) holds up in front of me that the last German Idol (Alexander something..) failed miserably in the World Idol Contest. I really try to live with that incredible shame...

A COMMON BASIS

This all speaks volumes. Young people around the world seem to be susceptible to this kind of entertainment. This show propably works everywhere as soon as there is a certain degree of westernized culture around. This is certainly the case in ipod-fashion-fun-rnb-shopping-Singapore. No wonder that the show fell on fertile grounds. Last weekend, there was the first audition of the local second season. Colleagues told me over lunch that the auditions have been extended after the weekend, but everyone seems to generally agree that this was not because of the publicly anounced "overwhelming demand", but just due to the poor quality of the applicants.. ;-)

BABY AND CULTURE

Another quick glance at local culture. A colleague and friend just got the wonderful news from his wife back in India that their first Baby was born two weeks ahead of schedule. On the one side it spared him the worrisome period where he would be concerned about the well-being of his wife and child (he just got the sudden news that the quick ordeal was already over), on the other side he had to live with two days of waiting (during which he could not find ANY sleep according to his remarkable eyerings :-)) until he could finally head off to India..It is so fascinating and wonderful to see someone close becoming father for the first time..really let's you think about your own future in that very moment.

Well, this is of course ubiquitous behaviour, not bound to any culture. However, shortly after anouncement of the birth, money was collected for the child throughout colleagues and friends, which will be passed to him in a hongbao (red envelope). This essentially means that the custom of hongbaos is not necessarily linked to Chinese heritage, but can apply to anyone, if necessary. Also, the lying-in periods are different with regard to cultural heritage. People who follow Chinese heritage generally celebrate new offsprings after 1 month for the first time. As for Indian culture, the child will be shown to friends and rest-of-the-clan on the 13th day. Don't ask me why...

Maik

Chinese New Year

2006-02-07T20:24:00.000+08:00

(Gong1xi2fa1cai2 = means Happyness and Prosperity...a common New Year's saying)

(potp: Chinese New Year in Singapore...what you see here is decoration at famous Orchard Road...Dragons and Lions can be seen everywhere around the city..)

YEAR OF THE DOG

(Get an impression about Chinese Music on CNY...recorded in the Chinese Gardens..)

Well, I am a tad late with this (as usual), but want to wish a HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR to all of you. On January 28th, Singapore celeberated the turn of the year. Luckily for me, this came with two additional holidays on Monday and Tuesday, which made this festival even more enjoyable, as you can imagine..

Chinese New Year is really the most important of the traditional Chinese celebrations. It always takes places at the day of the second new moon after winter solstice and is marked by beautiful colors and decorations all around the city. Red is everywhere, Dragon and Lion figures stare at you especially in Chinatown. The general mood is very much the same like Christmas in Western countries. Everybody is a bit excited, even my office with Infineon is nicely decorated and lots n lots of cookies look forward to be eaten..

(a typical Lion dance, performed somewhere in Chinatown. Together with loud drums it is supposed to scare bad ghosts away..Chinese are sometimes very superstitious)

REALLY A SINGULAR EVENT

It is funny to know that many foreigners (including myself, of course) thought that CNY would be a great time to visit any Chinese-heritage country. Think again. The only thing you can admire is closed shops (!) and foodcourts where there are no Chinese people serving (!!). This really happens only once per year and is quite surprising, especially when one is used to go shopping on Sunday night.

Fireworks and firecrackers are lit up into the night sky at midnight...the tradition says, the louder the better they will scare away bad ghosts and spirits. Of course, private fireworks are banned in Singapore (what did you think ;-)). So everyone has to rely on what's offered by the mighty state, which is not always...let's put it that way....dramatically exciting.

(This is also a typical CNY tradition in Singapore..yusheng, which is basically chopped veggies, is thrown up with chopsticks as high as possible. This goes together with wishing each other special things ["Better package, Money, Money, Money, handsome guy, Money,...]...the idea is, that wishes are more likely to come true, the higher you throw the food in that very moment. Of course, the table looks like a mess afterwards, but who cares..; picture taken during the annual CNY Department Lunch)

REUNION

Also, Saturday evening is marked by the so-called Family 'Reunion'-Dinner, which really means the collective gathering of the whole tribe. This is really essential and means a great logistical effort. Not particular in the smallish Singapore, but I heard that their were about 2 billion (!) travels around China, to get all the families together. Some people were even camping on train stations days before to get a place. That is what I call dedication to tradition!

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR US?

Well, people being born in the year of dog are supposed to possess the best traits of human nature. They are supposed to have a deep sense of loyalty, to be honest and inspiring to other people's confidence, because they know how to keep secrets. But they can be somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric, too...they can be very emotional and distant at parties. And, of course, they are compatible to those born in the Years of the Horse, Tiger and Rabbit. Good to know, isn't it?

So who is born in the year of the dog? That would be 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006. You recognise there are 12 animals, which represent an ever-reoccuring cycle of time, in contrast to the Western concept of linear time (since we take Jesus birthyear as the basis and do not think that this will reoccur every couple of years..if yes, I might reconsider my religious preferences...*no offense*)..The Chinese adopted the Western system in 1911, but are still widely using the old system for festivals and celebration.

So who is who? Look here...

Rat	Ox	Tiger	Rabbit	Dragon	Snake	Horse	Sheep (Goat)	Monkey	Rooster	Dog	Pig
1900	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909	1910	1911
1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919	1920	1921	1922	1923
1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935
1936	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947
1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971
1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983
1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019

NOT REALLY LIKE CHRISTMAS

All in all, it was fascinating to see how colorful this special time of the year was in Singapore. And by the way, Chinese heritage people are supposed to do a Spring cleaning (this was an official 'task' in the company, too. We even got dedicated red T-Shirts..) and all debts have to be settled by the end of the outgoing year. Additionally, one can give 2 mandarin organges to his/her superior, which will oblige him/her to give back a hongbao (red envelope) with money. Well, here with Infineon all IT staff got 2 mandarin oranges AND a hongbao with 2 brand new 2$ notes. You see, the tradition can vary. But note that gifts, especially bank notes always (!) have to came in pairs, otherwise it means bad luck!

This is one very intriguing part for me. CNY is all about money. Hongbaos are given to friends and especially children. This is expected and makes the whole thing less worrisome. No need to roam arond shopping malls for days to find gifts (I know, females LOVE that..), money will do it and it is ok. How incredibly relaxing..

Well, I will leave it like that for now..there are still many more interesting and for us exotic aspects to this festival though..

I guess I will continue next year ;-)

(xin1nian2kuai4le4 = Happy New Year)

Guanxi and Waterskiing

2006-01-22T13:52:00.000+08:00

(potp: whoahey..I did it. 5 minutes away from my place in EastCoast this beautiful kind of sport is possible now..)

THE IMPORTANCE OF GUANXI

Wikipedia defines Guanxi as the basic dynamic in personalised networks of influence. It is deeply integrated into Chinese culture and means a 'personal connection between two people in which one is able to prevail upon another to perform a favor or service, or be prevailed upon.'

Guanxi is influencial in so many situations, since a good guanxi to another person means that you belong to a social network which is beneficial to all members. A lack of guanxi will most likely result in the rejection of a favor. On the other side, one will have a access to (but also the obligation to provide) benefits to others in the group.

So what the heck does this have to do with Waterskiing?!

(Thu Zar is ready to go with her kneeboard!)

CABLESKIING

Just one month ago we heard that a big, ugly not too distant hole in the ground (5 minutes away from our place in EastCoast) would be finally turned into Singapores first waterskiing place by the beginning of the year 2006.

One week ago, Thuzar, Leif, Christoph and me had a walk on the beach heading back from our favorite hawker center (Laksa, YUMMY!) shortly after midnight. We saw some light at the supposed starting point of the cableski place and quickly got into chatting with the then present owner (a 28-old nephew of a big local steel producer) and the German (of course, what did you think? :-)) engineers of this sport facility.

(Christoph on the go with waterskis..)

It was interesting to hear that there seemed not to be e detailed Business plan for the site, despite the fact the whole facility (including restaurant) had cost about €500.000. Well, opening such a thing in Singapore is of course different from a place like Germany, where it can only run for at most 4 month a year. Funnily enough, the owner thought the break even will be some time in 3-4 years, but he could not even give us the price of a one-hour-ride. Well, good luck. At least, money seemed not to be the main constraint here.

(Christophs (involuntary?) stop...and yes, he's really ok :-))

ADVANTAGEOUS

Well, being Caucasian and friendly must have helped to get us invited to the free-of-charge testrun on last Sunday! And this is where Guanxi comes into play. By inviting us, we had established a very basic version of Guanxi between him and us. We were free to use the facility as long as our muscles were still supporting us (which was not very long, to be honest ;-))

The interesting thing is that Guanxi is basically extendible and has a transitive character ('The friend of your friend is my friend'). Don't know if it applies to foes though ;-) To put this last thought in other words: We met a nice American couple and could get them in the loop, too...just by mentioning that they were already long-life friends...I certainly know that we did not establish any long-lasting guanxi here, but it was enough to save the day :-)

(me, on a kneeboard..after 3 rounds all power was usually gone and I could only let go. Sooo tiring and exhausting for a beginner..)

NONADVANTAGEOUS

Well, the bloody SORE MUSCLES for the next four days together with a heavy sunburn which let me look like a tomato for 2 days ! No more things to say here..

Maik

The New Year

2006-01-14T17:26:00.000+08:00

(potp: Anti-Drug billboard on a busstop in Sipo; I wonder if you can use this number to get help from inside this cell..)

LATE CHRISTMAS REPORT

So how do people celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve in Singapore? Well, as I already mentioned, Christmas is more like a big shopping and partying event, where people take to the streets (especially famous Orchard Rd) and listen to this haunting 'Rudolph The Reindeer'-Song which has been broadcast on streetlight-speakers for ages on some places in downtown.

Funny hats and Christmas-colored shorts are worn and everything is lit up, especially the palm trees which are decorated with lit rallies in every imaginable color. It's just the same craziness here like everywhere else in the Western world. Christmas is 'celebrated' in the malls and department stores from early November on already (I know, that is no news for anyone living in a Western country, the 'early worm' Christmas competition gets crazier every year) and the most important national sport (I wonder if you can compete at the Olympics..) "Extreme Shopping" becomes ever more important in Singapore. This was one good reason for me to take to my heels and run for Australia, where people seemed to have totally forgotten that it IS Christmas time :-) (To be honest, I imagined that it would just be the other way around)

WANNA HAVE SOME FOAM?

MTV organised a New Year's Eve party at Sentosa Island, featuring a big foam party and affordable drinks. When trying to sell a spare ticket, we met a group of students from Canada and Australia who have just arrived in Singapore. Maybe I can find a way to enjoy a bit of student life here after all..The first week in January also seemed to have been the very first week of the new semester. Well...I hope there will be some Singaporean Student parties quite soon!

(golden dancing performance..)

Well, as you know, one always feels obliged to do something SPECIAL on New Year's Eve. Sentosa seemed to be an ok lah choice, but somehow MTV did not get the mood right. We arrived shortly after 10pm, when the RnB music was already over (what the ?!). So there was only dull techno music left for the rest of the night. The two remaining 'dance floors' were of course located nicely...directly on the beach - one was really dancing on sand and under palm trees, while there was a beautiful view on distant lit up ships on the water.

(the personification of the positive side of this party :-), you can say what you want about Singapore, but showing a certain degree of naked skin in public does not seem to be as punishable as dancing in the streets..)

The so famous foam party was one of the sandy dance-floors..actually a separated space from the rest of the party, which seemed to scare almost all present females to death that night. The percentage of male party lions inside was not lower than 80%, which spoiled it significantly for me. There's not much fun in dancing between almost naked, wet, boozed and touchy males (provided there is not some specific preferance towards this particular part of the manhood).

(quick, quick...take a pic! it's over soon)

Well, maybe it was not the best choice after all to go there, but we found some new friends after all. Another bummer was that the so-called official fireworks (fireworks are of course generally banned in Singapore, what did you think?) was not more exciting than the stuff you can buy for about 20€ in a German supermarket..and it was over before I could make myself comfortable on the beach. Well, there is some improvement possible here, Singapore! Additionally, I do not like it that much to wait for 2h for a cab to get home..from 9pm to 5am all the mobile networks were jammed, so it was not possible to call a cab like usual (there is no public transport available from midnight to 5am..)

STOPPING TO WHINE

I hardly ever realise that I take the the most good things just for granted...there was no fu**ing freezing like in Germany that time of the year.. where you cannot feel your fingers after lighting fireworks for 15 minutes. And dancing into the New Year in shorts on a cosy beach cannot be too bad after all, right ;-) Well, human beings get used to improvements too quickly..out of my perspective this is one major flaw in human 'design' (no preference toward any religion intended). We seem never to be really happy with what we have and keep striving to the next bing thing, be it travels, gadgets, relationships or anything else. Overcoming this might be difficult. Nevertheless, I regard it as MY 'next big thing' to reach this goal..finally more enjoying than focusing on future achievements!

I call this my most important resolution for this year 2006, next to finishing my studies and finding a job (*sigh*)!

Tell me about your resolutions! This could be a good way to say you really mean it ;-)

I wish you all a successful year 2006!

Maik

Darwin and Christmas..

2006-01-01T16:45:00.000+08:00

(potp: is this just piggyback or something else..?)

(this could have just been right after the act above..but you actually see a road casualty here. don't ask who it was; and please, mind the tongue)

WELCOME TO CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND

Link to the pictures!!

Hello back! It's been a little while since my last decent post. As you know, everyone's busy these days. As you may know, my primary reason to be here in Singapore is be an Intern with Infineon. The project where I am involved in is just about to take off. Pretty exciting and interesting. Will keep me busy..

Some while ago, Tiger Airways (a total NO FRILLS Asian airline, where they do not even serve any water and where you have to buy blankets!) had a promotion for Darwin, Australia on the net. As everyone knows, it is always more exciting to go somewhere than staying at home. So my friend Christoph and me decided to spend Christmas there.

We went on the night from the 23rd to the 24th of December, so we just arrived at breakfast time in this very sleepy city. Fair enough, it was Christmas Eve and Saturday. No reason for any local to hang around 7am like those crazy German tourists.

What we realized very soon, was that there was hardly any Christmas decoration around. Only the so-called 'Main Street' (Mitchell Str) had some lights in the trees. As soon as we went to residential areas or just away from the 'central business district', we could hardly believe that it was Christmas at all. This was all the more remarkable for us since we just came from Christmas-crazy Singapore, where you could think that the locals would love to have invented the festival in the first place.

(Darwin on Christmas eve..hardly to imagine, but it was even hotter than in Singapore.)

LORD, GIVE ME RAIN!

Darwin was really deserted that Christmas Eve. As far as we knew there should have been more than 50.000 people in the city. Well, we spend the first day renting a car and planning for the next two days. I also have to admit that it was the first time in my life that I have been to a dance-club on the 24th of December and that I went to church in a slightly tipsy condition later.

('In Rome do like the Romans do')

We arrived at a modern, protestant church just before 11pm, sat down and waited for the midnight mess to begin. It must have be a sign or portent that just the very moment when the preacher arrived at the lectern an incredible thunderstorm with heaviest monsoon rain broke out that effectively silenced all the preacher's efforts (which did not prevent him from continuing as if there was nothing going on. Nobody could understand him anymore). Funny thing, I wonder if the Lord himself was dissatisfied with the Christmas mess (which was..let me put it this way..suboptimal)

LAGUNES AND SOCIAL INSECTS

We soon discovered that it was a good idea to rent a car. We were supposed to be penalized with an extra charge by the rental company for driving on gravel road. We took the chance and were not dissapointed. Litchfield and Kakadu Nationalpark have plenty of beautiful, deserted lagunes and travel routes. Nonetheless, all the bathing was mostly not that refreshing..one reason to advocate even stronger for airconditioning in a car! Soo damn important in this part of the world.

(a Termites nest..at first we had not the faintest idea what it was. we went closer, tapped and knocked a little bit and were probably very lucky that the whole tribe just had a nap)

Most astonishing were the Termites nests you can find here. These ochre-coloured rocket-shaped things sometimes are spread on large, plain areas. They look misplaced and alien, but very impressive.

Feel free to browse the pics for 1 minute or 2. I will not bore you here with a detailed travel report, don't worry ;-) Just so much: Having a car for the 3 days was absolutely important. On our last day, when we headed back to Darwin, the sky virtually opened to empty buckets of water on us. Well, it is monsoon season, after all. We were even told that it can even happen in Jan or Feb that Darwin is totally cut off for days, because of floodings all around the city. That is why the amount of people there decreases from usually about 100.000 to 40.000 in February. Everybody seems to escape (understandably), except the few crazy, foreign tourists who deliberately go there :-)

I wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Maik

(Where are you hiding, Schnappi...?)

60 SIGNS...

2005-12-18T14:34:00.000+08:00

- NOTE: NOT ALL POSTS FIT ON THE MAIN PAGE, THE ARCHIVE IS ACCESSIBLE VIA THE SIDEBAR -
(potp: Here we go..a Chinese Fortune Teller who can read the future AND the past from your palm...Should not be too difficult to gauge if he's good or not :-) found in Chinatown, Singapore)

..THAT YOU'VE BEEN IN SINGAPORE TOO LONG

Well, the following funny top sixty list is definitely one of the better culture guides you can find about Singapore. But please, don't take it too serious. Unfortunately, number 60 applies, too. People who haven't been to Sipo yet will probably not understand every point. I do have some problems as well (ok..roughly 3 months in Sipo cannot be enough to know all the little charming oddnesses..). I have done some commenting though.

I hope you find it as amusing as I did. Now take your time and browse through..it's worth the read! (Thanks to Christoph who passed this to me)

60 signs you've been in Singapore too long, especially if you come from a Western country :

1. You know that "cum" means something completely different from what you originally thought.

Well, dunno, what's that supposed to mean...

2. You've lost your sense of irony, sarcasm, and cynicism.

Definitely not YET

3. You don't know what's lame and what isn't anymore.

4. You think there's nothing wrong with putting chili sauce on everything you eat.

I totally agree! Especially Spaghetti and Pizza..

5. You wait for instructions from people in authority before doing anything. Always.

6. You join queues without knowing or caring what the queue is for.

7. You know what "queue" means!!

This is classic. Public opinion almost says that jumping any queue should be punishable with cainings. At least this is what the looks say that you get..

8. You can type an SMS on your phone as quickly as you would if you had a regular keyboard.

Right. Singis are extremely Gadget-savvy. Sipo also has the highest perceived number of ipods per capita.

9. Your idea of a good night out consists of having dinner at a hawker centre, drinking beer, and then going to another hawker centre and eating again.

Correction: going shopping, having dinner at a hawker centre, going shopping, drinking beer, going shopping and then going to another hawker centre, going shopping and eating again..

10. You've lost your ability to criticize people in higher positions than you, even if they're wrong.

11. You would buy a $20 product you don't need if it's on sale for $10 just to save the money.

12. You forget to say the last consonant in words like "faCT", "aTE",etc.

I'd like to have an orange juicaa la!

13. You think it's okay to have only one meaningful choice on a ballot.

No comment on that..I AM HAPPY WITH IT. If you are public authority, please go to no. 59!

14. Every task you take on and every group you form is incomplete without a mission statement and a cheesy slogan.

15. You think that in a country where young people have little privacy, pornography is completely banned, music and movies are censored, students of the opposite sex in a dorm can't stay in the same room without open doors, and everyone works so much, that people should still want to get laid.

No wonder that there are hardly any kids around. This country is aging really fast..almost like any highly developed country..

16. "Crossing the country" means taking the MRT to the end of the line.

MRT = Mass rapid transport

17. You don't just know what "kiasu" means, you have become it!

is Hokkien for 'extreme fear of losing'. Don't lose out in a hightly competitive society. Kiasu people are driven out of fear of losing probably more than the desire to succeed.

18. You think that corn and beans are dessert foods.

Well, how about this..

19. You would cross the entire country all day to find the places that make the perfect fried noodles, or roti prata, or ice kacang, or chili crab. And none of these places would be close to each other.

especially during lunch break ;-)

20. You have a high tolerance for nagging.

21. Most or all of these acronyms make sense to you: NUS; NTU; ERP; SDU; PAP; MRT; LKY; GCT; PRC; TIBS; SBS; SMS; JB; JBJ; AMK; AYE; PIE; ECP; ISD; ISA; 5 C's; CPF; CHIJMES; SPG; CWO.

22. You use too many acronyms when you talk, or you create new ones.

23. You think that nothing makes a girl or guy more attractive than to dress exactly like hundreds of thousands of other girls and guys who all dress exactly like girls and guys in malls.

conformity is one key word in Singapore..ensures safety to some degree and is visible virtually everywhere..

24. You think that $100,000 is a reasonable price for a Toyota Corolla and $1,000,000 is a reasonable price for a bungalow, but $5 for a plate of fried noodles is a barbarous outrage.

One has to go through a tedious act to apply for any vehicle. You can bid for one of the monthly issued rights to register a car or motorbike, which sometimes costs more than the vehicle itself!

25. You believe that not being able to get decent roti prata outside Singapore is enough to keep the best and the brightest people from leaving.

26. You see nothing wrong with forming committees of select elite people to deliberate and study ways to stimulate creativity and spontaneity.

27. You justify every argument with the phrase "in order for us to be competitive in the 21st century".

28. You think everything should be "topped up".

29. You have a naive belief that the war against ants will somehow be won.

I don't.

30. You don't think any dish of Western food is complete without baked beans.

This will NEVER happen to me. I am not English ;-)

31. You see nothing unusual about an organization of trade unions spending more time owning and operating supermarkets, drugstores, amusement parks, nightclubs, and financial services outlets than planning the next strike.

32. You believe that a lack of land is enough justification for the goverment to do what it wants.

Well, I don't..

33. You wear winter clothes indoors and summer clothes outdoors.

;-) So true. As soon as the temperature 'drops' to 25°C everybody's freezing.

34. Durian and belachan no longer stink to you.

This will definitely NOT happen in the forseeable future.

35. You like to have fun, but not too much fun, since you need to correctly gauge the amount of fun necessary to achieve the optimal result. Any more fun that that would bring shame to your family and your country.

36. Seven french fries with lunch are more than enough for you.

37. You forgot what a city organized around a grid looks like.

38. In a country where people use smart cards for public transit, you have no problem with
construction workers riding in the open backs of pickup trucks.

To the contrary, this is one of the attractions of this city!

39. You think paying $50 for a bottle of booze that costs $15 at home is a bargain.

40. You're not confused by a street naming system that locates streets like Clementi Road, Clementi Street, Clementi Crescent, Clementi Lane, Clementi Drive, Clementi Way, and Clementi Avenues 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 all within walking distance of each other.

This must be part of a city wide cab driver promotion...

41. You think that skinny girls and guys are the most attractive of all. (How did they get so skinny in the first place?? Do you know how much oil is in nasi lemak, char kuay teow, duck rice, and your average curry??--ed.)

42. You get irritated if you don't see a sign telling you how long your wait's going to be for a bus, a train, or the expressway to take you where you want to go.

I think it's nice to know that I have exactly 15 seconds (digital display) at a pedestrian crossing.

43. You're certain that Holland Village is for hippie bohemian artist types and not overpaid yuppies.

44. When you cross the border into Malaysia, you automatically and deeply fear for your life and your wallet. Especially your wallet!!

;-)

45. You think that no vegetable should ever be eaten raw for any reason. Except for cucumbers.

'Chinese fry everything that has 4 legs and is no table'

46. No matter what you're doing at the moment, you'd rather be shopping.

Oh yes..I am still wondering why this great swimming pool in ny Condo is not even heavily frequented on Sundays. Leisure sport #1 is and remains SHOPPING! And best gift to a female always

47. No matter how miserable you may be here, you thank God you're not in Indonesia.

48. You're impressed by high-rise apartment buildings with actual lobbies instead of bare exposed pillars on the ground floor.

49. You don't have a problem with four different direct payment systems spread out over seven
different cards in your wallet.

Not at all. Unfortunately: more cards =/= more money

50. You forgot what chewing gum tastes like.

Not if you travel to Malaysia frequently or you know people who import it for you. Remember, chewing gum is banned in Sipo and can only be acquired in local pharmacies. The story behind this is that in the early 90s kids used to take the gum to block the light barriers in the MRT-trains. Officials seemed to be very angry..

51. You say "handphone", not "cellphone" And you think there's no such thing as a handphone that's too thin.

52. You're not bothered by the fact that government cares whether you know how to use a toilet or urinal correctly. (People squatting on toilet bowls? What the...???--ed.)

53. You're sure that the best way to change social behaviour is through consistent and comprehensive government-sponsored campaigns that permeate as many aspects of daily life as possible. And when they don't work, you never speak of them again.

54. You think chicken floss, corn, mayonnaise, and tandoori spices are proper pizza toppings.

55. You agree that what the government thinks of your personal habits and lifestyle should determine whether you get a condo and how much you pay for it.

56. You've become a fan of either Arsenal, Man. U., or Liverpool when you barely knew what soccer was before you came to Singapore. And you don't care that none of these teams are Singaporean!

57. You think a bus is incomplete without a TV.

58. You accept that expressways here are cleaner than toilets rather than the other way around.

59. You know why this list needs the following disclaimer:

"This list is intended only as an amusing, light-hearted, and exaggerated look at life in Singapore and is not meant to be taken seriously. There is no intention on the part of the author of this list to make any untrue, misleading, or defamatory statements concerning any person in particular, nor to make any statement intended to cause offense. If any such offense has been caused, the author apologizes and retracts the offending statement. In any event, the author's NOT WORTH SUING, so don't trouble yourself."

60. You understand everything on this list!!

Well, sure I don't. But I am working on it!

I wish you all a great fourth Advent!!

Maik

(Christmas impression in Singapore, picture taken in the 'Chimes')

Sunday Dress

2005-12-04T23:22:00.000+08:00

(potp: A tiny Balinese beauty. I totally adore these children, because they dress up and look so wonderfully. This is actually a Sunday's dress for the weekly visit of the temple; unknown name; picture taken in the 'Holy Water Temple' in Bali)

HONEST NATURE?

We truly went through a couple of lessons during our time in Bali. I really wanted to get to know some local people, and not to give the picture of the typical European who rumbles into the island and takes full advantage of the striking difference in price level. But how can you prove to be 'different'? (if that is possible at all).

Well, there is a major contradiction present that I am not able to explain at this stage. One thing we became fully aware of as a fact was that the Balinese people are very spiritual. Religion is a very basic foundation and pillar of daily life. Little flower baskets and incense has to be used with every prayer. Hindus have to follow a set of commandments (similar to the Christian Ten Commandments). If they do not abide by them in particular, the understanding is that they will not move up in the next reincarnation process.

(Besakih, the Mother Temple)

The bittersweet lesson is that despite their spiritualism we never really had the feeling that we were treated honestly. Whenever a price for a service or product was negotiated, you could be sure theat there would be a sequel and that the conditions or the prices would suddenly change afterwards. This is how a total fare of 50000IDR (€8) for the rent of 3 surfboards suddenly turned into the demand for three times 50000IDR (means €8 EACH) afterwards. We only paid the originally negotiated price, which made them really grumpy. It was also funny to hear a cab driver saying that he is really sorry, but he had mixed up the prices because of a wrong guess for a distance between two major tourist places. So he suddenly came up with 50% higher price, when we were on the way to our destination in Ubud. Oh, yes..very plausible.

LETS GO SKIING!

Unfortunately, these are not isolated cases. It happened almost Every Time! And if there was no change in price afterwards, then the product itself was not the way we expected it. What would you expect if someone promised you that a package trip up a volcano included skiing down again on the sand and that all the eqipment is included in the price? Surely not that you slide down with your own boots on a rocky and dangerous ground for only 30 seconds and walk the rest? Unluckily, the English capabilities of our guide deteriorated rapidly as soon as we started to complain, so we had a great time explaining him the difference between skiing and sliding. After a long argument with him and his moody boss in the office later ("Sir, we do work for a German Student Travel Guide, and we would love to regard your services as highly recommandable, but here we really do have a different view"..as you see, we joined the game), we got half of our money back.

This behaviour towards tourists seems all the more strange to me, since the Balinese people we met (who or course do not represent the whole island, but just people who usually come in contact with foreigners quite often) seem to live two different standards at the same time. On the one side, lying and unhonest behavior is strongly forbidden and its effect can only be remedied by strong belief and most intensive praying. On the other side they treat foreigners sometimes like idiots, who are just objects to be squeezed out like a lemon. Is cheating on your customers not a betrayal and a lie? How can this behavior be compatible to a commandment which says that stealing and robbing etc. is forbade? This is highly inconclusive to me and destroys a lot of trust.

TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

Sounds like, I am complaining a lot while sitting under palm trees and sipping of my coconut? True, the weekend itself was great, as you can see on the pictures. Most of the people were helpful, courteous and very friendly. We also had a great time chatting with Balinese people in general. And of course, how could I even expect to get to know this island in only 3 days?

Well..but, whenever money was involved, you could be sure that there would be some foul play. Unfortunate, but nothing unsusual..I guess one has to live with that kind of hard bargaining. But please, if anyone has a reasonable idea how this contradiction can exist at all, feel free to comment on this post!

Wish you all a nice 2nd advent!

Maik

Safety in Bali

2005-12-01T23:15:00.000+08:00

(potp: Our safe driver in Bali..strangely, the concept of a seatbelt seems to be a different one in Indonesia..)

PICS

BEAUTIFUL Bali Pictures are online! Please check them out if you like..
Bali Pics by Maik and Christoph

BALI BOMBINGS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Bali_bombings

Well, let's start with the serious topic. Many of you will ask: How on earth can you go to a place like this, where bombs go off in tourist places every now and then?
- Reason 1: Although it sounds like a stupid rule of thumb, I do believe that it is quite safe after the bombing. Unfortunately, these stupid morons got what they wanted..to scare everyone to death and to keep tourists away..which is the real and most important effect, since it cripples this island and destroys many of the things they build up during the last couple of years.
- Reason 2: There was a promotion from Singapore Airlines..just €90 for the return trip. If you hear this, there just cannot be any second thoughts!

(The Island of Bali..just east of Java)

(Kuta and Jimbaran were the two tourist villages, where the 2005 bombings took place)

Georg, Christoph and me booked asap, unfortunately only for 3 days again. There is never enough time for travelling, if you have to work. Which is a real bummer.

Well, one of the first things we realised after our arrival in Kuta (yes, we stayed there and considered it a safe place) was that there were almost no tourists around. I was told a couple of weeks ago that there was not a panic reaction like the one 3 years ago, when most tourists left almost immediately. Instead, many people seemed to have accepted the fact that something like this could happen and at least finished their holidays nonetheless. But apperently, mid- and longterm bookings declined to a great extent since then.

Having in mind that Kuta is THE tourist place in Bali, it was very surprising to see only a few foreigners around on a Friday night. The local pubs and bars were virtually deserted, the only noticable dance club ('The Wave') had only a bunch of Indonesians and a pretty weird local rockband, which did not really meet our taste. This is really a sad development, since this beautiful island had just recovered this June-July from the aftermath of the last bombing three years ago. Cab drivers and shop-owners nearly go nuts these days, because there simply are no customers around, and the only few left are treated a bit like walking moneybags.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND

Of course, nobody really understands why anybody could perform an atrocious act like this. Although Indonesia is the country with the biggest Muslim population in the world (87% of 241m people) the Muslim share is only about 15% in Bali. Most people live the Hindu religion, which is also more open to 'competing' beliefs. I do not say that I prefer Hindu over Muslim belief; to me Hindu religion seems to be more tolerant and less rigid. Even Muslims and Christians are free to enter their holiest temples (like the Mother Temple in Bali) and pray there.

(Besakih, The Mother Temple, Bali)

The biggest problem is that there exists a considerable Muslim fundamentalist basis on the island of Java. They hate western influence, white tourists in general (especially all countries which were or are still involved in the liberation of Iraq) and consider their presence in Indonesia a sacrilege. Their only remedy seems to be violence, that's why they jump over to the Hindu and tourist island of Bali, because they believe that this is a good place to convey their message of hatred. You just have to imagine this..the already poor people in Bali have no chance to counter this kind of terrorism and are helplessly exposed to the resulting decline in tourist attraction.

MOST WANTED

(The one who knows one of the depicted person will get a reward of 100m IDR = €8500, which is a hell of a money.., found as a billboard close to entrance of a holy Hindu temple!)

I did not know whether I should put this on the net. But then I decided to do so, although it is a disgusting picture. But even small Balinese children see this billboard virtually everyday, and it is also a good display of how these terrorists are being viewed. What you actually see on the picture are the restored heads of three of the Bali Bombers. Their identity is still unknown, that's why there is such a high reward on any piece of information. This damn atrocity will haunt the peaceful Balinese people for years again, which is the main tragedy..

Well, this was a different post, but I felt it was important to tell.

Of course, Bali has much brighter sides..wait for the next post, which will be due in 2-3 days!

Maik

Monkey Business..

2005-11-20T16:21:00.000+08:00

(potp: somewhere in the mountains of Samosir Island we met a family which had this nice little monkey as a pet..chained of course; is this allowed in Germany?)

WHERE'S THE OLD STUFF?

I got some questions regarding the whereabouts of the first posts. I decided to show only the most recent 10 posts on the main page, because it would otherwise become to big. You can access the older posts by using the archive function on the right sidebar.

SUMATRA - PART 2

Sumatra Pictures

Well, a few days ago I uploaded tons of pictures about Sumatra..of course, nobody really wants to crawl through all this material without having someone to tell some stories and anecdotes. The old problem again.. either everyone joins me via MS-Netmeeting for a discussion or I leave it like that. Without a close relationship to what happened, one will of course find it rather boring to look at 200 pictures..But if you're interested, take a bit of time to explore them..it is worth it, I think!

Well, after spending a nice evening in Medan, we headed north the next day. We wanted to get into a big national park where there were Orang-Utans living in the wild. Our way was marked by .. uhm .. streets (bumpy, bumpy, not too good for the virtually non-existing suspension of our bus), many small villages, beautiful jungle landscape, craziest motorcycle drivers (why not overtake directly in the bend? It's ok la...) and the realization that every kid that was able to walk had to have a plastic rifle or gun, which they pointed at us at every possible occasion (while smiling and cheering at the same time, of course..).

CAN I HAVE YOUR BACKPACK, PLEASE?

The Orang-Utans weren't very interested in us though. The important thing for our guide was to have bananas handy all the time to attract them. Understandably, the monkeys had developed a Pavlovian reflex to associate backpacks with bananas (the guides always stored them in their backpacks...for the orang-utans, therefore a backpack must have been a magic thing..), so we had to leave them immediately after we ran out of bananas...their greedy looks were testimonies of what possibly would have come next.

SPEED LIMIT?

After spending almost the whole Friday on the bus to get to our next location (Samosir Island, which is located right in the middle of famous Lake Toba), Georg, Thomas and me rented motorcycles the next morning to explore the Island. Note, that there was no need to produce licenses or anything.

(Me: 'Sir, what's the speed limit here in Indonesia?'
Answer: 'Ooohh, speed good, bike very fast!'
Me: 'No, I mean, is there any law? How fast are we allowed to go?'
Answer: 'Ah? Fast! Bike very fast! Will be fun!'
Me: 'Well, thanks a lot!')

These 5 hours with the bikes (125ccm) were the best of the whole Sumatra trip (my perspective). It was simply awesome to drive up to the ridge of the Island, to see many small churches, temples and mosques (sometimes right next to each other! what a positive example).

HISSSSSING SOUNDS..

Later the same day we went up a volcano (damnit..forgot the name already) to camp in the crater. It was abviously still active, taken into consideration the constant hissing sound of 3000°C hot sulphorous steam coming out at several spots. The whole area stank like rotten eggs..

Well, what we did not know before was that the night was to become our very Indonesian cultural experience. As it happened to be Saturday night, there were some locals camping at this place as well. They usually arrive late at night, start a campfire, take their guitars and play Indonesian folk songs until the sun rises again. It was damn cold up there, but the singing and the friendliness or our guides and other locals kept us warm and awake. The atmosphere was truly special and unforgettable..

But get an impression.. mp3 (1 MB)

Aayohh..

Maik

Experiencing Sumatra

2005-11-10T21:20:00.000+08:00

(potp: ATM in Indonesia: 'Please enter your pin-number'. Who knows where this funny box sends your pin? And where does your precious money go? To the Indonesian Secret Service? To outer space? ; found in a town in Sumatra, Indonesia)

HOLIDAYS!!

Time for travelling again. The week from 31st of October to the 6th of November had 2 holidays in Singapore (the Indian festival of light 'Deepavali', and the Muslim 'Hari Raya'). So why not take one day of leave (I do not have too many during my internship..what a bummer! Singapore is such a fantastic hub for so many Asian destinations) and visit the supposedly beautiful Indonesian Island of Sumatra for four days? We were a group of 7 German speaking interns..thanks for the organising, Thomas!

Sumatra is actually the second largest island in the world (it is indeed difficult to keep up with Greenland..). Of the total population of about 230m roughly 37m live in Sumatra (btw, did you know that the population density on the island of Java is more than twice as much as in Holland? ok..useless information ;-)) It is the last big Indonesian island that still provides the experience of rough tropical jungle plus creepy and in many places almost non-existing infrastructure.

DANGEROUS, NOOO!

Our destination was Medan, in the northern region of Sumatra. It is pretty close to Banda Aceh, which I guess is a quite well-known region after it was struck so badly in last years Tsunami. Furthermore the region is also 'famous' for fightings betweens rebels and the government. As many of you certainly know the open 'war' stopped after the Tsunami, especially to make foreign help possible. A peace treaty was put into force just in August this year..taken into consideration that we did not experience any danger (common sense rules!), it seems to work ;-) But after all, we were still miles and miles away from the very north of the island where the fightings took place and we had Indonesian guides with us. nooo dangerous.

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?

The first challenge was to handle the money. Each of us carried about 2.3m Indonesian Rupiahs, which equals about 200 Euro. Since we were given only 50000IDR notes, the weight of everyones wallet was enormous. Just imagine..a normal Indonesian earns maybe 27.000IDR per day (which is less than 3 Euro). Why would we take the risk of carrying so much money with us? We had organised a tour guide, inclusive aircon-bus, driver, security and bus-door-opener (no kidding). And this had to be paid in cash..(about 80€). And as you can see in the potp, the ATMs were kind of funny (in case they worked at all). 'Trust' is the key here..

One nice expample, to illustrate the Indonesian price level: One day we made a break in a medium-sized town..Georg and me went to a little grocery store to get something to drink. We chose a normal coke, which was 'only' about 20 Eurocents (and this was the tourist price..which is usually 2-10times higher than the local price). I was wondering why there was a layer of dirt on top of the can. When I emptied the can I realised a football-advertisment on it. Unfortunately is was for the world championship 2002 in Japan/Korea, so the coke was only 'best before May 2003'. Well, too late, but it tasted ok..which speaks in favor of Coca Cola Inc.'s ability to put lots of sophisticated, conservating ingredients in their beverages.. :-)

The point here is that this can was waiting for its customer in this little store for almost 4 years, because no local Indonesian could ever afford to buy a coke for about 10 Eurocents. I still see the owners face when I emptied the can in just a few hasty gulps. Drinking Champagne in front of him would have had no more effect, I guess. Well, that short experience spoke volumes about the almost inconceivable difference in life standard..but more of that later.

There is too much to tell, so I am gonna split this report.

To be continued..

About Zebras and Cats

2005-10-30T19:45:00.000+08:00

(potp: poor Zebras...is it a good or bad sign to be sponsored by the Golden Arches? I suppose there will be some 'Zebra weeks' coming up ;-)..found in Singapore Zoo)

CATCHING UP

I got some response that the amount of the text I provide here is a bit too much. I disagree, period. Well, when you look at the growing intervals between the posts, you can see that it regulates itself anyway. Nevertheless, there will be a lot of travelling in the next weeks...be prepared for some stories about Sumatra, Malaysia and Bali (yes, flights are cheap after some people went crazy and blew up public places again..).

SOMETHING'S MISSING HERE...

Well, there are MANY cats in Singapore. They must feel very comfy in the tropical warmth (you would love it, Chakotay!). A weird fact is that about 50% of the cats I've seen have just a stump or no tail at all..which looks abnormal and disfigured to my eyes. Don't they need the tail to keep their balance when jumping around? Well, one possible explanation could be that Singaporeans see it as a sport to cut the tails very early. Or it is some breed? I cannot really believe that this would prevail. So far, I did not manage to find a local who could (or wanted?) to give me an explanation...Are all the tails kept at one 'unknown' place? Is there a secretive 'Ministry of Tailcutting'? I have not idea..and maybe it is not a good idea to dig any further..;-) Any hints are welcome!

INSIDER INFORMATION

I have to come back to the famous topic of 'Asians like to date Caucasians' once more. Actually, there is an interesting expression for this kind of woman in Singapore. 'SPG' is not an abbreviation for 'Socialdemocratic Party Giggling', but stands for 'Sarong Party Girl', which is a common and derogative term for women who only date Caucasian men. No man should ever use this in the presence of a Lady, as it is considered pretty offensive. Just for your information..and don't tell anyone :-)

One last thing..it is possible to camp on the beach in Singapore and Sentosa Island. It is not crowded, but beautifully romantic..no application needed and no costs..Sounds too good, you say? So where's the catch? Well, I just heard that a male + female combination in one tent is only allowed when they are married (to one another ;-)). Otherwise there will be serious charges and fines (I just imagine the 'knock, knock..excuse me, can I see your license please?'). Oh yes, that figures. Not that I am in immediate need here, but this is such a typical rule..not even my 'license' could help here ;-). At least homosexual cohabitants seem not to be covered..enjoy the beach!

Maik

Intelligent Pampering

2005-10-21T17:28:00.000+08:00

(potp: The real Gentlemen of the New Age use their skilled hands merely to use the 'Ipamper' on their beloved. Buy NOW, or you are a total loser! - found in Singapore, billboard)

I have the feeling that it is time to voice a few impressions about Kuala Lumpur. As the capital of Malaysia it has about 4.2m inhabitants in its metropolitan area. My friend Georg and me went there for a weekend trip from the 7th-9th of October, 05. I am not going to bore you with a detailed travel report, don’t worry. As usual, I just picked a few things that aroused my interest and needed to be spread out. The rest can be explored on my photo page. (Without the night-life of course..who takes a digicam into a dance club?)

THE TWO TOWERS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Lumpur

I guess, most of you know the depicted building, the so-called ‘Petronas twin towers’, a proud and outstanding symbol for the city’s future ambition. The towers are flashy, modern and clean, but actually embedded in a ‘different surrounding’. I guess the city mayor once thought something like this: “Well guys, let’s build something HUGE and HUMONGOUS in this city. Money is not the limiting factor here. I got to have a decent place to invite my rich friends into. And we need to impress all those folks and tourists who go to Singapore and Japan!” (don’t sue me; freedom of personal opinion :)).

Don’t get me wrong, the Twin Towers are impressive; they look absolutely gorgeous at night with their organic looking skin flooded by light from the inside. The first looks from inside the bus when we approached the city center Friday night were astonishing. However, these skyscrapers stand out like a lighthouse or beacon in a city that is rougher than Singapore in almost every aspect. ‘Misplaced’ is a word that sometimes came up our mind, but it’s negative meaning would be too derogative, regarding the fact that the locals are really proud of this building, which used to be the highest skyscraper until Taipeh 101 in Taiwan came up recently.

CHARACTER OF A CITY

First of all, one realizes the difference in cleanliness. Singapore’s ban of chewing gum is understandable after seeing all those disgusting dark spots on the streets again. Wonderful architecture can be found directly next to lousy infrastructure and often worn down houses even in the city centre. There is less green color around than in Singapore and the general pollution is quite overwhelming.

No way to count the times that I had to hold my breath because of all the exhaust pipes that blew unfiltered cancer-stuff right into my direction. However, all that is quite compensated by the general feeling that this city offers opportunities. Malaysia is not a “Nanny-state” as Singapore, which has its main goal in protecting its citizens by having the severest punishments for comparably small offences (you know already). I got the feeling that people in Kuala Lumpur somehow look more than just a bit envious to all the things Singapore achieved. After all, Singapore was part of Malaysia until it became independent in 1963. It’s GDP per capita nowadays is about 3 times as high as Malaysias (US$27,800 vs. US$9,700 in 2004; for comparison Germany in 2004: US$28,700!!), so this attitude is quite understandable.

HOW MUCH?

The funniest (and most exhausting) experience is the bargaining, especially for more expensive things, like watches or clothes. You HAVE to know how to do this; otherwise everyone is ripping you off all the time (except in the few malls and the restaurants where there are fixed prices). As a rule, one should place the first own offer at about 30-40% of the seller’s first price. Additionally, one should make up a weird or far out explanation, why the told price is justified (“Damnit, ‘50’ is my lucky number! If I pay you 200 bucks for this genuine Rolex watch, I’m not only gonna ruin myself, but also put a spell on my family AND you!”) Here a general rule: The mood, friendliness and patience of the seller are indirectly proportionate to the adequacy of the price. Means: the grumpier the seller, the better. As soon as the last smile has left his face and he’s tired of piling up more and more clothes, you know that you got your price tag. Never leave a store/stall with the seller smiling..it should definitely tell you that something’s wrong. It should always be you smiling…:-)

INSANE CAB DRIVERS

Public means of transportation do exist in KL, especially the Monorail, the rails of which penetrate the city like enormous veins. Nevertheless, the easiest way to get from A to B is still to take one of the countless cabs that swarm the city at all times. Cab meters exist and the drivers are obliged by law to use them. However, most of them try to negotiate a fixed price, which is sometimes ridiculously high for the local price level, e.g. 20 Ringgits (which is 5 Euros) for a short ride, instead of the meter price, which would probably be around 2,50 Ringgit (0,60Euro). That means bargaining again (the same rules apply as before), which works most of the time, because of the overwhelming amount of cabs around (it’s a buyers market, as long as there is daylight and no rain…if it is night and pouring down, it’s just the other way around…)

Besides that part of the business, KL Cab drivers are fantastic sources of information about what is going on in town. Some are entertaining and good conversationalists, some try to lure you to boring faraway places; one was badmouthing and trashing cab drivers of other ethnic groups all the time (“You know..we Chinese decent people. These Indian fu***ers are the ones rip you off all the time. And sometimes do have buttons around feet, speed up the meter”). It was interesting to hear that cab drivers usually don’t stop for locals of Malay heritage, since those usually insist on the meter (since they are the poorest here..), while Chinese heritage people usually know when to insist on meter or when to accept a negotiated price.

Somehow, the general behavior of cab drivers changed as soon as it was after 9pm. Well, many of them seem to have close ties to a certain business that I don’t want to explain any further. We were a bit surprised though, when we got detailed recommendations where to get a ‘boom boom massage’ (no comment) right after entering a cab. One driver even admitted to get a 20 Ringgit commission for every successful arrangement. The craziest Chinese driver was even ‘bold’ enough to stop near every woman who was walking on the pavement and shouting something, accompanied by sounding the horn like a lunatic. That was kind of embarrassing…,but still nothing compared to the way he started to lick his steering wheel later.

I think I have to stop here..all those wonderful memories coming up again at once is too much for me..;-)

Maik

p.s.: for the record: this was just the ‘weird’ excerpt of KL. Go visit it, when you’re there. It’s a beautiful lively city with an exciting nightlife....that ends at 3am by law..:-(

King of the fruits

2005-10-15T09:58:00.000+08:00

(potp: don't take this on the bus!)

STINKY OR NOT?

The picture above has been taken on the bus on one of my commuting trips. It is not really surprising that smoking, eating and littering on the bus will make your wallet less heavy quite soon. This is common sense. Nevertheless, there is one more sign, depicting a thorny fruit called 'Durian'. The name comes from the Malay word 'Duri', which basically stands for 'spikes'.

Why would it be necessary to focus on this particular object, you ask? Well, as always, beauty and maybe the quality of smell lies in the eyes of the beholder. However, one day when I went for a walk on a local market my nose was suddenly exposed (let's put it this way) to a distinctive, nauseating smell, which was situated somewhere between a very old tropical fruit that had been neglected and forgotten in the back of the kitchen or very ripe cheese.

The first of the two pictures shows a typical durian fruit which can grow up to 40 cm in length and 30 cm in diameter (wikipedia). The other one depicts a stall on a market in Kuala Lumpur (please note the electric installation in front of the picture..this is worth another post...). At first I did not know where the smell came from. I have been told before that Durian smell was phenomenal (in a positive way..by a local Singaporean, of course), but that day KL offered the first opportunity to get a genuine personal and permanent impression.

An even better description comes from Richard Sterling (as quoted in "The Travelling Curmudgoen") who says that "..its odor is best described as pig-sh*t, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away. Despite its great local popularity, the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in South East Asia."

Additionally, I should not forget to mention that Durian is often referred to as one of the most dangerous fruits in the world, since the combination of heavy weight and spiky surface can lead to serious injuries when it bumps into your head while you are strolling around under the trees.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

On the other hand Durian ("the king of the fruits") is being processed to many at least deliciously looking things like cakes or tarts (have not been bold enough to try it yet..but one Durian cake is waiting for its famous moment in the fridge), which are supposed to be almost free of the overwhelming smell.

Maybe I am going to give it a try in the next couple of days when I run out of chocolate. I will keep you posted..

Maik

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian

Insomnia

2005-10-10T23:45:00.000+08:00

(potp: Mandarin gardens night watchman having a nap)

KUALA LUMPUR!

I just came back from a nice weekend trip in Kuala Lumpur. Some pictures are up already. Take a look if your interested. As I mentioned at my photo-site, the city of Kuala Lumpur is crazy in many aspects..there will be a detailed report coming up in the next couple of days..

HOW LONG DO YOU SLEEP?

This time the picture of the post is soo symptomatic for Singapore. I took it late September on a Sunday morning around 3am when I got back home to Mandarin Gardens. There is supposed to be security staff around all the night to keep an eye on the complex, but that very moment the cosy warmth of the night obviously was too much for the lonely watchman. Well, this is still understandable for me, since he was guarding the gate just by himself the whole night. The 'problem' is somewhat deeper..I have the feeling that people here work so much that they look like in desperate need for a holiday already on a usual Monday evening.

I am always fascinated to see Asians falling asleep in the subway or on the bus, just to wake up seconds before they have to get out again. It seems to me (no proof here!) that a large amount of people gets out of their beds like zombies in the morning, hardly capable of opening their eyes..just to continue their sleep on public means of transport. Virtually EVERYBODY who looks remotely Asian sleeps in the subway..that really is a major difference to Europe, where people mostly do something..like reading, playing computer games or just staring with this typical empty look to the opposite wall. To be honest, I would love to be able to do this wake-up-at-the-spot-thing. But I guess it would not be very funny to practice it...most probably, my body would totally use the opportunity to sleep in. As everyone knows, driving noise leads to an overwhelming tiredness...I am almost certainly that, whenever I would fall asleep, I would wake up in a very unfamiliar place..:-)

LIFE QUALITY?

Working hours for locals are generally way beyond many things exercised in Germany (as far as I know from my limited experience). Companies here in Singapore have an extraordinary high rate of fluctuation..which has its reason in the fact that many people often just accept the next better package that pops up and that workers are generally stressed to the breaking point, e.g. get no money for doing plenty of overtime. Of course, this makes labour very cheap and contributes to the sustaining economic growth. Luckily, my work load with Infineon is quite clearly defined. That's why I can indeed enjoy a standard 5-day-week, which is extremely luxurous here I guess.

I am still of the opinion that I would rather work for a good living, and not to live for work, like many people seem to do here. I still might be wrong, since my insight is not very profounded yet. Nevertheless, what I see during my everyday commuting tells me that to have so little free time during the week that it bites of a big part of your sleep is widely socially accepted in this society. I am definitely telling this from a very ethnocentric (biased) point of view...I guess this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of local work ethics.

Much more to explore then..I guess

Good night,

Maik

Moviestar

2005-10-06T20:18:00.000+08:00

(potp: law-abiding locals, click picture to enhance otherwise you won't be able to read it, I guess)

INCENSE

Hello everybody!

This time, the picture of the post has been taken in one of the local parks, 2 weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon. I was just walking leisurely around when I realized a strong smell originating somewhere further up (this park..forgot the name..had a little hill right in the middle). As I closed up, I saw some kind of open building..basically a roof, standing on 4 pillars. A group of maybe 10 Indians were having sort of a religious gathering there, some sitting cross-legged on the floor, some walking around with books in their hands. They did not really take notice of me..I felt like a being from another solar system anyways..Their beautilfully colored clothings deeply impressed me. There are about 10% Indians in this country I guess, and this was the first time I've seen a family gathering (or whatever it was). I did not dare to disturb them or take a photo, but had to smile when I realized the depicted official sign, which basically prohibits EVERYTHING what was going on that moment. Well, the locals seem to be rebellious, after all...

BEING A STAR

No matter what the response might be, I have to tell you about this. I just hope that I find the right words..

Well, 2 hours ago I had a dinner on my own in a Thai restaurant, which was situated in my Condominium (no, not 'Condom'! It's just an expression for a way of living here, basically a name for a housing area..don't spread the word that I moved right into the red light district ;-)). It was actually a long day in the office. I have been tired (there was some dancing the night before in one the better clubs, called 'Insomnia'..what a wonderful name), so I went home relatively early. I am generelly a tad lazy when it comes to shaving, so I already had a 4-days beard (no problem in the office; looks still ok with some nice trousers and a decent shirt). So tired and a bit neglected as I felt, I opened the door and went into this restaurant. Suddenly, the 3 female waitresses started giggling and whispering as I sat down on one of the tables. One waitress approached me and gave me the menu. She hesitated for a moment then leaned over to me and said blushingly: 'You look like a moviestar'...said it and hurried away to the save haven of her collegues, leaving me with a questioning face and knitted brows. I ordered the soup of day and some spicy seafood, said thank you in chinese and began to eat..but I could not really focus, since everytime I lifted my head to look around, the restaurant staff observed me and started smiling from the distance...

Well, that night I ended up with 3 wonderful Chinese waitresses in my bedroom...

DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME

I'm just KIDDING. So, why the hell am I writing all this arrogant and bragging stuff? It is just because I am asking myself the same question over and over again. Being a Caucasian alone in this country gives you an overall advantage, which makes me feel weird (I said this already earlier); I was told that even Singapore Airlines treats Asians and Caucasians significantly different some times (don't sue me, please! I'm just a student). Of course, a part of the friendliness (especially in stores) stems from the fact that most foreigners are tourists with heavy wallets and therefore a good target..this is business and understandable for me. But that does not explain, why on earth Caucasians (oh my, how shall I put this..) also seem to be generally interesting in a romantic way. Of course, I might be wrong, but this is at least my personal impression...I am just honest here and would really like to hear your opinions about this.

BEAUTIFUL?

I know (and also read about this in an article) that in the beginning of their journeys, many Caucasians generally experience the problem of remembering Asian faces, because their mind is mainly trained for Western faces so far (So sorry, Ashley!), but this unfamiliarity does not result in the impression that most Asians look beautiful to us. On the contrary, our view of a beautiful Asian seems to be sometimes 'distorted'. My friend Michelle (Chinese heritage) told me this, since she had realized earlier that she and another German hardly ever agreed on who's pretty or not.

This is by no means a derogative expression towards Asians. I love the mentality and friendliness of the people here, and I apologize if anybody feels hurt by my writing..this is definitely not my intention. But I just have to wonder why it so immensily special to have a date with a Caucasian (as if this fact alone matters). I would just like to find out where this different 'concept of beauty' (in case it exists at all) comes from. I hope anybody could follow my weird thoughts..I would be really happy about any helpful comments!

Good night,

Maik

Singapore is a fine city

2005-10-03T21:17:00.000+08:00

(potp: Dancing in Singapore)

PICS!!!

Hello everybody!

I finally uploaded my first pictures. There are some shots of the surroundings (condominium + beach!), as well as a try to document my commuting every morning). There will be more coming up during the next week, I hope. I am just tooooo lazy to take pictures.

http://public.fotki.com/Maikinnz/01_singapore/

Update: In case the page is offline (happens from time to time..) just try it a few hours later or the next day..Sorry

BE CAREFUL

As the picture of the post suggests, it is a wise decision not to do everything in the public sphere.. Singapore truly earns the label of a 'nanny state' considering such things as the ban of imports of chewing gum, highest fines for littering, spitting and not flushing in public toilets..Penalising the smallest offences has become a trademark of this city.

An excerpt:
(1 S$ = 0,5€ = 0,6 US$)

- selling or importing chewing gum: S$1000
- dropping gum or litter: S$1000
- dancing in public: S$5000
- skateboarding: S$500
- smoking in most public places: S$1000
- hawking without a licence: S$500
- vandalism: S$5000
- public speaking without permit: S$2000
....

THINKING ABOUT IT..

These are fines for first offences..repeaters usually face corrective work or even jail..The dimension of these fines might seem odd for foreigners (including me). However, conversations with locals showed me that they seem to support it and I guess these laws are also a main contributor to the taming of all the different cultures that exist in this melting pot. It is true..these measures make Singapore a very safe place.I haven't felt uncomfortable in any way during my first 15 days. For me the lack of chewing gum felt like drug rehabilitation in the beginning :-)..but then you realise that the streets are clean from trampled chewing gum remnants, that it is difficult to find ANY garbage in the public, that it is so clean in the underground-mrt (mass rapid transport) stations that you sometimes think you could eat from the floor.

Taken from a newspaper:
"Repeat offenders get their pictures splashed across the papers in addition to getting threatened with jail," ..."Asians are used to discipline, they respect their leaders and the law a lot more. They accept what they are told to do for the common good."

Well done Singapore, but you still earn the title of 'THE fine city'!

Wish you all a beautiful day!

Maik

p.s. theft is punishable with cane beats, I heard...

Singaporean Desperation

2005-10-01T16:39:00.000+08:00

(potp: Desperate Housewives - taken from the quality paper 'Strait Times'; no comment; click to enlarge)

THEORY ON SPICE?

Well, I hope all of you had a nice and not too stressful week. It is Saturday in the afternoon and I just came back from a nice lunch..I had some really tasty (and of course spicy) seafood called Laksa at one of the 'Hawkers 'centres close to the beach. Hawkers are basically an essential Singaporean experience. Food in general is one of the aces this city draws. Hawkers used to be people who wheeled their pushcarts through the streets, serving snacks to homes, shops and offices. Nowadays, they are conveniently grouped at Hawkers centres, since the Ministry of Environment started to enforce new laws on hygiene. There are some Hawkers also situated close to my workplace..you get fantastic Chinese, Indian and Malay food + freshly squeezed juice of whatever kind and combination (hmmm...) for about 3 Euros altogether..

There is one thing though, that I really do not understand. Why on earth seems food generally to be more spicy in warmer and hot places? I don't get it..it makes you sweat even more than usual and isn't that something you'd like to prevent? I already got used to the spices to some degree. The feeling of the spices crawling up my nose, causing tears and sometimes a cough is less repulsive compared to the first couple of days. This assimilation takes some time..maybe one of you has an idea, why there seems to be a clearly positive correlation between average temperature and the use of hot spices..? I have no idea and so far nobody could tell me.

HUMIDITY CAUSES HUMILIATION?

I am kind of an individualist in terms of sports. Team sports aren't really right up my alley..I like cycling, swimming and especially running. I was almost at about two thirds of the distance of a standard marathon earlier this year, when I still exercised in Dresden. My first run on the beach of Singapore one week ago virtually blew my mind. There had been a few showers during that day already. So, there was still water dropping from the palm trees and it was almost a bit misty. Combining this striking humidity with a temperature of 27°C in the evening gives a good explanation why I was totally soaked within 10 minutes of running. This may sound a bit disgusting, since sweating is usually associated with bad smell in European climate. Nevertheless, this kind of perspiration here is more kind of a healthy one I guess. Yeah, it does not look too pretty but involves less stench, as long as you don't overdo it and forget your shower for a couple of days ;-)...I was told that a good combination of exercising, spicy food, freshly squeezed drinks (and a working deodorant, of course :-) will make life much healthier and easier here..

I realised that day that I was wearing too much anyways. Most of the local runners are exercising just in their shorts (not the females of course :-)). So following 'In Rome do like the Romans do' I also went running virtually naked for the next couple of times. At least this does not seem to be punishable, like dancing on the streets (more on this next time ;-))

Wish you all a nice weekend!

Maik

(1) http://www.travellady.com/Issues/Issue60/singapore.htm

Please sign this!

2005-09-29T20:50:00.000+08:00

(picture of the post #1, please click on the picture to enlarge)

STANDARD PROCEDURE

Well, let me give you a short insight into Singaporean immigration law. Due to the fact that there are many relatively poor countries in the direct neighborhood, immigration has grown into a tough topic during the last years. A case in point was my already mentioned 'incident' when I tried to enter the country with an incomplete work permit form (see post #2: Farewell). They were actually telling me that I could enter the country as a tourist, but depending on the mood of the officer in charge it could happen that I won't be allowed to work anymore later, even if I produced a correct permit. Imagine my heart thumping, thumping, thumping...

UNWANTED ADVANTAGES + FREETHINKING

Well, on Monday the 19th of September (my first day at work, more on this later...) I went to the Ministry of Manpower to apply for my final work permit (you get a identity card). Loads and loads of paperwork...this is really nasty, since a lacking piece of paper can lead to a (let me put it this way) decisive action by the authorities. The place was packed with people from all over Asia, a really interesting mixed bunch. What I really and finally realised that day was that Caucasians (for those of you who don't know the expression: "relating to or denoting a broad division of humankind covering peoples from Europe, western Asia, and parts of India and North Afric", basically white-skinned Europeans) always seem to have an advantage here. White-skinned people are generally treated in a more polite and friendly way, at least this is my personal impression. Maybe they think I do have some important position here. well, never mind ;-) But it is a weird and most of the time unpleasent feeling to be treated differently, just because of the color of my skin; no matter if it's positive or negative. I mean, why on earth should white-skinned people be automatically better? I could have been a crook and they would still treat me way more friendly right from the beginning than an honest man from a poor region in Thailand...

By the way, when I filled out one of the forms for my work permit I also had to state my religion..the only thing I (as an atheist) could pick was 'Freethinker'. So, if you like you can refer to me as a 'Caucasian Freethinker', which sounds somewhat awkward..

IS THIS A JOKE?

One of the many sheets of papers I had to sign was the one on the top of this post (potp #1). I had to smile a little when I read articles 8-11. The authorities seem to be wary that no wrong person ever gets too close with a local of the opposing gender (of whatever gender, to be politically up-to-date). It let me somewhat down to sign this..I mean, I did not have the intention or the immediate urge to marry one the local beauties (and there are indeed many, to say the least; I leave the rest to your imagination ;-)) right away. But the prohibition of any kind of cohabitation really stroke me...You know, I am currently a Bachelor and God knows where the wind will take me. Well, of course I signed it..otherwise I would probably be at home in Germany again and pet my cat right now..

SURPRISE

(potp #2, surprise; click on the picture to enlarge)

Five days later when I went to the same place again to pick up the ID-Card, one sheet of paper was attached to it (potp #2). It was really kind of funny in the first moment to get a formal permission to cohabit and even to marry. Was it the Caucasian bonus? Was it the European advantage? Did my company sign any kind of contract to support family planning? No, just kidding. I have no idea. I am just happy that this issue is solved and that I can indeed enjoy dinner with a Singaporean woman without the need to hide away whenever police pops up ;-)

Good night to all of you!

Where the hell..?

2005-09-28T22:41:00.000+08:00

(picture of the post: Singapore is right in the middle of each map, just for your information..)

FIRST TASK: BECOMING ACCLIMATIZED...

Well, as for the climate..just imagine a place that is just covered with tropical jungle. Suddenly Mr. Samford Raffles comes along in 1819 to found a city at this spot, which is so ideal for a free port...(1) Fast forward...all forest ist basically flattened and replaced now by one of the most vivid metropolis in Asia. Of course, the climate did not change..many foreigners seem to ask themselves, why on earth one should work and live here. But there are plenty of good reasons..So, when I walked out the airport for the first time (it was late, around 10pm on Friday, 16th Sept), it felt like walking right into a wall..still 27°C and so humid. I was picked up by Jan and Philipp, two interns from Infineon who used to be here for quite a while.

...LEARN TO MOVE AND PERSPIRING LIKE THE LOCALS...

Cabs and Buses, virtually everything that drives around in the city has aircon, which is badly needed. As an 'untrained' Middle-European, you start sweating right away everywhere and almost everytime in the first week, especially whenever there is no aircon in close proximity. Every fast movement leads to sweating, especially during the day, when there are more than 30°C and around 80%-90% humidity. This climate is really...special. Hard conditions for your deodorant :-) The most difficult challenge was to get to work without getting into the state that you would need a shower right after your arrival..

Nevertheless, it has advantages. You will never need any skin cream, since there is always a thin layer of moisture on your skin. It is much more comfortable to wear contact lenses, for example. At home in Germany I could wear them for about 8-9 hours, here I can virtually keep them for the whole day without ever noticing them. There is simply no way they could ever dry out (except the fact that you stay in a freezer-like place that has the most aggressive and drying aircons..which really strikes me sometimes when I enter a store. You feel chilly immediately, and if you ever get a cold in this country you'll surely get it from evaporation cold pretty quickly, I suppose)

I remember myself pondering about riding a bicycle to work every morning..one hour in this climate tells you that this idea is just nuts..So I was happy to sit down in a chilly cab with the 2 guys and to have my first Singaporean beer one hour later, because were going right to one of their favorites bars.

...AND TO LOOK FOR A FLAT!

I slept at Jans place for the first two nights. Infineon itself does not arrange anything regarding accomodation..but after talking to some interns I was confident that I would find something somehow...and I did! I virtually won the lottery. But more of that in the next days..

(additional potp: Infineon Asia Pacific Headquarters, 8 Kallang Sector, Singapore)

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore

Farewell

2005-09-28T20:39:00.000+08:00

(picture of the post: upper = Ronny, Sandy, me and Chrissi; lower = Glenn and me)

LEAVING DRESDEN NEVER EASY

Well, first thanks to all of you who wished me the best for my trip. It certainly would not have been so difficult to leave without all of you asking me the whole time how I felt about leaving ;-). The last days in Dresden were fabulous..special thanks to Sandy and Ronny, who organised a wonderful combination of birthday and farewell party on Sept 11th. Thanks to Anke and Matt who managed to pay me a visit. Having so many friends at the platform (also cheers to Chrissi & Glenn), who wished me luck, certainly was a sign that somethings gonna change..

Well, my ICE trip to Frankfurt was a quick and comfy ride. The flight to Dubai was interesting. I haven't had the opportunity to try Emirates before (who are supposed to be 2nd only to Singapore Airlines in the world with regard to customer satisfaction). Stylish music, appetizing videos and quite beautifully smiling stewardesses, hmmm. And all these different cultures. Not too bad I thought, before a German guy sat next to me boasting of his frequent flyer bonuses for the first two hours of the flight. Back to reality at last. Well, there's not much to tell about the flight, other than it was relaxing then (the German guy was competing in his snoring loudness with the engines. I cannot sleep anyways during flights, so I was listining to podcasts and music..sometimes the other neighbor of the guy bumped 'accidentily' but heavily into him, which merely let him grunt for a second).
Nevertheless, Emirates surely know how to treat even their 'wood'-class customers gently. The only thing I missed, was a decent massage (more to this a few posts later in Singapore..;-)) I wasn't bold enough to ask for one, but an Indian guy who sat next to me on my final flight to Singapore told me confidently the staff generelly would do anything before letting the word 'no' slip out of their mouths to a customer. Maybe I give it a try on my way back ;-)

ARRIVING SINGAPORE NEVER EASY, TOO?

The arrival at Singapore airport was marked by a first slight shock. Although I was given a letter directly after leaving the plane containing my work permit, they would not accept it. Apparently, Infineon HR had missed out to print page 2 of 2 of my work permit..luckily, I am European, so I could finally enter the country as a tourist after numerous discussions with their police and immigration personnel. puhhh...immigration laws are really strict in Singapore, so I was kindof lucky.

It was indeed a weird feeling to walk through the doors of the airport...tropical hot climate, palm trees, humidity, spiciest Asian food, unspeakable names of Indian cab drivers and of course an internship with Infineon ;-) were waiting somewhere behind these doors...

Welcome!

2005-09-26T05:04:00.000+08:00

Hello guys!

It has been almost two weeks since my arrival in Singapore. That means there is PLENTY to catch up on. Well, I thought it would be just an easy and (to be honest) convenient way to start a weblog to communicate with all of you. I would love to write plenty of emails...but that would take away lots of time to explore Singapore and its surroundings..and isn’t this what you actually want to hear about?

By the way, the best way to contact me would be via skype: I should be online pretty often in the future. My nick: europe80. Additionally , for all of you from Germany: it is incredibly cheap to call me on my cell: just preselect 01077 or 01079 , followed by 6581653510 (where 65 is the country code). It will cost you just about 1.6 Cents/Minute.

I would also like to encourage you to write comments as much as you like. Any weird, unpleasant, political incorrect behaviour will be censored though..this is my way to contribute to this country’s kind of freedom of the press ;-)

So far so good..I will just give you my address before I finally get on.

Maik Schroeer
Mandarin Gardens Condo
5 Siglap Rd, 02#42
448908 Singapore

'WAH LAU'..WHAT'S THAT?! YOUR NEW LAST NAME?

Well, you probably wonder what it means. So let me explain this to you, because there is indeed some meaning behind it. The Singaporean population constitutes itself mainly from people with Chinese (about 75%), Malay (15%) and Indian heritage. Singaporeans (not very politically correct as I heard: 'Singis') themselves often say that they can neither speak English nor Mandarin properly. The spoken English has of course some accent, which is not so bad. The funny part is that English is very often combined with a language called 'Singlish' (1). It supposedly comes from Hokkien (a sub-ethnic Han Chinese group originating in Fujian, China). I think I'm going to throw in a few words from time to time...not just to confuse you, but to give you a taste, what the local language is like.

'Wah Lau' is actually the pretty and much more polite version of 'Wah Lau Eh', which happens to be one of the most used expressions here. 'Wah Lau' means something like 'Wow', 'Damn' or 'Bummer' (I stick to the first interpretation though..), you can look up the inpolite version when you click on the first bookmark in the footnotes..(1) no comment anymore ;-)

Aayoh..I hope you enjoy reading this..I think I am going to update this blog around once or twice a week, depending on mood and time. Again, feel free to comment as much as you want. Let's see how this works!

Maik

(1) http://www.talkingcock.com/html/lexec.php?op=LexView&lexicon=lexicon&amp;amp;amp;alpha=W&page=1