Day 1

Whenever I get to a new city, I like to explore.  So I pick a random direction and try not to get completely lost.

I had a few goals in mind.  Figure out the mass transit, see where my new office is, buy a new mobile phone, and feeding myself, of course. The last one normally shouldn't be a problem (there are food courts and restaraunts everywhere) but my stomach was in no mood for the exotic.  What I can say but thank heaven for Seven-Eleven, they are everywhere here.

Finding a mobile phone was an interesting adventure. Ultimately, I failed: my employment pass is still 'in-principal' until I go through some further admistrative steps.  I could still get a phone, but I'd have to pay a sizable deposit. 

But it was an adventure.  First I found Sim Lim Square, several stories of individual discount computer and electronics stalls.  It was like those old computer shows you would see at convention centers in the 90s.  Sim Lim has cell phones, but you can get one subsidized with a new contact, so this didn't look like the place to do it.  I'll come back for a netbook after I get paid, though. Also the place to go for pink crystal encrusted or hello kitty themed cell phone cases.

In a later walk, I found the SingTel office tower, and guessed corectly that there would be a flagship store there. I know where to go now when my status is more official.

From there I walked downtown, found my office, bought a transit card and subwayed back.  Some interesting sites along the way, which I'll have to make into a later posting.

My jetlag isn't that bad.  I went to bed at 7pm, woke up at midnight and was up for a few hours, back to sleep till 7am.   It'll be nice to be able to sleep 8 hours straight, but I'm holding together well.