Making friends in Singapore
Since we moved to Singapore, we never got involved in any Dutch expat community or anything. Not that we are against that. Not at all. We were just not actively looking for that and it never crossed our paths.
Frits works here on a local contract, which does not come with any expat perks.
And I found friends more or less accidentally in other ways: I met one in the elevator of where we lived at the time. Another friend I met in the tango community in Singapore. They are both locals. A third woman I contacted via FaceBook.
I had two other friends, but they moved away. That’s what Singapore is; it’s small and international. People come and go. Even locals do. That’s sometimes sad and hard.
I wrote about making friends and maintaining friendship here and here.
Walking with a group of Dutch women
Sometimes the people that remain in Singapore loose the motivation and courage to make new friends, since they have seen so many of them go, that they cannot be bothered to make the effort all over again and then loose them too at one point.
I have not reached that point yet and I think I won’t. In fact, last King’s Day I met two women that I connected with and that are potential new friends. So yes, I’m still enthusiastic about making new friends.
One of them introduced me to a group of Dutch women that do a group walk every thursday morning. 10 km, 2 hours, starting at 9.30 am, ending with a coffee together. So far I walked with them twice and I liked it.
Four pics that I took from the FaceBook group page from this walking group. Not the best quality, but you get an idea. These pics are from the first walk in which I participated.
The women are nice and they all have interesting stories to share.
Walking along ceramics, a columbarium and a cemetery
Last week we found ourselves walking along ceramics, a columbarium and a cemetery. Let me tell you more about that walk.
We gathered at Jurong Point Mall and took a bus from there.
Our walk began around the CleanTech area.
People always say that Singapore is nothing more than an urban jungle, but I beg to differ. During this walk I ran into a wild boar which is a first for me. I spotted three bright blue Kingfishers and a dead snake. Pretty amazing wildlife in a big city, don’t you think?!
It lead us through Clean Tech Loop, where you find schools and companies focussed on eco-technology.
I suddenly saw a wild boar right next to our walking trail. It was huge! But it was too fast to catch on camera.
There’s a lot of green in Singapore. The government has actually made it an important issue to turn Singapore into a green city. I love that.
Dragon Kiln at Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle
We paid a short visit to Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle, which has one of Singapore’s oldest (it dates back to the 40’s) surviving brick-built kilns for wood-firing.
I wonder when the next date is. I would like to be present then.
Once focussed on mass-production of pottery and ceramics, it nowadays focusses on educational tours, workshops and selling ceramics and pottery in their huge store.
These kind of pottery ovens are called Dragon Kilns because of their shape that reminds us of a dragon. OK, it takes some imagination, but I think it pops up quite easily in the mind of someone from Asian descent.
Here you see the dragon kiln. We are looking at the front. The head, so you will. Behind the head, we see the body and rising up at the end is the chimney or tail.
A peek inside the belly of the beast. This is where all the pottery is placed that is getting baked.
The area for pottery workshops.
For sale. Only SGD 6, these chicken teapots. Cute, lah!
It’s a very interesting place and I highly recommend a visit to Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle.
A 6-star columbarium next to a public cemetery
After that we were headed towards Choa Chu Kang Cemetery, but first we passed by Nirvana, Singapore’s only 6-star columbarium, as they advertise themselves.
If you have a closer look in the mirroring letters, you can spot me holding my camera and some of the other dutch ladies.
We did not go inside, but it turns out that this is the same columbarium where I went on the cremation day of my friends stepdad. I din’t recognise it that quickly, since we probably entered from another side that day.
I will share my experience at this high-end columbarium in one of my next posts. You will be amazed!
I will write about it right after my next article which is gonna be about Choa Chu Kang Cemetery, also a fascinating place that is changing rapidly.
The most beautiful cemeteries that I visited
Do you like exploring cemeteries? Or does it sound gruesome to you?
Not to me.
Often cemeteries are peaceful places. Green. Quiet. And some have impressive art and architecture.
The cemeteries that impressed me the most are:
- La Recoleta in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
- Monumental Cemetery in Milan, Italy,
- Cimitiere du Pere Lachaise in Paris, France
- and Waverley Cemetery in Sydney, Australia. I wrote about it here.
Another cemetery that I wrote about is Bukit Brown Cemetery in Singapore.
The Merry Cemetery in Sapanta, Romania, seems really pretty, so I hope one day to visit that place. Same goes for the Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY, USA, and for the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood. These three are for sure on my bucketlist.
For a complete list of beautiful cemeteries around the world, click here.
Did you know that there’s even an underwater cemetery in Key Biscane, Florida, USA? Cray-cray, right?!
Which cemeteries made an impression on you?
Leave a Reply