19 things I learnt ... in my first 19 days in Singapore

Southeast Asia has a distinctive smell which I love. It’s a giddy combination of fried noodles and humidity.

Ahhh humidity. Humidity sucks.

Humidity might suck but there are still few places on Earth that are hotter than Qatar.

On that note, air-conditioning can change your life. I’m not sure our expat adventures would have got off the ground without it in Houston or Doha and now here.

Singapore is 50 Shades of Green… and then some. I’ve never seen so much green in my life and I love it!

House hunting with little kids was an activity created by sadists or the devil. Ditto for touring schools.

Walking and using public transport is awesome after four years of having to drive everywhere. Public transport with air-conditioning is especially amazing (see points 2 and 4).

Driving in Singapore after driving in the Middle East is almost as relaxing as meditating. Until you have to park in a tiny car park, that is.

To smoke in public you have to go out on the street and stand in a yellow box painted on the ground. I don’t even smoke but I found this fascinating.

You need a passport to buy a SIM card (discovered the hard way). You can only buy a prepaid SIM with cash (discovered the hard way only after I discovered you need a passport and went home to get it).

You can set up a travel card to your debit card (not entirely sure how this is different to just tapping in with your debit card).

The tap water is drinkable. This is mind-blowing to a five- and seven-year-old who only know life with a water cooler in their house.

The food is amazing. From boutique restaurants to busy hawker centres, we’re spoilt for choice! I’ve yet to pluck up the courage to try a durian though.

You can buy all manner of things in 7-Eleven but canned goods and fresh produce are not two of them. On the plus side, they do sell wine, but they also sell random toys and keyrings that your kids will beg you to buy for them. Every time you go in.

Speaking of kids, school starts back ridiculously early in August and has incredibly long days.

Also speaking of kids, letting them ride the bus to school for the first time is an utterly terrifying experience, which, of course, they love.

It’s harder to make new friends when you don’t have a baby or toddler in tow. Luckily for me, it’s easier to make friends when you’ve been on the expat circuit a while.

There’s more to do in Singapore than I ever dreamt possible. We will need to live here for 10 years to really see and do everything here.

I started believing that I’m going to love living here from the day we landed.