Merry Christmas Everyone!

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Another Christmas has come and gone.  Like last Christmas, I spent this one in Singapore.  The celebration was small.  It was just my wife and I, but we had a good time.  We had ham, veggies, toasted bread, a log cake and champagne.  We have enough left overs for a week’s worth of sandwiches!  We also spent some time watching Christmas movies and laughing over (or eating) presents we’d received.

We didn’t get to spend this Christmas with either of our families, which would’ve been great, but we have each other, and it’s nice to be able to spend the holidays with someone you love.

It’s also great to get a huge box of goodies from home in the mail on Christmas Eve!

The box has 3 Musketeers, Skor, Snickers, Quaker Instant Oatmeal Fruit & Cream Variety (80 packets), 2 boxes of thin mint cookies, two stocking-stuffer mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup packs, and some Chips A’hoy.

3 Musketeers is hard to find around here.  The only place I’ve ever seen it is in the duty free store on Clark Air Base in Pampanga Province, Philippines.  They had a few packs of the mini-bars.  I’ve also never seen Skor or those thin mints over here.  Skor is chocolate covered toffee.  There is Quaker Instant Oatmeal here, but only the plain kind.  That stuff sucks.  The flavors in the box we got are ‘Peaches & Cream’, ‘Blueberries & Cream’, and ‘Strawberries & Cream’.  It has little bits of fruit in it and has a sweeter, creamier taste.  You just dump it in a bowl and add hot water.  Cheap (in the US anyway), affordable, and a perfect breakfast.  Good for a dessert too.

Some of this stuff is available in Singapore.  You can get Reese’s Peanut Butter cups in import shops but they cost quite a bit.  I doubt if those two stocking-stuffer packs cost more than 3 bucks apiece in the US.  Here it’d probably go for 6 or 7 bucks.  As for the Chips A’hoy and Snickers, I think they must use a different recipe because the ones I get in Singapore (or the Philippines) just don’t taste quite as good as the ones from the US.

So, I got a box of American goodness that should last us for months.  Oh, and I got a pack of underwear.

I hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas as well!  Next up, New Years!

Another Round of Christmas Decoration Photos From Around Singapore

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Back in November, I made a post with photos of the Christmas decorations on Orchard Road for this year. Since then, quite a few have been added, but I didn’t get shots of them all.  There’s just too many!  Orchard Road really turns into a sea of lights at this time of the year and helps you to forget about the hot weather and the lack of snow.  It helps get you in the ‘Christmas spirit’.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been snapping photos with my iPhone and camera when I saw things that stood out to me.  Here are a few more decorations from around Singapore:

This giant ball that opens and closes is in Terminal 3 at Changi International Airport.
This is the outside and inside of the Christmas tree in front of Ion Orchard mall on Orchard Road.
These are photos of the Christmas tree at Bugis Junction.  I really love the white and blue combination!
There were a series of dressed up deer characters along Orchard Road (including a creepy one with no eyes).  I had to wait a while, but managed to get this great photo taken!
Oops!  Someone dropped this tree in upside down!  This is at Tampines 1.

These three Christmas trees were walking around Tampines 1 offering up great photo opportunities to shoppers!
I think this will be my last Christmas in Singapore, so I was happy to have the chance to see so many of the decorations.  Christmas isn’t just about decorations, but it really sets the mood, and I’ve never seen it done better.  Bravo Singapore!

The Med at Orchard Central, Almost Ready For Business

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At the beginning of November my wife and I went to Orchard Road to look at the Christmas decorations.  While we were there we walked through Orchard Central.  A lot of the good decorations are inside the malls after all!  While we were exploring, we noticed that the very bottom level of Orchard Central was still closed off.  It was still under construction.  The decor looked fascinating though, so I took some pictures. (Scroll to the bottom of that post to see them).

Well, it turns out that as of this past weekend (at least) it’s open for people to go down and look around.  There’s still nothing open down there, but it was neat to see what they’ve already done with the place.  In keeping with the rest of the mall’s appearance, the decor and style that’s gone into the basement level is impressive.
The whole floor will be called “The Med” and it’s going to be a Mediterranean style eating area.  So, I’m assuming there’ll be a lot of Italian food.  I’m hoping it won’t be that bland though.  I’m hoping they’ll be bold and have restaurants serving Greek, Egyptian, Lebanese and Turkish dishes, among others.  Just going by the way looks, I have a feeling the prices will be a bit steep.  Let’s hope it’s worth it!  I’m looking forward to trying the restaurants out once they’re open.
Speaking of the class of people the area will cater to, I laughed when I saw the sign down there showing the concept picture of the finished area.  It was packed with Caucasian people.  Do they think no locals will eat or shop there?  Is it only to cater to tourists?  Here’s an image of the part of the sign I’m talking about:
And a few photos of the area:
Even the bathrooms are well-appointed.
These last three photos are of a mural painted on the wall directly across from the escalators.  It’ll be the first thing you see when you enter the level, assuming you don’t use the stairs that go directly to it from street level.  I was really impressed with it.  The colors are very vivid and attractive.  It’s not a sticker or a poster either.  It was actually painted on.
Hopefully in about a month or so the restaurants will open their doors to customers, but for now it’s still worth it just to go down and have a look at the level of work and attention to detail that’s been put into creating a Mediterranean atmosphere in subterranean Singapore.

Trattoria Italian Restaurant at 313 @ Somerset

Bradley Farless1 Comment

A few months ago I was complaining that I hadn’t been able to find decent pizza in Singapore, but I think that quest has finally ended.

You may be thinking that Singapore has Pizza Hut, but that doesn’t do it for me.  Even in the US I think Pizza Hut is gross.  The stuff is just too oily.  You shouldn’t be able to see grease dripping from your slice of pizza when you pick it up.  I prefer pizza that’s lighter, where you can taste the flavors of the toppings, not just the grease.

So, I’ve been sampling around, trying to find good pizza.

We did try Pizza Hut once when I first got here but, besides the fact that it’s Pizza Hut, the servings are small compared to how much they charge.  It feels like a rip off for poor quality food.  Also, they have a lot of bizarre (to me anyway) topping combinations, but last I checked (which was quite a while ago so don’t hang me) they were missing some of the traditional ones that I enjoy.  They also didn’t have plain pepperoni.  They had chicken pepperoni (I think it was), but not the real pepperoni.

Canadian pizza isn’t too bad.  It’s like the Domino’s of Singapore.  It’ll do in a pinch!  Still, it wasn’t quite up to par.

We also tried pizza in the New York New York restaurant.  I was hoping that a restaurant named after a city that has incredible pizza would live up to its name, but I was disappointed.  It was incredibly oily and very bland.  The sauce was spread so thin it might as well have not been there at all.  I didn’t even finish it.

New York New York Restaurant’s Pizza

In the US, I’d gotten spoiled on great pizza from pizzerias in New York City.  Notably, Mariella’s.  That stuff is just good!  Good enough that it draws celebrities sometimes.  Plus it’s a good price.  For about 3 bucks, depending on what you order, you get a slice of pizza that’s so big you almost have to hold it with two hands.  Here’s a photo:

Mariella’s Pizza in New York City

When I wasn’t in New York City I would go for thin crust pizzas from Papa John’s.  Depending on what toppings you order, they are really good and the cheese, garlic butter, and marinara dipping cups you can get along with your pizza are great.

Sunday my wife and I were checking out 313 @ Somerset, the new mall on Orchard Road.  On the ground level just across from the escalator that leads down into the MRT station is a restaurant called Trattoria.  It’s very nice looking.  The decor is very well done and the menu looked good, so before heading home we stopped by to give it a try.

Getting seated was a bit confusing.  The staff is obviously new.  When we first walked in I asked the first person I saw if we have to go to the counter to order.  He directed us to a register.  When I got there the cashier asked me for my receipt.  I told him we hadn’t ordered yet and we were then directed to a table.

Complimentary appetizer at Trattoria

After that, the confusion didn’t end.  We ordered a pizza and two raspberry Italian sodas.  While waiting on our order, another server came by and dropped off a plate with a complimentary appetizer.  It was good and it reminded me of Italian restaurants in the US.  In the US you’re typically served a loaf of fresh bread and a type of butter while waiting for your meal.  Sometimes it’s plain butter, sometimes cinnamon, honey, or even garlic.  It depends on where you go.  What we were served was a bit different but still a pleasant surprise.  After we finished it a third server took the plate and a few minutes later a fourth server dropped off another plate of the appetizers.  I think they didn’t realize we’d already been served an appetizer.  I’m not complaining that I got something free, just noting that the servers were a bit unorganized.

Raspberry Italian Soda, before stirring

Shortly after that one raspberry Italian soda showed up at our table along with a receipt marked with one pizza and one soda.  I had to get up and tell a server that we’d ordered two, not one.  It took about 10 minutes for the second soda to be prepared, despite the fact that only four tables in the restaurant were in use.  The soda showed up at the same time as our pizza, but we never got our receipt back which made the check-out process a bit more annoying later.

Trattoria’s Pepperoni Pizza

The pizza more than made up for the questionable service.  The crust was thin and crispy along the edges, which is just how I like it.  A regular crust pizza gets you full on bread and you can’t enjoy as much of the sauce or toppings!  The sauce on this pizza is what stood out the most.  It tasted really fresh. It wasn’t sweet and they didn’t overdo the seasoning.  Typically I hate an aftertaste, but all the way home on the MRT I savored the lingering taste of that pizza sauce.  The pepperoni on the pizza tasted a lot like what I’m used to in the US as well.  The pizza was light, with a balanced amount of toppings and was a great overall dish.  I could’ve eaten the whole thing by myself and still craved for more.

I can’t really hold the shaky service against Trattoria.  It’s a brand new restaurant and the servers looked inexperienced.  They weren’t even serving everything on the menu yet.  Also, it was about 10:30 PM.  The end of the day is always kind of rough in a restaurant.  I’m sure that aspect of the Trattoria dining experience will improve over time.

That aside, the pizza was excellent.  The raspberry Italian soda tasted great!  I’m curious as to how their other dishes taste, but I’ll probably just go back again for more pizza.  Thanks for satisfying my craving, Trattoria!  See you soon!

Oh and by the way, the Vespa on display is a really nice touch!

Another New Mall, 313 @ Somerset

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While my wife and I were walking down Orchard Road over the weekend we noticed that there was another new mall open.  It amazes me how often a new mall opens in Singapore.  I lived in Columbus, Georgia for a while and still have family there.  We also used to go there to visit family when I was really young.  From as early as I can remember up to today, there have only been 3 malls there.  There was Columbus Square Mall.  After that Peachtree Mall opened and after a while Columbus Square Mall shut down due to lack of business.  A few years ago a new strip mall opened up.  I can’t think of the name of it because I’ve only been there three times since then.  It’s a horrible mall anyway.  The store fronts are all outdoors.  You can’t walk around and enjoy yourself and window shop because you’re either in the heat, cold or rain.  That’s beside the point, but I’m pretty sure that design disaster is why Peachtree Mall is still open for business, instead of closing down like Columbus Square did.

Singapore on the other hand opens new malls constantly.  In the year and a half that I’ve been here, four malls have opened: Tampines 1, Orchard Central, Orchard Ion and now 313 @ Somerset.  Those are just the ones I know of.  There have probably been more.  Three of these new malls were designed beautifully.  They’re fun to go to just for the sights and sounds.  They’re interesting to explore.  That’s good, because it entices people to come into the mall and then maybe see something they want to purchase.

313 @ Somerset isn’t one of those malls.  It’s design is boring.  Bland even.  It’s an up and down mall with ugly carpeting and no imagination.  It’s not without merits though.  It sits on top of the Somerset MRT station, so it’s guaranteed to receive high traffic, at least on the ground floor.  The restaurants there look great too.  I saw a burger place I’m interested in trying out.  There’s also Trattoria on the ground floor, which I’ll review tomorrow.

The food court on the top floor is huge, spacious-feeling and packed with food choices.  It’s not as stunning as Ion’s food court, but it’s more appealing, since it feels more cozy, relaxed, and not as crowded.  From now on we’ll be going there, rather than to Ion’s food court.  Eating in Ion is a headache.

We did get to see something really surprising while we were in the food court.  We were walking past their Christmas tree when I smelled something familiar.  It was the sweet scent of evergreen.  I stopped and walked up to the tree and then looked into the branches.  They actually have a real evergreen tree up there!  I leaned in close and took a deep breath.  It reminded me of the woods in Georgia and of Christmases from when I was young.  It was nostalgic I guess.  I was the last thing I expected to find in the food court of 313 @ Somerset.

If You’re American, You Owe It To Yourself To Watch Food Inc.

Bradley Farless2 Comments
Food Inc. is a documentary that explores the way the food industry has changed since the 1930s.  Have you ever stopped to wonder where you’re food is coming from?  Have you ever wondered how it’s grown, how it’s handled, treated, and brought to market?  Have you ever wondered just how healthy it is?  Go take a look at the items in your kitchen.  Check the labels.  How many have high fructose corn syrup in them?  Ever wonder why everything from your hamburger meat to your Coke has that in it?  Can’t figure out why your carrots cost more than a bag of Doritos?

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=talovecof-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0027BOL4G&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrA hundred years ago, foods (meat, grains, and vegetables) were all grown in a much safer, cleaner way.  Big business has changed all that.  There used to be thousands of meat processing plants in the US.  Now there are only 13, all controlled by just a handful of companies.  That wouldn’t be such a bad thing if they were doing their business responsibly, but they’re not.  How often over the years have we heard about food poisoning cases?  Why aren’t these plants shut down for continually producing bad meat?  Well, the answer is that big business uses its monetary leverage, as well as by placing former high level employees in key government positions, to influence government policy.  They’ve even continually worked to prevent food from being labeled properly.  For example, wouldn’t you like to know if the food you’re buying for your children is genetically modified?  Besides that, these big businesses and government policies are skewing our food industry in such a way that junk food is more affordable than healthy foods.

I think it’s important that people be more aware of what they’re eating and where it comes from.  This movie can explain that to you in an interesting way.  Seriously, it’s a documentary but it’s not boring at all. I had no idea about some of the things they do to raise the food we eat, and I know now why food in the US is so much cheaper than in other parts of the world. I also know why there are so many obese Americans with Type II diabetes. Our government is failing us in a very important way, but it’s kept out of public view. This documentary will definitely influence how I make future purchases in the grocery store, when I get back to the US of course!

To learn about abuses in the system, including gene patenting, using illegal immigrants for labor, and how to find healthy alternatives, watch Food Inc.

Here’s the trailer:

If you’re interested in getting a copy for yourself, you can follow the link to Amazon included in this post or, for more information, visit this page.

More Thoughts on Avatar

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(Read my Avatar Movie Review.)

Some of the comments I’ve seen on Twitter about Avatar say that the movie has a weak storyline and that you should just watch it for the special effects.  It’s true that some plot elements of Avatar can be found in other movies, but I think people are being over critical.  Think about it.  Movies have been in production for about a hundred years now.  Some plot elements are bound to be reused.  You can see the same thing happening in books.  So, instead of watching the movie with the intent to tear apart the plot, you should appreciate the movie for what it is, and for how artfully the story is told.  Besides, it’s really not that weak.  The movie itself is symbolic of a problem that we’re all facing now, in the world around us.

The humans in Avatar have traveled across a vast distance to Pandora in search of raw materials.  They’re there to mine for an ore that’s very valuable on Earth.  I got the impression it was a fuel source of some kind.  In their pursuit of this raw material, they ruthlessly destroy the environment around them without regard for the impact it has on the native population.  The same could be said of what we’re doing to our own planet.  In the pursuit of industrialization we’re polluting our planet at an ever increasing pace.  We’re destroying the habitats of animals.  We’re causing the extinction of whole species.  In some places, like parts of China, we’ve caused the environment to be so toxic that the people living there are seeing massive increases in birth defects and cancer related deaths.

I think that Avatar is trying to teach us that we should be more aware of what we’re doing to our world.  We should take the time to find ways to reduce our impact and to learn to coexist with nature, rather than destroy it for our own ends.  For all our technology, if we continue to pollute our world we’ll one day find ourselves without clean sources of food and water.  The Earth has limited resources after all.  I’m not saying we should all become vegetarian ‘tree-huggers’ but if we can start making a conscious effort on an individual level to reduce our impact, it can add up to a huge difference.  Think about how much better the world would be if everyone recycled, if no one littered, if firm controls were put on industries everywhere as to how their toxic waste was disposed of.  We have the tools available to us already.  We just need to use them.

Avatar is a great movie with a great message that we can all enjoy and learn from.

Avatar Movie Review

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Avatar is the best movie I’ve seen in years.  It’s so good in fact that it’s also the first movie to come out in years that I feel is worth paying more money for, to own a copy.  Before going to see this movie, I hadn’t really heard anything good about it.  People were all speculating about the budget and whether or not it would be justified.  I heard a lot of people predicting that it would be flaky.  I’m glad I didn’t listen to them.

Avatar is a breathtaking movie.  From beginning to end you’ll be amazed by the stunning visuals.  The imagery is vivid and lush.  The level of detail is astounding.  But it’s not just the visuals that will keep you glued to your seat.  The movie creates and entire world with depth, history, and tradition that’s full of life.  The Na’vi even have their own language. A sequel would only ruin it, but there’s enough room in the world James Cameron created in this film to spawn an entire series of books, expanding on the history of the Na’vi, the native population of Pandora.

Even though this movie takes place on Pandora, another planet, the human element isn’t lost.  The movie is all about bonds that people form with each other and with the world around them.  The Na’vi are a primitive race on the surface, but their society is very advanced, especially in how they interact with their environment and the role it plays in their lives.  The Na’vi live a simple lifestyle but they’re in tune with their surroundings and they live happily.  There’s also a romantic side to the movie that is predictable, but done in a way that’s touching and interesting.  It adds to the story, rather than serving as a distracting element.

The movie is fast paced and has a lot of action in it.  There really isn’t a boring moment.  With every scene you get to learn more about Pandora and the Na’vi.  There are also bits of humor thrown in, but tastefully.  Some of Sigourney Weaver’s lines are a great example.  This movie will probably appeal most to people who love epic fantasy stories like Lord of the Rings, but it’s hard to compare this movie with others I’ve seen.  It’s really in a league of its own.  It was like watching the rich world of a book come to life on screen.  There’s really something there for everyone.  I doubt anyone’s going to be disappointed coming home from this one.

At the end, you’ll find yourself lost in the world of Pandora and it’s people, wishing for more and reminiscing on the more poignant scenes of the movie.

(Read my follow-up post on Avatar and the symbolism present in the plot.)

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Sim Lim Sales People Drive Me Nuts

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I have a love-hate relationship with Sim Lim.  I love the place because it’s full of electronics and I love new gadgets.  The place has decent retail prices and if you’re looking for replacement parts, it’s often the only place in Singapore that sells them for a reasonable price.

So, why do I hate going there?  I hate going there because I can’t shop in peace.  I’m the kind of guy that likes to take my time, examining the items on display, reading through the specifications, comparing and thinking about what the best deal is.  I’m often not even there to make a purchase.  I just like to see what’s out so I can have an idea of what’s a good deal when I want to make a purchase in the future.

The reason I can’t shop in peace in Sim Lim is because of the aggressive sales practices of the staff in the various stores.  If you even look too long at something in the store while you’re out in the walkway area, a sales person runs out and asks you what you’re looking for, what brand, what price range, what what what what.

When you can make it into the store before being assaulted by a sales person, they’ll typically walk up and lean over your shoulder to see what you’re looking at.  Then they’ll insult your intelligence by reading the specs of the laptop you’re looking at from the sticker that’s prominently displayed on the wrist wrest of the device.  Thanks, but I can read.  I’ve been doing it for a long time and I don’t need help reading stickers that are placed in a clearly visible position by the manufacturer.

Typically, when I walk into a store in Sim Lim I walk straight to the items that I’m interested in browsing.  A sales person will walk up to me and ask me if they can help me with anything.  I’ll quickly tell them, “No thank you.  I’m just browsing for the moment.”  I say it in a no-nonsense kind of way to make it clear that I’m not interested in being “helped”.

At this point, one of two things will happen.  Either the sales person will take the hint, be polite and return to their sitting area, or they’ll just stand there.  Uh.  Hello?  I just told you I don’t want your help!  So, why do they do that?  It’s like having a vulture crouching on my shoulder while I’m there.  Even worse, they follow you around like they’re making sure you don’t try to steal something.  After a few instances of this I started telling them that if I had any questions about anything, I would come to them.  That didn’t work.  They still followed, right to the edge of the store, which is where I would directly go if they wouldn’t leave me alone.

Some of them have no sense of personal space either.  I had to ‘accidentally’ bump into one guy that was standing so close behind my wife he could’ve hugged her.  That’s really not cool.  Not at all.

Even if the sales person takes the hint and retreats, you’re still not guaranteed to be out of the woods, because that sales person has colleagues; colleagues that may not be paying attention to what’s going on. Here’s an example.  I walked into a store and when I was approached by a sales person I told her I was quite alright and would let her know if I needed anything.  She smiled and walked back to the sitting area.  Less than a minute later I was approached by another sales person.  Then another.  Then another.  I had to wave away four of them.

I really don’t know what the point of them hovering around me is.  It just puts me on edge.  It makes me feel like I can’t stay in one spot too long and make my own decision.  When they don’t leave me alone, or even worse when they try to offer me a “special price six minutes only” I quickly turn and leave and go to the next store.

I don’t like being uncomfortable and I don’t like feeling pressured when I’m considering spending a large sum of money on an electronic device.  I want to take my time and make sure that I’m picking an item that I’m going to like; not what the sales person tells me I’ll like.

I know this is a cultural difference, because I’ve seen the same behavior from sales people in the Philippines.  It’s odd that this is the only place in Singapore (that I know of) that does this.  Honestly, it makes me want to avoid Sim Lim if I can.  It’s too bad more stores in Singapore don’t have web pages that show their specials and sales.

So, here’s what I recommend.  If you’re a sales person and someone tells you they don’t want to be helped, hand them a flyer with your store’s current specials, tell them your name, thank them for visiting your store, and tell them that if they need anything you’ll be available (not waiting, because that sounds aggressive) in the back of the store.  Also, label your products with prices and whatever specials come along with them, like free bags, etc.  Mark brightly what’s on sale and put it near the front of the store.  Make sure everything has tags detailing the devices capabilities.  But don’t harass your customers!  Let them browse in peace.  If they have questions they’re not going to run away.  They’ll ask.

Good English Isn’t Always Good English in Singapore

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In this sign you’ll see that explanations are made “pristine clear”, which is redundant. It doesn’t inspire much confidence in the teaching ability of the instructors at this education center if they can’t even get their sign right, especially since they’re supposed to be teaching English.

This reminds me of the Speak Good English movement that the government has been pushing. Singapore is a country that has tried to develop a mandatory bilingualism among its citizens. That’s a great goal, but some of my online reading suggests that the plan has backfired and resulted in a large number of Singaporeans that speak both English and Mandarin inadequately.

Speaking to locals can sometimes be a daunting experience. First you have to adjust to the accent. Then you have to occasionally jump the hurdles of grammar errors and mispronunciations. Compound that with the occasional local that addresses you with the local pidgin English (called Singlish) and it can be a verbal minefield that will leave you scratching your head and asking for a translator. I always excelled in English and Literature subjects in school but sometimes I have to ask someone I’m speaking with to repeat themselves a few times to figure out what they’re trying to say.

This problem was very much apparent when I went to SingTel last night. I showed up and got in line to have my plan upgraded to an iFlexi plan. You see, when I first got my iPhone from SingTel the iFlexi plans (which were tailored for the iPhone) were … lacking to say the least. They didn’t really offer any benefit at all. The data allowance was VERY low and it just wasn’t worth having. So I wound up selecting another plan and I just used the wireless@sg that’s available all over the island. Well, not everywhere, but it’s in most shopping centers, libraries, and public buildings. If you’re not familiar with it, wireless@sg is free wireless that’s available to anyone in Singapore with a local phone number.

The release of the iPhone to other carriers in Singapore created a quick round of competition between the three major mobile carriers to offer the best plan for the best value in regards to their iPhone offerings.  Yay capitalism!  Part of that competition called for an increase in the data allowance to 12 GB monthly all around. SingTel was previously only offering 500 MB per month on the low end iPhone plan. Now the 12 GB limit was across the board. SingTel also offered a 30 SGD cap on data usage beyond the 12 GB allowance. That was great, so I wanted to get on board with it.

I realize I could’ve just called in, but we were at the mall anyway and I thought it might be a better idea to just handle the problem in person. When I got in line a girl came up and asked me what she could help me with. I told her I wanted to upgrade my plan to take advantage of the new offerings in the iFlexi plans. She took down my mobile number and other details and then went to a counter. She came back after a few minutes and told me that I’m not eligible to upgrade my plan. After quite a bit of going back and forth with her I asked her to get someone that spoke better English to assist me. Shortly, the manager came back and we quickly resolved what it was I was trying to do and I was able to upgrade my plan to an iFlexi plan. I’m not quite sure why, but the girl thought I wanted to re-contract my iPhone.  She was trying to tell me I wasn’t allowed to upgrade to a better, more expensive plan.  That obviously makes no business sense so I knew she was missing the point.

It can be funny finding signs like the one pictured above, but living in Singapore has taught me how important it is to be able to communicate effectively and it makes me glad that the ‘international business language’ is my native language. I hear English is one of the hardest languages to learn, so good job to those that have mastered it as a second language.