Random thoughts

I know I've been writing a lot about Singapore recently, but I guess that's what happens when you've lived in a new culture for a while. I've become very aware of what's around me. I get the bus to and from work every day. It costs around 15p and is fully air-conditione d. Most of the time I get a seat, it's brilliant. Today was a special day - I boarded a bus that was driven by the world's most friendly bus driver. He greeted each passenger and said good bye to everyone who got off. Sadly I was the only person to notice of the 40-50 passengers that recieved this star treatment during my journey. So I gave him a big grin and a wave as I got off the bus. I love how something like that can add an extra smile to your day. I'm currently learning Mandarin (week 2 of a 10 week course). Last week I was convinced that the whole language is a conspiracy to confuse westerners. Today, however, I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge of learning such a dramatically d

Don't get me wrong, living in a tropical climate has distinct advantages. However there are some notable disadvantages: The weather is always warm, so you plan a barbeque - inevitably it will choose that day to rain Ants think that they can live in or on anything you own. Currently there is an ant colony residing under the keys of the laptop. Stuff goes off really quickly. Bananas are rotten by the time you've got them home from the market (almost). Some of the best things about living here are: You can leave the house in the morning knowing that whatever you are wearing will still keep you at a reasonable temperature at midnight. The temperature never changes. You can keep potted orchids with very little care, the humidity does all the work for you. You can go for a swim at any time of the day or night. You never get cold toes (apart from when you wear sandals to the office and they get frozen by the sub-zero air-conditioning). All in all, life is good. We had a group of frien

I have been thinking a lot about ants recently. Not that strange when you understand how many there are in Singapore. Ants are everywhere. They are amazing creatrues; I'm sure a lot of you have heard me say this before given that I spent two weeks studying leafcutter ants on a peninsula in Southern Spain 10 years ago. Anyway, I digress. People tend to largely ignore ants here, but they come in all sorts of fascinating shapes, colours and sizes. Nobody really says much about them, but they are everywhere. My manager even had to decontaminate my desk because there was a nest of them inside the woodwork somewhere! I have a problem with the ants over here. They are viscious blighters. All I have to do is stand innocently preparing a meal in our kitchen and I will invariably get a munch on the ankle. It's like they think they own the place or something. They are a nightmare. One day I was walking along on my handphone giving grief to some poor customer servi ce representative and ba