An apartment and fireworks

Big news!  I found an apartment!!  It is a brand new unit, but it is super tiny (which I am totally ok with).  It's next to a couple of shopping centers and near the river.  Kind of a hike to an MRT, but there are some bus stops pretty close by that will get me around town.  And most importantly, it was within the price range that I felt comfortable with!

So interestingly, I decided on this place based on some advice of some new friends!  Wednesday morning, I went with Sarah to an ex-pats coffee group.  It was held at a really cute place in Tanglin Mall called Brunetti.  I had a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant, but since I am new to blogging, I didn't think to take a picture until after I had almost finished haha.

The ex-pat coffee group was comprised of mostly wives whose husbands are here on assignment for work.  At one point, someone asked me "so what does your husband do?"  Wah wah.  They were of all age ranges, and from all over.  The UK, the US, Australia, Europe, etc.  It was really great.  

Anyway, we got to talking about my struggles with housing and so some of the women started sharing about where they live in Singapore.  Quite a few of them live in what's called the River Valley area, which, as the name suggests, is near the river and has quite a few shopping / eating areas.  I had initially not given much thought to the area because there is no MRT, but all of these women raved about the bus system and how convenient it was.  But after hearing how much these women all loved it, I started to think twice. 

So, my realtor took me to view a unit on Thursday.  We were a bit early for our appointment, so he drove me around the neighborhood a bit, and I really liked it.  When I saw the unit, even though it was tiny, I just had a good feeling about it and decided to take it!

Shot of my new living room - it comes with a tv!

A real cooking surface.  And a brand new fridge (still wrapped up) all the way to the left.

Small balcony off my bedroom, which is basically big enough to put only my bed in it.

Thursday also happened to be National Day, which is Singapore's independence day.  This was the 47th anniversary of their independence from Malaysia, and it was quite a spectacle!  (You may have also seen this interesting piece of National Day propaganda.)  The highlight of the day is a parade in the early evening, complete with jet planes and musical acts, followed by fireworks over the water.  I went over to Stephanie's apartment, which has a great view of the water, to watch the show.  

The parade was being broadcast on television, which was then displayed everywhere.  Here, people are just standing on Orchard Road watching the broadcast.

A huge crowd wearing red, Singapore's color, gathering down by the water to watch.  It was crazy how many people were there.

Happy birthday Singapore!