Our "House" in Singapore

In Singapore, about 70% of the population live in what is called "HDB (Housing Development Board) flats". They are large concrete structures, some as high as twenty or thirty stories, containing 100's of "flats". Our building is eight stories high, we have a four-room flat on the fourth floor.
	Welcome! Our front door. Come on inside. Watch your step.

The living room, or "hall" as it is called here.	The other end of the "hall" where the computer lives, and where I am during most of the time during the day..


The kitchen, obviously.	The owners are an Indian couple who stay with their daughter near Boon Lay. The kitchen is definitely Indian. I have no oven, so I cannot bake, as Indian cooking does not require baking. There are three sinks in my kitchen, one of which contains a grinding stone. The lady house-owner comes occasionally to grind things on it, but I "park" my pots on it, as although the kitchen is full of cabinets, I only get use of three of them. It is also why so many of my things are on the countertop. Everything has to be kept in air-tight containers because of the humidity, and to keep the ants and lizards, among other things, out of the food. Also notice there are no screens on the windows, so anything can crawl, or fly, inside. You can also see I have no dryer. Here there is no need for one, as the clothes dry quickly enough in this heat, hanging from the vinyl-covered bamboo poles.

	Between the kitchen and "hall", and in front of the my bedroom door is a small pantry which has been converted into a prayer room, or "pooja". The lady houseowner comes regularly to put fruit, flowers and other things here, especially during her festival times. A flame burns constantly from a wick suspended in oil in a brass container in the center of the table. You can see the flame in the center, towards the bottom of the picture.


My bedroom, with my BunnyBear and my boombox. And the only room with A/C. I call this my "cave", where I go to cool off when I can't bear the heat any longer.

View from the window at the end of the kitchen to the "car park" below.	View from the window in the "hall" behind the television. Here, besides part of my neighbor's laundry, you can see the soccer field that is between my building and the Muslim mosque next door. The red tile roof of the bus stop is barely visible thru the trees on the right
	This is the adjoining building (left), "L" shaped from mine. I jokingly named this "the Singapore clothes-dryer", as this is how most of my neighbors dry their day's washing. There are metal pipes made into the concrete outside the kitchen windows at at angle, and when the bamboo poles are inserted into them, it makes this "dryer". Some people, like my neighbors, just hang their clothes over the balcony in the front of the building instead. You can see some of her laundry pinned to the rail in the picture above. I do mine in the kitchen, because I am afraid they'll fall off :) You see this all over Singapore. You can also see there are no shops underneath this building, which is called the "void deck". This is where funerals and weddings take place occasionally. My building has a daycare on the ground floor, but most of the other buildings have small shops and food courts, where I get my bread and vegetables when I need them. The shop owners have gotten used to their 'blonde' customer who is addicted to diet Coke and who likes chutney with her prathas.
	Me concentrating on something at the computer This is where I work now. My days are different. Still an adventure in many things. Learning new cuisine, and how to prepare it. Learning new culture and adjusting to differences, such as people, customs and climate. Thanks for dropping by. Come back anytime. Email us.

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