Friday saw me teach my final two English lessons of what has been a short but very sweet stint here in Singapore. I’ve spent plenty of time reflecting on the past and what I’ve loved about my time here, so now it’s time to look forward and see what the future has in store for me.
What’s Next?
On Tuesday I will jet off to Colombo and spend about a month travelling round Sri Lanka with my friend Kat, who I originally met during my time in Vietnam. I’m looking forward to catching up over a few beers and curries and discovering a whole different country.
I’ve heard that Sri Lanka is more like India than anywhere I’ve visited so far on this trip – which is music to my ears. I had a great time when I visited India in 2010, so this should hopefully bring back plenty of good memories whilst making new ones in the process – preferably minus the Justin Bieber obsession that seemed to be sweeping India when I was there.
Time to get back into this crazy world…
As per usual with my travels, I’ve barely bothered to make any sort of plan or itinerary for my time in Sri Lanka apart from three nights (in a private room – what’s one of those?) in the capital on arrival – so it should be a very spontaneous month ahead.
There’s also the small matter of meeting one of my best mates, James, and travelling with him for about four months from the end of September. I guess you could say I’m a little excited about that one…
Getting back into the swing of things
Before starting my teaching job, one of the things I was looking forward to was having a bit of routine back in my life. Sure, I was loving the whole backpacker lifestyle (not so much the hangover days…) but I thought it would be nice to at least have some sort of routine in my week.
Now – after just three months of work – I can’t wait to have no routine holding me down! Turning off my 6.30am alarm clock on Friday was one of the greatest feelings in the world! I can’t wait to get drunk whichever night I like and hop from place to place whenever it suits me.
As great as this all sounds, however, it does have its downsides. I’ve become comfortable in Singapore. Although the country is still in Asia – it is a lot more westernised than a lot of other places and when I leave it will take me a few days to get back into the swing of things.
Great times in Singapore with great people.
I’d only just got into the habit of taking everything with a pinch of salt (in other words; knowing I’m getting ripped off left, right and centre because I’ve got a white face) when I came to Singapore. The last three months of standardised pricing have brought my guard down a lot and I’ll once again have to get over than shame barrier when it comes to bartering over 20p (or any other insignificant figure) as a matter of principle!
It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!
Rambling Northerner 