Bintan, Indonesia, and the Formula 1!

Hey together,

this was definitely the best weekend in Singapore so far. It was filled with everything I could have dreamed of last week, traveling to Bintan, Indonesia, chilling in the sun, experiencing the Jungle, the beaches and the whole atmosphere in Indonesia, and on the other hand watching one of the most exciting sport events live from a balcony at Marina Bay, Formula 1.

Since I assume that most of you are far more interested in the second part, the F1, I will change the chronology and start with devastated Hamiltons, burning cars, 100 decibel on average, and an amazing Sunday in Singapore.

Safety Car Stage

"Our" S-curve

We had an incredible race day, found this amazing hot spot at Marina Square from where we were able to watch the race as if we were sitting in the front row. And we were really lucky having an expert with us, Fabius from Academy Consult (Munich), who just came over to Singapore for three days to support the McLaren Team. He preferred our place although he had an All Zones Ticket(!) which got him to the boxes earlier. You see, we saved 130$ and actually had the best seats around the city :) nice one.

Michael Schumacher at the driver parade

@Marina Bay

Sara and me :)

Our view throughout the whole race, beautiful Singapore

And on top of the Formula 1, we actually went to Indonesia the day before. The plan was on having a nice trip with six girls having a lazy time at the beach and around the island, but we ended up in a big beer splash exchange students party in a rather bad resort. Nevertheless, we just skipped most of the party and got up quiet early (at least some of us, you sleeper Carina and Sara^^) to have a look at Bintan. For those, who are still seeking for trips over here, I do not recommend it and would rather safe the money for some other worthy travel adventures. But anyway, finally, we had a very good day, as we joined the mangrove tour on a river, saw snakes, monkeys, lizards, and neon blue birds. I should mention the "the world is going down rain" on our way to the specific spot in a small nutshell, getting all wet. But see the pictures:

Charley in our nutshell at the mangrove tour

Who can see the monkey?!

Nice residence, especially at high tide^^

The beach we stranded after the tour

By the way, I am joining the soccer team at NTU now and just came back from my first training, which was awesome :)

For those who are staying in Singapore, do not forget: It's Sara's birthday tomorrow ;)

Cheers, Ju

Travel plans!

Week 3 in Singapore, the facts, accompanied by some outstanding news:

• Uni is exhausting^^ it's not only the Asian students coming to Germany who stay in the library until midnight and give us a bad feeling in our exam period, it is also the Asian students back in Asia studying as if we were just before our final exams and on the other hand filling the campus while sleeping over their books^^ strange habits.

• I am learning Swedish, there was no vacancy left in the Chinese language course, so I have decided to go for the Swedish language instead. Stupid me, when considering 1.3 billion Chinese speakers compared to 9 million Swedish people on the planet. None the less, the Swedish exchange students are great (hooray for my outstanding roommate, Sara, for My, for Emma).

• 

• No week without party, Wednesday again was Ladies' night. But the better to mention is Saturday: Exchange Students' Beach Party on Sentosa! Beer on the beach, cocktails in the pool, awesome people and a whole bunch of drunken friends^^ my dear Swedish, would you mind not exaggerating next time we are out? ;) Anyway, next time we'll need some Bavarian beer, for sure.

• The trips are planned: Next weekend, Sara, My, Emma, Emma, me and "I don't know how many more" exchange students are heading to Bintan, Indonesia, to have some chill time in the sun, snorkel, and enjoy ourselves^^ http://www.agrobeach.com/index.ht For recess week we just booked the Philippines! And want to take our scuba diving license over there.

The photos on Bintan: next Monday :)

God kväll! Ju

153 exchange students, three days: Malacca.

Hej hej :)

• 153 NTU exchange students, nations from all over the world, meeting on Friday to take four buses (!) to Malacca, Malaysia - tick
• 17th floor for Sara, Atilla, Emma and me, no furniture-only matresses, but at least 50 qm for the four of us :) - tick
• the necessary museum visit to get to know Malacca's history together with a traditional tea ceremony and strange (really sweet) Asian sweets - tick
• an evening full of surprises: tattoos made on the streets of Malacca, right next to a man sitting on a chair with a huge lizard on his arm, white russian, Asian food and beer! - tick

• some sleep, followed by a river cruise on Malacca's river and - thank goodness - an awesome breakfast in the Sama-Sama Guest House, which I hereby recommend to all of you if sometime in Malacca^^ - tick
• the special secret activity, climbing on a hill when the sun burns the most, estimated 50°C, sweat all over us, but: a great view - tick

• best activity in Malacca, Sara's highlight: with ATVs through the jungle! - tick (only bad thing about it: some 50 mosquito bites all over my body, and it hurts!!)

• heading home, hurrying up, grabbing dinner, and getting ready for the pool party :) as you can see, we had fun :) - tick

• last day: same breakfast^^ followed by a full body massage for about 10€, spending some money in the mall, grabbing lunch or dinner (you can choose, it was 5pm^^) and waiting for the bus to bring us home.

Thanks for this amazing weekend :) Come to Malacca some day!

Ju

Heading to Malacca, Malaysia.

Details will follow on Monday :) So far it is like hell getting up at 6 am in the morning in order not to be late for our bus to leave. Btw, it is 150 exchange students heading to Malacca this weekend. I guess I need to hurry. See you on Monday. Ju

Finally, I made it.

Hello over there,

finally, I made up my mind, settled down and started my blog. Today, it is my seventh day in Singapore, so one week has gone by and here the resume is coming up:

I've been doing great :) I live on NTU campus which is the best way to connect with all other exchange students. School has actually started last Monday and I had a full week with the whole bunch of lectures I am going to attend at NTU. Ok, hold on, maybe I am exaggerating, cause I will actually attend no more than three courses in Singapore - anyways, I am on exchange, so that is far more than enough ;)

I've already met some great people over here, most of them from Scandinavia and of course some Germans. My roommate Sara is Swedish as well as one of the most important girls for me over here, My (jupp, that's her name, which fits to Ju, as I guess^^). Most of my classmates are - surprise - from Singapore and this is when I need to say that all locals are like the friendliest people I have ever met on earth. Never ever think of getting lost in Singapore, because before you are able to lose your track someone will have asked you if you are in need of any help.

So, considering the weather for those who want to come and visit :) I don't know why I brought long trousers or a jacket (Gabi, keep that in mind for packing your suitcase^^). It is like 30°C every day and we are trying our best to adapt to the climate. I guess we are doing quite well, and even started with sports like running or swimming (first of which I would not recommend, if you don't want to die in the heat^^).

One last topic which is definitely worth telling you about: Party in Singapore. But I will do that next time! Cause now, I am heading for the pool ;)

Yours Ju