Forgotten Sleep & 3G Plans

So my first official week in Singapore is almost over and what have I learned from my in my first foray into Asia? Very little surprisingly! Hey, stop being so judgmental! You get over a 12-hour jet lag in four days and see how bright eyed you are! My sleeping habits are already the worse on the planet, I tend to stay up all night, drink a dangerous amount of coffee to compensate and then repeat it to the great determinant of my health.

Also I'm not a morning person... I'm more of if you speak to me before coffee, or get between me and previously mentioned coffee, I am well withing my right to disembowel you while shrieking like a banshee!

So I guess that has been my quest for the week, conquering jet lag in only four days. Now if your on vacation in some foreign land, the thrill of adventure and exploration with the idea that you'll be going back to a hotel who will be catering to your every need can help to squash some of the fatigue. Here we aren't tourists, we are going native... when we are literally in a timezone the exact reverse of at home.

That's right, Singapore is exactly 12-hours difference from New York City, meaning that 1:00 PM at home is 1:00 AM here, meaning why at dinner time I for some reason have the taste for pancakes and coffee instead of the pork/chicken noddles we had for dinner.

Apparently there are a few easy steps to conquer or at least preempt it:

1. Fly west instead of east, you'll be going with the twilight and against the rising sun. Its easier to stay up late instead of going to bed early... I ended up sleeping for 20 out of 21-hours on my plane... very bad!
2. Do over-hydrate, do not over-eat. Eating a big meal makes you lethargic, where hydrating keeps you awake... I think coffee is hydrating... or so that barista at Starbucks tells me when I order my fifth venti non-fat double espresso skinny mocha latte... seriously that order is not made up!
3. Don't go to bed when you arrive, force yourself to stay up... air pressure changes make people tired, meaning that being on that plane actually makes you sleepy! Crafty ploy you lazy stewardesses.
4. Set an alarm, don't wake up with your body internal clock... you body will betray you if it thinks it can get away with it! Sure college keg parties have taught you that your liver is a vengeful bastard when it doesn't get its way but your in control, your brain is the real organ that leads... and the spleen!
5. Try to arrive at your destination at the start of their day, that way you can find distractions for staying awake more readily. 

At least two of these I did correctly... and failed horribly at the other 80 or so I didn't list. I highly recommend first time international travelers to read this posting by Wikihow author Jcomeau_ictx, his article on Avoid Jet Lag is the best I've found and the pictures are hilarious!

So now that we are passed the part on getting over my crappy jet lag what news do really I have to offer you? Well right now its job hunting and getting some local grub to eat... no they don't sell grubs... weirdos why would you think that! 

Holland Village is the local expat area for Singapore, located north to main bulk of the downtown region. Its not officially the expat area anymore, years ago I guess it lost the title as more foreigners moved out to the rest of the island but it still frequented by a far number of westerners... fine Caucasians! This is the first time I've seen so many white people since I got here, sure accents swung all over from French, English, American, that odd-Ikea language they call Swedish. 

And that is the moment I realized exactly why it seems every Asian person that visits, vacations, moves, magically appears in a cloud of smoke... goes right to the NYC Chinatown or/and K-Town. Inside I am actually excited and a tiny bit relieved to recognize product brands and restaurants, even foods that a simple glance at the name tells me what they are, not having to read the descriptions... and then have to ask for my boyfriend to clarify what the hell half the words in said description mean. Instantly I bookmark this place in my head and vow this is my new homesick retreat, where I will be found when my heart aches for some good old KFC or french toast, or nice cold hoagies (again readers that is a cold, deli sandwich).

This thrill of delight is however demolished as I sit down at the table with a group of friends, inter-spliced with native Singaporeans and their foreign-born spouses (a rising trend I and a with a dab of concern, the government, has taken notice to) that I get a text declaring that my phone card has S$0.01 remaining. 

Yep, that S$38.00 pre-paid phone card I bought from M1 not three days before is empty. A slew of curses followed, the kind that would make my Catholic grandmother's good morals curdle in horror if she heard. How much were all have those bastards been charging me for all two calls I've made? I'm fuming when my boyfriend asks what data-plan did I sign up for? I said none, I didn't want data until I could get a real phone contract from SingTel, StarHub or M1... that of course gets him to slap his hand to his forehead. 

"Do you have 3G on?" he asks me, I note to my pertubness, that he is perturbed. 

"Yeah, why?" I answered. 

"Because you never signed up for a data plan, you just bought a pre-paid card," he answers slowly. "If you don't turn off 3G or sign up for the other, the roaming charges will eat through you pre-paid minutes instead... and there goes S$30.00 well spent."

That is where I went wrong, being spoiled on phone contracts my whole life and having a smartphone since they first launched, it never even clicked until it was too late. Because I never specified what level of data consumption plan I was on, M1 charged me for out of my pre-paid minutes. Usually you'd pay one set price a month for 1G to 10G of data... around S$20.00 extra. Because minutes and data are not the same thing... the simple act of checking my email once wiped out everything in less than 30-seconds.  

That was nearly S$37.99 for all 10 MB of data... goodbye pre-paid phone card! I shall miss you!

So pay attention to my cautionary tale. If you want data but no 3G, turn it off... for those that don't know, on an iPhone its under Settings>Cellular>Off. After that you no longer have 3G and you must rely on the kindness of password free WiFi. 

Other than the jet lag and the my self-inflicted pre-paid phone card debacle, the days here are now being spent job hunting. I will try to get out and explore a bit tomorrow, hopefully without the boyfriend's supervision. If you hear about a crazed American being captured and bagged in Singapore as he terrorized the locals, you'll know my attempt was not successful. 

Until next time!