We are Florine and Simon, a twenty-something couple from Belgium. Adventurous world wanderers and curious photography amateurs, we love to explore new places and share our stories through our blog Ozawapi.

Our travel addiction really started back in 2004. Travelling Down Under had been in our mind for some time. Freshly graduated, we decided to go for it.

7 years, 4 continents and 35 countries later, we are still enjoying traveling together and are not planning on stopping any time soon. From a little shack in the middle of the jungle in Northern Thailand to the 66th floor of a 5 star hotel in Tokyo, we love experiencing the world in very different ways.

1. Why did you move abroad?
We love South East Asia and have been travelling around quite a lot already. But we were looking to take an extra step and experience the Asian life from the inside.  Singapore naturally came up as the most convenient choice and an ideal springboard into the region... Combining modernity with a medley of traditional Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and Malay influences, a tropical climate (summer all year round),  tasty food, a vibrant cultural scene, cosmopolitan Singapore was definitely worth considering a new place to call home. We moved here in August 2011.

We also have to admit that we have received quite a great relocation package which really facilitated our transfer here. At least one of us had a secure job and a steady income which means we had less pressure to delve headfirst into our new life in Asia.

2. How do you make a living?
We are both professionally employed in managerial roles, Simon in an Internet company, and me in the cosmetics industry. Simon had secured his employment contract as well as our relocation package prior to departing Europe.

I looked for a job once we arrived in Singapore. I was lucky enough to find something immediately. Now that we both have settled jobs that finance our travels, we can enjoy more comfortable experiences and discover new destinations.

We still have fond memories of our early days of travelling though. We were at the time backpacking on tight budgets, sleeping in a car for 6 weeks, taking freezing cold showers, and eating nothing but bread and peanut butter for 3 weeks.

3. How often do you communicate with home and how?
We try to regularly communicate with our friends and family. We are in contact with them almost on a weekly basis, whether it’s via emails, Skype or updates on Facebook and Google+. Our blog Ozawapi is also a great way to keep anyone who’s interested - or simply curious - up to date with our life and travels.

Internet makes it really easy to stay in contact  no matter how many miles apart we are. The only ‘difficulty’ is to work with the different time zones.

Funny enough, sometimes it feels like we are in contact with them more frequently since moving abroad, than we did when we were living in Belgium!

4. What's your favorite thing about being an expat in Singapore?
What’s not to love about this place?!

Despite being a very small country, Singapore is simply a fascinating place to live in. It is modern, multicultural, exotic, safe, clean, easy to get around and extremely efficient.

And we get to live in a beautiful apartment with full facilities (gym, spa, swimming pools).  It’s comfortable living at its finest, really! Singapore also offers endless opportunities for frequent travelling. We are less than an hour away from Malaysia and Indonesia, and there are so many beautiful sites to see in between and beyond. We simply love having so many exotic paradises at our doorstep and cannot wait to explore them all.

5. What’s the worst thing about being an expat in Singapore?
Well, the cost of living can be very expensive when it comes to accommodation. Rents are excessively priced and represent the majority of our expenses.

It’s also a long way away if something happens in Belgium and we need to go back urgently.

The rest is rather a matter of acclimatization...

Enjoying the never ending summer of Singapore comes to a price: constant humidity. With Singapore’s tropical climate, we find ourselves sweating bullets during any outdoor activity.

Another inconvenience could be the overwhelming flood of languages we do not understand... We are kind of lost in translation between Mandarin, Malay and Tamil languages.

Plus, if English is widely spoken in Singapore and is the language of business and trade, we often experience Singaporeans’ speech peppered with so called Singlish. Characterised by incomplete sentences, typical expressions, unique punctuations, constant use of the word ‘can’ to stand for ‘yes’ and a distinct Singaporean accent, Singlish can be challenging to understand for new comers.

6. What do you miss most?
Of course, we miss hanging out with our friends and family. It’s never easy to be away from people you love. Oh and Belgian chocolate! We can find some here, but it comes to a ridiculous premium price and with limited variety.

7. What did you do to meet people and integrate in your new home?
To be honest, we haven’t done much yet. We are still quite new here and have been busy settling down first. Of course, we regularly go out with our colleagues and we have met with some friends and friends of friends  who regularly stopover in Singapore on their way to other Asian destinations.

8. What custom/ habits do you find most strange about your adopted culture?
Air-conditioning too cold
We welcome a little moment into the air conditioned places every now and then. However, the air conditioned places can easily turn freezing cold: temperature is often so low that we need to wrap ourselves in a shawl or wear a winter jacket to keep us warm while shopping or at the cinema... It is mad to think that the only places we need to wear long sleeves are actually indoor.

Surprising Exotic Food
We really love Asian food, but some of the most local dishes can sometimes be very surprising or should we say daring for our standard European taste buds... From the local colorful weird looking desserts, to the stinky yet beloved durian or unexpected animals’ organs, not sure we are ready to fully embrace a 100% local diet (yet).

Poor little rich Singapore
Asia is a brand conscious nation. We often find long queues of eager customers outside of Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, and other luxury brands’ doors.

There is no such things as personal information
When applying for jobs in Singapore, you are often requested to share a lot of personal information that would be illegal or considered discriminating to ask for in Europe: race, religion, profiles of all immediate family members (parents, siblings,...).

9. What is a myth about your adopted country?
Quite a few people describe Singapore as a boring, artificial and 'sterile' place with no soul. But actually, Singapore is a city rich in contrasts and colours, blending modernity with traditional cultures.

Singapore is a wonderful and sophisticated Asian melting pot that has much more to offer than shopping and skyscrapers. Singapore is  a vibrant display of many cultural quarters like Chinatown, Little India or Geylang Serai to state but a few.

10. What advice would you give other expats?
Everywhere in the world has its pros and cons, ups and downs. There’s lots to love about living in Singapore, just don’t expect it to be all perfect.

Be curious, open and willing to try new things. After all, proper expat life is about letting go of some of the old habits and routines, and trying out the new and unfamiliar, right? So relax and simply enjoy tropical living at its best!

11. When and why did you start your blog?
We originally started our blog in January 2011 to update our families and friends on our adventures around the world and share our photos. It was more convenient than to send out mass emails.

But our blog soon became a way to meet other fellow travellers and give our readers some insights into life in Singapore and travels across South East Asia and further afield.

12.  How has the blog been beneficial?
It has introduced us to amazing fellow bloggers and travellers worldwide who contacted us via our blog. It is also a great way to capture some of our travels and life experiences...

Revisiting our blog months and years down the line will be a great reminder of all the amazing moments we enjoyed back then.  We will be able to re-create memories that we may have forgotten about if we did not record them in our blog.

Florine & Simon's blog, Ozawapi

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