2003 Nine Months in Singapore

We stayed in a great apartment at The Metropolitan YMCA 58 Stevens Rd., Singapore 257871, tel (65) 6839-8333, 6737-7755, Fax (65) 6839-8120, 6235-5528, e-mail: hotel@mymca.org.sg, web: www.mymca.org.sg (basically monthly: S $3000/US $ 1637.43 at an exchange rate of S $1 = US$1.71). We were in Singapore during the SARS crisis in 2003 but we were glad to be there. We were coming from India and about 3 weeks after we arrived, Dimitri suffered a herniated disk. We can't even imagine what it would have been like had his back crisis occured when we were in Goa, India.

Our Metropolitan YMCA apartment, # 11, was perfect for us. We had a large kitchen (with lots of storage so we could put everything away), dining area and a living room area that also had a desk for Dimitri. There was a separate bedroom, with ensuite full bathroom and a desk for me. The living room area had a separate full bathroom. So we had 2 bathrooms! This was the first apartment where we had high speed internet in the room for both of our computers (by cable, I think it was at that time). The apartment also had a washer/dryer. And the building had an underground parking lot. We stored our bikes in the garage. Okay, we didn't have a view; a small concession. Singapore is a very expensive city for expats. We thought we had the best situation because the location was great and we could afford this very comfortable apartment!

Additionally, the tenants could use the good gym and olympic sized (I think it was olympic sized) pool at the YMCA itself. I got in terrific shape staying there. Every other morning before breakfast I would go swimming. I worked up to 1 km. On the other mornings I would run in the Botanic Gardens which I loved. And, I used the machines in the gym too! This is during the time that Dimitri was recovering from his herniated disk.

We'll write more later about our NUH, National University Hospital, experiences later, as well where we ate and what we did. In the meantime, if you have any questions, e-mail us and we'll try to help. E-mail address: aleanddm@gmail.com