First Impressions

Well, its been nearly a week since we arrived in Singapore, so I guess its time to share my first impressions. My impressions are somewhat limited as I am a mum of a young baby and have to arrange my life around it. So, no reviews of fancy bars/nightclubs, etc. for now (one day I hope to find a babysitter I can trust and then I will have my usual life back - at least partially). At this stage we just go for short walks around our resort - Sophie sits quietly for 10min in a stroller, then starts complaining about the heat by screaming and arching - not the best companion for sightseeing! I yet have to try a cab - we need to buy a light stroller first, which I can fold/unfold with one hand as there are no child seats and the logistics are a bit complicated with a baby in one arm and a massive pram plus shopping. Speaking about the weather, it's actually not as bad as I thought. Middle of the day is pretty hot and humid, especially if the sun is out, but after 6 pm it's quite pleasant and you can even get a nice breeze. At the moment it rains every day, but only for short periods and usually in the morning. In the afternoon the sun is out for a few hours. Being above the equator, Singapore is coming into winter now, although there is not much difference between the seasons here. I was surprised to see lots of sweaters, jumpers and high boots in the shops - how would you ever wear it here?! the answer was that it is autumn-winter collection, I guess they just follow European seasons in fashion.
Singapore is famous for its multiple shopping malls and shopping centers. We are staying just 5min off Orchard Road - the main shopping street in Singapore. I have already been to 3-4 malls, and it's a bit overwhelming. In Sydney we had Westfield across the road and I used to go there for anything - from groceries to restaurants, movies and clothing. Here it is very spread out, shopping centers are quite different from each other, they specialise in various things, some have mostly kids stuff, others sell mainly electric goods or homeware. I still haven't found the shops I really like. I was going to buy some summer clothes for myself and Sophie, but haven't seen any familiar brands. I am heading to Paragon shopping centre later today as I heard there are lots of shops for children there.
Another thing I was going to comment on is food. All travel guides praise the variety of food in Singapore. Definitely, there are food joints on every corner. We haven't been to any fine dining places yet, so their reviews are pending. However, we have been to a nice steak house. Well, a small cut of eye fillet is around 50 AUD. Very tasty, though... Good quality food western style is very pricy, as everything for European people here - they must be thinking all expatriots are loaded here and don't care how much things cost! However, if you are happy with local Asian dishes, aka greasy and spicy fried noodles or rice, you can eat very cheap, 5-10AUD for a big meal. I actually tried the food court food yesterday. I decided to play it safe with teriaki salmon bento and was very disappointed but what did I expect for 5 bucks? Will try to stay away from most food courts from now on unless I am very hungry and in a hurry.
All in all, I still can't help thinking we are tourists on holiday here, guess it will take a while to settle in and think like a local resident:) But in general, I like Singapore, it's definitely a good place to be and we are lucky to be able to have such an experience!