A couple of months ago I moved to Singapore for the job of my boyfriend Coen. I’ve quit my job as a lawyer in The Netherlands and would look for a new job in Singapore. And of course we were going to travel a lot. Unfortunately, the start of our expat life was a little bit different than we planned due to COVID-19 that has gripped the world.
Read more about the start of our expat life in this blog.
Happy that our visa is approved, just before CB 
But than came Corona…
Circuit Breaker Period
After two weeks we moved from our hotel into our new house. Three days later Singapore announced the lockdown (the “Circuit Breaker Period” or “CB”). The lockdown in Singapore meant that you were only allowed to leave your home for grocery shopping, jogging or cycling. This was very strictly observed and enforced by the government. A mask was already required before the lockdown started.
Wearing a face mask and safe distancing in the MRT 
Face mask vending machine 
Quarantine specialist
Initially, the CB would take two times 14 days, but in the end it took almost 3 months. In the beginning I kept myself busy with growing vegetables, reading books, online shopping for our new house (we only brought a couple of suitcases with clothes with us), cooking and video-calls with The Netherlands. But after a while the days were very alike and it made me very restless. My job as a lawyer required a lot of hard work under pressure. But now I didn’t have the responsibility of a job anymore, so that was a whole new experience for me.
Growing vegetables (got out of hand) 
On our way to the supermarket 
Online cooking class during CB
Online photography course
To entertain myself, I ordered a new camera (a Canon EOS M50) and subscribed for an online photography course with De Rooij Fotografie. I did all the assignments at home, but of course I would like to use all my new skills when I’m travelling.
Unpacking my new camera 
Working on my new skills in Singapore
Botanic Gardens 
Emerald Hill Road 
Grillmaster at Satay Street
The start of TeppieTravels
In the many calls with The Netherlands the ever-recurring question was when I was going to do something with my travel experience. My mom is a flight attendant with KLM and because of her I started travelling early. KLM has a great advantage for the children of their flying employees, which made it possible for me to travel the world for a very reasonable price. When I was 12 years old, I took my first flight (alone) outside Europe to Hong Kong. During my student time I’ve made – besides the short work related trips with my mom – a lot of great trips with family and friends.
And then the travel virus started to itch again… Due to the Corona-virus we’re not allowed to travel in the near future, but I sifted through my “digital archives”. I have written a couple of travel journals over the years and I gave a lot of travel advice to family and friends. So despite the fact we can’t travel at the moment, I finally have time to start my travel blog TeppieTravels!
This no-travel period gives me time to write down my travel experiences and tips from the past and share them on TeppieTravels.com. A while ago my computer crasht and with that I lost a lot of my travel photos (a personal disaster!). So I’ll post the photos and travel tips that I (digitally) do have access to from Singapore.
Satay Street 
Satay Street 
Gardens by the Bay
Hopefully the borders will open soon so I can share new travel experiences. It really doesn’t matter to which country we can travel first, it just has to be – safely – possible! Until then I’ll try to collect as many great tips as possible for Singapore.
Raffles Hotel 
Kebun Baru Birdsinging Club 
Street art
‘Fun’ fact: From our apartment in Singapore we can see the Indonesian islands off the coasts and at the other side we can see Malaysia on a clear day. Which makes it even harder that we can’t leave the country.
Read more about the start of our expat life in this blog. Click here for more information about Singapore.
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Ahh Tep, you are so adventurous! I love it that you followed Coen to the other side of the world and write about your biggest passion! Your pictures look amazing and hope you can visit Indonesia and Malaysia soon ♥ Big Xx, Susanne – http://bagatyou.com